June 16 – Geography Jeopardy

Here are the Jeopardy review questions that we played in class today.  The answers are on the last slide of each file.

• Geography Jeopardy
• Double Jeopardy

Good luck studying for your exam!

June 9-10 – Work Periods

We will spend the next couple of days working on our Take Action presentations.

Remember, your presentation will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Presentation Criteria

• What is the issue?
• Why is it important?
• What organization?
• Tell us about them.
• What did you do?
• Success & Failures.
• How has your project contributed towards solving the issue?

Also, don't forget, you'll need to submit a completed Take Action Log and a Take Action Reflection.

Presentations begin on Wednesday,

Good luck!

June 4 – Exam Review and Avatar

Congratulations on completing your test!  The only remaining evaluations you have are Take Action and the Final Exam.

• Take Action Presentations begin on June 11.
• Take Action Reflections due on June 16.

• Final Exam on June 24, 10:00 AM.

Here is some material that will help you on your exam.

• Exam Review Package
• Exam Review Powerpoint
• Exam Study Tips

We then started watching the movie Avatar by James Cameron, hope you guys enjoy it!

May 30 – Cultural Fair

Today we showed everyone what we did with the cultural tiles and then we presented and ate all the food you brought.

We ate Matzo, Pocky, BBQ Pork Buns, Samosas, Shawarmas, Jamaican beef patties, and much much more!

You guys did a great job with food and clean up.
Good work everyone!

At this point, you should have handed in the following:

• Photo manipulation
• Cultural tile
• Three paragraphs for Cultural tile

This weekend, you should start studying for the Unit Test on Tuesday, June 3.

May 28 – The Land Before Canada (and multicultural music!)

Today we completed the urban vs. rural comparison.

Then we started our discussion of Aboriginal people.

Handout

• The Land Before Canada

As we worked, I played some contemporary aboriginal music for you.  Watch this:

The group is A Tribe Called Red.  If you like them, look up more of their music!

To be fair, we looked up music from the different cultures you guys are studying for your Cultural Fair.

Here's some Persian music:

Here's some Indian music:

Here's some Hewbrew music:

Here's some Korean music:

Enjoy!

May 26 – Population Density

Today I showed you some statistics about York Region, where our school is located.

• York Region Demographics

Did anything surprise you?  Did anything stick out?  Don't forget that we're all living in a place that is very special in Canada.  We are extremely diverse, have a higher level of education, and make more money than most of Canada!

We then discussed what is meant by population density.

Handouts

• Settlement Patterns
• Urban vs. Rural
• Urban vs. Rural Venn Diagram

May 23 – Multiculturalism

Here are the notes and files from today.

• Multiculturalism
• Flag Controversy
• Knowing the Neighbours
• Mixed Marriages
• Ethnic Enclaves

May 22 – Migration

Here are the notes and powerpoint from today.

• Migration and Multiculturalism PowerPoint
• Canadian Immigration Infographic
• Canadian Citizenship Infographic
• Migration Notes

The next Unit Test will be on June 3rd!

May 21 – Declining Population

Today everyone told me the country or culture they would like to investigate for the cultural tile and fair.  Remember, everyone has to do their own tile and paragraphs, but you may team up for the food.

Next we continued with the demographics powerpoint

• Demographics PowerPoint

And completed an organizer for Canada's declining growth rate.  That means we're growing at a slower and slower rate, and one day, might even decline if it does not turn around.

Handout

• Declining Population Organizer

May 20 – Hotel Rwanda

Today we finished watching Hotel Rwanda.  Be sure to answer these following questions because they can appear on a future test!

• Hotel Rwanda Questions

Some of you might be wondering what happened after the genocide.  Here's a linke to a photographer who took photos of perpetrators and survivors 20 years later and told their stories.

• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/06/magazine/06-pieter-hugo-rwanda-portraits.html?_r=0

Here are a couple of articles.  One is about Canadian general Romeo Dellaire and the other is about how Rwanda is fairing in 2010, 16 years after the genocide.

• Romeo Dellaire Article
• 16 Years After Article

I also handed out the next big assignment:

• Cultural Tile and Fair

May 15 – Overpopulation

Today we completed the Demography handout from yesterday.

• Demography Handout

At this point you should have the front side complete and the organizer on the back side with overpopulation in the middle of the organizer.

Then we started watching Hotel Rwanda.  It's a movie about the genocide that took place in Rwanda 20 years ago.  Have a look at these questions and be able to answer them by the end of the movie.

Handout

• Hotel Rwanda Questions

May 14 – Demographics trends

Great work on the field trip guys!  I hope you all enjoyed the trip and I can't wait to see all your photos.  The powerpoint with all your photos is due on Friday May, 16.

We did a fun diagnostic quiz on demographics to get you guys thinking about the issues.

• Human Systems Diagnostics Quiz

Then we continued with the powerpoint introduction to Demographics.

• Demographics PowerPoint

And we organized our notes on this handout:

Handout

• Demography Handout

May 12 – Unit 4

Today we started a new unit!

UNIT 4: Demographics

This unit discusses the study of populations.

PowerPoint

• Demographics

We started and got a few slides in, but I'm sure you're all more interested in the FIELD TRIP tomorrow!

See you bright and early at 8:15 AM!!

May 7 – Doodle for Google Project

Today we will continue working on your unit summative project.  At this point, you should already know what your invention will be.  You should have started looking into where the resources come from and where the manufacturing will take place.  Keep working on your drawing and remember to keep track of our references.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

May 2 – Doodle for Google Summative and Field Trip Forms

Today I introduced the summative assignment for this unit.  It will be due at the end of next week, Friday, May 9.

Handouts

• Doodle for Google Summative

Field Trip!

We will be taking a field trip to Niagara Falls!  Please have your parents complete the forms and bring in cash or cheque.  There is important information about our trip and school on that form, so I will not post it online, please see me if you need a copy of the form.

Apr. 30 – Investigating Quaternary Industries

Today we went to the computer lab to conduct an inquiry into quaternary industries in Canada.  Have a look at the handout for the assignment.

Handout

• Tertiary and Quaternary Industries 

The main question is:

What do you believe is the most important technological development that Canada is currently playing a leading role in exploring or contributing to? Why?

We have all of today as well as part of tomorrow's class to conduct this investigation.

Here's the site for ‘Sustainable Development Technology Canada’ to help you get started.

• http://www.sdtc.ca  

Apr. 29 – The Secret Life of a Hamburger

Today we looked more closely at the resources required and the waste generated to produce hamburger.  This type of analysis will be important for your final project this semester, so treat this activity as a practice.

Handouts

• The secret life of a hamburger
• The secret life of a hamburger chart

Finally we looked at a trade deal called CETA, which involves Canada and the European Union.  Will this be good or bad for Canada?  Have a look at these resources and decide for yourself:

Handout

• Is Canada Better or Worse with CETA?

Other links and resources

Here are some great links on CETA:

• http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/canada-eu-ceta/
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/5-ways-the-canada-eu-trade-deal-will-impact-canadians-1.2125510

Apr. 28 – More on your ecological footprint

Today we debriefed the information we got from last week's ecological footprint activity.  How many planets did you need to support your lifestyle?  Here are some of the classes's results:

4

2.5

2.6

1.9

1.4

2.9

The average for Ontario is 3.58 planets.

How many hectares does your personal footprint take up?  Here are some results from the class:

5.9

4.0

4.8

6.5

7.2

5.3

3.1

Again, well below the Canadian average of 8.6 hectares.  However, you should expect this to change once you guys start owning your own cars and houses.

Handouts

• Ecological Footprint Information
• Human Footprint Video Questions

Next we watched these videos to get a visual sense of how much stuff one person uses in his or her lifetime:

That's all we had time for in one class, but feel free to watch the other parts at home:

Apr. 25 – Ecological Footprint

We started by finishing the Behind the Label package today.  You should have a sense of how much people get paid and what kind of conditions they work in to create the clothes and shoes that we have.

Next we did a life raft activity.  If you were floating on a life raft with your entire house underwater, what 10 things would you grab?  Those who did not write down food, water and clothing would have died!  This activity helps us sorts out the difference between needs and wants.

Then we went to the computer lab to look into our effects on the environment.  Try this Ecological Footprint Calculator to find out:

• Ecological Footprint Calculator

We will discuss more of this on Monday

Apr. 24 – Sweatshop Simulation

Today we watched this video and discussed it.

• http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-garment-worker-in-bangladesh.html

I asked you to look at where your clothes were made yesterday.  Do any of you have concerns about where they were made?

Here's an article about what happened a year after the factory collapsed:

• Bangladesh Factory Collapse

Here's the organizer we used to look at the effects:

• Investigating Effect Organizer

Next we continued working on the sweatshops handout.

• Behind the Label

Then we went to the computer lab to try out a sweatshop simulation.  Try it out at this link:

• http://www.simsweatshop.com/

Reflect about how you felt while trying the simulation.  What parts of it stood out or surprised you?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some people asked for a copy of the Manufacturing Industries Map from our atlases.  Here is a scan of it:

• Manufacturing Industries Map

Apr. 23 – Trade Concerns

Today we discussed some of the trends we saw in the map of manufacturing industries that we started yesterday.

Here are some questions we discussed:

-       What trends do you see in the locations of dominant and major areas of manufacturing?

(They are all near large urban areas.  People who work in manufacturing live in cities.)

-       What type of reasons did you come up with for the largest industry in each province?  What trends did you see?  (They are tied to the resources available in each province.)

-       What are the top types of manufacturing industries in Canada? (Machinery such as cars and planes as well as mining.)

-       What is the % of Canada's GDP?  (11%, one of the biggest percentages)

-       How many jobs are in manufacturing? (1.7 million)

So that's what we can produce in Canada.  What about goods we can't make in Canada?  Where do we get them from?  The answer is international trade.

PowerPoint

• Canada and Trade Concerns Powerpoint

Here's the video about the cocoa pickers in Uganda.  Start at 24 minutes to see the part we watched in class.

Fill out this organizer based on the video:

• 321-organizer

Finally, I gave this handout that you can start working on.  Fill in the table with at least three articles of clothing from home.  We will work on the rest of the handout in class.

• Behind the Label Activity

Apr. 22 – Secondary Industries

Today we started looking into secondary industries in Canada.  We made use of the atlases and mapped where the "dominant" and "major" centres of manufacturing are in Canada.  We also identified the top two manufacturing industries in each province and tried to think of reasons why this may be so.  Did you see any trends and connections to what we learned previously?

We will discuss this more tomorrow.

Apr. 17 – Pipelines Debate

Have a look at these videos and see what you think:

Also, see what the oil sands really look like:

At this point you should be completed the handouts from yesterday:

• Pipelines Package
• Pipelines Point of View

Next we conducted a classroom debate on the Northern Gateway Pipeline!

You divided yourself into three groups:

• Those who agree with the pipeline.
• Those who oppose the pipeline.
• Those who were undecided.

Some good arguments were brought up and some not so good arguments were suggested.  I will collect the votes and next week I will reveal which side won.

Apr. 16 – Pipelines

Today we finished watching Blood Diamond.  Here are my answers to the questions from the handout.  Your answers might be a bit different based on your own opinions.

• Blood Diamond Questions
• Blood Diamond Answers

Next we talked about pipelines

Handouts

• Pipelines Package
• Pipelines Point of View

We watched a CBC news in review segment and answered some of the questions in the handout.  We also took an initial vote to see how the class felt about the pipeline before we have our debate.  Here's how you voted:

Do you agree with the proposal to build the Northern Gateway Pipeline?

• Yes = 7  — 35%
• No = 5 — 25%
• Not Sure = 8 — 40%

After we watch the videos, review the facts and have a debate, we will vote again to see if any of your opinions change.

Apr. 15 – Blood Diamond Continued

Today we continued to watch Blood Diamond and the volume was fixed!  Everything was heard loud and clear.  Remember to answer the questions that came along with the movie.

At the end of the class I handed out this package on pipelines.  Read the first page (Introduction) to be prepared for the class tomorrow.

• Pipelines Package

Apr. 14 – Blood Diamond

Today we continued to watch Blood Diamond.  I will try to sort out the volume issue by tomorrow.

Here is the handout with the questions:

• Blood Diamond

Apr. 10 – Blood Diamond

Here are some definitions to add to your resources maps:

Renewable: A resource that can be replaced by natural environmental processes, unless badly managed.  

Ex. Lumber, agriculture, fish

Non-Renewable: A resource that is finite or replaces itself very slowly.

Ex. diamonds, fossil fuels, nuclear, minerals

Flow Resource: A resource that is neither renewable nor non-renewable, must be used where they occur.  They are used and replenished simultaneously. 

Ex: solar, wind, hydro

At this point a lot of people were finished with their annotated maps of Canadian Resources, so we started to watch Blood Diamond!

Handout

• Blood Diamond Questions 

We will continue watching it on Monday.

Apr. 10 – Extraction Jigsaw, Take Action Update

As a followup to yesterday's discussion about our Take Action Logs, I gave a updated rubric that includes the log in it.

• Take Action

We then continued with our resources map.  Remember to include oil and natural gas on your map.

Apr. 9 – Extraction Jigsaw

We completed the natural resource jigsaw today by changing up the groups.  Now, there's one person in each group who is the expert on one of the five resources.  You are to share what you know with your new group and gather information from them about their resources.

At this point, you should have a map that shows where each resource is produced in Canada and 50 important points, 10 for each resource.

Take Action Logs

At this point, you should all be working on logs for your take actions project.  Think back to what you did so far and write it all down.  Here's a example with the details that I am looking for.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2:00 pm

• Formed our Take action group.  Members are: Mr. A, Ms. B, Mr. C, Dr. E

Monday, Mar. 3, Period 4

• Library Research.
• Mr. A looked at charity funding from www.random-website.com
• Ms. B called the charity (416-555-2319) to ask if they need volunteers.

Thursday, Mar. 6, Period 4

• Discussed Take Action with the class.
• Mr. C explained to the class what our group is doing.

Wednesday, Apr. 2, 6:00pm

• Dr. E called the charity (416-555-2319) to set up a time to do our project.  
• We agreed on May 5 at 7pm.

Apr. 8 – Extraction Jigsaw

Remember the four levels of industries,

1. Primary: Extraction
2. Secondary: Manufacturing
3. Tertiary: Services
4. Quaternary: Research & Development

For the next section, we will focus on Extraction.

Extraction

Jigsaw activity

We split up into groups and each group researched their category of primary industries.  Each group was to read the relevant chapter of the textbook and decide on their top 10 most important points.  Each group then labelled where the industries are most important on a map of Canada.

Tomorrow, we will complete the rest of the activity by sharing between the groups.

Apr. 7 – The Story of Stuff continued

We finished the handout on the Story of Stuff today.  By now your entire handout pack should be complete!

Test corrections should also have been handed in by now.

Apr. 4 – The Story of Stuff

Today we watched a video called The Story of Stuff.

Handout

• The Story of Stuff

We watched it all the way through once and took what notes you can get, but the pace of this video is really fast, so started going back through it again slowing down and stopping at certain points to make more notes.  We will continue this on Monday.

Apr. 3 – Types of Industries

First of all, we took up the Trade worksheet.  At this point, you should have completed that entire handout.  If you don't have it all, please talk to your group members or see me about it.

Next, we discussed the different types of industries: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary.

Here are the notes we put together in class.

• Types of Industries

We also talked about levels of development.

• Levels of Development

Remember, that levels of development takes into account many factors:

Gross Domestic Product:

Life expectancy:

Human Development Index:

Darker blue countries have a higher HDI.

Apr. 2 – Levels of Development

Today we looked at what it means to be a developed nation.  We began with colouring in a map that categorizes the countries of the world based on their levels of development.  Your map should look like this:

Blue are the developed nations, orange are newly industrialized and red are developing nations.  But what does all that mean?  We took a day in the computer lab to do some research.

We looked at the CIA World Factbook and looked at three different countries: Canada, Brazil and Rwanda.  Fill in the chart and find the definitions for each indicator.

Handout

• Levels of Development

Apr. 1 – Trade

Watch this:

This cartoon was made in the 90's, so some countries he sings about no longer exist.  Can you spot which ones those are?  Which countries exist today that he didn't sing about?

Today we continued working on the trade handout.

• Trade worksheet

I also handed back the Unit Test.  Please see me if you have any questions about it.

Mar. 31 – New Unit!

New Unit!

Human Geography: Resources and Industries

Learning Goals: Understand globalization including it's pros and cons.

Success Criteria: You can explain and give specific examples of globalization and identify some positive and negative effects of globalization.

Today we started out new unit by discussion globalization.  What is it?  Why is it happening?  What are the positive and negative impacts?

One of the effects/indicators of globalization is increase in international trade.  So we delved deeper into the concept of trade.

Handouts

• Globalization Powerpoint
• Trade worksheet

Mar. 25 – Study booklets

Today I showed you how to make study booklets.  We folded pieces of paper into an 8 page booklet.  Here is what you should have on each page of the booklet.

1. Map of Canada (provinces, territories and capitals)
2. What is Geography?  Absolute vs. Relative Location
3. Geotechnologies, types of map, 
4. Geological histories: plate tectonics, continental drift, convection currents, cross sections and landforms chart.
5. Natural disasters: Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Tsunamis; buildup, wearing down, Tsunami impacts, impacts on Canada.
6. Canadian natural disasters, compare two regions, which is safest, why?
7. How does the natural environment influence who we are as canadians?
8. Climate regions.

This in addition to the study topics handed out last week, this is a good way to organize your material for studying.

Mar. 24 – Review

The Unit Test is now on Friday, Mar. 28!

We took up the tsunami organizer today and here are the results.

• Graphic Organizer: Consequences of Tsunami (completed) 

More review in the days to come!

Good luck in your studies!

Mar. 20 – Online Research Activity

Today we conducted a research activity to practice finding reliable and useful information online as well as practice collaborating in a group.

YOUR JOB: You are a real estate agent; your new client is the Belon Family, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami survivors whose true life story inspired the making of The Impossible. They have heard that Canada is a relatively geologically safe country, but they want to know which natural disasters each part of Canada is prone to.  Your group is to consider all of your client’s unique characteristics and present which region they should consider living in. 

See the handout for the activity and a guide on how to collaborate.

Handouts

• Canada Regions Investigation
• How to Collaborate

These are the actors posing with the real life family that inspired The Impossible movie.

Mar. 19 – Consquences of 2004 Tsunami

Today we reviewed some of the consequences of the 2004 Tsunami that we watched the movie about before the break.

We used a graphic organizer to take note of the Political, Economic, Social and Environmental consequences of the Tsunami.  Each group got different articles to look at and then traded with the other groups.  Make sure you have some answers for each of those four categories on your graphic organizer.

Handouts

• Tsunami Map
• Graphic Organizer: Consequences
• Tsunami Articles 1
• Tsunami Articles 2

The Unit Test on all the material we covered so far will be next week, Wednesday Mar. 26.

Mar. 18 – Climate regions in Canada

Today we discussed different climate systems in Canada.  We did not finish, but will continue tomorrow.

Handout

• Climate Systems

Mar. 17 – Landforms Review

Welcome back from the March Break!

Today I handed back all your work so far.  You marks are updated on TeachAssist.  If you have concerns about your assignments or marks, please see me.

Now lets see how much you remember from before the break.

Handouts

• Natural Systems in Review
• Landform Regions

By now you should have all the solutions to those handouts.

Mar. 4 – Movie: "The Impossible"

Over the next couple of days we'll be watching the movie The Impossible.  Check out the movie on IMDB:

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1649419/

We'll also continue with our Current Events presentations.

Reminder: Your Take Action pamphlets are due on Thursday!  If you are not done, it is homework.

Mar. 3 – Take Action Pamphlets

Today we had the class time to work on our Take Action pamphlets.  By now, you should know which organization you are volunteering for and confirmed with them that they need you.

Here is the link to the Take Action project in case you need it again.

Handout: Take Action

If you did not finish the pamphlet in class today (which is most of you), the remainder is for homework because we do not have another library day booked.

Feb. 27 – Landform Cross Sections

Today we finished our look at landforms and how they came about.

Learning Goals: Understand what processes shape Canada’s natural environment.

Success Criteria: You can use the geological processes to describe how certain landforms in Canada were formed.

Handouts: 

• Cross Sectional History
• Geological Processes

We went through the cross sections step by step and discovered how they formed into Canada's landscape.  See the PowerPoint for the completely labeled cross sections.  We also coloured in certain sections to make the diagrams more clear.

PowerPoint: Landforms and Geological History

The second handout, on Geological Processes is for you to make your own review notes on.

A reminder that you must tell me what you will do for your Take Action Project this Friday!

Feb. 26 – Rock Cycle

Today we continued with the powerpoint from yesterday.  Here's the link again for you:

PowerPoint: Landforms and Geological History

Here's a link to the article about the world's oldest rock: Oldest Piece of Earth Found

Today you also told me which other students you would be working with and what organization you would work with for your Take Action projects.  Most of you already have an idea of what you will do.  If you have not decided yet, please do so ASAP!  You must contact the organization and find out if they need volunteers this week, so that you can work on your pamphlets next week.

Good luck!

Feb. 25 – Canadian Landforms and Plate Tectonics

Want a way to remember the provinces and Capitals?  Check out this song!

Then we moved on to talk about landforms...

Learning Goals: Understand the major landforms in Canada and how they formed.

Success Criteria: You can describe the major landforms and explain how they formed.

Here is the powerpoint and handouts.

Presentation: Landforms and Geological History

Handouts: 

• Earth's Interior
• Landforms Map

Here are the videos that go with the presentation:

Plate tectonics:

Coke vs. Lava

Throwing a "person" into a volcano.

Feb. 24 – Unit 2

New Unit!

Unit 2: Physical Geography

The main question in this unit is: How does the natural environment interact with humans on a local and global scale?

Today we started by looking at the natural environment and what it means to have different regions.

Learning Goals: What is the natural environment and how do we study it?

Success Criteria: You can identify what a natural environment is and explain what a region is.

Here is the powerpoint from today: Environmental Regions

We discussed what the natural environment is and different ways we can define the regions of Canada.  How much do you know about these regions?

Handout: Regions Diagnostic

Where are these places in Canada?

Take a guess and we'll see how well you do tomorrow!

Homework

Complete the regions diagnostic and find your own images of Canada to try and stump people!

Feb. 21 – Go Canada Go!

Today team Canada beat USA in men's ice hockey at the Olympics, just as we finished up our "I Am Canadian" project.  How appropriate!

At this point your projects must be handed in.  Please see me if there were any problems.

We also carried on our Current Affairs presentations.  Everyone needs to work on their presentation skills.  Remember, when you present your news stories, try to do it in a way that would be interesting to your classmates.  Don't read your notes out!  How would you feel if you were in the audience?  What would keep you engaged?  We will continue to work on this as a class.

Next we did a pop quiz on the provinces and territories.  Surprise!  How did you do?  If you were working on your maps and paid attention, you should have no problems with the quiz.

On Monday we begin a new unit.

Have a great weekend!

Feb. 18 - 21 – I Am Canadian Map Assignment

This week will be work periods for you to continue working on your maps.  We have computer lab time booked as well as in class work time.

We will also be continuing with our current events presentations each day.  Please see me with any questions you might have.

Also, this week, please let me know which groups you will be working in for your Take Action project.

Feb. 14 – I Am Canadian

Watch this...

What symbols does Classified use to show that he is Canadian?  What symbols would you use?

Today we discussed the "I Am Canadian" assignment.

Handouts 

• I Am Canadian Assignment
• I Am Canadian Rubric

I also handed out a large map for you to do your project on.  We also looked at examples from students in the past.

Here's the link that will help you format your sources into APA format.

Link: http://www.bibme.org/

Gather your materials and news stories this week and we will have class time for you to put it all together.

Have a safe long weekend!

Feb. 13 – I Am Canadian

Watch this...

What symbols of Canada did you mention?  What does it really mean to be Canadian?

Here are the slides from the powerpoint that highlights famous Canadians and the top 10 Canadian inventions as chosen by a CBC show.

PowerPoint: Geographic Connections

Now, what do you know about each region of Canada? We tried our best to fill out this map of the different regions.

Handout: Regions of Canada

Then we discussed a few categories of geographic connections.  Here are the notes:

Geographic Connections

• People have an impact on the natural environment.
• Example: in 2010 an oils spill at Deepwater Horizons caused 4.9 million barrels of oil to leak into the Gulf of Mexico.

• Nature has an impact on people.
• Example: River Thames in England flooded last week damaging 1700 homes.

• People's actions may affect other people.
• Example: War in Syria causes 11 000 refugees to flee to Lebanon each week.  The total number is close to a million.

Finally I handed out the next assignment.

Handout:

• I AM CANADIAN Assignment
• I AM CANADIAN Rubric

Homework

Finish the 50 goals assignment.

Reminder: The 50 Goals Assignment is due tomorrow!

Feb .12 – Cartography and Formative Map

Today we finished up our discussion of cartography.  Here are the slides:

Powerpoint: Cartography Slides (slides 19-31)

We then played GeoGuessr, a fun game where we got to look at images and try to guess where they are on a map.

Here's how we did as a class: http://url.geoguessr.com/6pwn

Play the game and try to do better than the class!

• http://geoguessr.com/

Then we did a formative map of Canada.

Handout: Canada Map

No groups were able to get four perfect maps.  Better luck next time!

Feb. 11 – 50 Goals

Today I introduced the Take Action assignment.

Handout: Take Action

The first part of the project, 50 Goals, is due on Friday, Feb. 14.

The second part, Pamphlet & Proposal, is due on Thursday, Mar. 6.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next we watched this video:

We each picked 3 places and then found the exact location of these places using atlases.  If you did not finish it is homework!

Homework

• Find the exact location of three places.
• Start your 50 goals assignment.

Feb. 10 – Cartography Continued

Today we did our first Current Events presentations.  We discussed what made for good questions and good presentations.

Next we corrected the "What's wrong with this map" practice.

Handout: Map with mistakes

Then we continued with the powerpoint on cartography.

Powerpoint: Cartography Slides (longitude and latitude, slides 9-18)

Here's a link to the cartoon with the map projections that I showed in class:

• http://xkcd.com/977/

Feb. 7 – International News and Cartography

Today we shared some international news stories:

1. People sent to Germany and France to find evidence for a murder investigation of Luka Rocco Maggotta.

Why is this important?: People should be aware of such cases.  Shows that justice is working.

2. Initiation camp that forces girls into sex.  In Malawi, girls age 10 are taken advantage of and forced into child marriages.  One girl escaped.

Why is this important?: Show how different life is for girls in different countries.

3. Females students death on campus spurs Saudi debates on segregated universities.  Paramedics couldn't save a girl because men were not allowed into university.

Why is this important?: Shows how different life is for girls in different countries.

4. California lost power due to Canada's extreme cold.  Canada supplies California with natural gas, but couldn't do so because of the cold.

Why is this important?: Affects a lot of people.  Shows how Canada can impact the US.

5. Police arrest 7 in gang rape case in West Bengal state.  

Why is this important?: Brings attention to how serious the issue of rape is.

Once again, these stories brought up important discussions and debate about what is important and what is not.

We then further discussed the Current Events Assignment.  If you have any questions, or not sure about when you must present, please see me to clarify.

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Then we turned our attention to cartography.

Learning Goals: Understand the conventions to cartography.

Success Criteria: You can properly label a map.

Powerpoint: Cartography PowerPoint (slides 1-8)

Handout:

• Maps Checklist
• Map with mistakes

See if you can find all the mistakes in that map.

Feb. 6 – News and Current Events Project

Today we continued with our news stories, but now on a national level.  Here's what the class found:

1. Saskatchewan Mom's Kids on school bus that hit and killed her.

She was driving.  Bus hit truck and hit her.

Why is it important?: Accidents can happen to anyone.

2. Raising minimum wage can rescue the economy.

Kathleen Wynn, president Obama, and Stephen Poloz all want to raise minimum wage.

Why is it important?: Could help many Canadians that are earning minimum wage that have trouble supporting their families.

3. Harper tries to make peace.

Two weeks ago Stephen Harper talked to Israel about world peace.

Why is it important?: Shows that Canada is on Israel's side.

4. CSEC's collation of metadata.

Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) collects data on people's communications.

Why is it important?: Takes away privacy from many Canadians.  They tried to keep it a secret.

5. Air Canada issues travel alert due to unexpected snow storm.  All Air Canada flights were cancelled from Toronto.

Why is it important?: Effects a large number of Canadians and their family members.

6. Canadian forces soldiers who admit stress are at risk of being kicked out of the army.

1700 soldiers are being released due to mental stress.

Why is it important?: Canadian soldiers risk their lives and are suffering from depression.  They need our help.

7. In Sochi there is a possible terrorist attack.  People are smuggling bombs in a toothpaste bottles.

Why is it important?: Canadian athletes are going there to complete.  We have the most athletes there.  

• Which story do you think is the most significant?
• What does this say about you and your values?

I then introduced the current events assignment.

Handout: Current Events Assignment

You were divided into groups and we set up a schedule.  If you are not sure on which day you are presenting, please let me know.

Here are some great sources for national news:

• http://www.cbc.ca/news
• http://www.ctvnews.ca/
• http://www.nationalpost.com/
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

For your Current Events assignment, you can also look at local or international news.  Here are some sites for international news.

• http://www.nytimes.com/
• http://www.bbc.com/news/

The are of course many other sites for news.  You can also watch TV or listen to the radio for other news sources.

Homework: Those who are away or did not complete the homework from the past two days, you need to find 3 international news stories.  (If you already have a total of 6 stories from the previous days, you get a break!)