Welcome to Social Studies
- This is a comprehensive outline designed to prepare you for what lies ahead, what you are getting into, and what you need to do to be successful in Social Studies 11. This is an extremely demanding course, one that will require nightly revision, pre-reading for particular classes, many written assignments, class debates and a difficult provincial exam.
Attendance
- Students who miss a class must see me. There are no omitted assignments if you are late or missing. You are required to complete all assignments (including missed days for illness or vacation) and late assignments will not be accepted unless you have seen me ahead of time to negotiate an extension.
- If you are going to miss a class, see me ahead of time or arrange to have a classmate, parent or sibling come and pick up the work. You can also e-mail me at [email protected] because most of the assignments are electronic and can be emailed to you.
Standards-Based Grading
Daily Lesson Sequence & Performance Tasks
- Each lesson of the day will have lesson targets to achieve. Lessons will be completed in a unit booklet and will comprise of notes, questions, videos, group work etc.
- Each target will relate to the Prescribed Learning Outcome (PLO) outlined in the BC Ministry of Education's Integrated Resource Package (IRP)
- At the end of the unit, you will be tested or evaluated on each PLO either by a standard test, a project, an assignment, or a discussion with me.
- In order to be eligible to write the summative assessment (final unit test), I must feel confident that you will do the best you possibly can. As such, you will be required to complete ALL the assigned performance tasks in class. Why would you attempt the final test without adequate preparation?
- Standards-based grading allows you to show your best effort and as such, your best effort should be what counts. Therefore, If you feel you would like to re-attempt a learning outcome (ie. a test, or even portions of the test), than you may do so. To do this, you will have to show me you have learned or re-learned the learning outcome before you attempt the re-write.
- A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks you to perform to demonstrate your knowledge, understanding and proficiency of the learning outcome. Performance tasks are products, conversations, and or observations that serve as evidence of learning. A performance task is generally done in class after the learning of a topic.
- Performance tasks will be assessed by you first, and then by me. They are designed to take no more than 45 minutes so they can be submitted before the end of class. This doesn't mean you won't have homework however, homework will consist of preparation for the next day's learning.
- All performance tasks will be assessed using the following competency rubric. Your score will be recorded by my and used to give you a FINAL outcome mark upon completion of the summative assessment (test).
General Rules
- Behavior is very rarely an issue in Social Studies 11. Disruptions of any kind are simply not tolerated and because this is NOT an elective, we will all respect the interests of others in the class.
- Food in the classroom is on a case-by-case bases.
- Keep the class tidy. Pick up after yourself and deposit all garbage in the waste basket or recycling containers. Do not mark or damage books, walls, displays, desks, or classroom equipment. To do so is vandalism and will be treated as such.
- Paper waste is to be put into the paper-recycling bin, juice boxes and pop cans are to be put in the recycling box that is at the exit/entrance to the classroom.
- Cell phone use is a privilege not a right. As such, cell phones will only be permitted if used for education purposes. If you decide to abuse this rule, you will no longer be able to use your cell phone in the class.
- Do not bring unfinished homework from other classes and hope to complete it in my class. I take this very personally.
- Copying is cheating. Both the person who copied and the person who allowed their work to be copied will receive zeros for the assignment.
- I expect that all Social Studies 11 students want to be successful, so I work hard to make this a reality.
Work Ethic
Social Studies Course Units
- The Canadian Government
- Canada &World War I, 1914-1918
- The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939
- Canada & World War II, 1939-1945
- Cold War, 1945-1961
- Cold War & Beyond, 1962-2000
- Human Geography