Grade 6 · Core French · Unit 9 of 9
Place names and ways of life
French and First Nations names on the map
What your child practises
How French, First Nations and Métis languages and cultures shaped Saskatchewan place names and ways of life: the fur trade, voyageurs, carts, sashes and prairie words.
Saskatchewan Curriculum outcome: 6.C.1 · the influence of French, First Nations and Métis languages and cultures on place names and ways of life
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What was a voyageur?
🛶- a train driver
- a hockey goalie
- a canoeist who carried furs and goods in the fur trade
a canoeist who carried furs and goods in the fur trade
Hint: Voyageurs paddled canoes along rivers and lakes.
Question 2
In a place name like «Belle Plaine», what does «plaine» mean?
🌾- lake
- plain
- island
plain
Hint: A plain is a large flat area of land.
Question 3
Which French word means language? (Michif combines French and Cree.)
🗣️- la langue
- la lune
- le lac
la langue
Hint: La langue means language and also tongue.
Question 4
The English word «portage» comes from French. What does it mean?
🛶- a canoe paddle
- a kind of soup
- carrying a canoe between two waters
carrying a canoe between two waters
Hint: Voyageurs carried their canoes and packs over land between lakes and rivers.
Question 5
In a place name like «Lac Rouge», what does «lac» mean?
🏞️- valley
- river
- lake
lake
Hint: Many place names in Saskatchewan come from French, Cree, Dene and other languages.
Question 6
Many place names begin with «Saint» or «Sainte». What do they honour?
⛪- a river
- a farm animal
- a saint
a saint
Hint: Saint is a title for a person remembered by a church.