Friday, April 30, 2010

May 3-7



















Those of you new to my blogsite, it is intended to work alongside my website at:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/

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 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.

Cool tech tip for Google searches. Did you know that Google allows you to search in a mind-map format -- with the standard search still showing in a sidebar on the right. Here is a quick introduction to Google's "Wonder Wheel" search.

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. I cannot post this online, but you can confirm the new number by looking at what is posted in the classroom.

Please note: North Vancouver schools have a hold-back imposed on our supplies budget. As a result, I shall be handing out far fewer paper handouts in class than in the past. Fortunately it is all available here, online. Paper copies will be made available for many items only to those students who specifically request them because they have difficulty accessing online material. Help me save money for the school and also preserve forests by using online material as much as possible. With less than $900 left in our paper budget for the remainder of the year, you know we need to conserve.

Unpaid Advertisement!
Sutherland's Cancer Awareness Club is participating in the North Shore Relay 2010 at Mahon Park on Saturday, June 12, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The deadline for signing up is May 15. $15 for youth (code NSYOUTH2010) and $35 for adults. For more information or questions, contact Ms. Matsubuchi, or Tamsyn, nothshorerelay@bc.cancer.ca or 1.604.815.3329 or 604 985 8585
History 12

Here are the Topic #4 Plan and questions.

Essay 3 is here at last -- due at the end of the first week in June.

Here is the Topic 5 & 6 Plan.

Here are the Topic 5 & 6 Questions.

Save trees and school money by using the online versions. I will print copies for you, if you ask, but stick to the digital if at all possible.

Do not expect a unit test on the Cold War, though I will collect up to question #62 near the end of the term. I want you all to have a very clear idea of your class mark before you go into the final examination as this is needed to decide logically on whether you should write the in-class exam (20% value) or the provincial exam (40% value). Ordinarily I suggest your default setting should be the provincial exam. If you are college or university bound, they tend to take the better of your class mark (including the in-class final) or your composite (after povincial exam)mark. A 40% exam obviously allows greater movement -- up or down -- and they will not worry about a reduction in their calculation (unless, of course, you fail the course!). If there is danger of failing on a bad day -- if your class mark is under 55% -- you should write the in-class test, rather than the provincial. If you are under 50%, write the provincial as it has the greatest potential for raising your mark. In the end it is your decision. Make up your mind and live with it. I will need to know your decision at least a week before the final to ensure that I run off sufficient numbers of in-class test papers. Both final exams have exactly the same level of difficulty as I model the in-class final on the provincial exam, using questions from the same test bank.

  • Monday, May 3 - Watch video Cold War Confrontation - from the 20th Century History series -- sorry, unavailable online. Complete the lecture on the Chinese revolution (base notes). United Nations lecture (base notes).

  • Tuesday, May 4 - Complete any United Nations material not finished last class. Begin The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to 1956 material (base notes). If you get a chance, watch the NFB film Now the Peace.
  • Wednesday, May 5 - Complete the Soviet lecture to 1956 . Video The Cold War; Episode 6; Reds (You can see CNN companion material online).
  • Thursday, May 6 - Video - India; The Brightest Jewel - from the 20th Century History series (Part 1, part 2). Decolonization India (base notes). Decolonization India (base notes). A nice short (under 10 minute) history of partition and the endless conflict that followed it can be found here. If you are prepared to install Veoh on your computer, you can see the entire BBC documentary The Day India Burned (I had to uninstall as it conflicted with another programme. You might not have this difficulty). The first 23 minutes of the documentary can be be found elsewhere. Another excellent, longish, documentary is The Last Days of the Raj (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9)Time for a movie? Watch Partition -- available in its entirity on Googlevideo.
  • Friday, May 7 - The Middle East to 1956 (base notes). Video clip from the 20th Century History series - if avalable. Click here to see what Arab leaders at the time said about Palestine. Watch the BBC documentary The Birth of Israel. For those really interested in the Middle East - try The 50 Years War; Israel and the Arabs (chunked into 29 parts, I just link to the Youtube directory for its parts). There is a nice BBC documentary on the 1956 war - The Other Side Of Suez 1956 (part 1, part 2, part 3).

Comparative Civilizations 12

We just had the Middle Ages unit test and we will complete a few more packages before testing the period from the Renaissance through to Mannerism and the Reformation. This will likely happen about a week after Grad Weekend. The Man the Measure of All Things package will be due early next week. The exact date will be decided later this week.

Social Studies 11

Expect a unit test at the end of the week on all of the material between the end of WWI and the end of WWII. It will combine the material on Canada between the wars and Canada in World War II. The mark breakdown is probably as follows: 45 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 5 definitions (2 marks each) and 3 from a choice of 5 long answer questions (6 marks each). The total is, therefore, out of 73 marks. 5 bonus marks are available if you submit more than 25 flash cards done as required.