Don't forget the triremes

As you study and review those famous inventions, you should keep in mind how they influenced the civilization and Us today.

Hint: Bonus question will be from one of the Horrible histories we watched. One of the ancient civilizations we studied this term.

Social Studies 9 Review

1.       Exam Breakdown – 95 marks

·         10 true/false choice

·         20 multiple choice

·         20 matching

·         8 short answer (30 marks total)

·         1 long answer (15 marks)

2.       What to bring to the exam

·         2 pens (blue or black) and white out. Please do not use pencil.

·         Social Studies textbook (not allowed into the exam but must be returned before any report card will be received)

·         Water bottle – no other food or drink is allowed into the exam hall.

3.       What to study

a.       Timelines terminology

b.      Archaeology (terminology, uses of, how it has impacted our study of Social studies?)

c.       Inference and Historical thinking

d.      Creation/Evolution and the early peoples – Know Charles Darwin and his theory. Why is it significant to historical way of thought? How does this theory of Evolution and Natural selection affect us as Christians? Know about Homo Habilis, Homo Sapiens,  and Neanderthals.

e.      Ancient Civilizations – know the Sumerians, Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indus Valley, Chinese, Roman, Greeks, Incans, Mayans and First Nations.  You should know how each was organized. Go through the SPIRET model of each civilization.

                                                               i.      How did their location, climate and habitation influence the development of each civilization?

                                                             ii.      Examine the roles of women and men in each civilization? Who valued women? Who didn’t and why?

                                                            iii.      Describe the social and political structures of each civilization. You should be able to indicate how they were similar or different.

                                                           iv.      Also know the Intellectual, Economical and Technological developments that each civilization was most famous for.  You should be able to say what influence they had on the development of our modern society.

                                                             v.      Religion – how did each civ. develop their religion? What influence did it have on their social/political structure? How did it define their morals, values and beliefs?

                                                           vi.      First Nations – study the Wanuskewin handout and recall the discussion with Mr. Dogniez and the connections he made to the SPIRET model. How does our knowledge and understanding of the development of the First Nations people of the Prairie influence us today?

How to prepare for the final exam

As there are many ways to test people on knowledge, there are equally as many ways to prepare for an exam. People are different and thrive in different preparatory methods. We've designed several different ways for you to ace your exams.

1. Essay Exams
Essays can be some people's favorite or least favorite type of exam. The good part of the essay exam is that you can truly explain your knowledge of the subject matter in many ways. If you forgot a single word, then it will not cause you severe loss of points (as it would in a multiple choice test). Usually, essay exams are difficult to grade because they can be subjective. Therefore, people with better writing skills tend to favor these types of exams, as they know how to structure an essay. Develop your writing skills. Practice. If you know the formula of a good essay then you will be able to communicate your ideas in a way that the reader will be able to understand.

2. Multiple Choice Multiple-choice exams are easy for some and death for others. Some people can sail through on them without studying at all. Others think too hard on each question and miss the obvious answer sitting before them. The beauty of a multiple-choice test is that all the information you will need is given to you. The drawback of a multiple-choice test is that the additional information given to you is designed to confuse you. It takes a specific mindset to excel in this type of testing. See below for tips on how to prepare for a multiple-choice exam. These exams are like sports; they take a lot of practice, but you can master them. True or False questions may also fall into this category, where you will be given a fact and have to choose one or the other.

3. Matching

Matching exams are rather student friendly exams. They are generally given in high school, infrequently in college, and almost never afterwards. They come in two formats: equal questions and answers, and trick question and answers. When there are equal sets of facts to match up, then you will more than likely excel. However, many tests are designed to truly test your knowledge and will place a few extra categories on one side of the matching plane. When this occurs, you must rely on your factual knowledge and not simply your ability to filter out bad answers.

4. Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the Blank exams are also more prevalent in high school and earlier. Occasionally you will find this type of exam in college and beyond. If so, you are lucky, for you will increasingly wish you may have this type of exam. In this case, you must know the factual information in order to fit it into the sentence. However, in these tests, you can rely on your context clues of the sentence to see what works. If you have a general enough basis of knowledge on a subject matter, you will more than likely fill in the correct blank. True or False questions may also fall into this category, where you will be given a fact and have to choose one or the other. Taken from http://www.bookrags.com/articles/22.html

What does Wanuskewin mean to you?

Our final unit in Grade 9 Social Studies will focus on the Aboriginal Society. We will start our unit with a trip out to Wanuskewin Heritage park. The tour will be lead by Cort Dogniez, the Treaty Catalyst officer for SPSD. Mr. Dogniez is a teacher who is passionate about Aboriginal history, culture and education. He is also able to provide a unique Christian perspective of Aboriginal issues so we are excited to have him joining our class this week.
He will be in our class on Wed. June 1st for discussions, prep and any questions you may have about the subject. Please come to class prepared to ask questions, engage in discussion and participate in a productive learning experience.

Reminder: Permission forms must be in by Wed., June 1st.

Ancient Civilizations Group Project

THIS IS SPARTA!!!!

We are off and running. The much anticipated group project of our Social Studies 9 course has now been assigned! Were do we go from here?

The following are some dates that you and your group should keep in mind as you plan for your project.

Wed April 20 - Work period (Research)

Thurs April 21 - Work period (Research)

April 25th-29th - Easter break - Individual research and planning

Mon May 2nd - Work period (organize research and start planning for group presentation)
Tue and Wed - individual work done at home

Thurs May 5th - work period (organize, plan and start to put together presentation and report)

Mon May 9 - work period - plans and presentations should be practiced and close to completion

Thurs May 12  - work period - Presentation run through. Use this period to time the presentation (it should be close to 30 minutes), double check to see that all components and requirements of the presentaiton and report are done. Hint: you want to make this presentation interesting - so do the research first THEN find ways to make it fun for you and your peers!

Week of May 16th - Group presentations - one group per day.

Elements of good poster design

Audience - Who are you trying to reach with your poster? What are they interested in knowing about this subject? How would they go about finding the information?
Purpose - What is the purpose of your poster? What type of information are you trying to communicate?
Message - What is the lesson you are trying to convey?

Design - What type of design is going to appeal to the audience, make them focus on your message and still be true to the purpose of your poster?

Some things to think about.....




Customs and Roles of individuals in society. Who had wealth? How did they get it? How did people of the society know who was wealthy and who was poor?

You could use the program Inspiration to organize your poster. You are able to use text and images to enhance your presentation.



What types of tools and materials were used to construct their homes? buidings? monuments? What types of monuments did they create and why?






What types of political and social organization did your ancient society have? Remember that these are sometimes dictated by the land and area that your society occupies. If you live in the desert your society will value very different things than if you live  by the ocean or major rivers. What does your society value?

An island in the middle of one of the hundreds of lakes in Siberia. Recently discovered to have been the fortress of a society. Believed to have been built during the 1500s.



What is the form of social organization used by your ancient society? Was there a hierarchy?

Create your own society Presentation and Assignment

Pd 3
Groups:
1. Robert, Sidney and Jayden
2. Justice and Promise
3. Geoff and Sam
4. Tristen and Jeremy
5. Devon and Alex
6. Keanna and Alison
7. Courtney and Angela
8. Johanna and Amy
9. Taylor and Kathryn
10. Sabrina

Pd 2
1. Stephen
2. Caleb
3. Levi
4. Kirsten
5. Ezra
6. Jonah
7. Jeremy, Michael and Doralyn
8. Marissa and Joy
9. Olivia and Shareena
10. Rachel

Egyptians

1. Read textbook pg 74-83
           Questions - How was Ancient Egyptian society organized?
                            - How was it similar/different from the Sumerians?

2. Read An Unusual Day pg 75

3. Go to Handouts - Unit 2 Ancient Societies - Egyptian Women.

Add information to SPIRET model sheet.
How did Ancient Egyptians organize their society? Who had power? How did they get it?

4. Go to British Museum website and read the set of parallel stories on a day in the life of a rich Egyptian and a day in the life of a poor Egyptian. Chart the differences on a two-column chart in your notes.

Due for Monday, April 11th2011

A. Egyptian and Indus Valley SPIRET model

B. Life of rich/poor Egyptian. (Bonus assignment - 5 marks)

Sumerian Dioramas

Dioramas

Just like the sign on the bottom picture, your dioramas should have signs on them telling the viewer more about the Sumerian civilization. The aspect of the SPIRET model you studied would determine the focus of your signs. For example, Social - This diorama shows the various levels of society present an ancient Sumerian city state. The upper classes, who had more of the wealth, would have lived in the center of town furthest away from the walls in case of attack. The middle classes....etc


Using your research and notes make sure to add quality signs to your dioramas. Check spelling!!

Due Monday, March 28th
- Diorama completed with signs (prefer typed)
- 1 page report (typed)

Mesopotamia - Sumerians

Homework check on Monday, March 21st, 2011.

Reading: Textbook pg 50 - 65

1. Note-taking skills - read pgs 56-65 use the subheadings to guide your notes.
                 Where the Sumerians lived
                 The Importance of Rivers
                 Government
                 Social organization
                 Cities
                 Housing
                 Farming
                 The development of writing
                 Education
                 Religious and spiritual beliefs
                 The Arts

2. Apply the SPIRET model (found in your notes or in the Handouts section) to the Sumerians.

Social, Political, Intellectual, Religious, Economic, and Technology. Use the questions from your notes, to help guide your answers. Homework check on Monday, March 21st, 2011.

Theories of Creation and Evolution

Our goal in Social Studies 9 is NOT to debate or decide which of these two theories is correct but instead to gather information on each. As Christian thinkers we must learn to speak with intellectual authority on a variety of subjects that challenge our faith and beliefs. Therefore during this next mini-unit on the Origins of Humans I encourage you to come with an open and questioning mind.

Through a variety of tasks, video presentations, readings and assignments we will start to look at the evidence that science and theorists have gathered to support each theory. After weighing both sides will have an informed discussion about the varacity of each.

We will start with a video by the Creation Ministries International - Darwin: The Voyage that Shook the World.

 Later this week a National Geographic video Mysteries of Mankind.

Quiz on Chapter 2 - The Early Peoples

Reminder that there will be a quiz on chapter 1 - The Early Peoples (pg 28-49)
pd 2 - 9A - Friday, March 4th  - moved to Monday
pd 3 - 9B - Monday, March 7th (moved due to chapel)

You should study your notes on the chapter. Remember to keep in mind the broad themes and ideas that were presented. I do not expect you to know the exact dates of events but instead you will need to know approximate times.

ex. Mesolithic Times is about 12,000 years ago and happened before Neolithic Times - which were 10,000 years ago.

Kathleen Canyon

Due - Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Read through the story of Kathleen Canyon, an archaeologist in the year 3609 AD. She has just made a discovery in North America and has published her preliminary inferences of the site. Carefully read through the conclusions she has made and list as many of the inference mistakes she has made.

Hint: In case, you are stuck, Kathleen has found a site in the Prairies.

1. the names of the various main clans of the cult, found on footwear, appear to be Adidas, Nike, and Russell – Kathleen made the mistake of inferring that the footwear had the names of clans but instead these are just different name brands of sports footwear.

Inferencing and Archeaology

Digging into the past is a complicated job. We will be learning about the various tools archeaologists use to find out information about past events, people and societies. How do we know about the way people lived if they did not leave a detailed list of items and their uses? Archaeologists use inferencing.

Inferencing is process of coming to a conclusion. Archaeologists look at the artifacts and other facts and make an educated guess about historical events, people, and societies.

For the rest of this week we will be looking into inferencing and archaeology.

Reminder: Origins of Human Societies assignment due Thursday Feb 17th
                  Should include:  - Page numbers and writing standards (see course outline for details)
                                             - can be typed or handwritten (neat and clear)
                                             - Terms must be explained in own words
                                             - Concept web must also include a written portion that explains, in your own words, why you have put terms into those specific groups.

ELA 9A - period 2 - a reminder that we will not have class on Wed, Feb 16th due to Chapel.

Both classes will have Monday and Tuesday as work periods for this assignment.
                                         

Why study the history of Societies?

For the next week we will be going through the first chapter of our History text. In order to understand History, the events and people in their appropriate contexts we need to first learn how to study it. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the study of people and their stories? Are the stories and recordings about past events accurate and reliable? Is it even important to know about what happened to some old dead person oh so long ago?

Wednesday: We will go through the 'Timelines' handouts and write out our "rules for identifying centuries". Start to read through chapter 1.

Thursday: Eyewitness accounts - reliable or unraliable?

Friday: Archeaology- what's the point of digging through dirt?
             Archaeology - acquiring data (information) about our human past - Due Monday, Feb 14th

Personal Timeline Assignment

Due Mon. Feb 7th, 2011

On loose-leaf you will think of an plot out TEN key events from your life.
Remember to include:

- time line with dates
- 10 key events (birth, moves, pets, accepted Christ, etc)
- be neat in presentation
- your full name and the date

What's the point of learning History?

Here is what some famous or infamous people have said of History...

"History: gossip well told." ~ Elbert Hubbard

"The history of the world is the record of a man in quest of his daily bread and butter."
                                             ~ Hendrik Wilhelm van Loon, The Story of Mankind

"History never looks like history when you are living through it"
                                             ~ John W. Gardner

But why do we continue to study the subject? Why does it interest us? Facinate us?
I feel it is because we are curious about the people who came before us. The ones that made decisions that influenced the life we are living today. The world we see around us was created by the blood, sweat and tears of men and women we have never met.

Some have said, that History is the study of dead people. And to an extent that is true. But it is so much more. Not just the people but their thoughts, ideas and inventions that have had an impact on society.

So, we begin our adventure through High School history with a study of the Roots of Society.