Friday, January 02, 2009

January 5 to 9








El Greco

View of Toledo

...and Benoy

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 -- any time between January 5-9, 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.

Chapters 2 & 3 will be tested together in about a week and a half or so. I will post information about the test when we get a little closer.

You should be preparing for the final examination. Read my Tips for Writing the Social Studies 11 Provincial 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.

Comparative Civilizations 12

The final examination in this course will be held on the last two days of class, instead of during exam week. This test is worth 15% of your course mark. Only the first part of the test is closed book. You may refer to your notebooks in answering all other material.


Final Exam, Day 1: Slide Identification (closed book). Expect 50 items. You are to identify the work, the artist and the period (100 marks - since not all items have all three parts, we will give bonus marks for any third part identified). The remaining part of day 1 is an essay question - choose 1 from among 4 options (24 marks - 6 for composition and 18 for content -- marked according to the provincial examinations English & History rubrics).


Final Exam, Day 2: 15 matching items (1 mark each), 10 identifying styles from written descriptions (10 marks), 80 multiple choice (80 marks), and two from 5 long answer questions (20 marks - 10 each).


The final examination is, therefore, out of 249 marks -- but this is scaled to 15% of your final course mark.

We will assign the next package on Friday, but your Mannerism and Reformation packages are not jointly due until Monday, January 12 -- though I will gladly take the Mannerism package in on Thursday the 8th or Friday the 9th.

History 12

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.

Note: The following plan was changed mid-week as we are taking longer than expected. Consequently, I have decided to cut the in-class essay to save time. Apologies to those of you who were counting on this to raise your mark further.



  • Monday, January 5 - The Vietnam War (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. Look at Susan Pojer's PowerPoint on the Vietnam War.
  • Tuesday, January 6 - Continue the Vietnam War (base notes). If time, begin looking at Domestic America after 1945 (base notes). Watch this short video (7 minutes) with images and protest songs (mostly Bob Dylan) about the civil rights movement. Watch the 11 minute video of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. See other Civil Rights videos at the PBS site - Eyes on the Prize. Link back for other material.
  • Wednesday, January 7 - The USA (domestic) Since 1945 (base notes). Note: look at Britain's SchoolHistory's revision material for this topic. Look at Susan Pojer's PowerPoint on 1950's America.
  • Thursday, January 8 - USA (domestic) Since 1945 - continued.
  • Friday, January 9 - Economic Resurgence in Western Europe (base notes).