Saturday, November 09, 2013

November 11-15



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 now in a rather long unit -- the Middle Ages -- and we will not test again for a few weeks. I will post information about the next test when we are a week or two away from it. 

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 Lance and The Weapons that Made Britain; The Longbow, Weapons that Made Britain; the Shield. 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).  Note, the due date on the document is not correct; see below.  I have booked three library blocks (computer lab & print sources) on Thursday, November 14, Thursday, November 21 and Thursday, November 28. The assignment will be due by the end of the first week in December -- by December 6.

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 herCastelology 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; The Monk's Manor is a 45 minute video about archeologists digging up a Monastic manor;  History Learning Site's Medieval Manor Houseswebpage 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, watchMonastic 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 minuteseach). Christianity; A History; The Crusades (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). 

Social Studies 11 

Our next test will be on the interwar years and World War II.  Expect it to be around Wednesday, November 27.  We will likely finish the unit before this, but will test on Wednesday to ensure that students can have additional time to complete the test if they need it.
History 12 

Topic #4 is underway.  Essay #2 is also underway.

Click here for the Essay #2 assignment sheet.  This will be due in late November. Hand in any time in the last week of the month.

Topic #4 Plan. 

Topic #4 Questions.

We have a few disruptions to our regular schedule, so the plan is already a bit off.

So much of World War II is seen through black and white film images.  New colourising technology is allowing documentary film-makers to convert such footage to colour.  If you have a couple of hours to watch an overview of the war, why not watch 

Documentary World War 2 II in Colour The Second World War color.


  • Monday, November 11 - Remembrance Day Holiday.  Attend a ceremony.
  • Tuesday, November 12 - Complete the lecture: Appeasement (base notes) - on PowerPoint.   Begin World War II chronology (PowerPoint, base notes).
  • Wednesday, November 13 - World War II chronology (PowerPoint, base notes). We will also look at one of the Twentieth Century History episodes -- probably The Road to Berlin, which looks at the Eastern Front.  
  • Thursday, November 14 - Video: Twentieth Century History; Pearl Harbour to Hiroshima if available. World War II chronology (PowerPoint, base notes).  Interested in the Pacific war -- from an American perspective?  Watch War in the Pacific, an 8 episode (45 minutes each) documentary series (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4,part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8).
  • Friday, November 14 - Probably complete World War II chronology (PowerPoint, base notes). Hopefully, begin World War II; the British Experience (base notes).
Social Studies 11 Honours 

Quite a while ago we started work on an essay in the Geography unit; we set the due date last week.  Please be prepared to submit it in mid-November.  It can come in any time in the week of November 18-23.

The next unit test -- on the Legislative/Executive/Judicial Branches -- along with Provincial and Municipal material -- is onTuesday.  This is a bit beyond what I thought last week.   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.

  • Monday, November 11 - Remembrance Day Holiday.  Attend a ceremony.
  • Tuesday, November 12 - Unit Test on the Legislative/Executive/Judicial branches, and Provincial and Municipal government.
  • Wednesday, November 13 - Test post mortem. Hand in Why Study History assignment.  Take up #1-3, p. 9 and the questions in figure 1-2, p. 6 and 1-5, p. 8.  Last week I began with an introductory PowerPoint on history.  I am changing course a little and will switch to my  Historiography and Historical Interpretation  PowerPoint, which I use in History 12.  The material overlaps, so I will just begin with slide 10 and click past slides that you have already seen.  Begin looking at late 19th century and early 20th century immigration to Canada -- push and pull factors. Laurier's Canada PowerPoint. Homework: Talk to someone who immigrated to Canada in their lifetime. What push & or pull factors brought them here? What difficulties have they faced in coming to a new land?  Those of you who are immigrants, talk to yourself and to your parents/guardians about this.
  • Thursday, November 14 - Take up homework.  Look at the earliest film of Vancouver - shot in 1907 on a hand-cranked movie camera, bolted to the front of a streetcar while traveling along Granville, Hastings, Carrall, Cordova, Cambie and Robson Streets. 1) What kinds of traffic do you see? 2) Did anything about the traffic surprise you? 3) What else did you notice about Vancouver in 1907? Another interesting look back in time is City Reflections; Vancouver - a set of 1907 and 2007 photos of the same locations - with the 1907 pictures taken from the streetcar film. What do you know about immigration to BC before the First World War? Discuss the problems of immigration to Canada in the late 19th and early 20th century - including the 1907 Vancouver race riot. More of the PowerPoint on Laurier's Canada. Read the sidebar on pp. 10-11 of your text and explain why you would support or oppose the payment of compensation to families who paid the head tax to come to Canada.   Read pp. 9-16.  Do #1-3, p. 16.  We will take up the homework on Monday.
  • Friday, November 15 - Take up #1-3, p. 16.  Discuss the head tax and the issue of compensation. Video - Komagata Maru - sorry, unavailable online. Board questions - 1) What did the Canadian public think of Indian immigration in 1914? 2) How did government try to restrict Indian immigration? 3) What world event pushed news of the Komogata Maru into the background in the summer of 1914? Do the "Looking Back" questions #1, 2, 6 and 7 on p. 19. Excellent material on early immigration to Canada can be found at the Library and Archives of Canada site's Immigration page - see further pages too.
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