Saturday, September 12, 2009

September 14-18
















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 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 and given to you on your course outline 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 8

Expect a unit test in about 2 to 3 weeks - it will be based on map reading and the use of your Canadian Oxford World Atlas. We will have a number of quizzes, worth 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 time 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 with at least 1 GB of space on it, and lined paper. Keep all of your materials, in order, in a section of a multi-course binder or in a smaller binder for this course only. Use section dividers between units and have a section in your binder for map work. You will need to save all of your notes to study from for the final exam at the end of the year, but you only need to have the current unit with you in class. I suggest that you keep your notes safe at home after completing each unit test.

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


    • Monday, September 14 - Take up homework (the Atlas worksheet) -- If your teacher collects it in class it will be marked out of 3 marks, based on completion. Do your best, even if you have errors you can still earn 3/3. Video - Types of Maps and Map Projections. Look at Geographical Essentials text, pp. 4-7 - "Map Outlines." The Basic ingredients of all maps - Outlines, Direction, Colour & Symbols (and a key or legend, Scale. If time - Mind Map of North Vancouver (10 minutes). See pages 56,57 & 58 in Geographical Essentials. Scale Worksheet - complete to #8 for homework (we did not get as far as I had hoped). If you have trouble grasping how scale works, get the basics from this BBC elementary school level site on the subject. A really nice advanced summary can be found at this National Resources Canada site.
    • Tuesday, September 15 - Scale review -- look at pages 55-59 and 62 in Geographical Essentials. Take up Scale Worksheet homework #1-8 (This may or may not be collected. If it is, it will be marked out of 3 for completion). Review Scale. Direction on maps - points on a compass. -- introduction and video clip. Direction & Scale Worksheet - Do to #3. Struggling with figuring out how compass directions work? Use this simple elementary school explanation from the BBC in Britain.
    • Wednesday, September 16 - Take up Direction & Scale Worksheet (I may or may not do a homework check - worth 3 marks for completion). Introduction to map symbols. Video clip on my symbols (sorry -- unavailable on the web). Symbols worksheet - complete for homework. Map Assignment - School to Home (valued at 10 marks - due Monday).
    • Thursday, September 17 - Take up homework. Naming countries contest. More symbols review - Symbols Worksheet 2 - complete for homework, and also remember to complete the school to home map.
    • Friday, September 18 - No Class; this is a school professional day. Don't forget to complete homework and the map assignment!
Social Studies 11

The test for Ideologies/Parties/Elections is on __________ (I will fill this in when I have a clear idea of when it might be -- expect it to be in about 2 weeks). The mark breakdown is as follows: 30 multiple choice questions at one mark each; 10 identify the ideology of a statement questions at one mark each; four items to identify on a graphic element at one mark each; 5 definitions - write a sentence or two about terms or names that you are given - at two marks apiece; and two long answer questions from four options at six marks each. The test total is, therefore, out of 66 marks.

I will give bonus marks on your tests for completing flash cards and handing them in at the start of the test. On any test with fewer than 50 marks, you may receive up to 3 bonus marks. For tests over 50 marks, 5 bonus can be earned. See how to do them here.




  • Monday, September 14 - Origins of the Political Spectrum - including summary handout sheet. PowerPoint – “Ideologies”. Ideology identification practice. The following reading is completely optional: For an interesting American article on the difference between Lefties and Righties, see Patricia Cohen's New York Times Article: "Across the Great Divide; Investigating Links Between Personality and Politics."
  • Tuesday, September 15 - Take up Ideologies Identification homework. Video clip on ideologies - sorry, not available online. Other ways to show political spectrum. More practice with ideologies.
  • Wednesday, September 16 - 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 (2008 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.
  • Thursday, September 17 - Take up homework. Placing parties on the political spectrum. PowerPoint. BC & Canadian political parties. Read Counterpoints pp. 249-258. Do #1-5, p. 253, #4, p. 258 & sidebar #1-3, p. 257.
  • Friday, September 18 - No class today. This is a school professional day. Be sure to complete all homework and use some time to review.
Social Studies 11H

Your Geography textbook is also available online at http://www.design4effect.com/soc11/ . Though we will use some material from the other text, most will be from this e-text. Be aware that this text is now a few years old and many hyperlinks are broken. Rewriting is a massive job that I have not had time to take on yet.

Expect a chapter 1 quiz -- probably on Thursday, Sept. 17. The mark breakdown will be roughly as follows: 15 multiple choice questions (1 mark each) and 3 long answer questions from 5 options (6 marks each). The total will be out of around 33 marks. 3 bonus marks are available for completing flash cards. Later tests will also have this bonus opportunity, but when tests are valued at over 50 marks, it is possible to earn 5 bonus marks, rather than 3.



  • Monday, September 14 - Hand in work from Essay Workshop. Take up homework, Do #1-5, p. 11#1-9, p. 16 and #1-4, p. 17. Begin watching Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and questions. Read pp. 17-22. Do #1-2, p. 17. #1-4, p. 21.
  • Tuesday, September 15 - Take up homework. Complete An Inconvenient Truth and questions. Discuss the video -- Why is it sometimes seen as controversial? Read p. 22 and do the "Further Thought questions, #1-2, on p. 22. Optional: For an alternative view, see The Great Global Warming Swindle. (You will need to do a video search for following segments.) To make sense of this debate you could look into what respectable academic bodies say. Many countries have academies of science; investigate their views. The United Nations' Secretary General, Ban-Ki Moon recently traveled to the Arctic and he is on record as speaking on the subject during this trip. His view is representative of most of the world's nations on the topic. Also last year's United Nations Human Development Report took as its over-arching theme Climate Change. You will find the report's accompanying video interesting (choose your download speed and language).
  • Wednesday, September 16 - Take up homework. Essay Writing Workshop Part 3. If we have time, we may look at additional ch. 1 related video resources. Complete the Essay Outline, the asignment for part 3 of the Essay Writing Workshop, for Monday. Prepare for the test tomorrow.
  • Thursday, September 17 - Essay Writing Workshop - Part 4 -- research techniques, including Citing Sources & bibliographies. Chapter 1 quiz. Work on the assignment for part 3 of the Essay Writing Workshop. Read pp. 29-31. Do both #1-3 on p. 31. In Part 4 I refer to Zotero (www.zotero.org ) - If you are interested in this Firefox Plugin that magically helps you gather and sort research notes while automatically setting up citations and bibliographies, be sure to go to http://www.zotero.org/support/screencast_tutorials and watch the screencasts that tell about these features.
  • Friday, September 18 - No classes because of the school professional day. However, ensure that you are up to date and do a little review if you get the chance. Start to think about your upcoming research essay and look for resources.
History 12

Expect to write your first quiz on Thursday, September 17. The test is likely to have 15 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 10 definitions, where I give you the definition and you provide the name or term (1 mark each), 5 definitions (2 marks each), and 1 essay (18 marks - 6 for composition and 2 x 6 for content). The total is, therefore 53 marks -- though I reserve the right to adjust the test, based on our progress in the first unit.

All topic #1 work is due by 4:30 p.m. on this day. Essay #1 is a couple of weeks after the first unit ends -- my target date is Wednesday, September 30. I posted it on the Topic #1 plan for Tuesday the 29th but note that there is no History 12 class on this date because of post- secondary liaison day, which is unusually early this year.

Topic #2's plan and questions are now available.
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Monday, August 24, 2009

September 9-11




















Summer holidays have finished and a new school year begins.

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 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 and given to you on your course outline 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 8

We will begin with a Geography unit. Expect a unit test at the end of this, worth around 75 marks -- in about 3 or 4 weeks - it will be based on map reading and the use of your Canadian Oxford World Atlas. We will have a number of quizzes, worth 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 time 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 with at least 1 GB of space on it, and lined paper. Keep all of your materials, in order, in a section of a multi-course binder or in a smaller binder for this course only. Use section dividers between units and have a section in your binder for map work. You will need to save all of your notes to study from for the final exam at the end of the year, but you only need to have the current unit with you in class. I suggest that you keep your notes safe at home after completing each unit test.

Social Studies 11

The test for Ideologies/Parties/Elections is on __________. The mark breakdown is as follows: 30 multiple choice questions at one mark each; 10 identify the ideology of a statement questions at one mark each; four items to identify on a graphic element at one mark each; 5 definitions - write a sentence or two about terms or names that you are given - at two marks apiece; and two long answer questions from four options at six marks each. The test total is, therefore, out of 66 marks.


Social Studies 11H

This class has similarities and differences with regular Social Studies 11. Your tests will all be the same level of difficulty. You will not be penalized for taking the more challenging option. The key difference is that this section is geared for college and university bound students -- therefore we focus more intently on academic writing. We buy the time for this by moving a little more quickly through curricular material; this is generally not a problem because of the ability level of most of the class. We will cover the curriculum a little differently from regular Social Studies 11 because the Geography content lends itself well to student-generated writing topics.

Your Geography textbook is also available online at http://www.design4effect.com/soc11/ . Though we will use some material from the other text, most will be from this e-text. Be aware that this text is now a few years old and many hyperlinks are broken. Rewriting is a massive job that I have not had time to take on yet.

Expect a chapter 1 quiz next -- probably on Friday. The mark breakdown will be roughly as follows: 15 multiple choice questions (1 mark each) and 3 long answer questions from 5 options (6 marks each). The total will be out of around 33 marks. 3 bonus marks are available for completing flash cards.




History 12

Expect to write your first quiz on or about Tuesday, Thursday, September 16. The test is likely to have 15 multiple choice questions (1 mark each), 10 definitions, where I give you the definition and you provide the name or term (1 mark each), 5 definitions (2 marks each), and 1 essay (18 marks - 6 for composition and 2 x 6 for content). The total is, therefore 53 marks -- though I reserve the right to adjust the test, based on our progress in the first unit.

All topic #1 work is due by 4:30 p.m. on this day. Essay #1 is a couple of weeks after the first unit ends -- my initial target date is Tuesday, September 29..


  • Wednesday, September 9 -
Introduction. Expectations. Outline. Exam Specifications. Unit 1 Plan. Topic 1 questions. (World Map Blank 1914)
  • Thursday, September 10- Historiography and Historical Interpretation .
  • Friday, September 11 - Theories of History.
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    Saturday, June 13, 2009

    June Exams


    Classes are finished, but there is still important work to be done. Ignore the good weather and push on with studying for finals. Improve your marks; earn an A or a pass. Keep that conditional acceptance to post-secondary. Position yourself for a scholarship. Don't give up until the final curtain falls.

    Social Studies 11 Honours

    We began final exam preparation in Friday's class and worked through much of my PowerPoint on preparing for the provincial. It is imperative that you see the rest of it and think about what you will do between now and Friday.

    It is essential that you are currently preparing to write the Provincial Final Exam. This is not a test that you can cram for with one or two days to go. You must become familiar with what to expect on the final exam and comfortable with the format of the test. Go to the ministry sites ( Frequently asked questions page, table of specifications, key verb list, & scoring criteria) to see how the exam is put together and look at past exams -- in fact you should write the sample test and look at the posted key to see how you do. To see how to approach the essay questions, look at this document provided to train markers of the exam. Link from my web page on writing the SS11 final.

    Your provincial exam is on Friday, June 19, from 9-12:00 a.m. in the small gym. You must get there early. Dress in layers to be comfortable in whatever the climate conditions are on that day. Make sure you had a good night's sleep the night before - overnight cramming is absolutely the worst tactic you could adopt. Practice relaxation techniques if you feel tense. Go to the toilet before entering the exam room!

    History 12

    With all of the missed classes and interruptions in block 2 this semester, we just barely missed finishing all of the lecture material. I did not complete the final classes to my satisfaction, so be sure to read the base notes for the last four classes to pick up more detail (see them archived below). I particularly recomment watching Frontline; the Long Walk of Nelson Mandela. Also watch this 12 minute interview witht the other Nobel lauriate, F. W. De Klerk. Think of the changes in South Africa and compare them with Gandhi's tactics and the US Civil Rights movement.

    We will have an exam prep. session in my room from 1:30 until ? Monday afternoon for those who wish to attend. This will be based on this PowerPoint and will also include a look at how to approach the final exam using an old version.

    Be sure to check out provincial exam material at the following government sites:

    Try this site for past exams in most grade 12 subjects. Answer keys are also given.

    You must bring all textbooks to me before the provincial exam. I will start out in my classroom and will move to outside the exam room before it 0pens. Our text budget has been drastically cut, so I cannot afford to have books go missing. You will be billed for any book not returned - at current replacement costs.

    Comparative Civilizations 12

    Classes are finished and the final exam has been written, but most of you took the extension to Monday to complete assignments. I guarantee all Monday submissions will be marked. I will likely be able to mark Tuesday submissions too. However, everything will be marked on a first-come-first-served basis. Marks will be posted by Wednesday afternoon as with so much work to come in, they are being regularly updated.

    I must get your textbooks back as soon as possible! I will be billing for unreturned texts and will seek you out and possibly turn to voodoo or other tactics to get them. Lost books are too expensive to replace at this time as our book budget has been drastically cut from past levels.
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    Saturday, June 06, 2009

    June 8-12


    ..


















    As of Monday, there are 5 classes left (3 for C.Civ. 12 as your final exam is during the last two classes. Now is the time to begin preparing for final examinations. 1) Be sure all assignments are complete. 2) Set aside regular time to study for the final.

    Need help figuring out how to study? Go to my study skills web page.


    Social Studies 11 Honours


    To save time, I will test "Government" as a single unit in, probably, the 2nd from last class. This will be a very big test with an extensive multiple-choice component. The subjective section of the exam will have to be shorter than usual to allow for this -- but you will need to study for subjective writing for the final exam in any case. A minimum of 50 flash cards will be needed to earn 5 bonus marks for this test.

    The Mark breakdown for the Government test on Thursday is as follows:

    85 multiple choice questions (1 mark each) and four from 9 Long answer questions (6 marks each). The total number of marks is, therefore 109 marks -- though with 5 bonus marks it is possible to earn 1114/109.

    It is essential that you are currently preparing to write the Provincial Final Exam. This is not a test that you can cram for with one or two days to go. You must become familiar with what to expect on the final exam and comfortable with the format of the test. Go to the ministry sites ( Frequently asked questions page, table of specifications, key verb list, & scoring criteria) to see how the exam is put together and look at past exams -- in fact you should write the sample test and look at the posted key to see how you do. To see how to approach the essay questions, look at this document provided to train markers of the exzm. Link from my web page on writing the SS11 final, and also see my PowerPoint on how to approach the test.

    • Monday, June 8 - Take up #1, p. 297, #2-3 sidebar p. 303, #1 & 3, p. 304, #3, p. 308 & #2, p. 312. Students should have looked at the remainder of the PowerPoint that we did not complete on Friday. Filmstrip -- Provincial Government. Government (red) texts. Read pp. 170-178. Do #1-3, p. 178. Read pp. 240-244. Do Fig. 9-19 p. 241, #2, sidebar, p. 244 #1-4, p. 246.
    • Tuesday, June 9 - Take up homework. Federal and Provincial governments compared. Municipal government introduced. Video & questions on Provincial and Municipal Government. Read (red book) pp. 186-196. Do #1-6, p 196.
    • Wednesday, June 10 - Take up homework. Mayor Mussatto's PowerPoint on Municipal government. Prepare for Government Unit Test on Thursday.
    • Thursday, June 11 - Government Unit Test. Study for the final exam.
    • Friday, June 12 - Provincial Exam Preparation. Preparing for the Social Studies 11 Final Exam PowerPoint.

    History 12

    You should continue to work on the questions beyond #50, which was collected last week. Many of you still have overdue work, which must be handed in as quickly as possible. I will mark everything I receive in time to submit the mark to Victoria -- but after this week it will be first come, first served. The mark you are given this week may, therefore, be lower than the one that is forwarded to the Ministry.

    If we are unable to get the exam prep class on Friday, because material overflows -- highly likely -- we will set up an exam prep time slot during the exam schedule. I will schedule two times if necessary.

    Watch as much of the video material linked to below as possible. We simply do not have time to do so in class, but it is extremely helpful.

    Comparative Civilizations 12

    The final examination is on Thursday and Friday of this week -- Friday's class is a shortened block and I take this into account in setting the test.

    The mark breakdown for the Final Exam is as follows:

    Day 1: Slide identification - 50 items -- give the name of the work, the creator, and the specific period of the piece -- you therefore have three chances to score 2 marks for each item (100 marks, with a further 15 mark bonus possible). Part 2 requires that you provide labelled floorplan and elevation diagrams -- 2 items, valued at 10 marks each. Part 3 involves writing one from a choice of around 9 essay topics. There is something here for everybody (18 marks - 1 x 6 for composition and 2 x 6 for content). Day 1 is therefore out of 138 marks - but 153 can be earned.

    Day 2: 100 multiple choice questions (1 mark each) for a total of 100 marks on Day 2.

    The Final Exam is, therefore, out of 238 marks and it is scaled to a mark worth 15% of the year's total value.

    • Monday, June 8 - Painters - Rubens and Velasquez. Sister Wendy segments. Work on final package. England's National Gallery has a nice podcast on their Velasquez exhibit, with great information on the artist and his work.
    • Tuesday, June 9 - Painters -- Carravaggio and Gentilleschi. Video clip on Caravaggio's technique. Sister Wendy segments. Work on final package. Watch Simon Schama's video on The Power of Art; Caravaggio - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (59 minutes). There is a good feature film on Gentilleschi, Artemisia. This is worth watching if you can acquire a copy.
    • Wednesday, June 10 - The Dutch Masters - Minor masters (Potter, Avercamp, De Hooch and others) and the Majors - Hals, Vermeer and Rembrandt. Sister Wendy segments. Work on final package. If you get the opportunity, the feature film The Girl With a Pearl Earing, is a nice evening's viewing. Regretfully, the Simon Schama documentary The Power of Art: Rembrandt is no longer available online -- if you can find a copy and watch it, it is well worth the effort.
    • Thursday, June 11 - Day 1 of the Final Examination.
    • Friday, June 12 - Day 2 of the Final Examination.

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    Sunday, May 31, 2009

    June 1-5

















    The Graduation Ceremony is over and my life can return to some a semblance of normalcy.

    Thank you for your patience over the last couple of weeks.

    As of Monday, there are 10 classes left (8 for C.Civ. 12 as your final exam is during the last two classes. Now is the time to begin preparing for the final examination.

    1) Be sure all assignments are complete.
    2) Start studying for the final.

    Use this blogsite to see what work we will be doing and note homework assignments. I will give advance warning about tests here and inform you of their mark breakdown. Things 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. If something is underlined on the blog, it means that you can click on it to see a copy -- 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 is no reason for you not to know what is happening. If you do not have an Internet connection, you 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 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 and on your course outline 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.

    Social Studies 11 Honours

    To save time, I will test "Government" as a single unit in, probably, the 2nd from last class. This will be a very big test with an extensive multiple-choice component. The subjective section of the exam will have to be shorter than usual to allow for this -- but you will need to study for subjective writing for the final exam in any case. A minimum of 50 flash cards will be needed to earn 5 bonus marks for this test. I will post the mark breakdown when I've written the test.

    • Monday, June 1 - Reminder of Senate outline due Tuesday and political party essay due Wednesday. Discussion of Senate issues and past suggestions for reform. The role of the Queen/Governor General and Prime Minister. Read “Constitutional Monarchy” on p. 222-224 & "The Governor General" 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.
    • Tuesday, June 2 - Hand in Senate essay outline. Take up homework. Discuss the role of the PM., Cabinet & the bureaucracy. Discuss lobbying -- how to influence the government to pass favourable laws. We will look at the background material for, but not do, the lobbying assignment. Read pp. 258-267. Do #1-2, p. 264. Do #1-3, p. 267.
    • Wednesday, June 3 - Take up homework. Overview of the Judiciary - PowerPoint - go to the section on the Judiciary. Comparison of Adversarial and Inquisitorial systems. Read pp. 270-275. Do #1-3, p. 275.
      Thursday, June 4 - Take up homework. Video’s on the court system. Create a chart showing the hierarchy of BC courts. 2. Identify the positions of court officians and note the roles that they play. 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.
    • Friday, June 5 - Take up homework. Introduce concept of Human rights – examine text p. 294. List what you 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. 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. If we did not go over essay writing last class, we will do so today. Read pp. 292-312. Do #1, p. 297, #2-3 sidebar p. 303, #1 & 3, p. 304, #3, p. 308 & #2, p. 312.

    History 12

    The Plan for the final unit is available, as are the questions. Essay #3 is now overdue. We delayed the due date for the questions until this week. I expect them by Wednesday -- up to #50; this is reduced from the original requirement of #62. They will be marked out of 30. It is essential that you complete the rest of the questions to study for the final. I have to submit a year end class mark for you before the course is finished, so this is why I will not collect the remainder.

    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: 40% of your over-all mark if you take the Provincial and 20% if you take the school exam. The school exam will mirror the Provincial in layout and content. The best way to prepare for this exam is to actually write a previous exam. Link to any grade 12 minstry exam material from here or directly to the History page. Look at all of the material here - make sure you look at the table of specifications to see where the marks will be assigned. The key verbs used on the exam ensures you know what you are being asked to do, and the scoring criteria tells you what the markers are basing their marks on. The more comfortable you are witht the exam and its composition, the better you will do. Be sure to write the sample exams.

    Comparative Civilizations 12

    The Mannerism and Reformation small packages should be handed in by Wednesday.

    I have changed my mind again about testing. With so little time left, and not wanting to use three entire blocks for testing in the final week. We will have a Renaissance to Reformation test on Friday, June 5. Baroque material will be on the final exam and not a unit test.

    The unit test will have the following mark breakdown: 20 Slide Identification - identify the art work and artist (40 marks); 45 multiple choice questions (45 marks) and 3 from a choice of 6 long answer questions (18 marks). The total value of the test is, therefore, 101 marks.

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    Saturday, May 23, 2009

    May 25-29





    Please excuse me if I seem edgy and irritable this week. I'm busy with ceremony preparation -- and of course every day work must also still carry on. Once the graduation ceremony is over, life can return to normal.

    I am not available for extra help at all othis week as I will spend every available moment working Scholarship Committee work and on the script for scholarship presentations for Friday night.

    As of Monday, there are 15 classes left (13 for C.Civ. 12 as your final exam is during the last two classes.

    Now is the time to begin preparing for the final examination. 1) Be sure all assignments are complete. 2) Start studying for the final.Use this blogsite to see what work we will be doing and note homework assignments. I will give advance warning about tests here and inform you of their mark breakdown.

    Things 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. If something is underlined on the blog, it means that you can click on it to see a copy -- 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 is no reason for you not to know what is happening. If you do not have an Internet connection, you 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 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 and on your course outline 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.

    Social Studies 11 (Honours)

    We have finished History and are now in the Government Unit. To save time, I will test "Government" as a single unit in, probably, the 2nd from last class. This will be a very big test with an extensive multiple-choice component. The subjective section of the exam will have to be shorter than usual to allow for this -- but you will need to study for subjective writing for the final exam in any case. A minimum of 50 flash cards will be needed to earn 5 bonus marks for this test. I will post the mark breakdown when I've written the test. Given the circumstances, do not expect me to post it this week.
    • Monday, May 25 - Take up #1-5, p. 11 & #1-6, pp. 15-16 and the ideologies practice sheet. Survey of who took the Political Compass quiz - if you did not do this over the weekend, you must do so for Tuesday's class. Video clip. PowerPoint – “Ideologies”. Other ways to show political spectrum & Ideologies summary sheet. More practice with ideologies. Smith & Marx handout. The following reading is completely optional: For an interesting American article on the difference between Lefties and Righties, see Patricia Cohen's New York Times Article: "Across the Great Divide; Investigating Links Between Personality and Politics."
    • Tuesday, May 26 - 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 (2005 comparison - according to this organization), 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.
    • Wednesday, May 27 - Take up homework. Placing parties on the political spectrum. PowerPoint. BC & Canadian political parties. Read Counterpoints pp. 249-258. Do #1-5, p. 253, #4, p. 258 & sidebar #1-3, p. 257. Read sidebar in Counterpoints pp. 256-257. Do #1-3, p. 257. Read Government pp. 88-97. Do #4, p. 97. Research Canadian federal political parties. Essay Assignment: 24 marks (1 x 6 composition & 3 x 6 content) Which political party would you support in the next federal election? Why? Find political party information at Elections Canada's registered political parties page.
    • Thursday, May 28 - Take up homework. Begin Legislative Branch - focus on the House of Commons. Filmstrip & note-taking. Be sure to look at the Parliament of Canada website. Download, read and study from the Guide to the House of Commons. Handout – The Work of MPs (See also On the Job With a Member of Parliament) and questions. Read pp. 226-233 sidebar. Do #1-3 on p. 231 and #1-3 in the sidebar on p. 233.
    • Friday, May 29 - Take up homework. Filmstrip or video & questions or note-taking on Parliament. Complete material from last class. The Senate – Pros and cons of present setup (Be sure to look at the Senate material at Mapleleafweb). Handout – newspaper article. Essay Outline Assignment. Without actually writing the essay, create an outline for an essay on th topic: "What should be done with the Canadian Senate? Should we abolish it? Reform it? or leave it as it is?" 10 marks, due Tuesday (remember, your political party essay is due on Monday).

    History 12

    The Plan for the final unit is available, as are the questions.

    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: 40% of your over-all mark if you take the Provincial and 20% if you take the school exam. The school exam will mirror the Provincial in layout and content. The best way to prepare for this exam is to actually write a previous exam. Link to any grade 12 minstry exam material from here or directly to the History page. Look at all of the material here - make sure you look at the table of specifications to see where the marks will be assigned. The key verbs used on the exam ensures you know what you are being asked to do, and the scoring criteria tells you what the markers are basing their marks on. The more comfortable you are witht the exam and its composition, the better you will do. Be sure to write the sample exams.

    • Monday, May 25 - Indroduction - music video A Walk in the Light Green (I Was Only 19). Vietnam War lecture material concluded (base notes). Video (as much as we can see in the time remaining): CNN Cold War episode, Vietnam 1954-1968 (Episode 11). Please watch the remainder if we are unable to see all of this in class. You MUST also watch one other episode from the series to see how the Vietnam war ended - Cold War - Detente (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5) - available on Youtube.
    • Tuesday, May 26 - 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. 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, May 27 - USA (domestic) Since 1945 - continued.
    • Thursday, May 28 - So much for pre-planning. Almost the entire block was lost to the Grad Rehearsal.
    • Friday, May 29 - We got up to President Carter in our USA Domestic material.

    Comparative Civilizations 12

    The Hero as Artist package is due next Wednesday, May 27. Do not procrastinate. The weekend after next will be busy for all of you!


    To avoid testing around Grad Weekend, I will test the Renaissance Units/Mannerism and the Reformation/Baroqe material together. This should take us to around June 8 before the next unit test.

    The two small packages - on Mannerism & the Reformation, should be submitted together By Wednesday of next week.

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