May 7-11

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

So you just want to see photos of Sutherland activities? Click here to see my Picassa Albums.
Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.

Notice to Graduates and Parents: I regret to inform you that I am withdrawing from voluntary activities until further notice. My reasons are two-fold, relating to the current labour dispute and concerns for my personal health. I cannot legally say much more than this to students, but would be more than willing to explain my concerns to parents if they e-mail me. The 86% Club will not meet for the remainder of this year (fortunately we have covered the most important material in earlier meetings) and Mr. Benoy is no longer co-chairing the Sutherland Scholarship Committee, nor is he sitting as a member of the committee. Please direct any scholarship questions to Principal McGowan and the Sutherland Administration. I will still help any graduating students who ask me for individual help. 

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 are now in a rather long unit -- the Middle Ages -- and we will not test until Thursday, May 17 -- this will allow students to write beyond class time if they need to.  We will likely start the next unit before this test.

To help students who struggle with reading, I have adapted readings and questions from a simpler text for them. Only do this material if you have been asked by Mr. Benoy to do so. These students will not do the regular homework when this alternative is given. If you find reading the text impossibly difficult, see Mr. Benoy to discuss the issue. The alternative is not as detailed and content will be missed by those using it. However, it is better than not understanding a thing! 

We watched two episodes of Terry Jones' Medieval Lives in class. If you want to see about the lives of other medieval people, here are links to other episodes: The Monk, The Damsel, The Minstrel, The Philosopher, The Outlaw, The King. A terrific documentary about medieval life is Michael Woods' Christina; A Medieval Life. Be sure to watch this if you get the chance. It gives real insight into 14th Century peasant life. Mr. Benoy is particularly fond of this film as it describes medieval live in the English County in which he was born. We may or may not get a chance to work this into a class.

Interested in Medieval weapons? Watch Weapons that Made Britain; The Long Sword, Weapons that Made Britain; the Shield and The Weapons that Made Britain; The Longbow.Watch Battlefield Britain; Hastings about the Norman conquest of Britain.

Interested in medieval lifestyles? Try Clarissa and the King's Cookbook to see how medieval royals ate. Also in the Inside the Medieval Mind series is Belief -- find out about their religious and supernatural beliefs -- with heavy stress being on the supernatural part. Try also Inside the Medieval Church; Power -- about how people were controlled. Try also Inside the Medieval World; Knowledge - what medieval people knew. Investigate life in England's greatest medieval city -- London -- in Filthy Cities; Medieval London - not a pretty place, but like the expanding great cities of the developing world today, a place of horror and opportunity.

We are beginning a Medieval Research Assignment. (Medieval Research Project. Part 1. Part 2). I have booked three library blocks (computer lab & print sources) on Wednesday, April 25, Monday April 30 and Monday, May 7. The assignment will be due on Monday, May 14.

In addition to sources noted above, here are some additional links to sites useful for the various Medieval Research Assignments:

General:  Netserf has an excellent links page to all things medieval; If you are interested in medieval primary documents, you cannot do better than the Internet Medieval Sourcebook;  Another links page to all things medieval can be found at The Labyrinth, from Georgetown University;  Find Medieval literature at The Online Medieval and Classical Library;  If you are really interested in learning all about art and architecture from this time there is a terrific set of flashcards online at Gardner's Art Through the Ages online resource for chapter 18 - "The Age of Great Cathedrals; Gothic Art."

Castles: An interesting treatment of Welsh castles can be found at Castle - a 47 minute video;  Lise Hull's Castles of Britain website is a good starting point for resources.  You might also link out from her Castelology links page;  Jeffrey L. Thomas' Castles of Wales site is awesome;  Battle Castle  is a docudrama series about Medieval Castle warfare.  Go to the series' website for heaps of background information; Ordinarily I do not recommend commercial sites geared to making money from their efforts, however Medieval-Castle.comhttp://www.medieval-castle.com/ has a wealth of good information geared to about the right reading and content level for this course and another site, Castles and Manor Houses has some pretty wonderful pictures, along with attempts to sell you castle stays.  Their links page is pretty good if you are thinking about staying in a special medieval location (talk it up with your parents!);  and now that you're really interested in castles, why not think about visiting some of the best?  See Travel guru Rick Steve's page - "Medieval Castle Experiences."
The Manor:  Medieval Manor - British Social History - Changing Lives - 1066-1984 (7 minute video);  Wharram Percy; Deserted Medieval Village (website); Rural Life - sources from the British Library that includes a slideshow; Learn about prosperous peasant life after the Black Death from the short video Yeoman England; The Monk's Manor is a 45 minute video about archeologists digging up a Monastic manor;  History Learning Site's Medieval Manor Houses webpage is an excellent resource;
The Church: Church, from the British Library,;Church & Crown (video) - a short treatment of the division of power between Kings and the Church;  Medieval Minds - another short video which discusses what Medieval peasants believed; from the same series, watch Monastic Life to see what it was like to live in such institutions;
Cathedrals: Building the Great Cathedrals is a one hour documentary; Try The Medieval Mind; How to Build a Cathedral for a one hour video on cathedral construction; The Gothic Cathedral; a Landmark in Engineering is a 26 minute video -- pretty advanced stuff though; Modern Marvels; Gothic Cathedrals is a 45 minute American made video;  Watch NOVA's Building the Great Cathedrals (5 minutes);  A wonderful summary of Romanesque and Gothic architecture can be found at A White Garment of Churches, from the "Art of the Western World" series;Find great images of Cathedrals at A Digital Archive of Architecture --Romanesque and Gothic pages.  Alison Stone's Medieval Architecture site will get you to drawings and photos of an incredible selection of churches in England and France and there is also a very helpful glossary.
The Crusades: Terry Jones' The Crusades; Pilgrims in Arms.  is the first film in his series of three documentaries, the others are Jerusalem,Jihad, and Destruction.   A great documentary on the Crusades is The Crescent and the Cross  ( part 1, part 2; 1 hour 30 minutes). Christianity; A History; The Crusades (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). 

• Monday, May 7 -  Library Research block.  Report to the class for attendance and then head to the school computer lab.
  
• Tuesday, May 8 -  Take up p. 74 homework from last Thursday.  Complete Terry Jones' The Crusades; Pilgrims in Arms and go over the questions.   Primary Documents: Descriptions of Urban II's preaching of the first crusade. Watch Episode 2: Jerusalem, and do the questions on the 2nd screen: 1) What equipment did a night on the first crusade take with him? 2) What hazards did crusaders face and was it likely that a crusader would survive the 1st Crusade? 3) Why did Baldwin leave the main crusader group to go to Edessa? 4) How were fortified cities attacked by the crusaders? 5) What happened at Marat? 6) Did Christians in Jerusalem need rescuing? Explain. 7) How did the Crusader's treat the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they took the city? If time - primary document on the Crusaders in Jerusalem. Question: How do you think local people reacted to the arrival of the Crusaders? Work on your reports. 
• Wednesday, May 9 - Complete Jerusalem video, if not completed in class and take up the questions (See Wednesday). Note: This is some of the most important material we will look at in History this year. It ties in the distant past with the world today. Video: Christianity; A History; The Crusades (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4).Why does the word "crusade" upset Muslims in the Middle East? Do western leaders today seem to understand this view? Go online and read the Hosford Atlas Crusades material, pp. 27-28. Crusades Map Assignment, due next class; 10 marks.  
• Thursday, May 10 - Take up homework. Finish the video from last class if we did not do so. Introduction to the "Growth of Royal Power in England and France." Video: The Anglo-Saxon Report. Video clip; William the Conqueror (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) 1) Why did William of Normandy invade England? 2) How were 7,000 Normans able to control 2 million Anglo-Saxons? 3) How did this change life for England's inhabitants? Mr. Zoller's Video Podcasts; the Magna Carta. Questions: 1) How did English Kings after the Norman conquest centralize power in the King's hands. 2) How did Magna Carta change this?  Sidebar on Magna Carta in Patterns of Civilization, p. 80 & handout questions for homework - pick up a paper copy after school if you cannot access online.
• Friday, May 11 - Take up Magna Carta homework. Video: Battle of Agincourt and questions - a) What weapon helped the English win here? b) What does this tell us about how warfare is changing toward the end of the end of the Middle Ages? Introduce unification of France. Look at map on p. 81 of Patterns of Civilization. Land was added to the Royal domain because nobles were decimated by the Hundred Years War (which we will study more later) - and having their land revert to the King, and the development of a distinctly French & English nationalism (See this summary of the end of the Hundred Years War) and French Kings gained much control over the Church in France. Read p. 77-81. Do #1-6, p. 81.

 Social Studies 11




***Here is a set of summary notes for the Social Studies 11 course -- excellent to study from for the final exam.

I expect our next test to be Tuesday.  The test as previously posted has gone missing!  What you will get is a shorter version than the one advertised -- my apologies. The mark breakdown for the test is as follows:45  multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 5 definitions (2 marks each) and 3from a choice of 5 long answer questions (10 marks each). The total is, therefore, out of 69 (not the 95 previously indicated) marks. 

• Monday, May 7 - Hand in POW Assignment (on the bottom of the Viewing Guide for The Valor and the Horror; Savage Christmas; Hong Kong 1941)  from last week (I forgot to collect at the start of Friday's class, so not all were handed in that block.  Complete  Video: on the Holocaust (Frontline; Memory of the Camps – Chapter 4. Available online at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/camp/view/.) This material is particularly horrifying. It is important to watch it if you can, but if you are unable to do so, please go to the "fishbowl" lounge area beside Mr. Nichols' room and study there until the video is over.  If time -- Introduction to post-war Canada. PowerPoint Post 1945 Canada. Prepare for the unit test next class.
• Tuesday, May 8 - Unit Test on Chapters 3-5. Read pp. 130-135. Do sidebar questions p. 133 & 134 & #1-4, p. 135.
•  Wednesday, May 9 -  PowerPoint Post 1945 Canada. Material from Canada; A Peoples’ History; Comfort & Fear. (Comfort & Fear, From Sea to Sea and Boom- questions). Read pp. 135-139. Do #1-5, p. 139.
• Thursday, May 10 - Take up #1-5, p. 139.  PowerPoint Post 1945 Canada. Material from Canada; A Peoples’ History; Comfort & Fear. (Seeing Red, On Guard for Thee and The Shadow of Nuclear War -questions). Read pp. 140-146. Do sidebar questions pp. 140, 141 #1-2, 143 #3, 145 & #1-6, p. 146. Watch some anti-communist American propaganda from the 1950's He May Be a Communist,The Red Menace, and the ever popular film used in schools --Communism.
• Friday, May 11 - Please note:  This lesson is a change from what was posted on the weekend.  We are slightly ahead of where I expected to be.    Take up sidebar questions pp. 140, 141 #1-2, 143 #3, 145 &  #1-6, p. 146.  PowerPoint Post 1945 Canada. Material from Canada; A Peoples’ History; Comfort & Fear. ("First Tremors" "A Prairie Storm" & "The Fight for Medicare" - questions), Read pp. 146-156. Do sidebars p. 146 ; #1-4, p. 150, #1-3, p. 155 & #1-5, p, p. 156. Watch the stunning British Documentary Nuclear War: A Guide to Armageddon (Part 1, Part 2& Part 3) to understand the stakes of nuclar confrontation. Another rivetting show on nuclear war is Threads, a BBC production about what would happen to a community if nuclear war occurred.