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CORAL HARBOUR - A Grade 5 teacher in Coral Harbour is broadening the horizons of her students one province at a time.

The youth are studying Canada and their teacher, Robin Hatfield, introduced them to the Tastes of Canada program.

The class started with Newfoundland, so Hatfield presented them with moose meat to sample, and brought along a few other items such as a set of moose antlers and the skull of a black bear.

She had intended for the class to try sea trout, as well, but the bottle broke on the way to Coral.

The students also talked about the differences in taste between tuktu and moose meat, and how the two animals are hunted.

Hatfield said she hopes to bring a food item into the class throughout the year that represents each province and territory.

She said she put in a good deal of time this past summer gathering information from all the different provinces.

"In addition to moose and black bear information, they farm alpacas now in Newfoundland, so I brought in some alpaca fibres, as well as leaves, pine cones and shells from the area," said Hatfield.

"We're working our way across the country from the east, so when we go into Nova Scotia I'm bringing maple syrup and other items from that province.

"Basically, we're trying to give them a broader idea of what's out there."

Hatfield said some of the students thought the moose tasted a bit like caribou, while others didn't care for it at all.

She said the antlers were a hit because the students could touch and smell them to get a feel for the animal.

"We also watched a video on the black bear and compared its characteristics to that of the polar bear, as well as how they're hunted and what they're used for.

"As an incentive for the end of the year, the three most improved students in my class will each receive a bear tooth for their efforts.

"The approach works well in a number of classes such as social studies and language arts - where where we'll do some of the readings - as well as drawing bear skulls in art.

"I try to take it all over the map because everything, really, is related to another subject."