Explorations in Socials 11 Page 1
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Explorations in Socials 11
Big Ideas (some possible examples)
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Cultural expressions convey the richness, diversity, and resiliency of BC First Peoples (from BC First Peoples).
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The intentional destruction of peoples and their cultures is not inevitable, and attempts can be disrupted and resisted
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Decision making in urban and regional planning requires balancing political, economic, social, and environmental factors
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Value systems and belief systems shape our worldview
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Laws are interpreted and these interpretations many evolve over time as a society’s values and worldviews change.
Units of Study
Use Social Studies inquiry processes and skills to: ask questions; gather, interpret, and analyze ideas; and communicate findings and decisions
Belgium Congo: Can the atrocities of the Belgium Congo be classified as a genocide?
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Examine the Scramble for Africa
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Examine the Belgium Congo in particular
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Student Work: Answer the central question.Once done, they are to create a proposal for the United nations to adjust their definition of genocide to include the events of the Belgium Congo
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Finally, they are to create a proposal to convince the BC Ministry of Education to make the study of the atrocities of the Belgium Congo to be mandatory learning for BC students
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Some applicable web site resources:
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Primary Source: Full Report of Congo Reform Association, 1904
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Suggested Video: King Leopold's Ghost. This is not available for free online viewing, but comes highly recommended
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2-3 weeks
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Assess the significance of people, places, events, and developments, and compare varying perspectives on their historical significance at particular times and places, and from group to group (significance)
Who were the most significant people in history?
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Begin by examining the concept of significance.Teacher to provide definition, and teacher/students to work through some examples to reinforce concept.
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Internet research: examine various lists of online rankings of the most significant people in History.From there, they are to determine their own Top Five list.They must provide proof of the significance through the agreed upon criteria.Then they are to create a presentation (i.e. museum exhibit) to display their rankings and the reasons for their decisions.
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Some Potential Web Sites
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What were the most significant events in World History since the year 1000?
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As above.In this assignment, I would ask students to have five events, but with a slight variation on the above exercise.They should use the agreed upon criteria, but they would have to create the list by having only two or three for either the Northern Hemisphere and two/three for the Southern Hemisphere.
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Some Potential Web sites
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Each could last one to one and a half weeks, depending on the manner of presentation
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Assess the justification for competing historical accounts after investigating points of contention, reliability of sources, and adequacy of evidence (evidence)
What can you determine about life in early Prince George, B.C., based on primary source evidence?
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Students would begin by examining one primary source (in this case, funeral records of Prince George from 1916-1930). Students will be given criteria to research about this era using ONLY that one source.They would then present their findings, giving their ideas, based on evidence, of what Prince George may have been like between 1916 and 1930.
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After that, students will be given access to more primary source material (in this case, photographs from the era found in the Exploration Place online Archives). They would then make adjustments to their earlier work.
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Finally, students would then be given access to even more primary source materials (Again, from the Exploration Place archives and the UNBC Digital Archives) with maps and descriptions of the city from early settlers.Once again, they would be asked to make changes to their perceptions based on their earlier work.
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Suggested Resources
Prince George Funeral Record, 1916-1930 (Begin Here)
The Exploration Place:Photographic Archives of Early Settlers and First Nations Peoples (Additional Resources, see part 2)
Reverend Runnalls: A History of Prince George
UNBC Digital Archives: Fraser-Fort George Region
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2 weeks
The Partition of India-deciphering political cartoons
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Briefly go over the events of the partition of India with students.This is ensure they have some background in this subject
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There will be a series of PPTs and cartoons available on my web site for students to access ta answer questions about how to interpret events through cartoons.
2-3 days
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University of Texas Project: Partition of India
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