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.

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

February 28

Social 33

We talked about the "techniques of dictatorship" in class, and then we watched a video called "The Wave" and tried to find instances of the techniques of dictatorship that were used.

Social 10

I gave you time to work on some assigned reading from Canada Today on Western Alienation. This has been assigned as a homework assignment. If you didn't finish this in class, you were to borrow a photocopied version of the reading and finish it at home. Please remember that your brochure assignment is due tomorrow.

If you can't find the author of the website, here's how you cite it:
Title. (Date). Retrieved September xx, 2006 from the Internet: website URL.

You would use the same format for images. This is all in the student handbook.

February 27 Searching the Blog

Searching the Blog

I've been blogging as part of my teaching practice for about 3 years now. There's a lot of information contained on this blog. I have well over 400 posts, and several thousand comments. If you're every looking for something in particular that we talked about in class, or you're looking for a study guide, why not search the blog? Here's how you do it (click on the images below to see a larger version):

Does this map help?

February 27

Social 10

I showed you a couple of videos from the CBC News in Review series, the first one was a retrospective of the 1970 October Crisis, and the other was on the 1995 Quebec Referendum. I then gave you the remainder of the period to work on gathering information for your French-English Relations Timeline assignment. I also collected your Regionalism booklets.

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• Regional Brochure is due Thursday, March 1st
• French-English Relations Quiz is on Friday, March 2nd
• Regionalism Unit Final is on Monday, March 5th
• French-English Relations Timeline Assignment is due on Tuesday, March 6th
  

Social 33

We finished off one of our last concepts in democratic systems, that being proportional representation. We also started dictatorial systems in dramatic fashion. If you missed today's class, you missed out. I gave you some "Notes on Dictatorships" and some other handouts on "techniques of dictatorships". We'll be talking about the techniques of dictatorships in subsequent classes.

Democracy Unit Final Study Guide

1. Key Concepts/Key People/Key Terms:

• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• political spectrum
• radicals
• moderates
• liberals
• conservatives
• reactionaries
• absolute monarchy
• dictatorship
• democracy
• fascism
• communism
• anarchy
• rule by many
• rule by few/elites
• direct democracy
• representative democracy
• first past the post
• proportional representation
• universal suffrage
• majority rule
• minority rights
• Canadian Constitution
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• political parties
• media
• interest groups

2. Advantages/Disadvantages of Direct Democracy (ppt)

3. Advantages/Disadvantages of Representative Democracy (ppt)

4. Techniques/Characteristics of a Democracy (ppt)

5. Canadian Political System:(handouts)

• executive, legislative, judicial branches of government (roles)
• Prime Minister and Cabinet (which branch? what roles/responsibilities do they have?)
• Leader of the Official Opposition (roles/responsibilities)
• the Queen and the Governor General (roles/responsibilities)
• MPs in the House of Commons (roles/responsibilities)
• the House of Commons and the Senate (which is elected? which is appointed? what is the purpose of the Senate? which branch do they belong to?)

6. American Political System:(handouts)

• executive, legislative, judicial branches of government (roles)
• checks and balances in the U.S. system of government
• separation of powers
• President and Cabinet (which branch? what roles/responsibilities do they have?)
• the House of Representatives/Congressmen (roles/responsibilities)
• the Senate/Senators (roles/responsibilities)
• different terms in office, voting methods for President (4 yrs), House of Representatives (2 yrs), and the Senate (6 yrs) --WHY?

7. Political Spectrum (know it VERY well), print off Ideology notes from the blog (check under Social 33 links)

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 33 Students:

• Democracy Unit Final is on Tuesday, March 6th
  
  

February 26

Social 33

We went over the chart from the reading called Canadian and American government at the beginning of class. Next, I gave you a series of readings: one entitled "the Presidential System", another that compared parliamentary democracies to presidential systems, and finally I gave you a reading on political parties, interest groups, and the media. I would like you to answer the following questions based on that last reading:

1. What is the purpose of political parties, interest groups, and the media in democracies?
2. What is the ultimate goal for each of the previously mentioned groups?

You will write your Democracy Final next Tuesday, so I will post a study guide for that test tomorrow.

Social 10

I delivered a presentation on "Plagiarism" at the start of class. I will be sending this presentation to you today, so please check your inboxes. When citing your sources for this project, and any other Social Studies assignment or project that you will do for me this year, please use the following citation format. The actual format guide is on pages 22-25 of this PDF document. It is recommended that you make a copy of this guide as this the accepted format for citing sources that I will use this year. I then distributed the next assignment in Social 10 which is the French-English Relations Timeline Assignment. I gave you the remainder of the period to work of information collection for the timeline from the Canada Today textbook. You can find helpful information in Canada: A Nation Unfolding as well, so it's not a bad idea to investigate that resource as well. Please feel free to go to outside sources for this project, please just remember to cite your sources properly. You will have a quiz on French-English Relations this Friday, here is the study guide:

French-English Relations Quiz Study Guide:

• Quiz format: Fill in the Blank Study the "History of French-English Relations" (ppt) that I have sent to you
• Know the key events, key pieces of legislation, key concepts (terms), key people in the history of French-English Relations in Canadian History (know those French names!)

You will also have your Regionalism Unit Final next Monday, March 5th. Here is the study guide:

Regionalism Unit Final Study Guide:

1. Regions of Canada (review your notes/worksheets and the PowerPoint presentation)

• physiographic regions
• climatic regions
• physiographic regions (chart)
• basic Canadian geography (provinces, territories, capitals, rivers and bodies of water)

2. Regionalism (review your notes/worksheets and the PowerPoint presentation)

• what is regionalism?
• causes of regionalism in Canada
  

3. Regional Disparity (same as above)

• what is regional disparity?
• what causes regional disparity?
• "have" and "have not" provinces
• what does the government do to ease regional disparity?
• shared-cost programs
• personal transfers
• equalization payments
• indicators/signposts of regional disparity
• know the key concepts!!

4. French-English Relations (review notes from the timeline assignment and the PowerPoint)

• Treaty of Paris (1763)
• Quebec Act
• Constitutional Act
• Act of Union
• Confederation
• Riel Rebellions
• WWI Conscription Crisis
• Quiet Revolution (1960-66)- Jean Lesage
• FLQ Crisis (1970)
• Parti Quebecois-Rene Levesque
• 1980 Referendum
• Meech Lake Accord
• Charlottetown Accord-referendum
• know the key concepts!!

5. Western Alienation (we'll be covering this topic later this week)

• Causes of Western alienation (root causes)
• Development of Western alienation (Great Depression)
• formation of regional political parties (UFA, Social Credit, CCF/NDP, Reform, etc.)
• regional political party ideas/objectives
  

Upcoming Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• Regionalism booklet is due tomorrow at the beginning of class
• Regional Brochure is due Thursday, March 1st
• French-English Relations Quiz is on Friday, March 2nd
• Regionalism Unit Final is on Monday, March 5th
• French-English Relations Timeline Assignment is due on Tuesday, March 6th

February 23

Printing PowerPoint Presentations

When I send you presentations, here is what I recommend that you do: keep an electronic copy of the presentation, preferably in an appropriately named folder. Next you'll need to print it off. I recommend that you print off 4 slides per page. Here's how you do it. Open the presentation up in PowerPoint, then go under File and select Print. Then set things up like the picture below:

Social 33

You wrote your Democracy Quiz today in class. Then we watched an episode of the Simpsons where Krusty runs for Congress. Please make sure that you have that chart completed in that Canadian and American Government comparison for Monday.

Social 10

I delivered a presentation today for most of the period called "A History of French-English Relations" which I will be sending to you today. Please print it off and add to your notes. This is your only weekend that you will have to work on your Regional Brochure assignment. Your Regionalism booklet will be collected on Tuesday.

February 22

Social 10

For almost the entire period you had time to do some research for your Regional Brochure assignment. This is the first and only class time that you will receive to do research for this project.
The following is not meant to be an exhaustive list of websites, however it may be useful to examine them as a starting point in your research.
Canadian Landscapes Photo Collection (click on "Search by Physiographic Region")
Canadian Tourism Commission Photo Gallery
Images of Canada from VIA Rail (select a photo album to view)
The Parliament of Canada Photo Gallery (only useful for St. Lawrence Lowlands region)
Statistics Canada: Thematic Maps (may be useful)
Canada Infolink (lots of information, useful images)
Get2KnowCanada (looks pretty useful)

Whenever you do Internet based research, please keep in mind the following: anyone can post information on the Internet. Just because it's on the Internet does NOT mean that true. Approach any website with a healthy dose of skepticism. With any new piece of information that you encounter online always consider the following:

• Who is the source?
• What am I getting?
• When was it created?
• Where am I?
• Why am I there?
• How can I distinguish quality information from junk?

For more information on this topic you are STRONGLY encouraged to read the information at the following hyperlink: Media Awareness.When citing your sources for this project, and any other Social Studies assignment or project that you will do for me this year, please use the following citation format. The actual format guide is on pages 22-25 of this PDF document. It is recommended that you make a copy of this guide as this the accepted format for citing sources that I will use this year.

Social 33

I did a homework check on the remainder of the Chapter 4 booklet questions on American government at the beginning of class. We then broke into groups to brainstorm similarities and differences between the American and Canadian political systems. As a class we shared our answers. I gave you a reading Canadian and American government, I would like you to complete the chart for homework tonight. We will go over the answers tomorrow in class. I then showed you a video from the CBC News in Review series on the 2000 U.S. elections. Here's a very useful hyperlink to a website that will help you understand American government and politics even more, it's called Ben's Guide to U.S. Government. If you have time check it out. Here is the hyperlink to the study guide for tomorrow's Democracy Quiz.

February 21

Social 33

We did some "housekeeping" at the beginning of the class (homework checks). Next, I gave you a diagram of the seating plan of the House of Commons. I then gave you a handout on the structure of the American government, which you were to take notes on as I was lecturing. For homework tonight you are to complete the Chapter 4 booklet on the American government. I will be checking this tomorrow in class, please make sure that it's finished. I will be giving you a Democracy Quiz on Friday. Here's the study guide:

Democracy Quiz Study Guide:

Quiz format:

1. True/False Section
2. Matching Section
3. Short Answer Section
4. Definitions Section

Quiz topics:

1. Political Spectrum (know the beliefs and values of the following, and where they 'fit' on the spectrum):

• radical
• reactionary
• conservative
• socialism
• liberals
• communism
• conservatism
• NDP

2. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government-what do they do?

3. Advantages/Disadvantages of Direct Democracy (from ppt on Democracy)

4. Advantages/Disadvantages of Representative Democracy (from ppt)

5. Key Terms:

• democracy
• periodic elections
• independent courts
• free press
• representation by population
• referendum
  
  
  

Social 10

At the start of class, I had you read a CBC News Indepth article on the equalization program. If you didn't finish this in class, please finish it tonight at home. I then discussed what you need to know about the program for Social 10:

• Alberta has received equalization payments in the past
• Ontario has never received equalization payments (it came close in the 1970s)
• Currently Alberta and Ontario are the "have" provinces and don't receive equalization payments
• The equalization payment program is built into our Constitution, it would require a constitutional amendment to get rid of the program
• The rationale behind equalization is to "level the playing field" and allow "have not" provinces offer social services at comparable levels to "have" provinces
• Key issue in the news today: how will equalization payments be calculated in the future?

I gave you the Regional Brochure assignment. You will get one research period for this tomorrow in the library. Please come to class, and then we will go to the library together. It is due on Thursday, March 1st. You will be working on this assignment individually. I gave you the remainder of the class period to finish the "Regional Challenges" section of the Regionalism booklet. I will be collecting the Regionalism booklet next week (date to be announced).

February 20

Social 10

The goal for today was to finish off the Regionalism booklet, specifically the last section on "Regional Challenges". You will get some class time tomorrow to work on this. Then if you haven't finished this booklet, by tomorrow you should start coming to tutorial to finish it up. I will be taking in the entire booklet next week.

Social 33

Today I checked your homework assignment from Wednesday, which was the first part of the Chapter 4 booklet on Democratic Systems. You were to finish the Canadian part of this assignment. I also gave you a handout on the structure of the Canadian government, which looked like this:


You were to take notes on the structure of the Canadian government as I lectured. If you missed class, you will have to get these notes from one of your classmates.

You do have a homework assignment tonight, which I will be checking tomorrow. You must do the Internet Assignment that I gave you in class today. Please visit this hyperlink to complete this assignment: CanadaInfo-The Federal Government.

February 14

Happy Valentine's Day!

Social 33

You wrote your test today (finally). Please finish the Canadian government section in the Chapter 4 booklet. This will be due on Tuesday next week.

Social 10

You continued working in your Regionalism booklet. I also delivered a presentation/lecture on "Regional Disparity". I have already sent this presentation to you, so please check your e-mail. If you didn't get this presentation please let me know. Have a great long weekend!!

February 13

It will be interesting to see what was accomplished today. The roads were so bad, I'm wondering if many of you even made it to class in the first period. If you're wondering where I was, I was at a workshop in NE Calgary, and it took me almost two hours to get there this morning. Fun! See you tomorrow.

February 12

Social 33

I went over a couple of items today. First, we dealt with the range of political ideas spectrum that I gave you in Friday's class. Next, I delivered a presentation to you called "Introduction to Democracy". I will be sending this presentation to you. Please read Chapter 4 tonight!! If you don't get any of these presentations, then please send me an e-mail and I will respond and send them to you directly. Please remember that you have a test tomorrow. Here is the study guide:

Introduction to Political Systems Test Study Guide:

1. Key Concepts/Key People:

• ideology
• government
• politics
• to govern
• economics
• individualism
• collectivism
• fascism
• conservatism
• liberalism
• radical
• conservative
• reactionary
• liberal
• absolute monarchy
• democratic socialism
• communism
• representative government
• Thomas Hobbes (ideas/beliefs)
• John Locke (ideas/beliefs)
• norms
• mores
• rule by few/elites (dictatorships)
• rule by many (democracies)

2. Political Spectrum:

• similarities/differences between groups
• values supported by each group (radical, liberal, conservative, reactionary)
• placement on spectrum of various groups

3. Forms of Government:

• advantages/disadvantages of each type of government that we have examined (absolute monarchy, democratic socialism, communism, representative government, fascism)
  

Test Format:
30 multiple choice questions
1 writing assignment (letter to the editor on a particular issue, information is given to help you write your letter)

Social 10

Today we continued our work from the Regionalism booklet. You should have completed Part "B" of "The Effect of Climate and Physiography" during class time. I also think that you should have filled in some of the gaps on your "Physiographic Regions Chart" from the Canada Today textbook. Ideally, you should be working on "Population Distribution" and the "Location of Population and Manufacturing in Canada" from the booklet. If you're not there yet, you're officially behind.

February 9

Social 33

We met in the Blenheim computer lab today to write a pop quiz on "Collectivism and Individualism", and to do a survey on the political spectrum. Next week we will be picking up the pace significantly!

You will be writing a test on the introductory material in Social 33 on Tuesday, February 13th. Here is the study guide:

1. Key Concepts/Key People:

• ideology
• government
• politics
• to govern
• economics
• individualism
• collectivism
• fascism
• conservatism
• liberalism
• radical
• conservative
• reactionary
• liberal
• absolute monarchy
• democratic socialism
• communism
• representative government
• Thomas Hobbes (ideas/beliefs)
• John Locke (ideas/beliefs)
• norms
• mores
• rule by few/elites (dictatorships)
• rule by many (democracies)

2. Political Spectrum:

• similarities/differences between groups
• values supported by each group (radical, liberal, conservative, reactionary)
• placement on spectrum of various groups

3. Forms of Government:

• advantages/disadvantages of each type of government that we have examined (absolute monarchy, democratic socialism, communism, representative government, fascism)
  

Test Format:

• 30 multiple choice questions
• 1 writing assignment (letter to the editor on a particular issue, information is given to help you write your letter)
  

Social 10

You wrote your Canadian Geography Quiz today. I will give you the results on Monday. We will continue to work from the Regionalism booklet next week.

February 8

Social 10

I delivered a presentation/lecture today on the Regions of Canada, which I will send to you later tonight. You also started labelling two new maps, one on physiographic regions of Canada and the other on climatic regions of Canada. You will get a chance to finish those maps tomorrow in class.

Social 33

I collected your homework assignment from yesterday at the beginning of class. Next, we looked at the political spectrum for most of the period. I had you do a short activity on the political spectrum, which we discussed in class. Your homework assignment for tonight is to print off and read the notes that can be found under Social 33 links. Scroll down the right hand side of the blog until you find "Social 33 Links", and then click on the link there called "Political Spectrum-Ideology Notes". Print off those notes and read them over tonight. Remember to go directly to the Blenheim lab tomorrow.

February 7

Social 33

For most of the period we watched a video called "Forms of Government: What's the Score?" which, although cheesy, did provide a lot of information. I then collected a short opinion piece that you wrote in class. Please make sure that you complete yesterday's homework. I will be checking it tomorrow. speaking of tomorrow, we will begin examining the political spectrum in tomorrow's class. Please make sure that you understand the concepts of collectivism and individualism! You have a pop quiz on these concepts this week.

Social 10

I gave you some class time to work on the "Basic Canadian Geographical Information" worksheet. If you didn't finish the worksheet in class, you either have to come to tutorial to finish it, or ask for some help from your classmates here on the blog. You have your Canadian Geography Quiz this Friday, be prepared for it! I also collected your maps at the beginning of class today.

February 6

Social 10

I remembered to go over the remaining answers from the "Ultimate Canada Quiz" today. I gave you more class time to work on your two maps of Canada (both of which must be completed for tomorrow). I also reminded you that you have Geography Quiz this Friday. I will post the study guide for this quiz here as well. I would also like to remind you to check your e-mail inboxes for a message called "Regionalism Booklet". Please follow the printing directions included in the e-mail message, print it off, and bring it to class tomorrow.
Here is a helpful map for completing you mapping assignment:

Important Dates for Social 10 Students:

• Political and Physical Maps of Canada are due tomorrow (Feb. 7th)
• Canadian Geography Quiz is on Friday, February 9th (please see the study guide below)

Study Guide for Canadian Geography Quiz:

• Know the provincial/territorial capital cities
• Know the location of major bodies of water
• Know the location of major lakes and rivers in Canada
• Be able to locate the major cities in each of the provinces (not just capital cities!)

Social 33

At the start of today's class we did a small group activity where you have decide what position an individualist or a collectivist would take on an issue. This was very well done. I gave you the remainder of the class period to work on the worksheet that I gave you yesterday called "Ideas About Political Organization", this worksheet, Parts A and B are due tomorrow. Please don't forget about your Individualism and Collectivism Pop Quiz, which is happening sometime this week.

February 5

Social 33

Today we covered a few new concepts, namely ideology, individualism and collectivism. I delivered a very short presentation on this topic which I would like to send to you soon. I also gave you some exercises on identifying examples of individualism and collectivism. Please make sure that you check you e-mail accounts and respond back to my original test message. I would like to get the e-mail distribution list up and working so I can start sending you notes.

Social 10

I would like to remind you to double check your e-mail accounts for my original e-mail test message. I really want to get the e-mail distribution list up and running so I can start sending you notes by e-mail.
Today, we started doing a mapping activity on Canada. This assignment is NOT for homework, you will get class time tomorrow to work on it. You have a quiz this Friday on the geography of Canada. I will give you more details on this quiz tomorrow in class. Also, I will try to remember to finish going over the answers to the "Ultimate Canada quiz" tomorrow in class.

February 2

Social 33

Today, I tried to make sure that I collected everyone's e-mail address so I can set up the e-mail distribution list. I will probably send you a test message soon, so please respond back to it when you get it. I gave you an idea of "the big picture" by giving you a concept map of the topics that will be covered in Topic A of Social Studies 33. For most of the period we did small group discussions about the impact of politics and government on our daily lives, and decision-making. Again, I would like to thank you all for your participation in this activity, you had some great answers and you were on-task as well. I also assigned a short assignment for you that I would like you to finish for Monday. Please write a letter of introduction in which you write about your personal interests, your hobbies, your family, your friends. If you spend more than 45 minutes on this letter, that's probably too much time. It should be about 3/4 to a page in length. Please have it ready to hand in on Monday at the beginning of class. Have a great weekend!

Social 10

For most of the period you tried to answer questions from the "Ultimate Canada Quiz". Don't worry if you didn't know the answers to all of the questions, since there were some tough questions in there. I'll finish with the answers in Monday's class. Speaking of Monday's class, please make sure that you bring some pencil crayons, they'll come in handy. Please check your e-mail over the weekend. I'm going to send out a test message, and I would like you to respond back as soon as you get the message. Have a great weekend!

February 1

I thought that I would post some of my classroom rules and expectations of behavior on the blog this year. Also, I will also write down some ground rules for using the blog this semester.

Classroom Rules/Expectations of Behavior:

I think that I have very simple, straight-forward classroom rules and expectations. I will be discussing these in class tomorrow, but here's a quick recap:

• Please be on-task during classroom time (visit later)
• No cell phones (as per school policy); if your parents really need to get in touch with you, they should call the office. Please don't bring cell phones to class, or if you do, please remember to turn them off!
• Please don't listen to music on MP3 players or iPods during class time, unless I have given you permission to do so.
• Be polite. You should be listening during class lectures or when your classmates have questions to ask (you might have some of the same questions).
• Be on time. If you are late, please enter the classroom quietly and apologize for being late. If the door is locked, I have started the lecture or there is a class presentation in progress; I will open the door and let you in as soon as possible.
• Clean up after yourselves. Please don't leave garbage on the floor. I like my classroom fairly neat and tidy.
• Don't bring junk food to class. Healthy snacks only. Or you could always wait until lunchtime.
• You may chew gum in class on the following conditions: don't chew like a cow, I don't want to see the gum or hear you chewing it, that's just gross.
• Late assignments: 10% is deducted for every day an assignment is late. If you have an excused absence, then there is some flexibility with this rule.
• Please make sure that a parent or guardian calls the school to have absences excused. If you miss a test due to an unexcused absence you will be assigned a mark of "zero".
• I will be contacting parent/guardians if you have unexcused absences.
• Please adhere to the school's academic honesty policy which is on the back of your course outlines.
• If you are going away on holidays (please do not schedule holidays during examination periods in January and June), please let me know in advance. I can prepare materials for you, let you know what you'll be missing, and even give you handouts in advance. This way you won't feel "lost" when you come back from holidays.
  
  

Posting on the Blog:

Here are some simple rules that I have established for using the blog, and some other informational items:

• Please post on the blog anonymously.
• If you feel the need to identify yourself, or clarify which grade you're in, please use your initials and your class and section (for example, K.G. in Social 33-1).
• Some of you may have your own Blogger accounts. Please don't post on this blog using your Blogger ID, otherwise you may have people visiting your blog that you may not want to see what you're posting.
• Please be courteous, polite and respectful when posting comments on the blog. Don't be rude to your classmates on the blog.
• Please be patient with my response time.
• Please post comments and questions on the blog prior to 10 p.m.
• Between 6-8 p.m. I am usually not online.
• Wednesday nights are particularly busy for me, this is the night that I have a Masters class at the University and then I play in a volleyball league. I'm rarely home before 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. on these nights.
• Please do not post links to questionable materials.
• Inappropriate comments will be deleted. Please don't do this, it's a waste of my time, I could be doing more productive things, like answering questions that you may have.
  

January 18

Social 10

In case you haven't heard, you did extremely well on the final exam as a class. The class average for Social 10-1 was 81%. Excellent work! It was a pleasure teaching all of you. I will probably request to teach Social 20 again next year, so there is a distinct possibility that our paths will cross again. I wish you well next year and in all of your future academic endeavours. Social 10-1 was an outstanding class to teach, and it was my privilege to have you as students. It was fun! Please feel free to pop in for a visit next year!

Social 20

I feel that both Social 20-3 and 20-4 did really well on the Social 20 final exam. The class average for both classes was 76%, which for that final exam is very good! One question gets dropped from the final, because it was repeated, so the test was out of 109. I will be posting marks this morning outside of the classroom, so if you're at school you can see how you did on the final, and what your final mark in Social 20 will be. On that note, I have a couple of things to remind you of, that being if you got 79% as a final mark in Social 20 it gets rounded up to an 80%. Additionally, if got a final mark that is below 50% in Social 20 it gets rounded to the nearest 5 as per department policy. So if you have a final mark of 47% it will appear on your report card as 45%.

I really enjoyed teaching both Social 20-3 and 20-4 this semester. In all likelihood, you will not have me as a your teacher again. Next year I will probably request to teach Social 10 (new curriculum), Social 20 and Social 33. Although, if the opportunity arises I may ask for a Social 30 course, it may all depend on how my Masters degree is coming along at university. At any rate, it was a lot of fun teaching you this semester, we had some laughs (especially with Social 20-4, I was always much more goofy with you guys, I don't know why. Was that a good thing? I don't know.). For some of you I have taught you Social Studies for two years, and it has been great getting to know you. I really look forward to seeing you all graduate from Churchill, and I promise you that your graduation will be the first that I attend because this group of Grade 11 students (all of you) were my first group of students at Churchill and you will always be very special to me. Good luck in the future!

P.S. This is my 400th post

January 12 Social 20 Discussion Forum

Social 20

For our last class period together we conducted a Q&A session, where you could ask any questions you had about the course material. Please check your e-mail, I will be sending you a course evaluation survey that I would like you to take some time fill out (it's anonymous, don't worry). Study hard, and good luck on your final exam. If you have any questions/comments, please feel free to post them here, in your discussion forum, and I'll try to answer them as soon as possible.

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Remember to turn in your textbooks!

January 12 Social 10 Discussion Forum

Social 10

For our last class period together we conducted a Q&A session for the entire period. If you have any questions, please feel free to post your comments here. If there are a lot of questions/comments, then I will create another discussion forum for you. Study hard, and good luck on the final exam. Please check your e-mail and this blog, as I will be sending you some "goodies".

Remember to turn in your textbooks!

January 11

Social 20

We finished looking at questions from the Social 20 Practice Final today. You have an assignment for tonight: write 5 HIGH quality questions (questions that you DON'T know the answer to) and bring them to class tomorrow (they don't have to be typed up). Tomorrow is your last class period with me, so it's your last chance to clear up any issues that you don't understand about the course content. If you don't have 5 HIGH quality questions tomorrow 1% will be deducted from your course mark. It's an easy assignment, please get it done!

Social 10

We played a VERY short game of Jeopardy today, and then I gave you time to work on your homework assignment: you must write 5 HIGH quality questions for our Q & A session tomorrow. These are questions about the course content that you don't understand. It's our last class period together tomorrow, so this is your opportunity to clear up any problems about the course content that you DON'T understand. If you don't complete these 5 questions for the Q & A session, I will deduct 1% off your mark. It's an easy assignment, so please get it done! Additionally, if you haven't sent me your 5 multiple choice questions by e-mail, please do so.

January 10

Social 20

You finished writing your Social 20 Practice Final today in class. We were able to take up a few questions at the end, but not enough. We'll continue this tomorrow.

Social 10

You have a homework assignment tonight: send me 7 Jeopardy questions (we'll be playing Jeopardy tomorrow) and 5 multiple choice questions. Please send me this information before 9 p.m. tonight. Thanks!



It's pretty darn cold out there! You might as well stay inside and study!

January 9

Social 10

We played "Find the Fib" for most of the class period. I also gave you the seating assignments for your final exam (there is a seating plan posted at the front of the classroom on the bulletin board). Please do some more review tonight. Check yesterday's post for the hyperlinks to the PowerPoint presentations.

Social 20

I gave you your own seating assignment for the Final Exam today. You wrote a Social 20 Practice Final Exam today. This practice exam is about as difficult as your actual final exam. Please continue to review. Check yesterday's posting for the hyperlinks to the PowerPoint presentations.

January 8

Social 10

Today we started to prepare for a review game that we will be playing tomorrow in class called "Find the Fib". Please remember if you are the person that is sending me your groups' statements please do it sooner rather than later tonight. Thanks! Below you will see hyperlinks to ALL of the presentation/lectures that I delivered this year in Social 10. If you click on a link, you can hear me deliver the presentation all over again. It's good for review.

Regionalism

• Regions of Canada
• Regional Disparity
• A Brief History of French-English Relations

Identity

• Canadian Identity
• Canadian Identity: How Others See Us
• Canadian Identity: How We See Ourselves

Sovereignty

• Canadian Sovereignty
• Canada's Role in WWI (Part 1)
• Canada's Role in WWI (Part 2)
• The Interwar Years
• Canada's Role and Contribution to WWII
• Canada in the Cold War
• Canada's Role on the World Stage
• Canada's Foreign Policy

Government

• Politics and Government (Part 1)
• Politics and Government (Part 2)

Rights and Responsibilities

• The Internment of Japanese-Canadians in WWII

As you know, all of my lectures are also available at SlideShare. Here's a hyperlink to that site, and then you can search for ALL of lectures at this website.

Social 20

You wrote your Topic B Final Exam today for most of the class. I'm including some hyperlinks to ALL of the presentation/lectures that I delivered this year in Social 20. If you want to hear me deliver the lectures again, click on any of the links below, and then prepare to be amazed!

Nationalism

• The Enlightenment
• France: A Setting for Revolution
• An Introduction to the French Revolution
• Key Events of the French Revolution
• The Rise of Napoleon
• The Congress of Vienna
• The Age of Bismarck
• The Unification of Germany and Italy

Industrialization and Ideologies

• The Industrial Revolution
• The Ideological Reaction to Industrialization

Imperialism

• The Imperial Age

International Conflict

• The Causes of World War I
• Beginnings of WWI to Stalemate
• Total War
• The Allied Victory in WWI

Topic B

• The Nature of Food and Poverty
• Sustainable Development
• Demographics
  

As you know, all of these presentations are also being hosted at SlideShare. Here's a hyperlink to that site (and the Introduction to the French Revolution presentation, and then you can find ALL of my lectures there as well).