Friday, February 28, 2014

March 3 - 7



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

This blog provides lesson plans for each week.  Look ahead to see where we are going.  Look back to see what you might have missed. All assignments are provided here.  If anything is underlined, click on it to bring up the document or, in the case of videos, link to an online version of what was scheduled for seeing in class or as enrichment.  
So you just want to see photos of Sutherland activities? Click here to see my Picasa Albums. 

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.  Admittedly, I do not update this site regularly, so there may be dead links.

Social Studies 8 

We just finished Geography and began our first History unit.  The next test is a couple of weeks away --  I will have to give it on Friday, March 14 -- that is the last day of classes before Spring Break.  I know this is not ideal and it means that students will have to complete the test in class time, with at most 5 extra minutes during the break.  I will adjust the length of the test from previous years to cut it down a little in size.  The alternative is to write after Spring Break when you've had two weeks to forget everything; hence my decision. Your test on Rome will include the following: 40 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 3 out of 5 definition items (2 marks each) and 2 long answer questions (6 marks each). The total is, therefore, out of 58 marks. You can earn up to 5 bonus marks for submitting at least 25 correctly made flash cards (term or name only on the front and definition or why the person is important on the back) at the time of the exam. You may not hand these in late to earn marks; they must be submitted when you write the test.


  • Monday, March 3 - Hand in timeline assignment.   Introduction to the Greco-Roman world. Watch What the Romans Did For Us; Life of Luxury (Part 1Part 2) & What the Romans Did For Us; Ahead of Their Time (Part 1Part 2). While watching the videos list Roman inventions that we need and use today. Read Patterns of Civilization, pp. 2-6. Do #1-6, p. 6.
  • Tuesday, March 4 -  Take up #1-6, p. 6. Video - Roman City and questions.  No specific homework.  Be sure to work on making flash cards 
  • Wednesday, March 5 -  Take up the video questions on David Macauley's Roman City if we did not do so last class. 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 Romans Did for Us; Arteries of the Empire (Part 1Part 2). 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.
  • Thursday, March 6 -  Take up handout questions. Introduction to Ancient Religions: Paganism, Judaism, Mystery Cults and Christianity. Watch Ancient 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 ChristianityBe 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.
  • Friday, March 7 -  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 questionsAssignment: 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 Tuesday -- note: this is a change from my original post.  Your architecture assignment comes in on Monday, so I would rather not collect both assignments on the same day. 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.
Social Studies 11 

Expect your next unit test to be Thursday, March 13.  We will begin the next unit before then, but leaving the test will allow for us to run into Tuesday's class if we need to and still allow anyone who wants to take extra time on the test to do so.  Expect the mark breakdown to be 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.  A minimum of 25 properly done flash cards will earn 5 bonus marks, which will be added to the test score.

  • Monday, March 3 -  Take up #1-6, p 196 (red book) and #2-4, p. 246 (blue book). Take up homework. Discuss Aboriginal self-government. Mayor Mussatto's PowerPoint on Municipal affairs.  Complete this fact-finding Internet worksheet on local government to help prepare you for  next Thursday's test - for next class.
  • Tuesday, March 4 -  Take up the fact-finding worksheet on municipal government.  We will finish anything not completed on Tuesday and regarding Municipal government.  Overview of the Judiciary - PowerPoint - go to the section on the Judiciary. Read pp. 270-275. Do #1-3, p. 275.
  • Wednesday, March 5 - Take up homework, #1-3, p. 275. Complete PowerPoint material from last class Comparison of Adversarial vs. Inquisitorial court systems. Videos on the court system.  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.
  • Thursday, March 6 -   Take up #1-3, p. 280, and 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.
  • Friday, March 7 - 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. 

Friday, February 21, 2014

February 24-28



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

This blog provides lesson plans for each week.  Look ahead to see where we are going.  Look back to see what you might have missed. All assignments are provided here.  If anything is underlined, click on it to bring up the document or, in the case of videos, link to an online version of what was scheduled for seeing in class or as enrichment.  
So you just want to see photos of Sutherland activities? Click here to see my Picasa Albums. 

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.  Admittedly, I do not update this site regularly, so there may be dead links.

Social Studies 8 

Your Geography unit test is coming soon - This Wednesday, February 26.  It will be worth about 75 marks and will involve using your atlas to answer questions posed to you.  You will not be able to use your Geographical Essentials text.  Only a small amount of material must be memorized.  The main thing is to be able to do tasks assigned to you, just as you have done while answering the various skill worksheets we assigned during this unit.


  • Monday, February 24 -  Take up the Time Zone worksheet.  Watch Understanding Time Zones and Why We Have Time Zones.  Do the second time zone worksheet -- complete it for homework.
  • Tuesday, February 25 - 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 next class.
  • Wednesday, February 26 -  Unit Test on Geography. If you finish early, sign out the new text book and look through it.
  • Thursday, February 27 - Open House Day - No classes.
  • Friday, February 28 -  Test post-mortem.  Look over exam results and what they mean.  Sign out new texts and return old ones.  What is History?  Why study it?   PowerPoint.  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 Monday.

Social Studies 11 


We just had a unit test, so the next test is a couple of weeks away.

  • Monday, February 24 -  Take up #1-4, p. 48 and #1-5 & 7 p. 54.  Essay writing hints.  Introduction to the Executive Branch.  Go over the role of the Queen, Governor General, Prime Minister, and Cabinet.  Read "constitutional Monarchy" on pp. 222-224 of Counterpoints.  Also read "The Governor General" on p. 234.  Identify points for and against getting rid of the monarchy (Queen and Governor General).  Should Canada become a republic?  Why or why not?  Identify at least 3 reasons for and 3 reasons against doing so.  Look at theMonarchist League of Canada and Canadian Monarchist Onlinewebsites for arguments supporting the monarch.  See Citizens for a Canadian Republic for arguments against.  There has also been an active debate on this topic in Australia and New Zealand.  Web searches about their debates would also prove useful.
  • Tuesday, February 25 - Take up homework.  discuss the role of the P.M., Cabinet, and bureaucracy.  Watch Yes, Minister episode.  While watching, decide who really runs a government department -- the Minister?  or the Permanent Secretary (in Canada, the job is called the Deputy Minister)?  Read pp. 234-240.  Do #1-4, p. 240.  Assignment: value 5 marks.  Identify by name each member of the current federal (national) cabinet and be sure to give the name of each department.  This is an assignment -- not a homework check -- so accuracy is an important part of the mark.
  • Wednesday, February 26 - Take up #1-4, p. 240 and hand in the Cabinet assignment.  Discuss lobbying and pressure groups.  Look at the list of institutionalized groups on p. 259 of Counterpoints.  Click here for an online list of federal lobby groups -- interest groups and social movements.  Divide into groups with printed or online background information.  Each group should discuss how to make the public buy into supporting their position.  How should the argument be "spun" to maximize public support for this position?  After discussing as a group, each individual should now work on the Poster Assignment  please note; this is an individual assignment and not a group one as indicated on the online version of the assignment.  It is also due next class and not at the end of this block as the online version says.  Please do this on regular (8.5 x 11 inch, blank) paper.  The assignment is valued at 10 marks and is due next class (Friday).  Also read pp. 258-267.  Do #1-2, p. 264 and #1-3, p. 267 of Counterpoints.
  • Thursday, February 27 - Open House Day - No classes.
  • Friday, February 27 - Take up #1-3, p. 178 (red text). Comparison of Provincial and Federal government set-ups.  Go over material from Wednesday's film.  Video & questions on Provincial and Municipal Government. Read (red book) pp. 186-196. Do #1-6, p 196. Read (blue book) pp. 245-246. Do #2-4, p. 246.





Friday, February 14, 2014

February 17-21



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

This blog provides lesson plans for each week.  Look ahead to see where we are going.  Look back to see what you might have missed. All assignments are provided here.  If anything is underlined, click on it to bring up the document or, in the case of videos, link to an online version of what was scheduled for seeing in class or as enrichment.  
So you just want to see photos of Sutherland activities? Click here to see my Picasa Albums. 

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.  Admittedly, I do not update this site regularly, so there may be dead links.

Social Studies 8 

We are in the midst of our Geography unit -- but will soon come to its end.  Expect your unit test to be on Wednesday, February 16.  It will be out of roughly 75 marks.  It will be based on map reading and the use of Canadian Oxford World Atlas (7th edition). 




Social Studies 11  

Expect your first unit test on Ideologies/Parties/Elections to be on Thursday, February 27 -- even though we will finish the unit on Monday. Testing Thursday allows those students needing extra time to write into lunch  break.  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 17 -  Take up #4, p. 97. Elections lesson – day 2. Various voting systems. BCSTV animation. Assignment: What electoral system do you feel is best? Why? (due Thursday, September 19. About 1 page).
  • Tuesday, February 18 - 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. 
  • Wednesday, February 19 - 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 (sorry, unavailable online) andquestions.  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 pp. 226-231 and do #1-3, p. 231.
  • Thursday, February 20 - Unit Test on Ideologies, Parties and Elections.
  • Friday, February 21 - Exam post-mortem.  Take up #1-3, p. 231.  Pros and cons of the current Senate setup.  Be sure to look at the Senate material at Mapleleafweb and also read The Senate Today  from The Parliament of Canada Website..  Essay Writing tips.  Please note:  there will be an essay question on what should be done with the Canadian Senate on the next unit test.  Read pp. 47-54 in the Red Government text.  Do #1-4, p. 48 and #1-5 and #7 on p. 54.  For homework you must also come up with a three-column table listing reasons to:  keep the Senate as it is, reform (change) it, or keep it as it is now.


Friday, February 07, 2014

February 10-14



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

This blog provides lesson plans for each week.  Look ahead to see where we are going.  Look back to see what you might have missed. All assignments are provided here.  If anything is underlined, click on it to bring up the document or, in the case of videos, link to an online version of what was scheduled for seeing in class or as enrichment.  
So you just want to see photos of Sutherland activities? Click here to see my Picasa Albums. 

Things that are static -- not requiring regular change -- can be found at my website:http://sites.google.com/site/kbenoy/.  Admittedly, I do not update this site regularly, so there may be dead links.


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 this class: 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.

  • Monday, February 10 - Family Day Holiday.  No classes in session.
  • Tuesday, February 11 - Take up Scale homework. Countries game - girls vs boys.  Direction on maps - points on a compass. -- introduction and video clip. Here is a second, more detailed, video.   Direction and Scale Worksheet.Struggling with figuring out how compass directions work? Use this simple elementary school explanation from the BBC in Britain.  
  • Wednesday, February 12 -  Take up Direction and Scale Worksheet homework. Countries game - girls vs boys.  Direction on maps - points on a compass. -- introduction and video clip Introduction to map symbols.  Video clip on map symbols - colour.  Symbols worksheet - complete for homework.  For a really simple (elementary school level) explanation of map symbols, see this National Geographic site.  Rather more advanced, but quite cheesy, is this 1967 US Department of Defense educational video dealing with map symbols.
  • Thursday, February 13 -  Take up Symbols worksheet (I may or may not do a homework check, worth 3 marks for completion). Animaniacs countries song. Countries game -- individual lists -- compare your total to the first time we did this.  More symbols review -Symbols 2 worksheet - complete for homework.  Also complete the assignment: Continents and Major Water Bodies map -- due next class, value: 10 marks -- based on completion, accuracy and neatness.  Completely unrelated to learning map symbols, but entertaining is this video clip - McGyver; How to Use a Map.
  • Friday, February 14 -  Hand in Continents and Major Water Bodies map.  Take up homework -- Symbols 2 worksheet.  Naming countries contest - boys vs. girls.  Quiz - Scale and Direction -- note: this was postponed.  Expect such a quiz next week.  Introduction to grids.  Geographical Essentials, pp. 15-19. Activity #9 #1-3. Complete #4 and Activity 10 for homework. Map Assignment - School to Home - due Monday, Value: 10 marks -- based on having all the map basics, accuracy, neatness and usability.
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 10 - Family Day Holiday.  No classes in session.
  • Tuesday, February 11 - Take up Identifying Ideologies worksheet. PowerPoint –Ideologies  Other ways to show political spectrum.  Ideologies Identification homework. Lecture/discussion - from ideologies to political parties - national parties in Canada. More practice with ideologies. Do the first side only. Read Counterpoints pp. 255-258.  Do #3 and 4, p. 258.  For homework you earlier did an online quiz to determine your ideology.  Which political party comes closest to your views? You might try some more tests -- mostly American - to see where you stand.
  • Wednesday, February 12 - Take up homework.  Video on ideologies (sorry, unavailable online).  Placing parties on the political spectrum.  PowerPoint:  BC & Canadian Political Parties in the Ideologies and Political Parties  PowerPoint.  Complete More practice with ideologies.  Read Counterpoints  pp. 249-258.  Do #1-5, p. 253 and sidebar #1-3, p. 257.
  • Thursday, February 13 - 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 voters.  Answer these questions.  Read pp. 109-115 in the Red Government text and answer questions 1-3 &; 5, p. 115.  Optional:  Click here to get a list of all of the political parties, with links to their web-pages.
  • Friday, February 14 - (Block 3 only.  Sign up for open house day activities - computer lab).  Reminder of flash card policy for tests (see above). 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.  Watch this video account of the problems with first past the post elections.