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Production Phase



STEP 1 Continued
ANALYZE THE SITUATION



IS IT HARD TO FIND HOUSING IN MONTRÉAL?

About 150 minutes


Goal:  To get students to identify the characteristics of a metropolis in order to explain, in part, why it is hard to find housing in Montréal.

Document:   “Is it hard to find housing in Montréal?” in  Word  or  PDF  format


The teacher invites students to formulate a hypothesis on the housing situation in Montréal.

The teacher asks the following question: 
What factors could explain why it is hard to find housing in Montréal? 

The students write down their answers following their hypothesis.

Using the computer, the students observe and analyze various documents (maps, statistics etc.) to identify the characteristics of a metropolis.

Statistics and documents about Montréal and other major Canadian cities

[Update 2007 by LEARN:  Note that this Learning Situation was created in and around 2003-04.  Things have changed slightly in Montreal and teachers may need to alter their slant on this entire approach, either by focussing on another Metropolis for certain points or by refining the "issue" considered here, namely that the problem is less due to lack of housing but rather the cost of housing, etc.  Search Google News for Montreal Housing issues.  These articles might help to offer recent (2006-07) perspectives:  Vacancies on the Rise, and Home Ownership Trends Push up Rental Vacancies.  Also, the above link to statistics contains many updated sources.]



Sharing with the class

The teacher corrects the questions found in the various documents. The teacher then writes the students’ answers to the question “Montréal is…” on the board and asks them to identify the city’s characteristics. The teacher asks the students to define metropolis and writes out a class definition of this term, which is then compared with  an  expert definition:

"A metropolis is a highly and densely populated city that, due to its concentration of various services as well as economic and cultural activities, has enormous drawing power. A metropolis also has a regional, national and international influence. Today, metropolises are increasingly powerful."  (Source Recitus.qc.ca. Other usable definitions on the concepts page here.)


A 360° tour of Montréal
The teacher presents the 360° photo of Montréal to validate the definition and asks students to identify characteristics of the metropolis in the photo.
Example of photo from Recitus.qc.ca.  
Example of QTVR of Montreal Port area at Candau.com.



The teacher returns to the original question and to the students’ hypotheses and then asks:

What is the connection, if one exists, between these characteristics and the housing situation?



Find out more!
Consult the geography collection on metropolises.  Territory:  Montreal.