April 30

Social 33

I taught you a mnemonic device to remember that the League of Nations was a FAILURe. Please make sure that you remember this memory aid. I gave you a short activity to do in relation to the textbook reading on the League of Nations. I also gave you a short booklet on key events of the Interwar Years. You will be having a quiz on the Interwar Years this Thursday, so I gave you the study guide in class.

Social 10

You wrote your first Politics and Government Pop Quiz today after current events. We then looked at the key concepts of first past the post, proportion representation, and non-confidence votes. I also gave you time to get into your government poster project groups to do some brainstorming. Please remember that your Political Carton Analysis Assignment is due tomorrow. You will also be writing your in-class position paper on Thursday in the Blenheim computer lab. Here are some useful hyperlinks on the topic of minority governments:

• Maple Leaf Web: Minority Governments
• CBC News In-depth: Minority Governments
• Ottawa Citizen: Minority Governments
• Parliament of Canada: Duration of Minority Governments

April 27

Social 33

Today we looked briefly at "Hitler's Rise to Power" from your textbook A History of the Twentieth Century. You completed a fill in the blanks activity based on this short three page reading. For the remainder of the period we played some short review games.

Social 10

We watched the last video in the series today, called "Our Constitution". Hopefully the soundtrack and the information is now ingrained in your brains! Please remember the upcoming important dates:

• Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment is due on Tuesday, May 1st
• Government In-Class Position Paper is on Thursday, May 3rd

April 26

Social 10

We watched another video for most of the period, this one on "Our National Parliament". I also briefly introduced you to the "Government System Poster Project". Here are some helpful links for completing the Political Cartoon Analysis Assignment:

• 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
  

Social 33

We continued looking at the Treaty of Versailles and its effects (please keep in mind the mnemonic device for remembering the terms of the Treaty of Versailles: GARGLe). We also watched a video called "Make Germany Pay".

April 25

Social 33

Today we looked at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and how it might have contributed to rise of the Nazi party in Germany. I have sent you today's presentation already. Please make sure that you have yesterday's presentation printed off for tomorrow, because I will be doing a homework check on it.

Social 33

For most of the period we watched a video called "Democracy at Work" and you were to take notes on it while you watched. I also gave you the essay question. I will post hyperlinks that will help with the essay topic tomorrow.

April 24

Social 10

After current events, we finished off the cabinet selection simulation that we started yesterday. I then gave you an assignment on analyzing political cartoons, as well as a presentation on the topic. The political cartoon analysis assignment is due one week from today, in other words on Tuesday, May 1st. I also returned your projects to you at the end of class.

Social 33

I delivered a presentation/lecture today on global interactions in the 20th century (talking very generally about motives, actions, and consequences of global interactions). I also talked about the MAIN causes of WWI (militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism). I then assigned some textbook readings and questions from A History of the Twentieth Century.

April 23

Social 33

We officially started Topic B: Global Interactions in the 20th Century today. I started off by giving you an organizational concept map of the topics that we'll be covering in this topic. I also gave you an opinion survey, and introduced the concepts of internationalism, internationalist, nationalism, and nationalist. If you missed class today, or were late for class, you will need to get these notes from one of your classmates. For the rest of the period we watched a video called "One Day of War" which documented one day on the planet (March 22, 2004, specifically), and eight different wars that were being waged on various continents at the same time. You can click on the hyperlink that I've included above to read more about some of the participants in the documentary. It's pretty powerful stuff.

Social 10

After the current events presentation today we started a critical thinking exercise called "Choosing a Cabinet", which we will finish up with tomorrow. We'll have a short class discussion about the various selections for these cabinet postings, so please be prepared to defend your selections. I also returned your in-class position papers to you today, please make sure that you read over my comments!

April 20

Social 33

You wrote your Economic Systems Unit Final today in class. It was 50 multiple choice questions, and as a class, you did extremely well on it. I'll give you the results for this unit final on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Social 10

After current events today, I delivered a presentation/lecture on "Canadian Politics and Government" (Part 2). I will send this presentation to you today, after I make some updates to it. Please make sure that you have studied the "Glossary of Parliamentary Key Terms" that I sent to you this week, and please take notes on the floor plan of the House of Commons, and on 'how a bill becomes a law'. You will be having pop quizzes on those topics in the coming weeks. Be prepared! I will hopefully have marks to give back to you early next week on your essays and WWI-WWII projects. Have a great weekend!

April 19

Today was a test day for both Social 10 and Social 33 students. Social 33 students: please remember that you have an Economic Systems Unit Final tomorrow (50 multiple choice questions).

April 18

For my Social 10 students, here is a hyperlink to The Greatest Canadian Inventions.

April 18

Social 33

We played a review game for most of the class today. Please remember that you have a test on our Economic Systems Unit Test tomorrow. Please study!

Social 10

We played a Jeopardy review game today for most of the class. Please remember that you have your Sovereignty Unit Final tomorrow.

April 17

Social 10

I collected your WWI-WWII projects today at the beginning of class. I finished off my presentation/lecture on "Politics and Government in Canada", and I will send it to you this afternoon. I will also send you a list of key terms for our Politics and Government unit. We will be reviewing our Sovereignty Unit tomorrow.

Social 33

I gave you some handouts today on fiscal and monetary policy, and one on the Canadian government's role in the economy. I also gave you a handout/chart on the "Benefits of Economic Systems". You were also required to write 7 questions for tomorrow's review game (if you were away today, don't worry about writing any questions). Tomorrow we'll be playing a review game for our Economic Systems Unit.

April 16

Social 33

We covered a few different topics related to the mixed economy: Keynesian economics, democratic socialism in Sweden. I also collected Chapter 13 questions today, and assigned the "Getting it Straight Questions" from Chapter 14 (Q1-5, Q8).

Social 10

You wrote your in-class position paper today in class. Please remember that your WWI-WWII research project is due tomorrow.

April 13

Social 33

We continued looking at the mixed economy today. I assigned the following for homework over the weekend: Chapter 13 in A Changing World, "Getting it Straight" Q1, Q3-9. I will be taking this in for homework check marks on Monday. You have some tests next week, please click here for the study guide.

Social 10

After today's current events presentation, I gave you a reading on "Foreign Aid". It is your responsibility to read and highlight this booklet on your own time. I also started a presentation on "Politics and Government in Canada" which I will continue on Tuesday. We have officially started the second half of the course, as of today. Please remember the important upcoming dates next week:

• Sovereignty In-Class Position Paper is Monday, April 16th
• WWI-WWII Research Project is due Tuesday, April 17th
• Sovereignty Unit Final is on Thursday, April 18th (please click here for the study guide)

April 12

Social 33

I gave you a handout today on the "Characteristics of a Mixed Economy" and had you read, highlight, and take supplemental notes on it. I also assigned some questions (on a handout) from Chapter 12 in your textbook A Changing World, which are due tomorrow for homework check marks. I also did a homework check on the "Economic Planning in the USSR" booklet today. I will return this homework to you tomorrow.

Study Guide for Economic Systems Tests:

Next week, you will be writing a couple of tests covering the Economic Systems unit that we have been working on. I've decided to combine the study guide into one, however, please realize that there are two tests:

• Economic Systems Unit Quiz (fill in the blanks format) + a writing assignment from a past Diploma Exam, this quiz is on Thursday, April 19th
• Economic Systems Unit Final (multiple choice questions) is on Friday, April 20th

The following study guide covers both tests:

1. Market Economy

• synonyms for a Market Economy
• Economic Values associated with Market Economy
• Advantages/Disadvantages of a Market Economy
• Adam Smith
• Invisible Hand
• Business Cycle (booms, busts, depression, recession, recovery)
• Law of supply and Demand (effect on price; equilibrium)
• Characteristics of a Market Economy
• Basic Economic Questions (what are the basic economic questions? how does a market economy 'answer' them?)
• USA (model example, please see Ch. 8-9 in A Changing World)
• FDR and the New Deal
• the Great Depression
• Means of Production (examples)
• Economic Individualism
• Competition
• Monopoly
• Private Ownership
• Profit Motive
• Consumer Sovereignty

2. Command Economy

• synonyms for a Command Economy
• Economic Values associated with a Command Economy
• Advantages/Disadvantages of a Command Economy
• Basic Economic Questions (what are they? how does a Command economy 'answer' them?)
• Karl Marx (Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto)
• Characteristics of a Command Economy
• Structure of the Soviet Economy
• "storming"
• the second economy
• Central Planning of Production in the Soviet Union
• Gosplan
• top-down decision making in Soviet economy
• Economic Planning in the USSR (booklet)
• Lenin
• Stalin
• Five Year Plans
• collective farms
• Stalin and Modernization
• collectivization
• Gorbachev and his economic reforms
• Perestroika
• Glasnost
• please see Chapters 10-11 in A Changing World

3. Mixed Economy

• Economic Values associated with a Mixed Economy
• Characteristics of a Mixed Economy
• Advantages/Disadvantages of a Mixed Economy
• Monetary Policy
• Fiscal Policy
• Basic Economic Questions (what are they? how does a mixed economy 'answer' them?)
• privatization
• Utopian socialism
• Louis Blanc
• Robert Owen
• Business Cycle
• John Maynard Keynes
• Keynesian Economics
• tax incentives
• government subsidies
• please see Chapter 12 in A Changing World
• case studies (Canada-Ch. 14 and Sweden- Ch. 13 in A Changing World)

April 12

Social 10

I gave you the results of the WWI-WWII Quiz today. I also finished off the lecture on "Canada's Foreign Policy", I will be sending that lecture to you today. I assigned the following pages to read in Chapter 15 of your textbook: p.287-292, p. 294-299, p. 301-303, p. 305-308, p. 310. In addition to reading these pages you must answer 23 questions on Chapter 15; I have sent these questions to you already in an e-mail message.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• Sovereignty In-Class Position Paper is on Monday, April 16th
• WWI-WWII Research Project is due on Tuesday, April 17th
• Sovereignty Unit Final is on Thursday, April 19th

Sovereignty Unit Final Study Guide:

1. Key Concepts (you should be familiar with these terms and concepts):

• sovereignty
• independence
• nationhood
• nation-state
• national identity
• intervention
• international relations
• foreign policy
• "middle power"
• global community conflict
• cooperation
• collective security

2. Canada's Sovereignty (from PowerPoint presentation and reading booklet):

• political (constitutional) sovereignty (lots of details here)
• territorial sovereignty
• characteristics of a sovereign nation
• nation
• state
• nation-state

3. Canada's Role in WWI: (focus on the following issues)

• aims of Canada's involvement
• Canadian contributions
• consequences of the war as it relates to Canadian sovereignty

4. Attaining Independence:(importance of the following in relation to Canada gaining independence from Britain)

• Imperial War Cabinet's Resolution IX (from textbook and PowerPoint)
• Paris Peace Conference /Treaty of Versailles
• League of Nations
• Statute of Westminster (1931)
• Constitution Act (1982)

5. Canada's Role in World War II: (focus only on the following)

• what role did Canada play in WWII?
• Canadian contribution

6. Canada's Role in the Cold War (PowerPoint and Chapter 15):

• Canada's role in collective security arrangements (for example, NATO and NORAD)

7. Canada's Foreign Policy: (focus on the PowerPoint presentation for this topic)

• what influences Canadian foreign policy?
• Canadian foreign policy goals/themes
• aims/objectives of Canadian foreign policy

8. Canada and the United Nations (PowerPoint presentation and Chapter 15):

• Canadian involvement in UN agencies
• Security Council/peacekeeping
• military actions: peacekeeping (examples) and peacemaking (examples)
• know the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking

9. Canada in the World/ Canada and International Organizations:(reading booklet, text)

• Commonwealth
• La Francophonie
• CIDA
• NGOs
• Canada's role in the developing world (foreign aid
• bilateralism/multilateralism/internationalism
• acid rain issue/global environment

This unit final consists of 65 multiple choice questions.

April 11

I'm sorry that I didn't post on the blog last night, it was a busy one yesterday, so hence I'm posting this morning.

Social 33

We watched a video called "Stalin and Modernization" and you were supposed to take notes during the video. You then had the remainder of class to work on the booklet "Economic Planning in the USSR". I assigned that booklet for homework, and I will be doing a homework check on it.

Social 10

You wrote your WWI-WWII Quiz today in class. I also started talking about Canadian Foreign Policy, and we will be continuing with this topic today.

April 10

Welcome back from Spring break, I hope that you had a good time. Now it's back to work...

Social 10

I delivered a presentation today on "Canada's Role on the World Stage", which I have already sent to you. I also distributed the topic for next week's in-class position paper. I sent you an outline sheet for this essay topic as well. Please remember to study for tomorrow's WWI-WWII Quiz.

Social 33

We picked up where we left off before the break, looking at the command economy. I gave you a series of handouts in class today, and had you add supplemental notes to them. We also did a brief simulation of the Soviet Union's method of planning with a Gosplan simulation. I also gave you a reading called "Economic Planning in the USSR", which we will be continuing with tomorrow.

April 2

Here's another really good website for Social 10 students doing research on your WWI and WWII projects, it's called Canada at War. It's a very good website.