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)