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How Students Can Get Creative with Literacy

James Zlatanov can't seem to post on the blog, so he asked me to put this entry up for him:

This blog entry is regarding a project I did for Literacy. This literacy exercise I believe is interactive and engaging and also fun. The exercise starts with a word sort, followed by a story chain from the word sort followed by a comparison of the original source. Now it is really important for students to understand that it is not important to re-create the original source but to develop a strong story chain that re-creates the theme, setting and characters of the original source. This is an example of just that. The original source was a letter from the trenches this is a skit written with dialogue.

On April 9, 1917 a great battle took place at Vimy Ridge between the
Canadians and the Germans. It was Easter Monday and the Canadian
battalion was ready for what would be one of the decisive battles of the Great War. Two infantry men Jack and Leo waited in the trenches for the battle to begin. Leo was in charge of one of the machine guns and Jack was his aid. The two men smoked cigarettes and drank rum as they loaded the machine gun with ammunition.

Jack: Are you nervous Leo.
Leo: What the hell do you think Jack? Pass me some more rum.
Jack: The gun is loaded. Lets each put two rounds across each shoulder.
Leo: OK, I am ready. Are you ready? I am not cold any more. My clothes are drenched and layered with mud but I don’t feel the cold. I am sick of this tunnel, this trench, this hell hole! I ask you again are you ready good friend?
Jack: I have never been more ready in my whole life. Let’s go!
Leo: Hold on one second. Jack it has been a pleasure serving with you.
You are a great man!
Jack: I could not have asked for a better friend, Leo! Let’s show these bastards what us Canadians are all about!
Battalion Leader: Ready Men! Let’s Go!

The soldiers jumped up out of the trenches firing at the enemy. They were treading through no-man’s-land as casualties on both the German and
Canadian side were falling from gun shots and exploding mines. Some of the Canadian soldiers were reaching the frontlines of The Huns. German soldiers were becoming victims of gun fire and stab wounds from the Canadian soldiers’ bayonets. After an initial success on the frontline the Canadian soldiers ran into the barrage of the second line of the Germans. The Canadians were being showered by the heavy German artillery.

Leo: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I’m hit Jack. I am hit!
Jack: Leo nooooooo!
Leo: Jack don’t stop. Go! Take the gun. Go get those German bastards!

Jack took the gun and continued towards the enemy line, firing rounds and screaming.

Jack and the rest of the Canadian soldiers continued to advance chasing the enemy back to their dugouts. Jack was running over the see of shells with his finger on the trigger. All of the sudden he stopped and dropped.

Jack: Oh no!

Jack felt weak as he dropped to his knees. Then everything went black!

Shortly after, the battle was over. The Canadian soldiers were victorious at Vimy Ridge. Jack and the other hurt Canadian soldiers were tended to and rushed to London Hospital. The Germans that were still alive were taken as prisoners. The Canadian victory was decisive but the casualties were many.

Nurse: Hi Jack how are you feeling.
Jack: How is Leo? Where is he? Where is Leo?
Nurse: He was killed in the battle Jack. Please try not move. You were hit by a snippier. The loose shrapnel penetrated your arm, we had to amputate. I am sorry about your friend.

Jack looked at the nurse as tears flowed from his eyes.

Jack: Did we win!

We recorded this skit as a pod cast and had lots of fun with it.
Moreover, this technique was great because it can easily be transformed for any history or social studies class all you need is an original source and the vocabulary that you choose to pluck out of it. For the purpose of our Unit Plan Cam and I changed it to fit for SS9’s unit on the industrial revolution. I can send the lesson plan if anyone wants it just hit me up on this blog.
cheers

No Child Left Inside

James Zlatanov can't seem to post on the blog, so he asked me to put this entry up for him:

This entrance was inspired by a book by Richard Louv titled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. This book states that changing a child’s learning environment can really help with engaging a child’s learning. To be more specific Louv speaks of the importance that an out of the class room environment can have in engaging learners. Not only is the outside of the class room setting more engaging but it is also it is easier to learn about something by being exposed to it. In biology one can learn about our natural environment by interacting with it. One can learn about local species vs. invasive species and be able to pick them out easier than if one was to look at a picture in a textbook.
This idea interested me very much so I wanted to implement this somehow in social studies. Now I know that this is part of social studies already in the form of field trips to the museum, the legislature, etc., but I think this can be a daily thing. One can explore the neighborhood and one city block can explain a lot about society, demography, geography, history and politics. How can this happen? Well that would be up to the teacher but one must think outside the box, in other words you can continue to give lessons about the neighborhood but how would that fit with any of the PLO’s. The trick would be to develop a way that the micro can become the macro. A way that we can relate one city block to a development of a country or a society.
In this entrance I am just proposing an idea with small grass roots but I believe infinite potential. Children learn best about what they are engaged in. This I believe would engage many.
There is a great article that shows examples of how teachers can do outdoor activities related to social studies in the article that I reviewed for this class. The article is called Teaching About Local Government and Community: Classroom Tips and it is written by Patricia Shields. Here is the citation, it can be found in the UVic library database.

Shields, Patricia "Teaching about local government and community: classroom tips." Canadian Social Studies 34, no. 1 (October 1, 1999):
158-159. http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/

What are the benefits of being a teacher/coach

James Zlatanov can't seem to post on the blog, so he asked me to put this entry up for him:

A big part of the reason I want to become a teacher is to get involved with the school's sports program. Most particularly I want to coach basketball. I have wanted to be a basketball coach since I figured out I could not be a basketball player. The question I ask myself on the verge of becoming a teacher is will coaching help me become a better or worse teacher?

Currently in BC all coaching is voluntary. I would have to dedicate many hours to coaching outside of class. How will this affect me as a teacher? Well as Mrs. Hamm said in our class preparation is the key to success in the classroom especially as a new teacher. Coaching will obviously take up much of my preparation time. However, this time will be well spent. Not only will I be involved in something I love but I will be able to have even more time with students in a teaching situation. I believe that coaching will help me gain a better understanding of students and develop teaching techniques which can and will relate to the class room.
In the BC Sports School report on line I came across an interview with Pit Medows Secondary School Sr. Boys Basketball coach Rich Goulet where he states some of his observations and advise to teacher coaches. To follow will be some of the interview Q&A. I will also post the link to the BC Sports School report website if anyone is interested.

What do you believe would resonate with the teacher coach of today in terms of recognition: “The system in place in public education is hardly flattering to teacher-coaches. I spent 10 years coaching at a Catholic high school. My position was an important one and the school rewarded me with a teaching schedule and spares that matched the many hours of endeavor I put in. When I arrived at the public school, it was similar though never equal. Ten years later in 1989 that all disappeared and we became “volunteers”. That tag does not motivate many teachers to spend the time it takes to run quality programs. I believe that today’s teacher coach want to be recognized as doing something important for his/her school and being appropriately rewarded for it. We lose way too many coaches because it is just not important in the system as it is set up now.”

What is the biggest challenge you face as a teacher coach: “The biggest challenge is doing an incredible amount of work, spending an incredible amount of time without help and at the same time facing the scrutiny of everyone and their dog. There has to be an easier way so that coaching appeals to our young teachers.”
What advice would you give to new teacher/coaches: “My greatest advice is not to coach or run their life the way I did and do. The young teacher needs to balance their life. Coaches with families need to be able to spend the time with the approval and involvement of their families. Most teacher-coaches coach because they love kids and they love their sport. Balance is the key.” Describe your love for sports growing up: “I never started playing organized sports until I was 15 and that was limited. I really started playing on organized teams when I was in Gr. 11 at STM. I played basketball in the winter and box lacrosse in the summer. My love
for those two sports was so immense that I practiced them on my own around the clock (but still had a great allegiance to being an A Student)

http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/pages/publications/bcss_report.php

Online Primary Sources

Hey everyone. Sometimes it's hard to find good websites with accessible primary sources --- I think the "Early Canada Online" website has some really great stuff.

In particular, I've see a lot of good sources from the Jesuits of New France. Check out the link:

Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France 1610 - 1791 http://www.canadiana.org/view/07542/0012

I think it's essential for us to introduce excerpts of primary sources to support the themes we are working on.

BC Archives Website

I don't know if we have had this linked before, but I am going to post it anyways. The BC Archives Website has a plethora of local photos, texts, and videos available online free to everyone. I encourage you to check it out! And for those of you who are curious where the BC archives building is located, it is right under the RBC Museum downtown.

Enjoy!

Brian.

Social Studies 10 Digital Handbook

Aaaaand, just so I get that minimum Blog count (sorry Jason), here's another great one. This one, however, is specifically for grade 10. It gives resources for teaching classes based on what PLO you're working with at that particular moment. The above link goes to "Identity, Society, and Culture: Canada from 1815 to 1914", but there are links to the left side taking you to the other ones. Again, less work is always more fun in my experience, right?

Confederation for Kids

Hey guys, I know none of you wants to look at this for a while but here's an interesting link I found while doing the Unit Plan which was, surprise surprise, on Confederation. It's a bit young so I didn't use it for my unit plan, but it looked like it could be really valuable for elementary or middle school classes. It's pretty much what you or I would call basic information, having stuff on the provinces, important people, a glossery, etc. But it also has a "for teachers" section which gives you handouts and worksheets and stuff you can download and print out. Less work is always more fun, right?

At long last.

Horton, T., & Barnett, J. (2008). Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make It Focused and Meaningful. Canadian Social Studies, 41(1), 22-31.

To attain citizenship goals and help in the making of contributing members of society, educators should be facilitating the learning of topics which add to students’ understanding of themselves and of the world. This is the statement Horton and Barnett make in “Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make It Focused and Meaningful.”
In this article, the authors outline the concept of a thematic unit, listing its possible components, and explaining the steps to creating authentic units which will provide meaning for students, thus leading them to active citizenship. The main point of the article revolves around what the authors call the “Big Understanding.” In no part of the article is there practical evidence of the theory, and no backing of the “Big Understanding” with structured arguments, only name dropping of scholarly writers of other articles to refer to for more information. While they go into considerable depth explaining what a thematic unit is and what steps to take to make such a unit, the authors do not address how this type of unit organizer differs from the others mentioned in the article, such as the narrative, issue, inquiry, problem or project methods. Themed units can focus on events, eras, phenomena, people, concepts or entities, though a theme does not necessarily mean that the unit is truly focused. To provide focus and to evoke value, units should not cover overly extensive amounts of content; rather they should be limited in scope. Teachers preparing unit plans, according to Horton and Barnett, should ask themselves “What is the point of teaching this topic to students?” and “What makes this topic important?” By asking these key questions, teachers are putting themselves in the mindset of both the student and the active participant in society, themselves: the teacher.
The “Big Understanding” should be briefly stated in language appropriate to the age and grade level of the class. By avoiding absolute terms and using instead qualifying words such as ‘often’ or ‘usually’ when stating the “Big Understanding,” teachers can expand upon exceptions during class to strengthen student understanding of course content. It is imperative that students are made aware of how they will be assessed, the criteria for evaluation and last but certainly not least, the “Big Understanding” sentence. Concepts of this overarching statement need to be explored to bring all students to approximately the same level of prior knowledge, always seeking to make the class as relevant as possible, and continuing to cue the learners to the references to the “Big Understanding.” I am in agreement with Horton and Barnett, that if adolescents are not provided with the perspectives that translate to greater understanding of themselves and of the world, the purpose of the exercise will not be achieved, let alone the long-lasting potential of its message.
By successfully undertaking units that add relevance, students can move beyond personal motives and egocentric views, have a connection with others and be more intimately invested in the greater common good of this democratic society. The “Big Understanding” does have the potential to raise critical thinking levels, inspire continued search for truth and broaden the scope of an individual student’s stance, even when the unit topic is narrow in scope.
I would wager that despite the lack of developed arguments, Horton and Barnett’s article is not overly idealistic, does not raise red caution flags and they do make logical, practical sense of the undertaking of a unit plan. Surely the proposition led by the authors will not only lead to greater content retention and understanding, but will also lesson teacher burnout, infusing purpose and excitement back into the classroom.

An excellent online resource for history/geography!

Check this link for historical maps of canada...population density over time, etc.

http://www.historicalatlas.ca/website/hacolp/

Great for SS10 geography unit and more!

:D
Sarah

D'oh Canada

Just a quick read from the Globe and Mail bringing to light how little the Canadian public actually knows about politics. A poll was taken in light of recent events to see how much, or little, was understood about how our government functions. The article does suggest that schools need to do a better job of educating the people... most of us already knew that :)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081214.wdohcanada1214/BNStory/politics/home

Ack! Geography!

I know there are a few Geography majors in our class, but it seems like most of the future socials teachers I've spoken to come from a History background. I took a couple Geog classes in first year, but was quickly scared off by the labs. A scientist I am not.

Needless to say, when my mentor teacher told me that she wanted me to teach the Geography section of Socials 11, I was a bit unnerved. I have a sneaking suspicion that a few of my students will have a better grasp of the fundamentals than me, having studied the subject more recently than the late 1990s.

Scouring the net for enlightenment, I came across a pretty handy resource: Statistics Canada. While I knew that statscan was a great place to get...well...stats, I had no idea that they also produced resources for teachers! Their site includes a wide array of K-12 lesson plans and activities based around their stats, maps etc. Not just geography either, there lessons on civics, the environment, immigration and a lot more. They`ll also direct you to age appropriate charts, datasets and articles. You can even order FREE classroom materials!

Check it out, its a great resource!

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/edu/edu01_0000-eng.htm

Another great site!

This is another great resource for all teachers. There are specific lessons, activities, technology resources, and links for each subject and grades k-12. There is also a great section devoted to professional development which is very important and useful for future. There are also links for students and parents that provide activities that can be done at home to help students with their academic material they are learning in the classroom. There are great ideas here to make learning fun for your students so check it out.

movies for law

I'm just wondering if any of you can recommend a movie that you think would be relevant for a law class. I could do a search, but would rather ask people. so far i have 12 angry men and one flew over the cuckoo's nest. anything about rules, breaking them, making them, interpreting them differently would be nice.

THEN

Hey guys, so I'm not sure if this has been posted or not yet, and well, there are 195 posts, so I'm not gonna check. This website is The History Education Network, and there is not much in the way of info on the website itself, but it has a tonne of great links to archive, library, and other history related websites.
THEN

Article Review- Slaying dragons and sorcerers in Year 12: The Search for Historical Argument.

Dragons, sorcerers and straw men oh my. Who would have thought a paper about Historical Argument could be so interesting. Concerned about the lack of student interaction with historical texts, Michael Fordham decided to integrate historiography into his social studies classrooms. While structure is important for any sense to be made from text, it is not the end-all-be-all, instead it is more important that History students learn to interact with the historical texts that they use; to question the motives behind the writing; to argue for or against an interpretation of history; to not always produce a chronological retelling of past events; to inspire critical thinking.

In order to introduce historiography effectively in his grade twelve History class, Fordham decided to incorporate practical investigation through a fantastical medieval quest where his students, acting as the brave hero, had to battle against three progressively difficult opponents: the straw man, the fiery dragon and the terrible sorcerer, each of whom attempted to persuade the hero towards their argument. The mission of the student was to reach the “Holy Grail of History,” which was obtained by pointing out the flaws in each of their opponents’ arguments. At each level, the student had to identify the focus of the historical argument, analyse the evidence used to support the historical argument, and evaluate the historical argument itself; as well as, demonstrate argumentative essay writing by way of a set criteria at each level. Since the concept was new, the degree of analysis had to be gradual; students first had to be able to identify argument before they could fully analyze it; therefore at each level the degree of argumentative writing increased from a 100 word abstract highlighting the arguments main points, to writing a complete analysis essay in response to the terrible sorcerer’s argument.

Writing, for many, is incredibly difficult. Providing a fun and low stress approach to teaching how to write for "History" is a great way to get students turned on. Once they realize that the task is not so daunting, and that picking apart some one's argument can be a lot of fun, I believe students will be a lot more apt to write, as well as, think critically about the information being provided to them.

Article Review

The article I reviewed was focused on teaching controversial issues in our social studies classrooms and how it seems many teachers are shying away from doing this these days. There are numerous constraints that effect both the content and the depth of the history that is currently being taught. While this article briefly touches upon the lack of teacher subject knowledge and access to resource material, I feel the largest constraint discussed in this paper relates to the controversial issues of history and the restrictions that modern society has placed upon the freedom for teachers to teach history without the worry of offending individuals and their personal beliefs. Teachers have to be concerned with religious, personal and cultural beliefs and use caution within the classroom structure. This in turn leads to teaching the basic facts rather than having the freedom to engage the students to take a critical approach, to debate and to take a risk.
I believe the points made in this paper are a very accurate statement for the challenges all teachers face in the classroom today. In trying to make sure that no one individual and their personal beliefs are offended it becomes easier to just pass on facts rather than trying to get students to relate history to their own lives. It is extremely difficult, in a world that is so multi-cultured to have the confidence to discuss controversial issues.

Article Review

The article I reviewed was based around teaching controversial issues in our social studies classroom and how often times these days teachers are shying away from teaching these issues. Teachers feel too much pressure from outside sources (parents, colleagues, media, etc) to feel comfortable bringing up hot button issues with their students at the risk of possibly coming off as bias in any way. This articles argues and I conquer that teaching these issues is the most important job we have as social studies teachers. We need to confront these issues straight on and embrace how awkward they might make us feel. Take time to explain to your students how sensitive of a topic it is and give them the knowledge to understand both sides of the issue. Give the students the ability to make their own opinions on the subject. Students need to question not only what actually occurred but why it occurred and what relevance it has to the world today. Allow them to freely express their thoughts without feeling fearful that their opinion might be wrong in any way. I found this a very interesting article to look through.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=16&sid=bd90c750-007b-4a5b-b701-d95355f7b41f%40sessionmgr2&bdata=JmxvZ2lucGFnZT1Mb2dpbi5hc3Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=aph&AN=25532947

The Control Room

For those people who plan on doing a Media Literacy unit, or possibly current events in the classroom, I recommend watching the documentry "The Control Room". The film is a documentry that reports on the Iraq War, and the American bombings form an Iraq perspective. The film uses footage from Al Jazeera, the Arab's most popular news outlet, demonstrating how the news is not always purely fact and can often be purely perception. The documentry also shows how a newsroom works, and the effort and persistence that is put into making the news look how a company, broadcast station, or a Country wants it to look like.

Article Review: Thematic Units

Here is brief overview of the findings in an article surrounding how to create effective thematic units.

Article:
Horton, T. A. & Barnett, J. A. (Fall 2008). Thematic Unit Planning in Social Studies: Make It Focused and Meaningful. Canadian Social Studies, 41. Retrieved December 1, 2008 from
http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css/Css_41_1/ARHortonBarnett_thematic_planning_SS.htm

The following is a brief summary of Horton and Barnett’s (2008) six steps to successful thematic unit plans:
1. Limit the Scope of the Unit: Limit the breadth of a unit topic so that you can go more in depth.
2. Identify Importance: Ask yourself, “What is the point of teaching this topic to students?” and “What makes this topic important?” in order to create focused and meaningful units.
3. Create a “Big Understanding”: Create a statement that includes the significant and enduring points that you want your students to understand at the end of the unit. Steps to creating a “Big Understanding” are: 1) keep the statement to one clear and concise sentence if possible, 2) use language that is appropriate to the age and grade of students, 3) use qualifying words, and 4) compose a statement without specific reference to names, places, dates, and events.
4. Conclude the Unit: Consider the criteria you want to use to assess your students, so that you can come up with a summative assessment strategy that incorporates the “Big Understanding.”
5. Introduce the Unit: You will need to tell students, in this introduction, how they will be assessed, the criteria for this assessment, and the “Big Understanding” statement.
6. Build the Body of the Unit: The lessons should build on each other as you reach the end of unit and assessment. Focus your lessons by asking whether or not they truly contribute to the “Big Understanding.”

Happy Anniversary British Colonist!

Today is the 150th anniversary of the British Colonist, the precursor to the Times Colonist, which was created by Amor de Cosmos in 1858. In honor of that an archive has been created with many old issues from 1858 to 1910, all of which can be accessed (wait for it ....) for FREE. For anyone teaching BC history (I think late Socials 10) this is an invaluable resource. Also, on the Times Colonist website there is an article about the history of the paper.
Here is the link.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars

I would think most of you have heard the song 'No Handlebars' by Flobots... Personally I am not a huge fan of the song, but I stumbled across a few of their websites and found them very interesting. Apparently, the lead singer was a music teacher before the group signed a record deal, and as a group they are now huge promoters of social change. I know so many bands promote world peace! and in practice do nothing about it... but Flobots really seems like a political organization first, and a band second. Listening closely to their lyrics, they're actually very good in my opinion. If you have a free moment check it out, do you think you could incorporate this particular group into a lesson?

www.fightwithtools.org

www.flobots.org

and hey, if you don't buy into their sincerity, use it as a media literacy lesson!

5 More Blogs/Resources for You

Hi,
for whatever reason the blog is not allowing me to post anymore :( So here are 5 of my blogs/resources that I would like to share (being posted by alexis).
Crystol C

Review Cards
I have heard through various discussions around classroom management and reviewing for tests, that review or trivia cards can be very useful. My sponsor teacher has founded a company that specializes in making these review cards that are tailored to the curriculum. As of right now they consist of only geography review cards, but she is working on a new set for SS11, since the response from the first set has been overwhelming. On this website there is a description of the product and how you can purchase a set. Also, there is a list of school districts that have already purchased a set, so you can see if your school district uses them or not. The link is:
www.geospheres.ca
Enjoy!

Basic Map Skills
If anyone is teaching basic mapping skills, especially Social Studies 8, there is a great reference that is available in the curriculum library. Many of you might have noticed that the primary atlas that is used in your practicum classroom is the Nystrom Atlas. There is also a Nystrom Atlas Student Activities book that has tons of basic student questions and activities that you can utilize in your classroom. Check out with your practicum teacher(s) to see if they have a copy of the Student Activies version of Nystrom Atlas as well.
Curriculum library number: 912.71 N9512 2003

Instructional Integration
On my practicum my sponsor teacher gave me an absolutely fascinating book called Beyond Monet: The Artful Science of Instructional Integration. This a teacher’s manual that covers many topics including:
- multiple intelligence
- lesson design
- mind mapping
- academic controversy
- cooperative learning
- inductive thinking
- concept attainment
- brain research
- children at risk
- critical thinking
- learning styles
- emotional intelligence
This book could used for any subject and any classroom. This book was written by Barrie Bennet and Carol Rolheiser and is available in the Curriculum library, but you might want to purchase a copy for yourself to take notes and really dive into. The school that I am going to had workshops on some of the ideas in this book and apparently it was really well received, as my teacher wants me to utilize some of the ideas in this book to my practicum.

Energizers
There was this neat little book that I picked up in the curriculum library for a group assignment that I was working on entitled Energizers and Other Great Cooperative Activities for All Ages. It looks a bit childish on the outside, but on the inside there are tons of great ideas for energizing activities at all different stages of the classroom. These stages include: Meeting and Greeting, Matchmakers, Growing as a Group, Stretchers and Refreshers, Puzzlers and Posers, Racing and Chasing, and Fond Farewells. The authors is Carol Apacki and can be found in the Curriculum library under number 371.3 A73 c. 2 or it can be purchased at the Uvic Bookstore.

Cooperative Learning
I am sure that many of you plan on doing some group work or group projects at some point during your practicum and teaching careers. One great resource I found that could really help you in the foundations of group work is a book entitled Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills by David W. Johnson and Frank P. Johnson. I used this book as a textbook in a group psychology class I took a few years ago. I held onto because I was told that it would be a fantastic teacher resource and I see why now. This book focuses on how groups function and how you can build high performing groups in your classroom.

Playing For Change: Connecting the World Through Music

Article from The Tyee
Playing for Change Website

I was browsing The Tyee (online BC daily magazine that is always worth a look through) and came across an article about Global Music.
Take 5 minutes and watch the video. It's an inspiring project that collaborates the creativity and brilliance of musicians around the world. The message is simple: bringing peace to the world through music. If you want more information, just check out the playing for change website above. There is even reference to "Where the hell is Matt," which I am sure most of you have seen. Again, if not, worth checking out. His story is interesting.
Bringing music into the classroom is something that I thought of, but never really considered. Interestingly enough, my sponsor teacher played music during the breaks (some country, he's a cowboy), and the students seemed to like it. He also put it on at the beginning of class, while everyone was getting settled down. I think I might need music to settle me down too!

Social Studies Field Trip Idea

I'm not sure how many people are sticking around Victoria to do their practicum or to start their teaching career but for any of us heading back to the lower mainland I think a trip to Stanley Park would be very valuable for a field trip. I went on a field trip there in high school (cant remember what grade) to look at all the geography in the park. I know we haven't really spoken about geography in this class but it is apart of the social studies curriculum and there is even in fact a provincial examinable class that is based purely on geography. Imagine that. As we all know there are plenty of students out there who learn from doing and seeing, so why not plant them (its a play on words, get it) right in the middle of one of the most diverse spots in the lower mainland. The Stanley Park Ecology Society has been running school tours for years there and have plenty of worksheets and all that kind of stuff you'll want to make sure your students are staying on task and not just taking a cruise through the park. Here is the website to set up a field trip for your class.
http://www.bcfieldtrips.ca/search/node/stanley+park

Discussing Controversial Issues

In the workshop strategies for discussing controversial issues we did a few activities in which I could see being useful in a social studies classroom. 

The first one was simple and what the teacher did was write a controversial issue on the board (In this case it was "The best way to promote green energy is to make oil more expensive").

She then had the class move into a horseshoe shape, where on one end it was those who "strongly agreed," and next to them were those who agreed, in the middle were those who weren't sure, and then the students who disagreed, and strongly disagreed the statement (On the other end).  She then led a discussion and asked students why they were where standing they were, and created a class discussion this way... After a bit of discussion you can allow for students to move around if they feel as if their opinion has changed at all. With the teacher led discussion it allows for students to make their voice heard but not get into arguments with each other. 

The second activity that I thought was good, the teacher gave everyone post-it notes, and wrote an issue on the board (this time it was "the first year of post-secondary education should be free"). Everyone was to put a symbol on their post-it and place it on their chest. They could have strongly agree(++), agree(+), not sure(?), disagree(-) and strongly disagree(--). Then we were to 

1. talk to someone who is the same as you

2. talk to someone who is one degree lower than you (eg. a + would talk to a -)

3. talk to someone who is two degrees lower than you 

It is important to emphasize the fact that you are not arguing, but simply speaking your opinion, and listening to the other persons opinion. This activity is good for students to be able to speak about something without getting into an argument, and be able to understand and appreciate the fact that others have different views, and respect that.  I think this could be interesting to do at the beginning of a unit and then at the end and see if students have changed their opinion at all throughout the course of the unit.

Social Justice

I was also very disappointed with the social justice workshop. The woman who ran it was really nice but the emphasis on being kind to others and inclusive was overwhelming... and personally, seemed to be common sense.  When we were told to use encouraging words to each other within our groups, like "I like what you said because... " and "That was a really great answer..." I was wondering what I had signed up for..

It was mentioned that the workshop was condensed from 3 to 1.5 hours, but I'm not sure if it had any type of goal or outline. We did a little group work, and spoke about roles within groups, something which I'm sure we have all heard about enough... but I'm not sure where social justice came in at all. 

Social Justice in Every Classroom...

So I know people have talked about the BCTF day in general, and i hope I'm not rehashing the same tired shit, but was anyone else dissapointed with this workshop? I don't wanna insult the woman that ran it if she ever happens to read this, as I think she did a fine job with what it was...but I feel like this may have been a case of false advertising. Going into the workshop I expected it to centre around bringing up social justice issues in the classroom...not being courteous and encouraging happiness and kindness to others within the student body. I expected poverty, and prejudice issues, and etc etc...and instead got what I felt was the classroom equivalent of "Hold the shrimpfork like this."

Furthermore, I found out from a reliable source that I could have just not gone and sat in on a workshop that I felt was more valuable. What's the point of a sign-up process if it's not enforced? I was really disappointed to begin with that the workshop on difficult students was full so quickly, but the fact that it didn't matter and I could have gone to it anyway? Blah...sorry for ranting...

Atlas of Canada

The Online Atlas of Canada is a fanstastic tool to use in class. The link provides lesson plans, printable maps, and thematic maps. If your school has an accessible and user-friendly computer lab, it might be a nice way to get out of the classroom and show how technology is being used social studies. Understanding maps is an essential technique that every student taking social studies should have. Treaties, war strategies, land claims, exploration routes, trade routes, and colony settlements all used maps to plan and assess. Students in grades 9 and 10 will probably have a lot of experience with paper maps, so exposing them to digital ones could spark an interest. Digital mapping techniques is also a highly employable field, with work in areas such as GIS, Remote Sensing, and Cartography.

Teaching Abroad

More about BCTF day! Listening to the BCTF and the BCCT presentations yesterday it was emphasized that there are a lack of jobs in BC, especially for english and social studies teachers (my two teachable subjects). Needless to say I started t think more about teaching abroad and gaining some experience after graduation. There are so many opportunities across the globe, some that even pay well, but no we can not contribute to our pensions when teaching abroad! Some countries offer to pay for air fare, an end of service bonus payment, health insurance, and even accommodation! Social studies teachers are in need so I encourage you to think about all of the other opportunities out there.

Here are some videos that talk about teacher experiences overseas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPge3jnKk2g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hayo_CNKkNk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VloclykdnY

Click on the title of this blog and it will take you to the teach abroad program site!

BCTF Day

Although I'm not sure how much value I would place on this day, I just wanted to state that personally I dont think there's anything wrong with future teachers being concerned about their wages or their pension plans. Don't get me wrong if you're in teaching just for the money you're probably not in it for the right reasons (not too mention you're not the sharpest knife in the drawer either). However I see no wrong in taking an interest in how much money we are going to get paid when we're teaching or once we have retired. I think people have a scewed view on this and assume that people want to know how much money they're going to be making so they can go out and buy outrageous material goods. How about wanting to know how much income you're going to have so you can know if you will be able to provide for your family? Or soon you will be able to pay off your student loan and get out of debt? Personally I think it would be foolish for us not to be concerned about how much money we're going to be making in our profession. I do see the other side of the argument and there are many valid points. My view on that side of the argument is that teaching or whatever profession you're in should be something that you do because you love it, and if you didn't have a financial trouble in the world it should be something that you would do for free. And you would do it for free because of the value you place on teachers and how much you wanted to give back to your community. I believe that is the case for many of us, but the fact of the matter is that you need an income to survive so there's nothing wrong with anyone asking questions about that. Here is the link to the teachers pension website in case anyone has any further questions.

http://bctf.ca/SalaryAndBenefits.aspx?id=4780

WELL ITS BEEN A WHILE and I need a laugh

So we are coming to the close of our course work in this class and indeed the course work for this degree. And at the end of it all I am left with a sour taste in my mouth for a variety of reasons and I thought about coming on here and slagging this program and doing some of the frequent complaining we have all done. And then I thought ... What about everything I have learned. Because although a lot of us me included feel unprepared and anxious and excited about our up coming practicums ...I have... we all have... learned something. From those professors we didn't care for we have learned what not to do... For those of us who where inspired by some of our profs we have learned what to do or maybe we simply learned to look closer at ourselves. And from our peers. From all of you I have learned so much... from this blog from chats around campus and I thank each one of you.
At this point I would love it if you would all share some stories with me with us about funny times or real times... or really horrible things you have learned you never want to do or just whatever. If might be pertinent to leave names out should you have something not so nice to say.
This post is not for marks I have met my quota, I am just genuinely interested. Also I know responding is not for marks but it would just be dandy...
ALSO HUMOUR IS OUR VERY BEST FRIEND..

So for my contribution two things:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24674837-5014239,00.html
Please go see this if you do not laugh I will be shocked

And two:

Durkin's Rules:
Rule number one: One in ten people is a nut... and you never know who they are
Rule number two: Don't hit... KILL...
Thank you Durkin for absolutely without fail brightening my day...

Thanks everyone and good luck with everything,

Lindsay

BCTF Day

The more I reflect on this day the more humour I find in it. The burning questions from our student body centered on how much we are getting for pensions. Personally I found these questions disheartening. A reflection of people's priorities being misplaced. If you want to make money teaching go overseas and work for 120k a year tax free. If you want a nest egg take 20k of that and invest it each year until you retire. Problem with pensions solved.
We were given our forms to fill out like good little soldiers. Told not to ask questions, and we powered through the content for the forms. Thank goodness I had none since the line-up to question the BCCT guy was huge.
I found our workshops a re-hashing of things that we have been told before. I did the classroom management and how to deal with troubled kids. I was hoping we would get to do something hands on but was subjected to yet another power-point presentation containing nothing groundbreaking.
I feel like the powers that be are pushing us through bureaucracy to prepare us for more bureaucracy. As a student I found it condescending and painful to be shown how to point and click at a website. I question how these people can really get enthused about teaching, when our most powerful presentation was by a career TOC who failed at running his own classroom and enjoys being a TOC because it gives him the time to watch television.
Very Inspiring.
So here is a weblink I thought everyone could enjoy, and have a laugh. Enjoy we all need it.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

A Great Resource

I came across this website and wanted to share it with all of you. It is a great resource. This site provides web links and articles relating to social studies for teachers. There are a ton of great ideas and many topics to chose from; anything and everything for world history to american history to ancient and medieval history. They also include a bunch of resources specific to geography, which I found to be very useful especially because it isn't my forte! They also provide a great link that focuses on reading comprehension in social studies, this can be very useful in classrooms where the reading comprehension level may be lower than expected. 

Role-Play

The MUN and the debates that we have had in class made me think of how we can incorporate other forms of role playing in our social studies classrooms. I came across some great resources for teachers. Some suggest ways to set up role-play in the classroom and others suggest different scenerios and project ideas for students. Check them out if you're interested in incorporating role-play in your social studies classrooms.


http://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/frame_found_sr2/tns/tn-29.pdf

http://www.unc.edu/world/Lesson%20Plans/EU%20Movement%20Role%20Play.pdf

http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Role_Playing_Enactments_in_middle_grades_social_studies

National Geographic

While working on some coursework, I stumbled across an old favourite website of mine: National Geographic! I have always loved perusing this site, especially for their photographs. But now looking at this website with teacher eyes, I think that it holds some great interest-piquing prospects! There is a significant amount of Canadian content, especially with the focus on climate change and the Arctic right now. This is a great website for students to explore. They usually provide lots of other links for further reading, and deal with some excellent material. Of course, it's not all golden, and there's a significant amount of advertising, but generally, it's a great resource to add to the collection. A bit like a history and geography mind-meld, it's great for social studies regardless of your teaching area. I'd encourage you to take a look through the entire site!

Home page: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Photo of the day: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day
(just happens to be St. Basil's Cathedral today: HELLO Red Square!)

And an awesome mini-feature on the arctic: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/arctic-climate-change/arctic-ice-canada.html

150 Years

A rare and intriguing look into the past 150 years of news reporting by the Times Colonist (originally the British Colonist).
As social studies teachers, our local history is often overlooked by larger world events. Today's newspaper is dedicated entirely to Victoria's past. Most of the articles are historical ones that report on local events and news that shaped our city. Personalities such as Amour de Cosmos and Emily Carr are discussed in detail, and there are even scans of original articles. Most importantly though, is Section D, which reminisces about the 1925 Stanley Cup Champions, The Victoria Cougars.
The pictures are fantastic, and each and every one of them truly tells a story.

The collaborative research done by the TC should really be appreciated and explored.

BBC History Resources

While scouring the internet for some interesting visual materials for a World War I unit plan, I had the good fortune to stumble across the history section of the BBC's website. In addition to the B&W still photos that modern students find so enthralling, the Beeb has a fairly impressive array of other resources including games, animated maps, virtual trench tours, period radio clips, newspapers, academic articles, detailed breakdowns of individual campaigns and battles and of course, extensive photo galleries. Lots of great opportunities to use your powerpoint projector as something more than a glorified overhead.

The BBC collections cover both World Wars and the Cold War. They also include a wealth of resources pertaining to ancient British history and medieval Europe topics such as the Vikings (attn SS 8 teachers!) as well as lots of useful stuff on the Romans, Greeks, Eygptians etc. Some of the topics are covered in suprising depth. For example, the Vikings section includes info and resources on the role of women, Norse mythology, and depictions of day to day life in medieval Europe.

There are some really interesting articles that examine commonly held beliefs about historical events that could be a great tool for teaching critical thinking skills.

Definitely worth a look!

Article Review - Climate Change and Regional Geography

The article I decided I’d review for this assignment was Climate Change and Regional Geography by Talia Epstein, out of The Green Teacher. It’s probably a safe assumption that most people in the class will have the pleasure of teaching geography at some point, at some grade level as we can’t all be blessed with pure History 12’s or Comp Civs. This article, I’m happy to say, gives a good opportunity to make the regions unit in any geography class more relevant to current issues of global warming. This was less an article and more a description of a unit plan, which I’ll admit, I enjoyed more for its practical applications.
What little there is of an article outside the actual unit description describes the dire need to get students aware of climate issues and introduces a sixth grade classroom in the US. The unit in question is basically just a typical unit on regional geography, but it comes at it from a global warming angle. Students are assigned a region and over the course of a few weeks are asked in groups to become experts on said region and extrapolate what the regions climate would be like in 100 years. Involved in this are individual poster projects on states within the region and activities to familiarize them with different aspects of climate change such as water scarcity, industries, etc. The usual lectures and topics apply just as they would in a regular regions unit, just with a lean towards climate change.
As this was an elementary classroom students were also given lessons on the science of global warming with guest speakers from the local college as well as videos such as An Inconvenient Truth being shown for good measure. The final project was to compile all the information they had gathered on their region, select a policymaker from their region and write a letter to him/her with their findings, concerns, and suggestions as to how to rectify the situation. The article describes how the students were doubtful at first as to how much weight their letters would hold. This became a good opportunity for a civics lesson which made them feel quite a bit better about their power as citizens. Students wrote to congressmen, senators, and some even to presidential candidates – one getting a reply back from Barack Obama. Despite debate over the validity of the signatures “each reply was seen as proof that their voices had been heard.” (Epstein, 2008, p. 26) The article goes on to describe the different forms of assessment, including peer assessment of each other’s letters, a unit test, etc.
At the end of the unit students are encouraged to use their knowledge as experts to organize an event of their choosing to raise awareness of the topic. These students decided to organize an Alternative Transportation Day when each student walked or biked to work, with one student biking 2 hours to school with the teacher escorting him.
This unit proves quite conclusively in my mind that if you make students feel that they have an impact, and they have a vested interest in something they’ll become interested and will strive to make a difference. I personally hope to be able to use this type of unit, with a few tweaks of course to make it Canada friendly, in my grade 10 socials class this spring. I see no reason why a lot of it can’t be adapted to fit Canadian regions and issues. The issue itself is a global one, so I see no reason why the ways of raising awareness in the classroom can’t be as well.

Bibliography
Epstein, T. (2008). Climate Change and Regional Geography. The Green Teacher , 24-27.

Banking Education

If you haven’t read “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, by Paolo Freire, I highly recommend it! Freire describes “Banking Education”, as a relationship between teacher and student that is a one way road; students are empty accounts “to be filled by the teacher”.

In general, I think our current education system reflects this “Banking Education” and the concept of “banking education” helps the ruling class maintain their power. Although, I recognize that Canadian society has far less disparity than Brazil, where Freire was an educator, the concept remains the same.

In the spirit of our current political turmoil, I read an insightful blog entry that argues for the importance of fostering civic literacy:

“Education is about passion. It's about loving yourself, your friends, your community, your country, your planet and even your enemies enough to share that passion with others. Civic education is about being passionate about your life here on this planet. Becoming involved with others is required of any democratic form of government. If you are not involved then the system begins to break down. Because you choose not to be engaged then someone else disengages or does not engage, then that spreads until a small number of those involved are making decisions for the majority of people in the country.”

I found this blog on a website titled, “The Paulo and Nita Freire Project for Critical Pedagogy” . --- Go to: http://freire.mcgill.ca/ This website has some really interesting videos, and information on wide range of topics, which can help us shape our lessons in a meaningful way.

Documentaries

A friend of mine who's a experienced teacher reccommended that I invest "a couple hundred dollars in some documentaries." They can be very useful for, at the least, bailing you out in a jam. I'm not overly concerned with that big old nasty list of approved content, and will endeavour to ignore it, so here are some of my favourite documentaries and places you can get them for free. I call it theft, because pirates have boats. Yes, most of them are by John Pilger.

My all time favourite: The War on Democracy.
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3780383/John_Pilger_-_The_War_On_Democracy_-_2007
Its about America's war on democracy in latin america in the 70s and 80s. Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua (Iran-Contra as well), Chile, Argentina. Its a good one and the old CIA guy gets right pissed off and tells John to "cut the shit."
This is about sweat shops that make Nike, GAP, etc...
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3848274/DOCUMENTARY__John_Pilger_-_The_New_rulers_of_The_World.avi
Most of you have probably been exposed to this before, but the kids likely have not.
John has two documentaries by the same name, Palestine is still the issue, so I don't know which one this is, either 1980 or 2006. Either way, it is still the issue.
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4034713/John_Pilger_-_Documentaries_that_changed_the_world
That link above has quite a few that I haven't seen but I encourage you to check them out with a critical lens.
I have seen "The Silent Death of Cambodia." I didn't know anything about Camboda so it was hard to make context, but its in the link above too.
This collection has Vietnam: The Quiet Mutiny, a film about the GI's and Marines who, by the late 60's were very displeased with the Vietnam War. (1970) http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4032747/Documentary__John_Pilger_collection_DVD_2
It also has docs about Timor and Burma. Classics.

Disc Three in this collectio has "The Truth Game" which is about nuclear war and propaganda.
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4044942/John_Pilger_-_In_the_name_of_justice_(2007)_%5BDVDRip.Luftwaffe%5D
It also has Apartheid Did Not Die, which is about South Africa and is quite revealing and a far out look at Japan at the end of the bubble. Takes a look at why that old adage of the workaholic Japanese came to be. Apparently it had to do with small government pensions because of the increasing life expectency.

Thats some of them, most likely they can fit into a class or two a semester.

How much Freedom is enough Freedom?

I've read a few posts which address the issue of Free Speech, including two really good posts by Monica and George. As future teachers, questions about freedom are so important for our own pedagogy, and how we will explain or talk about hot button topics. Thanks for tackling this tough issue - it's got me thinking.

Of course we probably all believe in freedom; but we sometimes have competing freedoms...and we have to make a decision about whose freedom is valued more.

In democracies, the values held by a majority of the citizens constitute a norm, and our laws should reflect our norms. Of course our values, norms and laws continually change over time.

We make laws which restrict particular freedoms, if those freedoms conflict with our values. For example, Canadians have greater hand gun restrictions than the United States - we believe our society is safer by restricting this freedom.

In 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled our abortion laws unconstitutional. The decision noted that a woman should not be forced to carry a foetus to term; the government should not be able to control a woman's reproduction - this would interfere with a woman's right to "security of the person".

Then in 1996, the BC government established a "bubble zone" around abortion clinics. The new law, "Access to abortion Services Act", confronts the issue of competing interests, or competing freedoms. Basically, it denies protesters their freedom of speech, within 10 metres of a doctor's office, 50 metres of a hospital or clinic, and 160 metres of a doctor's home.

When one person's freedom conflicts with the values of the majority, we restrict that freedom.

The law doesn't restrict freedom of speech, but only its occurrence in a particular place. A subsequent Supreme Court decision "indicated that time, place and manner restrictions are less offensive to freedom of expression values than are general bans on a particular kind of speech."

For a similar reason, it seems the University of Calgary has decided to restrict the pro-life group from displaying photos, including "pictures of a bloody aborted foetus alongside a vintage Holocaust photo of dead Jewish bodies".

We all love freedom . . . but sometimes we all can't get our freedoms. It's not perfect, but I'm not sure if the alternative would be an improvement. How much freedom is enough freedom?

Even America is finding interest in our Government!

So I try to scan the headlines in the New York Times daily, just to see what catches my eye, and to keep track of what the American Government is up to. As well,after our talk on media literacy the other class, I thought I would start really paying attention to how our media was portraying the recent events. I found that the news (I watch CTV) was favoring the Conservatives, and not enlightening the public that the coalition was not a 'bloody coup d'etat' as quoted by a person in Port Alberni, which CTV news reported. I am all for hearing both sides of an argument, but both sides need to be informed and educated. Instead the media is leading our public blindly into believing that what is happening is undemocratic and happening without our "the people's" vote/permission.
I also found that the Globe and Mail, had a slightly more Conservative spin on their articles. I usually find them to be a little more neutral. Anyway, with the most recent events of the Govenor General favoring a suspension of Parliament, this blog was not meant to talking about the rights and wrongs of a coalition government.
Back to the New York Times, I wanted to share an article that was in The New York Times this morning on what is happening in the Canadian government! Yes we made The New York Times. Canada finally has enough drama going on that we've branched out and given the world something to talk about :) And I do have to say that this article is more neutral than what our media has been reporting. Which was nice to read. Or maybe because a bit more of the facts are presented, I feel like the what the opposition was trying to do was represented in a less 'criminal-like' light. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/world/americas/05canada.html?th&emc=th

Politician's Public Addresses

Thanks to my insomnia and digital cable at 4am this morning I was watching the Canada AM broadcast from Toronto and tuned in just in time to see their political analysts talking about both the Prime Minister's address and Stephan Dion's. An interesting moment was when the one pointed out that Jack Layton also had to say something and make the same points as Dion, but on behalf of the NDP, and this analyst wondering aloud: does this mean this is how everything would be if there were a coalition? Can they not actually work together, even though they say they can? She raised an interesting point, can these three parties who are so different really work together peacefully for any length of time?
I certainly have no idea. But if they are all constantly trying to be Alpha Male it will quickly turn into a dog fight. And no one wants to see a brawl break out in our parliament, as entertaining as it could be to see the party leaders duke it out.
For those who missed it last night, I am attaching the link to PM Harper's address, and if you continue to watch you can see the CTV analysts break it down. Oh, and you gotta love how both PM Harper and Llyod Robertson refer to the coalition as being unprecedented and having no basis in Canadian history. Right. WW1 is not part of Canadian history.
Harper's Address
And in the interest of fairness Dion's Address (also note how the reporter introducing this says NOTHING about this first, just that it is Dion's reponse.... interesting...)

Canadian Politics via Hockey

Two interesting ways to look at the coalition government take over that are related yet differently set have been shown to me today. First, A channel News gave a great way of breaking down how the process and the role regarding the governor general works. I thought these would be great ways of explaining this particular situation to a class.

First, one needs to look at the government like a hockey game where one team is the leading party, the Conservatives, and the other team the coalition.

Second, one sees the game as the battle for power where only one player can be the MVP, that being the PM. However, there are always other players gunning for that MVP spot, Dion.

Third, the referee for the game is the governor general, who decides who gets what penalties or who leads the country.

This is a very primitive way of explaining the circumstances which our government is facing right now, however, it's the basic principle that is important. By using an example to which the students can relate, the chances of them understanding the situation is greater. Additionally, if you manage to get the basic principle across, then it is far easier to expand the learning and the understanding of the topic.

The second way of looking at this particular situation came to me via a joke email, and while it made me smile and laugh, I thought the underlying explanation was a great way of seeing this event. Again it relates to hockey, but then perhaps hockey is more Canadian than our parliamentary system in the first place (I mean a governor general??? What are we, still a dominion?)

Toronto Maple Leafs Win Stanley Cup!!

Canada was stunned Monday when it was announced that The Stanley Cup will be awarded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, possibly as early as December 6th. The cup will be stripped from from 2008 playoff champions the Detroit Red Wings and be awarded to the Leafs, who didn't even make the playoffs. How is this possible, Canadians ask? Well, the Leafs have formed a coalition with eastern conference semifinalists the Montreal Canadians, and conference quarter finalists the Ottawa Senators, now outnumbering the Red Wings. According to current Leaf coach Ron Wilson "the Red Wings have lost the confidence of the league and should hand the cup over immediately to our coalition". NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is cutting short a European trip to try to resolve the unprecedented hockey crisis that could force a second playoff series, or see an opposing team coalition take the cup.

To Bathe or not to Bathe that is the Question?

Greetings and Salutations Social Studies movers and shakers!

Please be prepared to debate one of the following resolution statements or topics for Friday's class. Everyone will have a role to play so do your research.

Be it resolved:

"Baths are generally superior to showers"

" Teacher education should be abolished in service of the improvement of our schools"

" The Governor General of Canada, has a constitutional and democratic obligation to prorogue parliament at the request of the Prime Minister"

Check out this substantive editorial from the Globe and Mail, a newspaper that has consistently supported the Prime Minister and Conservative Party.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081202.weConstitution03/BNStory/politics/home

Teachable moments: The coalition of commies, hippies and seperatists

Well, it is interesting times like these that can make thinking of ideas for lessons much easier. Even though this whole coalition issue is not fundamentally very confusing or complicated, the political maelstrom surrounding it has caused widespread dislocation. Like we went over in class today, issues like this should be explained in straight language to your students as soon as possible to avoid propaganda and misconceptions. In fact, this is a perfect case study for the requirement in many Social Studies IRP's for source analysis. Students can analyse this bombardment of tv, radio and internet propaganda ads for: who wrote it? for what purpose? is there a bias? is it valid? is it factual? etc.
This will likely be much more interesting and useful that analysing a source written in 1778 or whatever. Also, you could organize some sort of debate surrounding the issue. Perhaps assign some students to each party, and have them debate why, or why not form a coalition, and how they would compromise their policies to form one etc.
Another benefit of students getting straight forward information on events such as this, is that they can then explain it to their possibly confused parents and friends, therefore more people will understand what is happening and fewer will be outraged.

Online Debate Resources and Information

Online Debate Resources

Constructing arguments through research, presenting and defending them effectively is of the essence of meaningful political and civic participation. Providing space and place for the debate and discussion of controversial issues is of the essence of engaging and meaningful education in the classroom. Please find some resources to get you and your students started.

Basics of Canadian Parliamentary Debate
http://www.usc.uwo.ca/clubs/debating/basicscp.html
British Debate
Comprehensive resources
http://www.britishdebate.com/universities/resources/ox_roughguide.asp
Debate Central
Exhaustive list of resources including online videos
http://debate.uvm.edu/
International Debate Education Association
http://idebate.org/
World Debate Institute
http://worlddebateinstitute.blogspot.com/2008/07/lecture-introduction-to-debate-research.html
World Debate Organisation
http://debate.uvm.edu/wdo.html
Oxford Union Debate
http://www.oxford-union.org/debates
Hart House Debate Society
http://hhdebate.sa.utoronto.ca/
University of Western Ontario Debate Society
http://www.usc.uwo.ca/clubs/debating/
Lincoln Douglas Debate Information and Resources (high school group)
http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/MARQUETTE/Activities/speechdebate/ld.html
Cross Examination Debate Association
http://cedadebate.org/