Friday, February 24, 2012

February 27-March 2
















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

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.

Notice to Parents: Because of the current labour dispute, only grade 12 marks are supposed to be provided on report cards. Written comments are proscribed. This does not mean that we are not reporting marks to students and parents regularly.

If you want an update regarding marks or other information you need only e-mail me at the address above. I am happy to give a full account that goes well beyond what a report card provides.

This blogsite will have all of the changing material -- lesson plans and links to assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are posted here.If you see something underlined, it means that you can click on the item to have it appear. I will do this for all pdf documents, PowerPoints, videos, and even some music.

Course outlines are posted in the material for the first class this semester - go to the Monday, January 30 posting.

Social Studies 8

We finished the Geography unit and have only just started the Rome Unit. Your next unit test is still a couple of weeks away. Expect it around ----.

  • Monday, February 27 - Take up #1-6, p. 6. Video - Roman City and questions.
  • Tuesday, February 28 - Take up the video questions on David Macauley's Roman City. Introduction to Classical Architecture -- how the Romans built and how this knowledge is the foundation of modern building today. PowerPoint on Roman Architecture -- from Mr. Benoy's Comparative Civilizations 12 course. If we have time, we will watch What the Ancients Knew; The Romans. Read the handout and do questions for homework. Also complete the Architecture Hunt assignment -- value: 10 marks and due next Monday. Are you interested in learning more about Roman engineering? Check out the BBC's animation on the Roman Colosseum.
  • Wednesday, February 29 - Take up handout questions. Introduction to Ancient Religions: Paganism, Judaism, Mystery Cults and Christianity. Watch Ancient Roman Religion. (On your own, watch this tongue-in-cheek account of Roman Religion - History With a Twist of Lime; The Early Roman Religion. You might not get all the jokes, or you might find them cheesy, but the information about Roman religion is good and at 7:00 minutes, it is an easy review.) We will also watch two more short clips that examine Pagan influences on early Christianity: Mithras - Pagan Origins of Christianity and Osiris - Pagan Origins of Christianity. Be sure to list things that seem to be common to these pagan religions and Christianity. Read pp. 6-10. Do #1-6, p. 10 for homework. Don't forget to complete the Architecture Hunt assignment.
  • Thursday, March 1 - Take up #1-6, p. 10. Watch The Western Tradition; Early Christianity (you may need to register to use this resource -- but this is American public television and they do not sell your contact information, so it is safe for you to do so) and do the questions. Assignment: Conversion to Christianity -- Imagine that you are a young Greek person living in the city of Rome. Write a letter to your parents in Athens explaining why you have decided to give up worshiping the old Greek Gods and become a Christian. You will have to find out something about both Ancient Greek religion and early Christianity to do this. The assignment will be marked out of 10 and will be marked on both content and composition. It is due next class. Note: When we deal with religion in this course it is not with the intention of supporting one religious view over another. What we want to do is to understand basic beliefs of each religion and know something about the impact that any particular religion has had on the world. We do this using an historical approach.
  • Friday, March 2 - Hand in the Conversion to Christianity assignment. Introduction to Legions -- importance, organization (including a short video) and vulnerabilities. Video Legions of Rome (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) and questions. Read pp. 10-12. Do #1-6, p. 12. You might enjoy playing a small game from the BBC - Romans vs. Britons.

Social Studies 11

Your unit test on the Legislative/Executive/Judicial Branches of our Canadian Federal Government will be this Friday -- to allow extra time for anyone who needs it. The mark breakdown should be roughly as follows: 35 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 2 from 4 long answer questions (6 marks each), and one essay question on what should be done with the Canadian Senate (12 marks - 2 x 6). The total is, therefore, most likely to be out of 59 marks. Create and use flashcards now to master terms and names. This not only helps you with subject content, but it ensures that you know what test questions are asking. At least 25 flash flash cards are needed to earn the 5 bonus marks.

  • Monday, February 27 - Take up #1-3, p. 280, & 1 & 4, p. 288. Complete the second video on our Court system. While watching the video, identify the positions of court officials and note the roles that they play. Introduce concept of Human rights – examine text p. 294. Students to list what they would expect fundamental rights to be in Canada - Think-Pair-Share. Use Government text p. 60 to list Schweitzer’s list of fundamental rights. Government text pp. 152-158. Read pp. 292-312. Do #1, p. 297, #2-3 sidebar p. 303, #1 & 3, p. 304, #3, p. 308 & #2, p. 312. Remember to bring 25+ flashcards to the test Friday to earn 5 bonus marks.
  • Tuesday, February 28 - We do not have a Social Studies class today. Report to class for attendance and then go to the library for Programming - grade 11 into grade 12. Any grade 12 who will be graduating will have a free block -- to be spent in room D208, so bring along work or reading material.
  • Wednesday, February 29 - Take up homework. Examine the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - see PowerPoint; The Constitution. Summarize each of the key sections in your notes. Effect of passing the Charter on Canadian law -- all laws in Canada must conform unless passed using the notwithstanding clause or if they can withstand a challenge based on their being within reasonable limits. Read pp. 240-246. Do #1-3, p. 246, & sidebar #1, p. 244. Study for the test Friday.
  • Thursday, March 1 - Take up homework. Comparison of BC Provincial and Federal systems of Government. Video BC's Government House. Watch this video on the work of an MLA -- Having Your Say Through Your MLA. While doing so, do the following: 1) note the tasks that an MLA is expected to do, and 2) List similarities and differences between the setup of the Provincial Legislature and the Federal Parliament. Download and read Welcome to the House to fill in any gaps and to better understand the workings of provincial government. You might also like to look at other brochures and documents from this website. Government (red) texts. Read pp. 170-178. Do #1-3, p. 178 for Monday. Note: Municipal Government will be tested using a take home test next Wednesday.
  • Friday, March 2 - Unit Test on the Legislative/Executive/Judicial Branches. Complete the homework from Thursday.


Saturday, February 18, 2012

February 20-24















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

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.

Notice to Parents: Because of the current labour dispute, only grade 12 marks are supposed to be provided on report cards. Written comments are proscribed. This does not mean that we are not reporting marks to students and parents regularly.

If you want an update regarding marks or other information you need only e-mail me at the address above. I am happy to give a full account that goes well beyond what a report card provides.

This blogsite will have all of the changing material -- lesson plans and links to assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are posted here.If you see something underlined, it means that you can click on the item to have it appear. I will do this for all pdf documents, PowerPoints, videos, and even some music.

Course outlines are posted in the material for the first class this semester - go to the Monday, January 30 posting.

Social Studies 8

Your first unit test will be this Wednesday (allowing both block 2 and block 4 extra time to complete the test if needed), worth around 75 marks. It will be based on map reading and the use of Canadian Oxford World Atlas (7th edition). The questions will be of the fill-in-the-blank kind -- where you are asked: for terms, to identify something in the atlas, to find direction or to locate something.

  • Monday, February 20 - Take up the second time zone worksheet. Geography Review materials. Do the first section and then any sections that gave you trouble as we worked through the unit. The Unit Test for Geography is on Wednesday, February 22.
  • Tuesday, February 21 - Sign out new texts (return old ones after the test). What is History? Why study it? PowerPoint. Handout: Why Study History. Introduction to History text and to SQ3R study method. Other ways to study History: flashcards , timelines - handout & introduction. See examples of the new Facebook timeline concept - but think carefully before loading personal material online -- anyone can access it and it and content may never disappear! Timeline assignment - personal/family/world - 10 marks, due Thursday.
  • Wednesday, February 22 - Geography unit test. Work on timeline assignment Look over the new textbook.
  • Thursday, February 23 - Test post-mortem (discussion of how the class did and how things can be improved in the future). Time Line Field Trip. Introduction to the Greco-Roman world. Watch What the Romans Did For Us; Life of Luxury & What the Romans Did For Us; Ahead of Their Time. List Roman inventions that we need and use today. Read Patterns of Civilization, pp. 2-6. Do #1-6, p. 6.
Social Studies 11

The next unit test will be on the Legislative/Executive/Judicial branches and will be similar in size to our last test.

  • Monday, February 20 - Review the role of the Queen and Governor General. What are arguments for and against keeping the monarchy. Look at the role of the Prime Minister, cabinet and bureaucracy. Watch Yes, Minister episode. Read “Constitutional Monarchy” on p. 222-224 & "The GovernorGeneral" on p. 234. Read pp. 234-240. Do Do #1-4, p. 240. Assignment: Value 5 marks, Identify by name each member of the federal (national) cabinet and their department. This is an assignment, not a homework check, so accuracy is part of the mark. This assignment must be hand-written and not typed! (To help you remember some of it.)
  • Tuesday, February 21 - Take up #1-4, p. 240 and hand in the Cabinet assignment. Lobbying & Pressure Groups. Look at the list of institutionalized groups on p. 259 (Click here for an online list of federal lobby groups - interest groups and social movements). Explain what lobbying is and look at the activities of several lobby groups -- also describe Pressure Groups and their purpose. Divide into groups (with printed - or online --background information) Each group is to come up with ideas for posters to make their group's case to the public. Poster Assignment (Each person will prepare their own poster) - on a regular size sheet of paper -- 8 1/" by 11" is fine (due Thursday) . Read pp. 258-267. Do #1-2, p. 264. Do #1-3, p.
  • Wednesday, February 22 - Take up #1-2, p. 264. Do #1-3, p. 267. Overview of the Judiciary - PowerPoint - go to the section on the Judiciary. Read pp. 270-275. Do #1-3, p. 275.
  • Thursday, February 23 - Hand in poster assignment. Take up homework, #1-3, p. 275. Complete PowerPoint material from last class Comparison of Adversarial vs. Inquisitorial court systems. Read pp. 277-288. Do #1-3, p. 280, & 1 & 4, p. 288. Please bring your red Government text to class next day -- along with your blue text.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

February 13-17















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

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.

Notice to Parents: Because of the current labour dispute, only grade 12 marks are supposed to be provided on report cards. Written comments are proscribed. This does not mean that we are not reporting marks to students and parents regularly.

If you want an update regarding marks or other information you need only e-mail me at the address above. I am happy to give a full account that goes well beyond what a report card provides.

This blogsite will have all of the changing material -- lesson plans and links to assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are posted here.If you see something underlined, it means that you can click on the item to have it appear. I will do this for all pdf documents, PowerPoints, videos, and even some music.

Course outlines are posted in the material for the first class this semester - go to the Monday, January 30 posting.

Social Studies 8

We will begin with a Geography unit. Expect a unit test at the end of this, worth around 75 marks. This will be in roughly another week. It will be based on map reading and the use of Canadian Oxford World Atlas (7th edition). We will also have a number of quizzes worth from 5-30 marks throughout the unit. You will not always be warned ahead of time about quizzes -- so it is important to keep up.

If you are struggling, be sure to see me outside of class for extra help!

You will need the following material for the Geography unit: a ruler, pens, pencils, and coloured pencils, erasers, whiteout, a portable computer storage device (USB key, with at least 1 GB of space on it -- which you can use in all of your other classes too), and lined paper.

Keep all of your material in order in either a section of a bigger binder, with work from other courses, or a smaller Social Studies binder. The choice is yours. You should also have section dividers to separate units. Keep all work to study from for the final exam at the end of the course. After unit tests, you can take this work out and leave it safe at home if you do not want to keep carrying it around -- just don't lose it.

National Geographic has some nice overview PowerPoints for this unit. See Map Elements and Map Skills.

Social Studies 11

Expect your first unit test on Ideologies/Parties/Elections to be on Wednesday, February 15 -- or thereabout. This will allow extra time to write into break for those who need it. We will start the new unit before the test.

The mark breakdown is most likely to be as follows: 30 multiple choice question (1 mark each); 4 items to label on a diagram (1 mark each); 5 definitions - you write a sentence or two about each term or name (2 marks each); 2 long answer questions from a choice of 4 options (6 marks each). The test should, therefore, be out of about 66 marks.


During Friday's class, the media lib-dub filming will take place. This will significantly disrupt the class, but should be heaps of fun. Either dress ethnically or regionally or print off a colour flag of where your family comes from to hold up when the camera arrives.

  • Monday, February 13 - Hand in Best Election System assignment (on the bottom of the elections handout from last Thursday). Note: We are beginning the next unit today and this material will not be on Wednesday's test. We are doing so to test on the day indicated in earlier blog-posts. I will explain my flash card bonus mark policy today. Begin Legislative Branch - focus on the House of Commons. Be sure to look at the Parliament of Canada website. Download, read and study from the Guide to the House of Commons. Read pp. 231-233 sidebar. Do #1-3 in the sidebar on p. 233. Study for the test Wednesday.
  • Tuesday, February 14 - Take up #1-3 in the sidebar on p. 233. Reminder of the physical layout of Parliament. Video - Government in Canada; Citizenship in Action; Our National Parliament; the Inside Story and questions. Discuss the job of a Member of Parliament - within and outside the House of Commons. Go online to read On the Job With a Member of Parliament). Read 226-231. Do #1-3, p. 231. Study for the test next class.
  • Wednesday, February 15 - Unit test on Ideologies, Political Parties and Elections -- the material we have studied since classes commenced. Complete the homework from Tuesday for next class.
  • Thursday, February 16 - Test post-mortem. Take up homework, #1-3, p. 233. Introduction to the Senate – Pros and cons of present setup (Be sure to look at the Senate material at Mapleleafweb). Essay Writing. There will be an essay question on what shall be done with the Canadian Senate on the next unit test. Introduction to Essay Writing. Read pp. 47-54 in Red Government text. Do #1-4, p. 48 and #1-5 and 7 on p. 54. For homework, come up with a three column table listing: reasons to keep the Senate as it is; reasons to change it; reasons why we should get rid of it. Rough out a plan for writing an essay response to this question on the next unit test. If you have time at the end of the class, discuss it with people around you.
  • Friday, February 17 - I cannot predict how much of this class will be usable, so will assume the worst as far as teaching time is concerned. We will do what we can. Introduction to the executive branch. Role of the Queen & Governor General. Read “Constitutional Monarchy” on p. 222-224 & "The GovernorGeneral" on p. 234. Identify points for and against getting rid of the Queen and Governor General. Should Canada become a Republic? Why or why not? Identify 3 reasons for and 3 reasons against doing so. Look at the Monarchist League of Canada and the Canadian Monarchist Online websites for arguments supporting the monarch; see Citizens for a Canadian Republic for arguments against retaining the monarchy. There has also been an active debate in Australia and New Zealand on this topic. Web searches would yield useful information.




Saturday, February 04, 2012

February 6-10



















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

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.

Notice to Parents: Because of the current labour dispute, only grade 12 marks are supposed to be provided on report cards. Written comments are proscribed. This does not mean that we are not reporting marks to students and parents regularly.

If you want an update regarding marks or other information you need only e-mail me at the address above. I am happy to give a full account that goes well beyond what a report card provides.

This blogsite will have all of the changing material -- lesson plans and links to assignments. I will try to ensure that all assignments are posted here.If you see something underlined, it means that you can click on the item to have it appear. I will do this for all pdf documents, PowerPoints, videos, and even some music.

Course outlines are posted in the material for the first class this semester - go to the Monday, January 30 posting.

Social Studies 8

We will begin with a Geography unit. Expect a unit test at the end of this, worth around 75 marks. This will be in roughly 3 weeks. It will be based on map reading and the use of Canadian Oxford World Atlas (7th edition). We will also have a number of quizzes worth from 5-30 marks throughout the unit. You will not always be warned ahead of time about quizzes -- so it is important to keep up.

If you are struggling, be sure to see me outside of class for extra help!

You will need the following material for the Geography unit: a ruler, pens, pencils, and coloured pencils, erasers, whiteout, a portable computer storage device (USB key, with at least 1 GB of space on it -- which you can use in all of your other classes too), and lined paper.

Keep all of your material in order in either a section of a bigger binder, with work from other courses, or a smaller Social Studies binder. The choice is yours. You should also have section dividers to separate units. Keep all work to study from for the final exam at the end of the course. After unit tests, you can take this work out and leave it safe at home if you do not want to keep carrying it around -- just don't lose it.

National Geographic has some nice overview PowerPoints for this unit. See Map Elements and Map Skills.
Social Studies 11

We will begin with the Government unit and start with the old red text to deal with ideologies. You will get the Counterpoints text, which we will use for most of the semester, once we get past ideologies -- which Counterpoints does not deal with well.

Expect your first unit test on Ideologies/Parties/Elections to be on Wednesday, February 15 -- or thereabout. The mark breakdown is most likely to be as follows: 30 multiple choice question (1 mark each); 4 items to label on a diagram (1 mark each); 5 definitions - you write a sentence or two about each term or name (2 marks each); 2 long answer questions from a choice of 4 options (6 marks each). The test should, therefore, be out of about 66 marks.

  • Monday, February 6 - Sign out Counterpoints text. Take up homework. Lecture/discussion – from ideologies to political parties – national parties in Canada. Read Counterpoints pp. 255-258. Do #3 & 4, p. 258. For homework over the last weekend, you took an online quiz to identify your political viewpoint. To see which Canadian political party comes closest to your views (2011 comparison - according to this organization. Take a look at US national politics while you are here), link here and see if this is what you expected. Interested in pursuing this further? Try some more tests -- mostly American -- to see where you stand.
  • Tuesday, February 7 - Take up homework. Placing parties on the political spectrum. PowerPoint. BC & Canadian political parties. Read Counterpoints pp. 249-258. Do #1-5, p. 253, & sidebar #1-3, p. 257.
  • Wednesday, February 8 - Take up #1-5, p. 253, #4, p. 258 & sidebar #1-3, p. 257. Review of party positions on the political spectrum, what parties currently stand for, and names of party leaders. Introduction to political party organizations. As part of your homework, you must go to Elections Canada's pages entitled I Can Vote, with information for young and first time voters. Answer these questions. Read pages 109-115 in the red Government text and answer questions #1-3 & 5, p. 115. Optional: Click here to go to a list of all of the political parties, with links to their web-pages.
  • Thursday, February 9 - Take up I Can Vote and #1-3 & 5, p. 115. Elections handout. Elections in Canada – The first-by-the-post system. (If time; proportional representation too). Read Government pp. 88-97. Do #4, p. 97. Research Canadian federal political parties. Which party would you support in the next federal election? Why? About a half page or so of writing is needed to adequately answer this question. Value: 10 marks, due Tuesday (next class). Find political party information at Elections Canada's registered political parties page.
  • Friday, February 10 - Take up #1-3, p. 257 & #4, p. 97. Elections lesson – day 2. Various voting systems. BCSTV animation. Assignment: What electoral system do you feel is best? Why? (due Monday. About 1 page).