March 30

Social 33

I continued going over the notes package that I handed out yesterday, specifically "the Soviet Economy Notes". I also assigned Ch.11 from "A Changing World" Q 1-7 for work in class. If you didn't finish it in class, then it is for homework. When we come back from our Spring Break we will finish looking at the command economy and move on to the mixed economy. Please enjoy your break.

Social 10

I delivered a presentation on "The Cold War" which I will send to you this afternoon. We also heard a couple of current events presentations. Here are some upcoming important dates for you to concern yourselves with:

• WWI/WWII Quiz is on Wednesday, April 11th
• Sovereignty In-Class Position Paper is on Monday, April 16th
• WWI/WWII Research Projects are due on Tuesday, April 17th
• Sovereignty Unit Final is on Thursday, April 19th

If I were you, I would take your textbooks home with you, and your key terms list from Chapters 7-9 (WWI) and 12-14 (WWII). Please enjoy your break!

March 29

Social 10

We spent almost the entire period in the library doing research for your WWI/WWII research project. This will be the only research period that you will get, so the rest of your research time should be spent outside of class time. Please make sure that you remember that the list of useful hyperlinks were listed off in yesterday's post.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• WWI/WWII Quiz is on Wednesday, April 11th
• Sovereignty In-Class Position Paper is on Monday, April 16th
• WWI/WWII Research Projects are due on Tuesday, April 17th
• Sovereignty Unit Final is on Thursday, April 19th
  

Social 33

We tied up some loose ends with the market economy today. You were to read Chapter 9 in A Changing World during class time and then answer the following "Getting it Straight" questions: Q1, Q3, Q4, Q6. I then gave you some notes on the "Characteristics of the Command Economy", which also listed off the advantages and disadvantages of the command economy. Also in this notes package was some notes on the "Soviet Economy" which will be really helpful to you. If you didn't finish the reading and questions in class today, it is for homework.

March 28

Social 33

We watched a video called "FDR and the New Deal" at the beginning of class, and then you had the remainder of the class to work on tonight's homework: USA in the 1920s and '30s (which is a booklet that you received in Monday's class). I will be taking this in tomorrow for homework check credit.

Social 10

We started class watching part of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" to give you a sense of what the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy would have been like. We also talked about our research period in the library tomorrow. I will be posting several helpful hyperlinks below to aid you in your research on this topics. You also had class time to work on your key terms list from Chapters 13-14 (you should have read Chapter 12 last night, and you should have a list of key terms completed from that chapter).

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• Position Paper Outline is due tomorrow (March 29th)
• WWI/WWII Quiz is on April 11th
• Sovereignty Unit Final is on April 19th
  
  

WWI/WWII Research Project Links:

Please use the following hyperlinks to help conduct some preliminary research:

• Veterans' Affairs Canada (Youth and Educators)
• Library Archives Canada
• Canada's Digital Collections
• Jack Turner's War (a photographer in WWI)
• First World War.com
• Photos of the Great War
• Canadian War Museum
• Battle of Vimy Ridge (Canadian War Museum)
• The Great War (PBS website; American, but lots of valuable information, photos, maps, timeline)
• Canada and the First World War (war diaries, "we were there", a fantastic website, lots of information and first person accounts, excellent primary sources!)
• Veterans Affairs Canada: Canada and the First World War
• Courage Remembered: The World Wars Through Canadian Eyes
• Popular Songs During WWI (from Veterans Affairs)
• An Archival Look at WWI (from Queen's University, covers the Canadian Home Front, Women in the War, WWI Warfare, Warfare Technology)
• Trenches on the Web (not completely Canadian, but very useful)
• NFB Educational Resources: Images of a Forgotten War (WWI; lots of great materials here) and D-Day (WWII)
• For King and Empire: Canada's Soldiers in the Great War (archives, battlefields, resource center, culture and the Great War)
• The Archives of Ontario Remembers our War Heroes (WWI site)
• Canadian Veterans Interviews (caution: language warning, soldiers talking about their experiences in WWI)
• Diaries and Letters: Their Story Must be Told (WWI letters and diaries, excellent primary source material)
• Encyclopedia of the First World War (not a Canadian website, but it contains an incredible amount of information!)
• Canvas of War: Masterpieces from the Canadian War Museum (WWI and WWII)
• B.C. Archives: War Posters of WWI and WWII (lots of great posters here, with some explanations)
• Canadian War Poster Collection (Amazing! Tons of WWI and WWII posters, indexed by artist, it is a searchable database. Search Suggestion: Click on War dropdown menu and select WWI, then click on a Category from the drop down menu - to view posters)
• Archives of Ontario: Canadian Posters from the First World War
  (most posters have at least three different sizes)
• Royal Alberta Museum: The Poster Virtual Museum (WWI posters, please make sure that you select Canadian posters, this collection has Allied war posters)
• Art of the First World War
• War Artists from the First World War
• WWI Aces of Canada
• Newfoundland and the Great War
• Democracy at War: Canadian Newspapers and the Second World War (lots of primary source material, PDF files, great site)
• Propaganda Critic (An American website that examines the following: what is propaganda? propaganda techniques)
• Juno Beach - The Canadians On D-Day
• CBC Archives: D-Day
• Military History Online
• Veterans' Affairs
• The Fall of Hong Kong
• Canada's Air Force: WWII
• The Canadian Encyclopedia: WWII
• Historica
• Encyclopedia of the Second World War

March 27

Social 10

I delivered a presentation/lecture today on "Canada's Role and Contribution to WWII". I will send this presentation to you this afternoon. I also gave you the key terms list for Chapters 12-14. Here is the list of key terms:

Chapter 12

• fascism
• Adolf Hitler
• Mein Kampf
• Anschluss
• Aryans
• Lebensraum
• Benito Mussolini
• appeasement
• Nazi-Soviet Pact
• blitzkreig
  

Chapter 13

• BCATP
• NSS
• WPTB
• Bren girl
• NRMA
  

Chapter 14

• Battle of Britain
• Pearl Harbor
• Battle of Dieppe
• D-Day
• Holocaust
• Truman
• Manhattan Project

Make sure that you read Chapter 12 tonight, and find and define all of the Chapter 12 key terms. Also, tomorrow is your last day to have me look at your position paper outlines in tutorial.

Social 33

Today we were in the Blenheim computer lab. We played a game called Lemonade Stand, and we did a simulation of the Stock Market Crash of 1929. We will take up the discussion points from the Stock Market Simulation tomorrow in class. Please make sure that you bring your A History of the Twentieth Century textbooks tomorrow. If you would like to try another Lemonade Game (it's a bit more challenging), try this version!

March 26

And so begins the final push until Spring Break...

Social 33

We covered a lot of ground today in class. I gave you a handout on the Business Cycle, and had you highlight it and add supplemental notes to it. Then we watched a video called "Boom and Bust" and answered questions on the video. I then had you start an activity from A History of the Twentieth Century on USA in the 1920s and 1930s, which you will have time to work on in class on Wednesday. Please remember to come to class tomorrow, and then we'll go down to the Blenheim room together.

Social 10

I delivered a lecture today on "The Interwar Years (1919-1939)" which I will send to you very shortly, so please check your e-mail, and print it off. I also gave you a handout called "Recipe for Success: How to Write an Effective Position Paper". I will send you some handouts related to this topic as well today. Tonight for homework, I would like you to make two brainstorming lists: one on the advantages and disadvantages of staying at home and watching a movie, and the other on the advantages and disadvantages of going to the movie theatre. This will help you to generate arguments and examples that will be useful when writing your position paper outline (which is due on Thursday) on this very topic. If you need help with it, please come to tutorial on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

March 23

Social 33

We watched a video called "Capitalism" today, and then I gave you a handout on "The Characteristics of a Market Economy" which I had you highlight, and take supplemental notes on. I also gave you some homework from A Changing World, which was a handout that contained key concepts related to a market economy. This is for homework for Monday.

Social 10

We finally finished watching "The Killing Ground" today in class. We have a little bit of ground to make up next week, which we can easily do. Have a great weekend, no homework this weekend, unless of course you want to start looking into a research topic on World War I or World War II from the assignment sheet.

March 22

Social 10

For most of the period you were completing the registration process for the 2007-2008 school year. We continued watching "The Killing Ground", it looks like we'll have to finish this tomorrow. By now, you should have READ Chapters 7-9 in your textbook, and located all of the key terms, key events, and key people.

Social 33

You wrote your Political Systems Unit Final today in class, which took most of the period. If your absence today was not an excused absence, you will be receiving a mark of zero on this test. I will have results for you tomorrow if you wrote the test today.

After the exam, I went through the two handouts from yesterday, and had you add supplement notes to them. If you missed class today, you will have to get these notes from one of your classmates.

March 21

Sorry for not posting this last night!!

Social 33

You did some work out of A Changing World today, specifically "Chapter 7: What is Economics?" You were to complete Getting it Straight Q1-6, and Getting Organized Q3 and Q5.

Social 10

We started watching "The Killing Ground" today, and we'll finish watching it tomorrow. Also, you were to read Chapter 9 in Canada: A Nation Unfolding, and define the following key terms:

• U-boats
• Lusitania
• Battle of Vimy Ridge
• Arthur Currie
• "creeping barrage"
• Canada's Hundred Days
• armistice
• Treaty of Versailles
• League of Nations

March 20

Social 10

Today was a very busy day. We covered a few key topics. I finished with my first lecture/presentation on World War I (I have already sent this presentation to you), and then I continued into the second part of my WWI lecture/presentation. I will send this second presentation to you today. I hope that you also found my "tangent" about the impact of the war on art/literature to be interesting. Here is a link to a website that discusses J.R.R. Tolkien's experiences in the Great War, and how that influenced his writing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, specifically the Journey through the Dead Marshes. The Great War was also a time when some of our most famous landscape artists came to the forefront, I'm referring to the Group of Seven, of course. Can you see some similarities in the pictures that I'm posting below?

I guess my point is that art is based on personal experience, and these artists were heavily influenced by their experiences in the Great War.

I would like you to read Chapter 8 in the textbook, and define the following key terms:

• Imperial Munitions Board
• Wartime Elections Act
• Victory Bonds
• Military Service Act
  

Social 33

You wrote your Dictatorship Unit Final for most of the class today, and we started the second theme of Topic A in Social 33, that is, Economic Systems. Please remember that your Dictator Assignment is due tomorrow. You also have a Political Systems Final on Thursday, please review democracies and dictatorships. To see the study guide for this final exam please click here.

March 19

Social 33

I covered some Soviet history at the beginning of class, so if you were late, you need to get notes from one of your classmates. We also watched a couple of videos on the August 1991 coup d'etat in the Soviet Union, and the other on the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. These videos were meant to reinforce concepts that I covered in the earlier part of class. This material is testable material for your Dictatorship Unit Final, which is tomorrow. For a study guide for the Dictatorship Unit Final please click here. You have a couple of assignments due tomorrow: the Lenin and Stalin booklet, and the Dictatorship Internet Project.

Social 10

You wrote your Identity Unit Final for about 60 minutes today, and then you had the remainder of class to read Chapter 7 in your textbook, and define the following terms:

• militarism
• imperialism
• alliances
• nationalism
• no man's land
• trench foot
• Robert Borden
• Triple Entente
• Triple Alliance
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand
• the Schlieffen Plan
• trench warfare
• Western Front
• Douglas Haig
• Battle of the Somme
• Battle of Ypres

In the previous list, define the key terms, and identify the importance of the key people and key events. Additionally, you must take point form Notes on Trench Warfare (p. 140-141, p.143). I will be doing a homework check on the notes and the key terms tomorrow. Also, your Constitutional and Territorial Sovereignty reading booklet is due tomorrow.

March 16

Social 33

If you missed the start of class today then you missed some notes on Russian history and the lead in to the communist dictatorship of Lenin and Stalin. Please get these notes from a classmate. I also gave you a handout/diagram of the communist party organization which should help you to understand that in the USSR decision-making was very much top-down decision-making, with very few people actually making decisions. I also gave you an activity booklet based on readings out of A History of the Twentieth Century, which is due on Monday. Please remember that your Dictatorship Internet Project is due on Tuesday, and your Dictator Assignment (Parts 1 and 2) is due on Wednesday. You will be having some tests next week: on Tuesday you will have a Dictatorship Unit Final and then on Thursday, you will have a Political Systems Unit Final (which will cover democracies and dictatorships). Here are the big concepts that you should understand for these unit finals:

Dictatorship Unit Final Study Guide:

Dictatorship Unit Final is on Tuesday, March 20th

• types of dictatorships
• characteristics of dictatorships (key ingredients/"recipe for a dictatorship")
• techniques of dictatorships
• advantages/disadvantages of a dictatorship
• the individual's role in a dictatorship
• similarities and differences between a dictatorship and a democracy
• be able to draw upon case studies/examples (fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Stalin's USSR)
• techniques of dictatorship used by Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin

Political Systems Unit Final Study Guide:

Political Systems Unit Final is on Thursday, March 22nd

• characteristics of democracies
• types of democracies
• advantages/disadvantages of democracies
• advantages/disadvantages of direct democracy
• advantages/disadvantages of representative democracy
• be able to draw upon case studies/examples (Canada, USA)
• understand other key concepts like first past the post, rep by pop, and proportional representation
• understand the political spectrum and related concepts (for example, values associated with liberals, radicals, conservatives etc.)
  

Social 10

I gave you a readings booklet today on Canada's Constitutional and Territorial Sovereignty. There are some questions to answer from this booklet. This is due on Tuesday, March 20th. Please remember that you have your Identity Unit Final on Monday, March 19th. Please study!! I delivered a presentation on "Canada's Role in World War I" which I have already sent to you, so please check your e-mail. Let me know if you didn't receive this presentation, and I will send it to you. It would be a very good idea to read Chapter 7 in your textbook to keep up with what we're doing in class.

March 15

Social 10

I delivered a presentation today called "Canadian Sovereignty" which I will send to you today, so please check your e-mail. Also, when you check your e-mail, you should find a couple of games that I have sent to you to help review for your Identity Unit Final. Some of these questions might appear on the actual unit final. I also started talking about the structure of in-class position papers.

Social 33

We watched a video today called "Joseph Stalin: Red Terror", and as you watched the video you were to answer questions on a worksheet.

March 14

Social 33

The period was spent working on an activity called "Adolf Hitler, Dictator" which required you to have the textbook A History of the Twentieth Century. This activity is due tomorrow.

Social 10

I collected three pieces of homework at the beginning of class today. I also gave you the Sovereignty Unit Outline today. I went through the outline with you, we will be starting on this unit tomorrow. I also organized a current events presentation schedule in the time remaining. Please study for your Identity Unit Final, which is on Monday, March 19th.

March 13

Social 10

You were assigned some homework for tomorrow: the peacekeeping/FTA agreement booklet, the Canada's Symbols worksheet, and the Canadian peacekeeping map (using the map on page 301 as a guide). I also gave out your interim report cards. Your Identity Unit Final is on Monday, please check yesterday's post for the study guide. Oh, by the way, here is what I meant by being the "Darth Vader of PowerPoint":


Does it remind you of any one's presentation style?

Social 33

You were given two assignments in class today: the Dictatorship Internet Project, which is due March 20th, and the Dictator Assignment (parts 1 and 2), which is due on March 21st. I also gave you class time to work on the Dictator Assignment. I gave you your interim report cards at the end of class.

March 12

Social 33

I collected your Political Cartoon Analysis Assignments at the beginning of class. Most of you handed it in on time, and were rewarded with a homework check stamp. If you didn't hand it in today, please make sure that you hand it in ASAP. You lose 10% each day that an assignment is late.
I had some handouts for you today, one on "Dictatorship and the Individual" (I told you to put a star on this page, because I think that it will be really useful). I also gave you a comparison sheet on Mussolini and Hitler. Lastly, I gave you an assignment that is due tomorrow called "Dictatorships: Rule by Elites" that many of you were able to finish during the class time provided.

Social 10

I collected your Chapter 17 definitions and questions at the end of class today. I also delivered a presentation on the Canadian Identity. This is the third presentation, and the last one the Canadian Identity that you will be receiving from me. I will send out this lecture today, so please let me know if you don't receive it. Please print it off for homework check credit tomorrow. We also watched a bit of Rick Mercer's "Talking to Americans", which we will finish tomorrow.

Your Identity Unit Final is next Monday, March 19th. Here is the study guide:

Identity Unit Final Study Guide

1. Identity:Personal and National (1st ppt)
2. Forces that Shape a Nation's Identity (1st ppt)
3. Canadian Identity and Culture
4. Features of Canadian Identity
5. Canada's Evolving Identity (History)
6. French-English Relations (review French-English Relations ppt)
7. Bilingualism (language policy, see 2nd ppt)

• Bi and Bi Commission (Lester B. Pearson)
• Why was the Bi and Bi Commission formed?
• Findings of the commission and recommendations
• Official Languages Act 1969
  

8. Multiculturalism (2nd ppt)

• cultural pluralism
• equality, mutual respect
• adoption of multiculturalism as official government policy (Trudeau)
• Multiculturalism Act (Mulroney)
• arguments for and against multiculturalism

9. Canadian-American Relations (focus on Chapter 17)

• cultural protectionism
• CBC, NFB, CRTC
• relationship between Canada and the United States
• Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and the U.S.

10. Canada's Worldwide Reputation

• involvement in the United Nations/peacekeeping activities
  

March 8

Social 10

You were assigned some textbook work from Canada:A Nation Unfolding, specifically Chapter 17. I assigned Q1-2, Q9-10 from Focus Your Knowledge, and define the following terms:

• CBC
• CRTC
• NFB
• FIRA
• NEP
• Massey Commission
• Canada Council
• AutoPact
  

Social 33

We watched a video for most of the class called "The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler". We also talked a bit about the Political Cartoon Assignment, which is due on Monday.

Have a great weekend!!

March 7

Social 33

I gave you back the results of the Democracy Unit Final, as well as giving you some handouts related to your Social 33 Diploma Exam. I also gave you a handout on fascist Italy and told you what parts you needed to know from it. I then gave you a readings booklet about Nazi Germany that I would like to have finished reading for tomorrow.

Social 10

I gave you back some test results at the beginning of class. I went through my second presentation/lecture on Canadian Identity, which I will be sending to you later tonight (please check your e-mail). I gave you a reading called "Canadians Are Not Americans" and told you to answer the following questions based on the reading:

1. Define "melting pot".
2. What does the author mean by using the term "fruitcake"?
3. The author claims that Canada's identity has developed through an evolutionary process. Refer directly to the article and quote the passage where the author justifies /explains this position.
4. List what you consider to be the three unique characteristics of Canada's identity as explained in the article.
   

March 6

Social 10

We started our second theme in Social Studies 10 today, "Identity". We'll spend about 5 class periods on this theme. It is REALLY important to remember that the French-English Relations PowerPoint includes material that will appear on your Identity Unit Final.

I also collected your French-English Relations Timeline Assignment today. I will try to mark these assignments over the weekend and get them back to you early next week. I will send out today's presentation/lecture this afternoon, so please check your e-mail. Please let me know if you didn't receive today's presentation.

Social 33

You wrote your Democracy Unit Final in class today. I can't wait to share the results with you (the multiple choice section)! I will try to have the essay portion marked as soon as possible too. Please have Activity 6 completed for tomorrow's class. I will be doing a homework check on this, so it should be an easy mark if you do your homework. I will be assigning the political cartoon assignment over the weekend, more about this tomorrow.

March 5

Social 33

We watched an A&E Biography of Benito Mussolini today, which took most of the class period. While you were watching the video you were to take notes on the rise and fall of Benito Mussolini, and any examples that you could see of the "techniques of dictatorship". I also did a homework check on your political cartoons (to see if you brought one to class), and I went over a handout on interpreting political cartoons.

Social 10

You wrote your Regionalism Unit Final today in class, which for some of you, took almost the entire period. Please remember to start bringing Canada: A Nation Unfolding to class from now on. Also, please remember that your French-English Relations Timeline Assignment is due tomorrow.

March 2

Social 33

We did a quick review of what we have studied so far in our Dictatorship unit. I then gave you some notes on the unique characteristics of fascism and communism and the similarities between the two systems. Please remember that you have your Democracy Final on Tuesday, March 6th. Click on this hyperlink to the study guide (you'll have to scroll down to see it). Please remember to bring a political cartoon for Monday's class, please check yesterday's post for lots of hyperlinks to political cartoon sites.

Social 10

You wrote your French-English Relations Quiz today in class. You will get the results of this quiz early next week. Please remember to study for your Regionalism Unit Final (it's on Monday) and to work on your French-English Relations Timeline assignment (due on Tuesday) this weekend.

March 1

Social 10

I collected your Regional Brochure assignment today. We played a review game of Jeopardy which I will be sending to you so you can try to take another shot at those questions. You have your French-English Relations Quiz tomorrow, so please study for it!

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• French-English Relations Quiz is tomorrow (Friday, March 2nd
• Regionalism Unit Final is on Monday, March 5th
• French-English Relations Timeline Assignment is due on Tuesday, March 6th
  

Social 33

Today we went over a handout/activity called "The Characteristics of Dictatorships" as a class. Please remember that you have your Democracy Final on Tuesday, which is 25 multiple choice questions and a written assignment. Please bring a political cartoon to class on Monday, this is an easy homework check mark! You can cut a political cartoon out of one of the local newspapers, or you can check out one of the links below. The political cartoon can be about Canadian or American politics.

Here are some hyperlinks for analyzing political cartoons:

• The Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia; Bruce MacKinnon)
• Calgary Sun (TAB)
• Patrick Corrigan Political Cartoons
• The Daily News (DeAdder)
• Aislin (The Montreal Gazette)
• Ottawa Sun (Dewar)
• Cartoon Link
• Brian Gable (Globe and Mail)
• MacKay Editorial Cartoons
• Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index
• Today's Best Cartoons