December15-19

Merry Christmas!

(Left: Santa Benoy delivering Ho Ho Homework to procrastinating students. Do you believe in Santa?)

For those of you new to my blogsite, it is intended to work alongside my website at: http://kbenoy.googlepages.com/

e-mail me at http://kbenoy@nvsd44.bc.ca/

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- will be posted on the website. This blogsite will have the changing material -- lesson plans and links to particular assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are made available on the Internet in this way. If something is underlined on the blog, it means that you can click on it to see a copy of the particular item -- this could be a pdf document, PowerPoint, music or a video.

Use this blog to see what is coming up each week. I will usually post it on Saturdays for the following week. If you are away, you can check up on what you are missing. There really is no reason for you not to know what is happening. If you do not have an Internet connection, you certainly know someone who does. If too ill to work while away, be sure to attach a note from home to any overdue work when you hand it in and I will most likely waive any late deduction.If you can't read the PowerPoint material on your computer, download PowerPoint Viewer from Microsoft. It is free.

Sutherland has a license to access Discovery Education's United Streaming video collection. Students may download or stream videos from the collection by going to http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm . Use the passcode posted in the classroom to register. If you have lost it, see me, or e-mail me, for this information. Students are licensed to include this content within their own creations.

My tutorial times are officially 2:55-3:15 every Monday and Friday. However, I am available most days before school, at noon and after school. Drop by or make an appointment if you need guaranteed time.

Social Studies 11

There is a major research assignment currently underway, the Family History - Immigration Assignment (With additional options for International and First Nations students.) Pedigree sheet. Map blank -- click to a resource on my Social Studies 11 History web page to locate an appropriate blank map to work with. The due date for this work is not until right after the Christmas holidays, to allow plenty of time for research and discussion with family members.)

We have just started the Geography portion of this course. We are using our in-house textbook, The 21st Century World. This book is available online at http://www.design4effect.com/soc11 . Click here to read chapter 1. It is a number of years since this was created, so I offer apologies in advance for dead links. Until a 36 hour day is available, I am unable to update it all unless I am offered significant help doing so.

To save precious class time, we will not test every chapter, but will test chapter 1 This Friday, chapters 2 & 3, and 4 & 5 into a single tests after Christmas. The chapter 1 quiz will include 15 multiple choice questions (1 mark each) and 3 from a selection of 5 long answer questions (6 marks each). The quiz total is, therefore, 33 marks. 15 properly completed flasch cards will earn 3 bonus marks on this test.

Read my Tips for Writing the Social Studies 11 Provincial Exam.

Over Christmas it is important to begin preparation for your Provincial Final Exam. Go to the Ministry website and look at the exam table of specifications, familiarize yourself with key exam terms, access past exams and answer keys, and look at the essay scoring criteria to see how your essays will be marked.

• Monday, December 15 - Take up #1-5, p. 11. Complete to end of "Gloabal Warming" frames in One World PowerPoint. Begin watching Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Your job while watching this film is to: 1) Identify Gore's thesis in this film. 2) List the evidence he cites to prove his thesis. 3) Explain why Gore convinced you or did not convince you that we must take immediate action to deal with climate change. You will hand in your notes on Thursday -- they will be evaluated out of 10 marks for content (parts 1 & 2) and thoughtfulness (part 3). Read pp. 12-16. Do #1-9, p. 16 & #1-4, pp. 16-17.
• Tuesday, December 16 - Take up #1-9, p. 16 and #1-4, pp. 16-17. Continue An Inconvenient Truth and the assignment that goes with it. For a contrary view of this situation, watch The Great Global Warming Swindle. However, be aware, that two key figures cited in this documentary say that they were misrepresented by the film-makers, and have distanced themselves from it. For a discussion of the controversy, see the wikipedia article on this. If time, and this is unlikely, we will discuss reactions. If you have the chance, you might listen to what Gwynne Dyer has to say on the matter. Read pp. 17-20. Do #1-2, p. 17 & #1-4, p. 21.
• Wednesday, December 17 - Take up #1-2, p. 17 & #1-4, p. 21. Complete any of the video that we did not see last class. Complete the One World PowerPoint. If we have time, and this is unlikely, we will begin the Population PowerPoint, for chapter 2. For an excellent treatment of how technology is changing our world, see Tom Friedman's address at MIT, following up on his book, The World is Flat. Read pp. 430-433 in blue text. Do sidebar, figure 17-2 and #1-5, p. 433.
• Thursday, December 18 - Take up sidebar, figure 17-2 and #1-5, p. 433 from the Counterpoints (blue) text. "Population" PowerPoint.
• Friday, December 19 - Chapter 1 quiz. Read pp. 29-31. Do #1-3 & the second #1-3, p. 31. We will begin our first class after Christmas by taking this up.

Comparative Civilizations 12

As we decided in class last week, we will write the Renaissance test in class this Thursday -- but you may have until Friday's class to complete the Hero as Artist unit

The Renaissance Test will contain the following: 20 image identification items (2 marks each - identifying the name of the work and the artist/sculptor/architect primarilly responsible for creating it). I have reconsidered the bonus option on this and have decided against it because of how much it could iflate marks on this particular test. 35 multiple choice items (1 mark each) and 3 from 6 long answer questions (6 marks each). The total value of the test is, therefore, 91 marks.

• Monday, December 15 - Titian. Sister Wendy on old Titian. Work on the package.
• Tuesday, December 16 - Video: Art of the Western World; the High Renaissance. (Accessing this requires a login to PBS/Annenberg - free to register for this.) Work on the package.
• Wednesday, December 17 - Mannerism and Reformation small packages assigned. . Work on packages (Hero as Artist -- Mannerism). Filmstrip: Civilisation; Protest & Communication. See the full length video on Youku if you like. Work on packages.
• Thursday, December 18 - Renaissance Unit Test -- see above. Work on packages.
• Friday, December 19 - Bologna, Celini, & El Greco. Work on packages (Hero as Artist -- Mannerism). Hand in Hero as Artist at the end of class -- or e-mail it to me on the weekend.

History 12

We are a bit behind schedule here, but will cut video material to catch up. Use the links on this blog to watch online material over the break.

Remember, it is essential that you start preparing for the final exam -- whether you write the school or provincial exam, preparation is identical. The only real differnce is that the provincial has twice as much weight. Design and composition of the tests are virtually identical.

Link to any grade 12 minstry exam mataerial from here or directly to the History page. Look at all of the material here. The more comfortable you are witht the exam and its composition, the better you will do. Be sure to write the sample exams over the Christmas Break.

Be sure to look at some of the documentaries listed in my googlevideo and youtube Cold War directory.

• Monday, December 15 - Watch Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Kruschchev (sorry, unavailable online). Complete the Cuban Missile Crisis lecture (base notes). If you have almost two hours available on the weekend, get in the mood for Monday's lecture on nuclear war by viewing Threads, a British docudrama from the 1980s about a nuclear war -- banned from British TV at the time, it is a highly praised production that gives a frightening, but important view of what such a war might be like. For a straight-forward documentary 0n what would happen to a city hit by a nuclear bomb, watch Nuclear War; A Guide to Armageddon - this links to the first episode, go to the sidebar to link to the other segments.
• Tuesday, December 16 - Deterrence & Nuclear War (base notes).
• Wednesday, December 17 - AV - Gwynne Dyer Notes on Nuclear War. British & French Decolonization in Africa & Asia (base notes). Watch CNN's Cold War; M.A.D. to see terrifict coverage of the nuclear convlict between 1960-1972.
• Thursday, December 18 - continue British & French Decolonization (base notes). Begin Indochina & Vietnam (base notes). Watch the first part of a video on Kwame Nkrumah -- wich gives a 4 minute background to African decolonization.
• Friday, December 19 - Indochina & Vietnam (base notes). You must watch the CNN Cold War episode, Vietnam 1954-1968 (Episode 11). On your own, watch Dien Bien Phu - a film of a little under 1 hour, on the decisive battle leading to France's withdrawal from Vietnam and the rest of Indo-China. Hearts and Minds is a documentary dealing with the importance of the importance of winning support for the war in order to successfully fight it. The Tet Offensive deals wtih the dramatic Viet-Cong & North Vietnamese offensive that broke American public belief in the likelyhood of American victory in the war. Vietnam; The Last Battle looks at the collapse of the South and the end of the conflict. Take 7 minutes to watch Last Word; Dith Pran - the subject of the stunning 1984 film The Killing Fields, which told the story of the murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

December 8-12

For those of you new to my blogsite, it is intended to work alongside my website at: http://kbenoy.googlepages.com/

e-mail me at http://kbenoy@nvsd44.bc.ca/

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- will be posted on the website. This blogsite will have the changing material -- lesson plans and links to particular assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are made available on the Internet in this way. If something is underlined on the blog, it means that you can click on it to see a copy of the particular item -- this could be a pdf document, PowerPoint, music or a video.

Use this blog to see what is coming up each week. I will usually post it on Saturdays for the following week. If you are away, you can check up on what you are missing. There really is no reason for you not to know what is happening. If you do not have an Internet connection, you certainly know someone who does. If too ill to work while away, be sure to attach a note from home to any overdue work when you hand it in and I will most likely waive any late deduction.
If you can't read the PowerPoint material on your computer, download PowerPoint Viewer from Microsoft. It is free.Sutherland has a license to access Discovery Education's United Streaming video collection. Students may download or stream videos from the collection by going to http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm . Use the passcode posted in the classroom to register. If you have lost it, see me, or e-mail me, for this information. Students are licensed to include this content within their own creations.

My tutorial times are officially 2:55-3:15 every Monday and Friday. However, I am available most days before school, at noon and after school. Drop by or make an appointment if you need guaranteed time.

Social Studies 11

There is a major research assignment currently underway, the Family History - Immigration Assignment (With additional options for International and First Nations students.) Pedigree sheet. Map blank -- click to a resource on my Social Studies 11 History web page to locate an appropriate blank map to work with. The due date for this work is not until right after the Christmas holidays, to allow plenty of time for research and discussion with family members.)

There was a mistake in the posting for this week, which said the History unit test is next week. It is, in fact, this Friday, though we will begin the Geography part of the course on Thursday. The unit test will include 34 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 5 definition or name items (2 marks each), and 4 long answer questions (6 marks each). The total is, therefore, out of 68 marks. 30 flash cards or more can earn the 5 bonus marks available for this test. The test will evaluate the Post 1945 material (chapers 5-8) and the material in the Quebec and Aboriginal PowerPoint presentations.

Your Geography text is available online at: http://www.design4effect.com/soc11/

Monday, December 8 - Take up Do #1-6, p. 216. Continue PowerPoint: "Land Claims and the Indian Act" and questions. Create a time line (click here to download blank) with two columns, with the following titles - Landmark Events in Canadian Autonomy and Landmark Events in Canadian Social Change. Go through the History portion of your book to identify events to include in your Time Line. 10 marks - due Wednesday.

• Tuesday, December 9 - Take up any problems with timeline creation. PowerPoint on "Land Claims & the Indian Act." Do the sidebar on p. 211. Read and do #1-2 in the sidebar on pp. 212-213. Also, describe what you think Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun is trying to show in his painting Despotism in Canada on the last slide of the PowerPoint (minus all of the print, obviously).
• Wednesday, December 10 - Take up homework. Hand in the timeline assignment. Video segments from Canada; A Peoples' History - the following episodes: "Taking Back the Past" and "Land and Nation." Questions. PowerPoint on Land Claims & the Indian Act. Continue the PowerPoint. Complete the timeline. Review for test. Do #4, 6, & 7, on p. 217.
• Thursday, December 11 - Take up homework. Sign out Geography texts. Introduce Geography portion of the course. PowerPoint for Ch. 1 - Geography. Prepare for unit test on Post-War Canada next class.
• Friday, December 12 - Unit Test on the Post-World War II years. Sign out Geography text. Read pp. 6-11. Do #1-5, p. 11.

Comparative Civilizations 12

We have just commence our Hero as Artist package on the High Renaissance.

We will discuss when our next test will take place on Monday, December 8 and I will go with what the majority in the class prefers. Choice 1 is to write a Renaissance only test on Thursday, December 18 -- or wait until after Christmas and after we complete the Reformation and Mannerism mini-units and write a test on the Renaissance to Mannerism material. Students taking History 12 along with C. Civ. 12 can expect a little flexibility in the due date for their History 12 questions to avoid crazy curricular overload.

• Monday, December 8 - Begin the video: The Agony and the Ecstacy. Work on the package.
• Tuesday, December 9 - Continue The Agony and the Ecstacy. Work on the package.
• Wednesday, December 10 - Introduction to High Renaissance Painting (notes). Michelangelo (notes) - painting,sculpture and architecture. Work on the Hero as Artist package. For a little levity, watch Monty Python's Pope & Michelangelo (moved to Thursday). See a Unitedstreaming video on Michelangelo (you will need to login). If you are interested in Michelangelo's sketches, watch this video from the British Museum (40 minutes). You might also look at a video about his sculptures (5 minutes).
• Thursday, December 11 - Da Vinci (notes). Work on the package. If you are interested in Dan Brown's books -- and the da Vinci Code in particular, you might enjoy Professor Ward Gasque's University of California lecture The da Vinci Code - Fact or Fiction.
• Friday, December 12 - Bramante and Raphael (notes - see also the diagram showing who the models were in The School of Athens). Sister Wendy video segment. Work on the package.

History 12

Topics 5 & 6 are underway (Pick up Plan for Topic #4 and questions). We will not have a unit test on this unit, to save a block for instruction. This material will be well represented on the final examination -- whether you opt for the provincial examination or the schoo exam.

Expect to hand in questions to the end of #62 -- even if we do not quite reach this in our lectures -- at the end of the first week back after the holidays.

You must begin to prepare for the final examination, which is worth 40% of your over-all mark if you take the Provincial and 20% if you take the school exam. The school exam will mirror the Provincial in layout and content. Go to the Ministry of Education's History 12 website and access the following material: The exam table of specifications, the description of key verbs used on the exam, a description of the scoring criteria used in marking the exam, and, of course, familiarize yourself with the look of the exam itself -- the response booklet, sample and released examinations and answer keys. The best way to prepare for this exam is to actually write a previous exam.

Essay #3 is underway and is due the last week before Christmas.

If you have time, watch some of the Cold War videos linked to in my Googlevideo and Youtube directory.

• Monday, December 8 - Video - India; The Brightest Jewel - from the 20th Century History series (sorry, not available online). Decolonization India (base notes).
• Tuesday, December 9 - No Class. Post-Secondary Liaison afternoon.
• Wednesday, December 10 - The Middle East to 1956 (base notes). Video clip from the 20th Century History series. (base notes - I still need to scan and load this). Click here to see what Arab leaders at the time said about Palestine.
• Thursday, December 11 - Complete the Middle East to 1956. If time, begin video Mr. Kennedy & Mr. Khrushchev (sorry, not available online). If time, Begin the Cuban Missile Crisis (base notes). Be sure to watch CNN's Cold War; Episode 10; Cuba 1959-1962.
• Friday, December 12 - The Cuban Missile Crisis (base notes). If you have almost two hours available on the weekend, get in the mood for Monday's lecture on nuclear war by viewing Threads, a British docudrama from the 1980s about a nuclear war -- banned from British TV at the time, it is a highly praised production that gives a frightening, but important view of what such a war might be like. For a straight-forward documentary 0n what would happen to a city hit by a nuclear bomb, watch Nuclear War; A Guide to Armageddon - this links to the first episode, go to the sidebar to link to the other segments.