June 6

Social 10-1

I went through a PowerPoint presentation today called "The Effects of Globalization on Individuals and Communities". I will be sending this presentation to you tonight, along with the Social 10-1 Final Exam Study Guide. Your Chapter 17 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. Your Chapter 15-16 Test is tomorrow, please see the study guide here. Part A of your Final Exam is on Wednesday, make sure that you review how to write a three source analysis.

Social 30-1

I gave back all your essays from the entire semester. I broke you up into small groups of 4-5 to write a group outline based on the January 2011 Diploma Exam WRA II.  I'll scan the outlines that you wrote in class and send you a copy of them tomorrow. Please remember that you have your Trial Final on Wednesday, please use the Social 30-1 Study Guide that I gave you to study for it. Remember, the Trial Final wipes out your lowest mark. I'll post your exam marks tomorrow and then you can make a decision as to which test you're going to wipe out.

June 3

Social 10-1

We watched a short video from the CBC News in Review series called "Rising Food Prices Threaten Millions". As you watched this video you were to complete the video study guide that went along with it. Please make sure that you read the information in the booklet as well. I also went through a PowerPoint presentation that looked at the "Biofuel Controversy". This lecture centered on the advantages and disadvantages of the development of biofuels such as ethanol in the United States and Brazil. I have sent this PowerPoint to you already. Your Chapter 15-16 Test is on Tuesday, June 7th, and you can find the study guide here. Part A of your Final Exam will be on Wednesday, June 8th. Part A is a WRA I three source analysis assignment that you will have 60 minutes to write.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Chapter 15-16 Test is on Tuesday, June 7th (please see the study guide here)
• Social 10-1 Part A of Final Exam is on Wednesday, June 8th
• Chapter 17 Key Terms and Questions will be due on June 7th
• Chapter 18-19 Key Terms and Questions will be due on June 9th (Fri.)

Social 30-1

I went through parts of two different essay outlines today, one on active citizenship and the other centered around individualism vs. collectivism. I have sent these essay outlines to you already. I have also sent you the Social 30-1 Diploma Exam Study Guide and a chart filled with a comparison between the old Social 30 essay prompts and how easy it is to change it into a Social 30-1 text-based source for a WRA II essay. I did a homework check on your Chapter 13 and 14 booklet today as well. Please study for your Social 30-1 Trial Final (it's on Wednesday, June 8th) using the study guide that I have sent to you. Please check yesterday's post for some links to materials that are designed to help review for the Diploma Exam.

June 2

Social 30-1

We worked on an essay outline for a political-themed essay today in class. I will be sending the outline that both my Period 3 and 4 classes put together. I'll also send you the outlines that previous semester classes put together. Tomorrow, we'll look at what an individualism vs. collectivism and an active citizenship essay might look like. It might be a good idea to start reviewing for not only your Trial Final (which is on June 8th), but also your Diploma Exam. When preparing for Part A it might be a good idea to look at the official Alberta Government preparation guide (here's the link for the 30-1 guide, and here's the link for the 30-2 guide), as well as Student Writing Samples from previous Diploma Exams (here's the 30-1 January 2010 sample, and the 30-2 January 2010 sample, as well as the 30-1 January 2011 sample and the 30-2 January 2011 sample) so you have an idea of what the markers are looking for in your writing.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Social 30-1 Trial Final is on Wednesday, June 8th

Social 10-1

We finished watching "Blood Diamond" today in class. There is a film study that goes along with this film which is due tomorrow. There was a comment on the blog the other day about the link to the Amnesty International article not working, and I checked it out and the article that is on the Amnesty site does not deal with all of the topics in Part 2 of the film study. Here's what I'd like you to do instead: Click on this link to a PDF document. On page 3 of this document, you'll find answers to some of the questions in Part 2. Also, you can look into the Kimberly Process here. You can also learn more about the RUF here. If  you are interested in learning more about what it was like being a child soldier during the conflict in Sierra Leone, I can highly recommend the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, it is an excellent book. You can hear Ismael Beah speak in the video below about child soldiers from Human Rights Watch. There's a lot going on in the world that you may not always hear about on the nightly news. Romeo Dallaire's latest book They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, also looks at the issue of child soldiers, and is also highly recommended. I challenge you to learn more about natural resource-fuelled conflict in the world today. These are problems that are still being dealt with. Here is a link to your Chapter 15-16 Test Study Guide.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Chapter 15-16 Test is on Tuesday, June 7th
• Social 10-1 Final Exam Part A (WRA I) is on Wednesday, June 8th

May 30

Social 10-1

We started looking at the role of conflict diamonds in fuelling unrest in Africa today by starting a film study on "Blood Diamond" today. We'll finish this film on Thursday (remember there's no school tomorrow or Wednesday). Please see the study guide for the Chapter 15-16 Test below.

Chapter 15-16 Test Study Guide:

This quiz will follow the typical format: a matching section, a multiple choice section and a short answer section. Please use the following study guide.

Study from your textbook and the following PowerPoint presentations:

• "Quality of Life, Human Rights, and Democratization" (ppt)
• "Impacts of Globalization on Groups in Society" (ppt)
• study the reading "Human Rights Abuses in a Globalized World: Burma Case Study" (from Globalization 101 website, I gave you a copy of this article in class)

Key Terms:

• Chapter 15 Key Terms (from Unit 4 Worksheet)
• Chapter 16 Key Terms (from Unit 4 Worksheet)
• additional key terms from the presentations that correspond to Chapters 15 and 16

Key Questions:

• What are human rights?
• What is democratization?
• What is quality of life?
• What is standard of living?
• How are ideas about human rights and democracy related?
• How are globalization, human rights, and democracy related?
• How have ideas about human rights changed over time?
• What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
• What is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
• In what ways does globalization affect the lives of children and youth?
• In what ways does globalization affect the lives of women?
• human rights abuses in Burma

Social 30-1

We did some Diploma Exam essay preparation today by looking at how to approach writing an essay with an economics-themed source. I will send the essay outline that we put together in class today.