Showing posts with label The Cold War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cold War. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

April 30


You wrote your Unit 2 WRA I today in the Blenheim Room. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are due on Friday, May 3rd


I taught you how to structure your first paragraph of a position paper today in class. Don't forget that you have your Chapter 7 Test (on the Cold War) tomorrow. You can find the study guide for the Chapter 7 Test below. Your Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions are also due tomorrow

Don't forget that you have the Unit 2 WRA II Essay on Monday, May 6th. 

It is a multiple choice test with 70-75 multiple choice questions, but with all of the omitted questions, it will be closer to 60 questions. Please make sure that you have read Chapter 7. Here are some other study tips:


  • study "The Origins of the Cold War (ppt)"
  • study all notes on the Origins and Causes of the Cold War
  • study notes on the Korean War
  • study notes on the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • study notes on the Vietnam War (see notes package and Vietnam War booklet, and the notes that I sent to you on the Vietnam War)
  • make sure that you know all the Cold War Concepts (deterrence, detente, brinkmanship, etc.)
  • know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study the Cold War timeline)
  • know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War) plus other key events from the timeline
  • know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements)
  • know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact) and the formation of "spheres of influence" (Eastern Europe for example)
  • anything that I gave you as a handout in your Social 30-1 coursebooks is testable material and should be reviewed!!
  • know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

July 19


You wrote your Chapter 5 Test today at the beginning of class. I gave you your results at the end of class today. I went through a PowerPoint presentation on "The Origins of the Cold War". You will need to finish going through this presentation on your own time. I also would recommend that you complete the Cold War Events chart in your Social 30-1 study booklet. Completing these charts will get you to study the key events that happened in the Cold War and concepts associated with those events. I showed you a short video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Cold War Confrontation" which was about the Berlin Blockade and the Korean War. You should also read, highlight and make notes on the Korean War notes in your 30-1 study booklets. You could also start the Vietnam War Assignment today (I'll assign it in class tomorrow). 



  • Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, July 20th
  • Vietnam War Assignment is due on Thursday, July 21st
  • Unit 2 Final Exam is on Friday, July 22nd (please see the study guide below)
  • Unit 2 WRA II Essay is on Monday, July 25th
  • Chapter 10 Test is on Friday, July 24th (please see the study guide below)



The Unit 2 Final Exam is on Friday, July 22nd. It will be a 70-75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:

  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal 
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model


This test is multiple choice format, with 55 questions
Please review the PowerPoint "Political Challenges to Liberalism"

You're responsible for all key terms and questions from the Chapter 10 Worksheet. Please review the following as well: 
  • Democratic Systems (handout notes)
  • Non-Democratic Systems (handout notes)
  • Structure of Canadian Government
  • Structure of American Government
  • similarities/differences between the parliamentary system and presidential system
  • types of dictatorships
  • techniques of dictatorships
  • authoritarian systems
  • proportional representation concept
  • first past the post system
  • review political and economic spectrum (again!)

Thursday, October 29, 2015

October 29


You handed in your IA at the beginning of class today. I started a PowerPoint presentation on the "United States in the First World War", which you can find on the IB 30/35 wiki on the Emergence of the Americas page. I'll be starting Prescribed Subject 1 on Monday. Please enjoy your long weekend, you've earned it.

I gave you the results of your Chapter 5 Test today. Today was a work period, you had the period to read Chapter 7 and complete the Chapter 7 Key Terms. I will take in your Chapter 7 Key Terms on Monday. You don't have to complete your Chapter 7 Questions yet. We'll be starting the Cold War on Monday.


We started Unit 3 material today. I started a PowerPoint called "The Foundations of Economic Globalization", which I'll continue on Monday. You can find this presentation on the wiki under Unit 3 Presentations. It's probably a good idea to read Chapter 10 this weekend.

Monday, November 03, 2014

November 3


I gave you back your Unit 1 WRA I today. I didn't really talk about it in class. If you have any questions, please see me in tutorial next week. I showed you a video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Cold War Confrontation", which covered the Berlin Blockade and the Korean War. You have to read up and study the Korean War on your own. There is a PowerPoint presentation on the Social 30-1 wiki under Unit 2 that you should check out. There are also notes on the Korean War in your Social 30-1 study booklet on pages 171-177. I gave you the remainder of class time to work on your Cold War Events Notes chart that are in your 30-1 study booklets on pages 166-169. You'll get some more time to work on this tomorrow.



You wrote your French Revolution and Napoleonic Age Test today. You should get the results of this test back when I return from Montreal next week. I also gave you your assignments for the four options debate on Haiti today. You'll be doing this debate on Wednesday, November 12th.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

October 28


You wrote your Chapter 5 Test today, so you'll get the results back tomorrow. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday, November 6th. It's a lot of work, so start getting some of that work done tonight!


We finished looking at Napoleon Bonaparte today, by watching the A & E Biography "Napoleon Bonaparte: The Glory of France". I also showed you a video from the Turning Points of History series on Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Tomorrow you'll be writing a WRA I three source analysis assignment. Your Unit 5 Test is on Monday, November 3rd, please see the study guide below.




2. Other study tips:
  • know the causes of the French Revolution (short term, long term, economic, political, social, intellectual)
  • know the structure of French society during the Old Regime
  • know Napoleon's domestic policy
  • know Napoleon's foreign policy (Continental System in particular)
  • know key battles in the Napoleonic Wars (results of the Battle of Trafalgar, Russian campaign, the Battle of Leipzig, and the Battle of Waterloo)
  • know chronology of key events in the French Revolution
  • know the chronology of key events in the Napoleonic Age
  • know the key players at the Congress of Vienna (country and representatives)
  • what were the major decisions of the Congress? what were the guiding principles at the Congress of Vienna
  • know the 19th century political spectrum (please see the graphic below; values and characteristics of the various positions on the spectrum; what groups are represented on the various positions on the spectrum?; what phases/accomplishments of the French Revolution are represented on the spectrum?)
3. Study the 19th century political spectrum (click on the graphic to enlarge it)




Tuesday, March 18, 2014

March 18



Most of you wrote your Cold War Exam today, and if you did write it today, you should get the results back tomorrow. If you missed writing the exam today, you will either write it during a spare tomorrow, or during class time. We'll continue our examination of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement unit tomorrow. Please remember that your Civil Rights Movement assignment will be due on Friday, April 4th. If you missed getting this handout from me in class, please pick up a copy from the file folders at the front of the room tomorrow.



Today was the last day of the constitutional convention. Given the feedback that I've received for the last two years on the constitutional convention, we'll have to extend it to three days next year. Tomorrow, we'll have to move on to looking at the IA again. Please bring all relevant materials to class tomorrow and on Thursday for completing sections of your IA in class this week. The upcoming Spring break would be a great time to get some reading and research completed on your IA. DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!



You wrote your Unit 1 WRA II Essay today in class. You had the entire period to complete it. Please remember that your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. We are obviously moving on to Unit 2 material tomorrow.

Monday, March 10, 2014

March 10


Most of today's class was spent writing a WRA I three source analysis on the early stages of the Cold War.

I split you into two teams for our upcoming debate on the following topic: "Be it resolved that globalization harms the world's cultures." For part of the period you were able to read an article that supported your side of the debate's position, and then you were given a reading that covered the opposing side's perspective. We will have this debate on Thursday. Please remember that you'll be writing your Unit 1 Final Exam tomorrow, please see the study guide below.



Unit 1 Final Exam will be Tuesday, March 11th. The format for the exam is entirely multiple choice.For this multiple choice test, 60-65% of the questions will be "source-based" questions, while the remainder will be simply knowledge and comprehension style questions. In other words, the source-based questions will use political cartoons, timelines, a chart or diagram, a graph, a reading, a photo or a map, and you will have answer questions related to that source. The source-based questions will be difficult to prepare for. You must have a firm grasp of the concepts and key terms that were introduced in Unit 1, because that will allow you to apply the knowledge that you have to answer the multiple choice questions.

Please study your key terms from Chapters 1-5, and the topics covered in that unit.

1. Key Terms/Key Concepts in Unit 1:
  • globalization
  • pluralistic society
  • transnationals
  • society
  • “the global village”
  • United Nations
  • G-8
  • La Francophonie
  • NATO
  • individual identity
  • collective identity
  • traditions
  • minority group
  • official bilingualism
  • universalization of pop culture
  • hybridization
  • media transnationals
  • media consolidation
  • CBC/SRC
  • Official Languages Act
  • CRTC
  • Canadian Content (CanCon)
  • homogenization
  • monoculture
  • assimilation
  • marginalization
  • accommodation
  • secularism
  • integration
  • cosmopolitan
  • acculturation
  • cultural revitalization
  • Charter of Rights and Freedoms



I gave you back some of your marked assignments, before I showed you some more of the movie "The Patriot".

Friday, March 07, 2014

March 7



We watched a video from the CNN Cold War series "Soldiers of God" which focused on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, I hope that you took copious notes. I also gave you a handout to remind you how to write a Social 30-1 WRA I. Please remember that you're writing a WRA I on Monday.



You wrote your Unit 1 WRA I today, which took the entire class period. Please remember that you'll be writing your Unit 1 Final Exam on Tuesday, please see the study guide below.


Unit 1 Final Exam will be Tuesday, March 11th. The format for the exam is entirely multiple choice.For this multiple choice test, 60-65% of the questions will be "source-based" questions, while the remainder will be simply knowledge and comprehension style questions. In other words, the source-based questions will use political cartoons, timelines, a chart or diagram, a graph, a reading, a photo or a map, and you will have answer questions related to that source. The source-based questions will be difficult to prepare for. You must have a firm grasp of the concepts and key terms that were introduced in Unit 1, because that will allow you to apply the knowledge that you have to answer the multiple choice questions.

Please study your key terms from Chapters 1-5, and the topics covered in that unit.

1. Key Terms/Key Concepts in Unit 1:
  • globalization
  • pluralistic society
  • transnationals
  • society
  • “the global village”
  • United Nations
  • G-8
  • La Francophonie
  • NATO
  • individual identity
  • collective identity
  • traditions
  • minority group
  • official bilingualism
  • universalization of pop culture
  • hybridization
  • media transnationals
  • media consolidation
  • CBC/SRC
  • Official Languages Act
  • CRTC
  • Canadian Content (CanCon)
  • homogenization
  • monoculture
  • assimilation
  • marginalization
  • accommodation
  • secularism
  • integration
  • cosmopolitan
  • acculturation
  • cultural revitalization
  • Charter of Rights and Freedoms



You wrote a current events quiz today, and then we continued to watch "The Patriot". We'll finish this film on Monday.

Monday, February 24, 2014

February 24

You wrote a short quiz on the Cold War at the beginning of class. I gave you a Cold War key events timeline, a handout on the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War Assignment. The Vietnam War Assignment is due one week from today (Monday, March 3rd). I started showing you another video from the CNN Cold War series, this one specifically on Vietnam (1954-1968). TOK group presentations begin tomorrow.
  1. Study your Chapter 1 and 2 Key Terms
  2. Review the case studies from the textbook in Chapters 1 and 2, specifically the Metis, the Francophones, the Hmong, and the Maori
  3. Be prepared to answer any of the "Questions for Inquiry" from Chapters 1 and 2 (they are on the following pages: p.9, p.14, p.20, p.29, p.35, p.39):
  • How does globalization affect economic aspects of people's lives?
  • How does globalization affect social aspects of people's lives?
  • How does globalization affect political aspects of people's lives?
  • What is the difference between individual and collective identity?
  • What is the relationship between identity and language?
  • How does cultural exchange shape people's identities?
      4. Make sure that you can answer the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for these
          chapters.

Format for the test is a word ladder section and short answer questions.



I showed you a video from the United States History series called "The Era of Colonization (1585-1763)". I also dropped some serious hints about Thirteen Colonies geography. You'll have class time tomorrow to do some research for your Thirteen Colonies presentation. We'll be doing these Thirteen Colonies presentations on Thursday and Friday this week. We'll also be doing a current events quiz on Friday, you better start adding events to the wiki, or else I will get "creative". Please remember that your "Seeds of Change" assignment on your assigned Enlightenment thinker is due on Thursday, February 27th. This assignment could take many different forms, such as trading cards, magazine cover stories, Prezis, infographics, just show me how creative you are! Just make sure that you present the information in a concise, fun, informative way, and that your project meets all of the requirements, which are as follows:
  • Biographical Information (3 marks)
  • Area(s) of Work (what fields did they work in?) (2 marks)
  • Ideas Introduced (2 marks)
  • Aspect of medieval society that they challenged (2 marks)
  • Were they influential in their own time? (5 marks)
  • What were their contributions to modern society? (3 marks)
  • Mechanics, spelling, grammar, and list of sources cited using a recognized citation system (either APA, MLA, or Chicago) (3 marks)
This assignment ("Seeds of Change") is due on Thursday, February 27th.

This is a matching quiz, and it is on Wednesday, February 26th. Please make sure that you focus your review on the following Enlightenment thinkers:
  • John Locke
  • Montesquieu
  • Rousseau
  • Adam Smith
  • Francois Quesnay
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • Voltaire
Please make sure that you know their views on the nature of human beings, quotes attributed to them, their main ideas/key beliefs, and their major works (what books, articles they wrote).

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April 30


We focused on Paper 2 today. We looked at a Topic 1 essay question, which focused in on the short-term and long-term results of the First World War, and a Topic 5 essay on the Cold War. With the Topic 1 essay you were to write the introductory paragraph and outline your subsequent arguments and evidence. With the Topic 5 essay you were given a sample and were asked to read it and evaluate it using the Paper 2 markbands. I also had you outline the essay. We have an optional class on Tuesday, May 7th, where we'll look at the Paper 3.

I gave you a list of upcoming important dates at the beginning of class that I'll post here on the blog as well. You had the entire class period to read Chapter 7 and complete the key terms and questions. The Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. The Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Tuesday, May 7th.

  • Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Wednesday, May 1st
  • Unit 2 WRA I is on Thursday, May 2nd
  • Unit 2 Research Project is due on Monday, May 6th
  • Chapter 7-8 Test is on Monday, May 6th (please see the study guide below)
  • Unit 2 WRA II Essay is on Tuesday, May 7th
  • Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, May 13th



This test is on Monday, May 6th. It will consist of 20-24 key terms in a matching section, and 3 short answer questions. Please study the following PowerPoint presentations:

Please study the following notes packages/film study packages:

  • 36 Questions About The Holocaust
  • Turning Points in History: The Atomic Bomb (film notes)
  • White Light/Black Rain (film notes)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil (film notes + package)
  • Unit 2 Worksheet (chapter questions for Chapter 7 and 8)
  • make sure that you have read Chapters 7 and 8!

1. Please study the following key concepts/key people/key events:
  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity
  • war crimes
  • the Holocaust
  • ethnic cleansing
  • lebensraum
  • Weimar Republic
  • Final Solution
  • decolonization
  • successor state
  • self-determination
  • Wansee Conference
  • Nuremberg Trials
  • Mahatma Gandhi
  • Jawaharlal Nehru
  • Mohammed Ali Jinnah
  • home rule
  • Hutu
  • Tutsi
  • Romeo Dallaire
  • Manhattan Project
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • Robert Oppenheimer
  • FDR
  • Harry Truman
  • Potsdam Conference
  • Slobodan Milosevic

2. You should be able to answer any of the questions from the Unit 2 worksheet from Chapter 7 and 8.
We also watched a video from BBC World called "10 Questions About Democracy" (here is a link to the companion website if you'd like to here what people had to say again). You are responsible for finishing the entire film study that went along with this video for tomorrow's class (I'll be doing a homework check on it, and in all likelihood, we'll be able to discuss some of the questions in the video). You have another homework assignment tonight: please go to the following website-Political Compass, complete the political survey (from the left-hand navigation menu, click on "Take the test"), print off where you fall in the economic-political grid and bring it to class tomorrow. We'll be able to talk about this tomorrow. Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Thursday, May 2nd, please check out the study guide here (scroll down to find it). I also gave back the results of your Chapter 7 Test as well today. Please check your e-mail today because I will be sending you a copy of the "10 Questions About Democracy" video study and I will also be sending you a handout that looks at positive and negative freedoms (I'm trying to clear up some confusion about this concept; this relates to material in Chapter 8).

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

April 23


I finished off the PowerPoint presentation on Ronald Reagan in class today, then we went down to Room 121 to watch an HBO documentary on Reagan.

We finished watching "Shake Hands with the Devil" today. Please remember that the film study questions are due tomorrow. Your Unit 2 Research Project is due on April 30th, one week from today.
We started tying up some loose ends with the Cold War today. We look at bilateral and multilateral disarmament agreements and treaties, and we also talked about key features of the post-Cold War world. I sent you some notes as well today, so please check your e-mail. Please remember that your Chapter 7 Cold War Exam is on Monday, April 29th. You can find the study guide for this exam below. Please also remember that your Unit 2 Final Exam is on Thursday, May 2nd; you can find the study guide for this exam below as well.

It is a multiple choice test with 70-75 multiple choice questions. Please make sure that you have read Chapter 7. Here are some other study tips:
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War (ppt)"
  • study all notes on the Origins and Causes of the Cold War
  • study notes on the Korean War
  • study notes on the Cuban Missile Crisis
  • study notes on the Vietnam War (see notes package and Vietnam War booklet, and the notes that I sent to you on the Vietnam War)
  • make sure that you know all the Cold War Concepts
  • know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study the Cold War timeline and the Vietnam War timeline, and the end of the Cold War timeline that I will be giving you in subsequent class)
  • know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War) plus other key events from the timeline
  • know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements), please study the notes that I will give you next week on this topic.
  • know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact) and the formation of "spheres of influence"
  • anything that I gave you as a handout is testable material and should be reviewed!!
  • know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences

The Unit 2 Final Exam is on Thursday, May 2nd. It will be a 70-75 multiple choice question test. In your textbook, this is material from Chapters 3-8. Please look at the studying hints below:

  • study "The Development of Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "Responding to Classical Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Techniques of Dictatorship" (ppt)
  • study "20th Century Rejections of Modern Liberalism" (ppt)
  • study "The Origins of the Cold War" (ppt)
  • study the key concepts from the Chapters 3-8 worksheets
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal 
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • techniques of dictatorships (USSR and Nazi Germany case studies)
  • modern liberalism
  • features of the Nazi state
  • Hitler's rise to power
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR)
  • do a brief review of the political spectrum and economic spectrum and the quadrant model

Friday, March 15, 2013

March 15

We finished off the CNN Cold War series today. The episode was called "Conclusions" and it covered the fall of communism and implications for the future. As you saw in the video, communism ended with a whimper, not a bang in most Eastern European countries and the USSR. In Romania there was a popular uprising with about 1,000 people being killed, but in other Eastern bloc countries in the transition away from communism was mostly peaceful. Towards the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was experiencing economic hardship due in part to military spending, which led Gorbachev to enter into arms reduction talks more readily. Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost had the effect of helping change occur more rapidly in the USSR. Unfortunately for Gorbachev and the CPSU, there was no way to control the changes to Soviet society and its citizens that occurred as a result of the introduction of these reform measures. On Monday, many of you will be attending a play in the school's theatre as part of your English IB class. Certificate students from Mr. Johnson's class and ours will meet in Room 111 for some fun and games. Please remember that you have your Cold War Unit Exam on Wednesday, March 20th. Please see the study guide for this exam below.  
  • make sure that you know all the Cold War concepts
    • deterrence
    • disarmament
    • isolationism
    • appeasement
    • collective security
    • direct confrontation
    • brinkmanship
    • containment
    • detente
    • collective intervention
    Be able to define the following key concepts:
    • superpower
    • sphere of influence
    • arms race
    • Suez Canal War 1956
    • brinkmanship
    • Korean War
    • Cold War
    • decolonization
    • Cuban Missile Crisis
    • detente
    • NATO
    • collective security
  • know the chronology of events of the Cold War (study the Cold War timelines. Please check under Social 30-1 Links on the blog for links to the Cold War timelines)
  • know key events that we've emphasized in class (for example: Berlin Airlift, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War, Afghanistan) plus other key events from the timeline
  • know major arms reduction agreements (bilateral agreements and multilateral agreements), please study the notes that I gave you on this (detailed notes and the chart)
  • know about the formation of alliances (NATO, Warsaw Pact, SEATO, etc.) and the formation of "spheres of influence"
  • know examples of American intervention in their "backyard" (Western Hemisphere, notes package plus notes from the CNN video useful here)
  • anything that I gave you as a handout is testable material and should be reviewed!!
  • know how the Cold War ends and its results/consequences

We reviewed private enterprise and supply side economics today, as well as the basic economic values associated with the economic systems. We will be starting to look at the command economy on Monday, so it will be helpful to review the Russian history notes that I am sending to you. We'll be using the USSR as our case study of a communist state that employed a centrally planned economy. Please remember that you have your Market and Mixed Economy Test on Wednesday, March 20th. Please see the study guide below.
  • Chapters 3-4 and Chapter 6 in Perspectives on Ideology
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada)
  • nationalization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (handout)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (handout)
Make sure that you review the following PowerPoint presentations:
  • "The Development of Classical Liberalism"
  • "Responding to Classical Liberalism"
  • "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism"
We focused on the post-WWI desire of the Allied Powers to make Germany pay. We watched a video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Make Germany Pay". As you watched this video you were to take notes on it on the worksheet that was provided. Next week we'll look at the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis again and look at the appeasement of Hitler by Western powers. On Wednesday, March 20th you will be writing a Unit 2 WRA I assignment. You will not be allowed to have any reference materials or notes on how to write these assignments out in front of you, so you should memorize how to write these types of assignments prior to Wednesday.

Saturday, March 09, 2013

March 8

We continued our examination of the Cold War by watching a video from the CNN Cold War series called "Soldiers of God" which deals with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. As you watched this video you were to take notes on it. If you missed class today you need to get these notes from a classmate. If you're a Diploma student you need to work on your TOK Essay this weekend. Use the resources on the wiki to help you write this essay. The TOK Essay must be submitted to the IB website by March 12th.
You watched a couple of videos from the TV news magazine show 60 Minutes. One video was called "Dutch Treat" (Netherlands case study) and "Welfare a la Carte" (Norway case study). As you watched these videos you were to take notes on them. For the remainder of class time you given time to work on your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions. These key terms and questions are due on Monday. Please study for your Ideological Reaction to Industrialization Test, which is on Thursday, March 14th. Please use the study guide below.
This test is multiple choice format. This test is on Thursday, March 14th.

1. Please review material from these PowerPoint presentations:
  • "The Development of Classical Liberalism"
  • "Responding to Classical Liberalism"

2. Be familiar with key concepts introduced in Chapters 3 and 4.
3. The Industrial Revolution:
  • understand fundamental economic, social and political changes that were caused by the Industrial Revolution
  • understand the connection between the Agricultural Revolution and the Enclosure Acts and the Industrial Revolution
  • understand the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the cottage system and the factory system
4. Review material in the "Philosophies of Industrialism" booklet
5. Key beliefs of the various ideologies (review the spectrums briefly); also review this material from the "Responding to Classical Liberalism" PowerPoint presentation:
  • Adam Smith
  • laissez faire economics/capitalism (key ideas)
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Karl Marx (key ideas and beliefs associated with Marx, Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto, withering away of the state, dictatorship of the proletariat, view of history, etc. ) and Friedrich Engels (see "Philosophies of Industrialism" booklet)
  • Edmund Burke and classical conservatism
6. Some questions may require you to make connections between this year's material and what you learned in 10-1 and 20-1 as well

We completed a fictitious World War I peace conference to try and resolve the tensions that we see after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Your Chapter 5 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

March 7

Most of today's class was spent writing your Unit 1 Final Exam. You will get the results back tomorrow. Please make sure that you read the "Causes of World War I" booklet before tomorrow's class. Read it, highlight it, and make notes/annotations to yourself on the booklet.
You wrote an in-class analysis of a political cartoon in class today. Your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday. You had about half of today's class time to work on this assignment. Please remember that your Ideological Reaction to Industrialization Test is one week from today (Thursday, March 14th). Please see the study guide below.
This test is multiple choice format. This test is on Thursday, March 14th.

1. Please review material from these PowerPoint presentations:
  • "The Development of Classical Liberalism"
  • "Responding to Classical Liberalism"

2. Be familiar with key concepts introduced in Chapters 3 and 4.
3. The Industrial Revolution:
  • understand fundamental economic, social and political changes that were caused by the Industrial Revolution
  • understand the connection between the Agricultural Revolution and the Enclosure Acts and the Industrial Revolution
  • understand the differences, advantages and disadvantages of the cottage system and the factory system
4. Review material in the "Philosophies of Industrialism" booklet
5. Key beliefs of the various ideologies (review the spectrums briefly); also review this material from the "Responding to Classical Liberalism" PowerPoint presentation:
  • Adam Smith
  • laissez faire economics/capitalism (key ideas)
  • John Stuart Mill
  • Karl Marx (key ideas and beliefs associated with Marx, Das Kapital, The Communist Manifesto, withering away of the state, dictatorship of the proletariat, view of history, etc. ) and Friedrich Engels (see "Philosophies of Industrialism" booklet)
  • Edmund Burke and classical conservatism
6. Some questions may require you to make connections between this year's material and what you learned in 10-1 and 20-1 as well
We met in Room 121 for a change today. We watched another video from the CNN Cold War series, today's episode was called "Backyard" and dealt with American interventionism in Latin America throughout the Cold War. There were a lot of notes on this video, so if you missed class today, please get these notes from a classmate. We also went over how to write a Written Response Assignment I (WRA I), sometimes called a three source analysis assignment. You will be writing a WRA I in class on Monday covering a topic related to the Cold War. If you missed class today please get the handout that you missed. Tomorrow we'll be looking at Soviet Union's version of the Vietnam War, namely their intervention in Afghanistan and how the Americans worked against Soviet interests in the region by supplying the Mujahideen forces in Afghanistan through back channels.

Monday, March 04, 2013

March 4

I returned your Paper 2 on Topic 5: The Cold War, which focused on the origins of the Cold War. Many of you wrote quite well, and included historiography on the origins from the Orthodox, revisionist and post-revisionist schools. We got back to looking at the Vietnam War by watching and excerpt from "Born on the Fourth of July".
I returned your Unit 1 WRA II Essays today. Please see me in tutorial if you'd like to discuss your essays. We then watched a couple of videos from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Boom and Bust" and "FDR and the New Deal". You were to complete the film study sheet that went along with "Boom and Bust", and you were to take your notes on "FDR and the New Deal". Please check your e-mail tonight for a very important booklet on monetary and fiscal policy. I will go over the contents of this booklet with you on Wednesday.
We continued to examine "The Causes of World War I" today. I will send this PowerPoint presentation to you this afternoon. We also watched a video from the CBS video series on World War I called "Doomed Dynasties". Please see the study guide for your Chapter 3-4 Test here, and the study guide for the Unit 1 Final Exam here. The Chapter 3-4 Test is on Wednesday, and the Unit 1 Final Exam is on Thursday. Please check your e-mail accounts for the WWI as a Bar Fight document and the PowerPoint presentation.

I mentioned this in class, so I thought that I would share 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 Canadian 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.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

February 21

You wrote your Chapter 1-2 Test today, which took the entire period. Please remember that your French Revolution DBA assignment is due on Wednesday, February 27th.
I finished off the PowerPoint presentation called "The Development of Classical Liberalism", which I will send out this evening. The remainder of class time was spent working on the Chapter 3 Questions, which are due tomorrow. I did a homework check on your Chapter 3 Key Terms at the beginning of class.
You wrote a quiz on the Cold War at the start of class. We finished watching the CNN Cold War series episode on Cuba (1959-1962) today. You will be writing a Paper 2 tomorrow on the origins of the Cold War.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

February 19

We covered a lot of ground today! I did a homework check on your Cold War historiography assignment today. I finished off the PowerPoint presentation on the Truman Administration and then moved into the Eisenhower Administration. We looked at a video from the Turning Points of History series called "Crisis in Korea". I gave you a handout on the Korean War and I highly recommend that you print off the Korean War Notes from the IB 30/35 wiki (you can find it under the Topic 5: The Cold War section of the wiki). We started the A & E Biography on Fidel Castro today, which we will finish tomorrow as a lead in to the Cuban Missile Crisis. You have a Paper 2 on Friday on the origins of the Cold War.
You wrote your World Geography Test today, and you'll get the results of this test tomorrow. We finished off "The Napoleonic Age" PowerPoint presentation. I will send this presentation out to you tomorrow. Please remember to study for your Chapter 1-2 Test, please see the study guide here.
You wrote your Unit 1 WRA II Essay today which took the entire period. Tomorrow we will be starting Unit 2 material. make sure to hand in "Sick Around the World" tomorrow in class.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

February 13

You wrote your Unit 1 Final Exam today. You will be writing your Unit 1 WRA II Essay on Tuesday. Also due on Tuesday is the film study booklet from the PBS Frontline "Sick Around the World".
You watched an A & E Biography on Napoleon Bonaparte and then I started a PowerPoint presentation on "The Napoleonic Age" as well. I'll finish that lecture next week. On Tuesday you have your World Geography Test on Tuesday, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). On Thursday, February 21st you have your Chapter 1-2 Test, please see the study guide below.
This test is on February 21st. The test has a matching section and a short answer section.
  • Make sure that you have read both Chapter 1-2 from your textbook Exploring Nationalism
  • Study Chapter 1-2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study your answers to the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet for Chapter 1-2
  • Study the presentations: "Nation and Identity" (Chapter 1 material + supplementary material), "Shaping Nationalism: The French Revolution" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material), and "The Napoleonic Age" (Chapter 2 material + supplementary material)
You had a cartoon analysis assignment at the beginning of class today. We then started looking at the Truman Administration, and we'll finish this next week. It will be a good introduction to the Korean War. Your answers to the historiography of the Cold War PDF article is due on Tuesday. On Friday of next week your will have a Paper 2 on the origins of the Cold War, make sure that you're prepared.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

February 12

If you didn't go to the WWII Behind Closed Doors website last night, please go to yesterday's post or the wiki to see what needs to be done. We watched a video from the BBC 20th Century History series called "Cold War Confrontations" which looked briefly at some early conflicts in the Cold War such as the Berlin Blockade and the Korean War. I also went through a PowerPoint presentation on the United Nations. This PowerPoint is already on the wiki. You have homework due on Tuesday, February 19th, so make sure that you answer the questions from the PDF file that I showed you on the wiki under Topic 5: The Cold War.
We finished watching the History Channel's "The French Revolution" video today. Next Tuesday, you have the World Geography Test, please see the study guide below. Below is a timeline that I made a few years ago, use this and your notes to complete the French Revolution timeline. If you go to the Timetoast website directly you can view the timeline in a chart format. Your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow (February 13th).


This test will take place on Tuesday, February 19th. It is simply a country identification test. You will be given a world map with certain countries identified and you need to be able to write out what country it is. Here are the countries that may appear on the test:


  • any of the EU countries (there are 27 countries in the EU, a map of the EU is in your textbook on page 265)
  • any of the NATO countries (there's some overlap here with the EU, but not all EU countries are members of NATO)
  • any of the G8 countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom
  • full members of MERCOSUR: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and other associate members or countries that are achieving membership in MERCOSUR, such as: Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
  • to ask you to know ALL of the countries in the African Union would be cruel, so we'll focus on countries that came up last year or will likely be in the news this year: Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe
  • other very important countries that will be in the news this year, or that we'll be talking about, or get mentioned in your textbook: Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Serbia, Georgia, China, India, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel
  • **BIG HINT: if a country is a member of a few of these international organizations then there's a STRONG possibility that they will be on the test!!**


You wrote your Chapter 1-2 Test today. Please remember that you are writing your Unit 1 Final Exam tomorrow (please see the study guide below). Don't take this unit final exam lightly since it tests higher order thinking skills, and not simply knowledge and recall. Approximately 60% of the test will include sources, which reflects the blueprint for Part B of the Diploma Exam. You will be writing your Unit 1 WRA II Essay next Tuesday, February 19th. You will get the essay question sheet tomorrow.

Monday, February 11, 2013

February 11

We started looking at the "Origins of the Cold War" today. The PowerPoint lecture that I went through today is on the IB 30/35 wiki under The Cold War section. I also gave you a booklet on WWII Conferences and Agreements that you need to study. We'll be looking at some historiography on the start of the Cold War in the coming days. I would like you to go to the World War II Behind Closed Doors website tonight, and read the sections on the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference. This is an excellent site, with tons of information, maps, video clips, timelines and archival footage and re-enactments as well. You do need to really make sure that you understand the Yalta Agreements and the Potsdam Declaration (among other things) and this is a great site to do this. Episode 3 is the one that contains most of the information that you would need to read and watch. There's a great little video clip on this website called "Stalin's Distrust of the West" that might help you see WWII from the Soviet perspective and why the Soviets might wish to extend control over Eastern Europe and be so distrustful of their wartime allies. You can find this video clip in Episode 3 (Dividing the World), scroll down and click on the video clip on the right called "Stalin's Distrust of the West". It's a short little clip, but you'll get the idea. We'll continue our look at the Cold War tomorrow.


I did a quick homework check on the Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions today. We finished watching "Sicko" today. I gave you a booklet today that is to be used with the PBS Frontline documentary "Sick Around the World" (you may have to go the PBS website to watch the entire video). Please see the link to the video below. The questions on the front page of the booklet as well as the retrieval chart on page 2 are due on Tuesday, February 19th.


Watch Sick Around the World on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.


The Chapter 1-2 Test is on Tuesday, February 12th. It is a mixed format test, it will have a matching section and a short answer section. Here is what you should review/study for this test:
  • Chapter 1 and 2 Key Terms/Concepts and the Supplementary Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • be able to answer any of the questions from the Unit 1 Worksheet (hopefully you have quality answers to study from!)
  • you must know the 19th century political spectrum and the 20th century political spectrum
  • know similarities and differences between communism and fascism
  • be able to label political and economic spectrums and the values associated with these ideologies
  • be able to label the political-economic grid and know examples of the ideologies in the quadrants (study the Ideology Notes and the notes I gave you in class)
  • know the differences between individualism and collectivism, be able to apply your understanding of these concepts
  • know the key ideas associated with Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau (for example, view of the nature of human beings, etc.)

The Unit 1 Final is a 55 question multiple choice test. It will be written on Wednesday, February 13th. Make sure that you study the following:
  • Chapter 1 and 2 Key Terms from the Unit 1 Worksheet
  • Study the Ideology Notes (Black Gold School District PDF file)
  • Study the 19th Century Political Spectrum
  • Study the 20th Century Political spectrum
  • Study the political-economic grid
  • Know the values and ideas associated with the various ideologies (on the 19th century and 20th century spectrums)
  • Study the Individualism and Collectivism booklet
We finished the PowerPoint presentation on "The French Revolution" and I will be sending this presentation to you today. We started watching the History Channel video on the French Revolution, which we will continue tomorrow.  I returned your Chapter 1 Key Terms and Questions. Your Chapter 2 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Wednesday. Please check your e-mail for the more information on the French Revolution.