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Course Profile   Adventures in World History (CHM4E), Grade 12, Workplace Preparation, Public

 

Course Overview

Policy Document:  The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12, Canadian and World Studies, 2000.

Prerequisite:  Canadian History in the Twentieth Century, Grade 10, Academic or Applied

Course Description

This course examines a variety of human experiences in world history from earliest times to the present. Students will learn about a wide variety of social, cultural, economic, and political topics including technological development and cultural expression, social and political structures, and the values of the community and individualism. Students will be given opportunities to develop their awareness of historical experience, to practise their skills of analysis and communication, and to cultivate a lifelong interest in the adventures of world history.

Course Notes

This History course is designed to meet the learning needs of a wide variety of students. This course focuses on three principles: understanding civilization and historical processes, understanding the commonality of human aspirations and experiences, and understanding the importance of compassion, toleration and a recognized identity for positive living. To that end, the course is organized into five chronological/thematic units and a course culminating activity. Since this profile establishes an incremental learning program, it is essential that the order of units be followed as outlined to achieve the course focus.

This course begins with an introduction to crucial historiographic issues in Unit 1. It is important to note that this is an introductory unit and that the concepts will be enlarged upon and continually examined throughout the following units. This incremental process comes together fully in the course culminating activity outlined in Appendix A.

Effective culminating activities that students can develop through formative assessments and demonstrate in summative evaluations are essential elements to a criterion-based curriculum. In this course, each unit has a two-part summative culminating activity, a question/answer evaluation, and a performance task evaluation. Summative question/answer tests are valuable learning preparations for workplace conditions such as apprenticeship training. Summative performance tasks prepare students to develop creative responses to workplace challenges. In both cases, there are a variety of assessment methods and strategies as well as opportunities for specific accommodations to meet individual exceptional student needs. In the course culminating activity, students assemble selected items from their prior learnings into presentations that relate specifically to the course focus. It is recommended that teacher and students discuss the expectations and assessment criteria of culminating activities at the beginning of the course and prior to each unit.

Given the wide range of the material and goals of this course and to augment interest and relevancy to workplace destination students, guest speakers and community resources should be integrated into course activities. Resource persons may include school and community librarians, museum curators, gallery directors, archivists, writers, and artists as well as cooperative education and guidance teachers. In addition, representatives from a variety of cultural communities may also be consulted or called upon to present historical or contemporary information and insight. With careful and constant monitoring, the computer and the Internet can be expanding resources which also provide students with practice in workplace skills.

Units:  Titles and Time

Unit 1

Historical Terms and Processes

15 hours

Unit 2

The Neolithic Revolution and the Creation of Cities

20 hours

Unit 3

Creating larger unities: Roman Empire, Han China, 21st-Century Global Society

20 hours

Unit 4

Culture clash in 16th–18th centuries: Western Europe, Middle East, Americas, Japan, India

20 hours

* Unit 5

Transformations: Technological, Political, and Social in the 19th–21st Centuries

25 hours

Unit 6

Course Culminating Activity

10 hours

* This unit is fully developed in this Course Profile.

Unit Overviews

Unit 1:  Historical Terms and Processes

Time:  15 hours

Unit Description

In this introductory and foundation unit, students investigate and demonstrate their understanding of the essential elements of the historians’ craft. These understandings include accurate knowledge of geographic location, the value of chronological order, the role of change and continuity in human experience, the processes of rise and fall and of causation, and the presence of opinion, bias, and issues of interpretation in the study of history. These historiographic issues and potential teaching strategies are expanded upon in the detailed Unit 1 outline that follows the overview and in Appendices 1 and 2. Student learning and understanding of such elements are crucial, not only in subsequent units, but are integral to the course culminating activity – both the pencil-and-paper examination and the performance task. These are also crucial to anyone leaving a school community and entering the larger workplace environment. Diagnostic activities and formative assessment in the form of responsive reading, timeline construction, brainstorming, note taking, informal discussions, and class debates establish and encourage student learning. Students demonstrate their learning in the unit culminating evaluation activity: a pencil-and-paper question/answer quiz that emphasizes knowledge, understanding, and direct communication of that learning, and a performance task. The performance task involves the design, creation, and explanation of a resource vault that collects students’ work and assessment pieces continually throughout the course (refer to Appendix A3).

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

 

6 hours

HIV.01, HIV.02, HIV.04, HI1.01, HI2.03, HI4.04

Knowledge/ Understanding Communication

A world map exercise and creation of Classroom Timeline to locate in space and time the civilizations to be examined in the course

2

 

5 hours

CCV.01, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.03, HIV.02, CC1.01, CC1.02, CC1.03, CH3.01, SE1.02, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE3.01, SE3.02, HI2.01, HI2.02, HI2.03

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

Interpretations and the Historians’ Craft:
- change and continuity
- rise/fall/causation
- opinion and bias
- using research skills and artifacts

3

 

4 hours

CHV.03, SEV.01, HIV.01, CH3.01, CH3.02, CH3.03, SE1.01, HI1.02, HI1.03

Knowledge/ Understanding Communication
Application

(a)  pencil-and-paper quiz/test

(b)  design, creation and explanation of individual student’s “resource vault”

 

Unit 2:  The Neolithic Revolution and the creation of cities

Time:  20 hours

Unit Description

In this unit, students examine two of the major revolutionary developments in the human experience. The Neolithic Revolution refers to the development of organized agriculture and the domestication of animals that led to the creation of more permanent settlements and rudimentary larger social, economic, and political organization. When humans moved away from a migratory hunter-gatherer-scavenger lifestyle, they opened up the panorama of technological experimentation and development, resource discovery and exploitation, and an ever-widening workplace environment. The early Neolithic settlements gradually expanded into larger urban organizations – cities – with all of the diversity, enterprises, and challenges that influence cities today. By investigating developments in the Ancient Middle East and Egypt and the Indus valley, students are able to demonstrate their understanding of forces helping to establish what some historians deem to be the foundations for civilization (a concept discussed throughout the course). One of the unit focal points would be the expanding diversity of the workplace, establishment of social ranks and classes, and the building of monumental edifices. Formative assessment in this unit could include creating and working with crossword puzzles, computer applications, cooperative map and diagram study, and discussion. The unit culminating activity would consist of two parts: a pencil-and-paper question/answer activity based on a reading summary that the teacher would select from an appropriate source or create, and a performance task. Since building edifices emerged almost simultaneously with the creation of cities, students would analyse more modern monumental edifices and provide an explanation of their role in society. Students should keep their work in their resource vault developed in Unit 1.

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

 

6 hours

COV.01, COV.02, CHV.01, SEV.01, SEV.02, HIV.01, HIV.02, CO1.01, CO1.02, CO1.03, CO2.01, CO2.02, CO2.03, CHI.02, SE1.02, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE2.01, SE2.02, HI1.01, HI1.02, HI1.03, HI2.03, HI2.04

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

The Neolithic Revolution:
- contrasting Paleolithic with Neolithic lifestyles and cultures
- examining establishment of domestication and agriculture
- social, economic, political, and artistic impacts

2

 

8 hours

COV.01, COV.02, COV.03, CCV.02, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.01, HIV.02, CO1.01, CO1.02, CO1.03, CO2.01, CO2.02, CO2.03, CC2.01, CC2.02, CO3.01, CO3.02, CO3.03, CC2.01, CC2.02, CC2.03, CH2.01, CH2.02, CH2.03, CH3.03, SE2.01, SE3.01, SE3.02, HI1.01, HI1.02, HI1.03, HI2.03, HI2.04

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

The Creation of Cities (a comparative study of Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Indus civilizations)
- social and political organizations
- working and living in an urban society
- edifices and monuments: how?, where?, what?, and why?

3

 

6 hours

COV.01, COV.02, COV.03, CHV.03, CO1.02, CO1.03, CO2.03, CO3.01, CO3.02, CO3.03, CH3.01, CH3.02, HIV.03, HI3.01, HI3.03

Thinking/ Inquiry Communication Application

Unit Culminating Activity:

(a)  pencil-and-paper question/answer task based on teacher-prepared summary of key developments studied in the unit

(b)  students select a monument/edifice not studied in this unit, create a model or representation of it and present an explanation of its role in its particular society

 

 

 

 

Unit 3:  Creating larger unities: Roman Empire, Han China, 21st Century Global Society

Time:  20 hours

Unit Description

Students investigate and compare (similarities and differences) three distinct but similar human efforts to create and maintain a large, relatively unified social, political, economic, artistic community. Although other large entities such as the Persian or Ottoman or British Empires might apply, the three selected offer students clear and definite points for comparison. Pax Romana extended an all-encompassing concept of a linguistic and legal world empire that still has many applications and influences today. Han China extended through central dynastic establishments a perceived unity amidst wide and continued regional and ethnic diversity. The 21st century global community is an all-encompassing concept that is held together by the interconnections of various technologies. All three promote larger cultural visions and identities and face myriad decentralizing impulses and challenges. The sub units are organized so that students, at the outset, examine each of the three as distinct entities. As the unit progresses, students should be encouraged to draw comparisons from their prior learning. Given the time constraints and course structure, students learning should focus less on politics and more on economics and culture with special regard for the relationship of the individual to the larger organization. Issues that students examine could include gender roles and equity, citizenship and belonging, and the dynamic between community and individual goals. To that point, the two-part unit culminating activity consists of (a) the performance task of creating a poster that compares an aspect of the cultural expression of the three civilizations and (b) the question/answer activity of an oral explanation of the theme and issues in the poster. Cultural aspects could include: sports, popular entertainments, fashions, work, family, rituals, art and music. Students should keep their work in their resource vault developed in Unit 1. Student posters could be used as classroom decorations if facilities permit. While the summative evaluation is to be based on individual work, students could be encouraged to work in pairs to facilitate brainstorming, peer editing, and formative assessment.

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

 

5 hours

COV.03, CCV.01, CHV.01, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.02, HIV.03, CO3.03, CC1.01, CC1.02, CC1.03, CH1.01, CH2.02, CH2.03, CH3.02, CH3.03, SE1.01, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE2.01, SE2.02, SE3.01, SE3.02, SE3.03, HI2.03, HI3.01, HI3.02

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

The Roman Empire:
- concept of pax romana and the role of legions and roads in its maintenance
- core and peripheries in everyday life and within the empire
- cultural achievements
- daily living: working, playing, housing, families, and communities
- dealing with diversity

2

 

5 hours

COV.03, CCV.01, CHV.01, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV1.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.02, HIV.03, CO3.03, CC1.01, CC1.02, CC1.03, CH1.01, CH2.02, CH2.03, CH3.02, CH3.03, SE1.01, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE2.01, SE2.02, SE3.01, SE3.02, SE3.03, HI2.03, HI3.01, HI3.02

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

Han China:
- dynasties, emperors, and mandarins
- the Great Wall and foreigners
- rivers and community
- regional, ethnic and geographic differences
- cultural achievements
- daily living: working, playing, housing, families, and communities

3

 

5 hours

COV.03, CCV.01, CHV.01, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV1.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.02, HIV.03, CO3.03, CC1.01, CC1.02, CC1.03, CH1.01, CH2.02, CH2.03 CH3.02, CH3.03, SE1.01, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE2.01, SE2.02, SE3.01, SE3.02, SE3.03, HI2.03, HI3.01, HI3.02

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

21st Century Globalization:
- role of communication technologies

- multi-nationalism and world culture
- world diversity and inequity
- cultural achievements
- daily living: working, playing, housing, families and communities

4

 

5 hours

COV.03, CCV.01, CCV.02, CCV.03, CHV.01, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.02: HI2.03, HIV.03: HI3.01, HI3.02

Thinking/ Inquiry Communication Application

Unit Culminating Activity:

a)   design and create a poster that compares an aspect or aspects of the cultural expression of the above three civilizations.

b)   oral presentation/explanation of the poster and the themes developed in it.

Unit 4:  Culture clash in 16th–18th Centuries: Western Europe, Middle East,
                        Americas, Japan, India

Time:  20 hours

Unit Description

This unit has two primary foci: demonstrating understanding of how different cultures can clash, and demonstrating understanding of violent and peaceful conflict resolution methods. Students begin by investigating and analytically comparing selected elements such as trade and migration factors, social and religious identities, and attitudes to enquiry and exploration. Students examine examples of the culture clashes that emerged in these centuries and demonstrate their understanding of the outcomes and the implications for the current world. While the unit’s historical content is from the 16th–18th centuries, the unit culminating performance task concentrates on collecting current examples of the two primary foci in order to assist students to further understand the role of continuity/change and conflict resolution in history and society. To facilitate students understanding, the culminating performance task – creating and maintaining a scrapbook of examples of current culture conflict and of current peaceful conflict resolution – could be introduced at the beginning of the unit. Teachers may provide resources such as newspapers, magazines, and materials from the library/resource centres and the Internet. By building their individual scrapbooks throughout the unit, students have a resource base for a unit culminating “formal” debate or discussion that could use key questions such as: Which provides more lasting solutions – violent or peaceful methods? Why are people so violent and so compassionate? The question/answer part of the unit culminating activity would be a pencil-and-paper test with appropriate strategies to promote student success. The question/answer activity could also serve as a preparatory device for the formal debate.

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1
3 hours

CCV.01, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.01, CC1.02, CH3.01, SE1.01, SE1.04, SE2.02, SE2.03, SE3.01, SE3.03, HI1.01

Knowledge/ Understanding

Creating an Overview of the “worlds” in the 16th–18th century:
- a map exercise
- symbols that represent each of the cultures in the unit

2
6 hours

COV.02, COV.03, CCV.01, CHV.01, SEV.02, HIV.02, CO2.01, CO2.03, CO3.01, CO3.02, CO3.03, CC1.01, CC1.03, CH1.03, SE2.02, SE2.03, HI2.01, HI2.04

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

Comparing attitudes and ideas:
- trade and migration
- social and religious identities
- attitudes to enquiry and exploration

3
6 hours

CCV.03, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV.03, HIV.02, CC3.01, CC3.02, CC3.03, CH2.03, CH3.01, SE3.01, SE3.02, HI2.01, HI2.03

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/ Inquiry

Examples of the culture clashes:
(the teacher selects broad examples in order to examine clashes globally, e.g.; European wars of religion, Ottoman armies at Vienna, Cortez/Pizarro/Champlain and the Aztecs/Incas/Hurons, Tokugawa isolationism, Clive in India.)

4
5 hours

COV.02, COV.03, CCV.03, CHV.01, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.02, SEV.03, HIV.01, HIV.03, HIV.04

Knowledge/ Understanding, Thinking/ Inquiry
Application Communication

Unit Culminating Activity:

a)   paper-and-pencil question/answer task based on teacher prepared summary of key developments studied in the unit

b)   building and maintaining a scrapbook of examples of current culture conflict and of current peaceful conflict resolution

c)   “formal” debate or discussion

 

Unit 5:  Transformations: Technological, Political, and Social in the 19th–21st Centuries

Time:  25 hours

Unit Description

In this unit, students explore the significant technological, political, and social transformations that have occurred since 1789. This unit builds upon the thematic approach to the expectations while maintaining continuity through chronological study. Through the study of these transformations, students demonstrate an understanding of the concept, the causes and the impact of change upon modern society. The focus of the unit addresses three key concepts: agrarian to technological/industrial production, remote rule to popular rule, and equality between members of society. The unit culminating activity should be introduced at the beginning of the unit to allow students to adequately develop knowledge and ideas crucial to the completion of the activity.

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

 

3 hours

COV.01, CO1.02, CCV.01, CC1.01, CC1.03, HIV.04, HI4.01

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry

Introduction to the concepts associated with change:
- identifying and understanding the causes, types, impact of change
- relating how these changes affect our lives

2

 

5 hours

COV.01, CO1.01, CO1.02, CO1.03, COV.02, CO2.01, CO2.02, CO2.03, CCV.02, CC2.01, CC2.02, CC2.03, CHV.03, CH3.03, SEV.01, SE1.03, SEV.02, SE2.02, SE2.03

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry
Communication Application

Investigating the technological developments that have transformed work and play:
- shift from rural to urban
- innovations and their impact upon society

3

 

7 hours

CCV.03, CC3.01, CC3.02, CC3.03, SEV.01, SE1.01, SE1.02, SE1.04, SEV.03, SE3.01, SE3.02, HIV.03, HI3.01, HIV.04, HI4.02

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry
Communication
Application

Transforming the Nation, political revolutions, and impact:
(the teacher should compare and contrast two revolutions)
- apply the concepts to current situations

4

 

5 hours

CCV.03, CC3.03, CHV.01, CH1.03, CHV.03, CH3.02, HIV.03, HI3.03

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry
Communication

Transforming relationships and social change:
- define motivations and aspects of social change
- examine how these changes affect relationships

5

 

5 hours

CHV.03, CH3.03, HIV.03, HIV.01, HI3.02, HIV.04, HI4.03, HI4.04

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry
Communication
Application

Unit Culminating Activity:

a)   create a representation of a transformation showing its impact upon the world.

b)   complete a quiz based on the combined representations completed by the class.

 

Unit 6:  Course Culminating Activity

Time:  10 hours

Unit Description

In this culminating unit, students demonstrate their abilities and understandings to deal with the larger issues and questions that appear in any study of world history. In effect, students apply their learning in Units 2, 3, 4, and 5 to the concepts introduced in Unit 1. In this process, students demonstrate their particular and conceptual understanding of world history. The resources for both the question/answer task and performance task should come primarily from the student resource vault. In the question/answer portion, the written examination, with appropriate aids to assist student success, emphasizes student thinking/inquiry and application through questions that require reflective answers. Questions should be drawn from each unit and there should be considerable formative work and assessment preceding the more formal pencil-and-paper summative writing assignment. Questions could include: Why do people build edifices and/or create beauty? How has daily life/daily work changed or remained the same? Why is it important that people get along? Select three transformations and explain how each has affected their lives. How would you define and explain civilization to an alien? The performance task is a presentation of a one to five minute infomercial to answer, “From our world history adventure, what is the most significant accomplishment of humanity so far?” (Appendix B) In the summative evaluation allocated
at 30%, the question/answer task should be 15% and the performance task should be 15%.

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

 

10 hours

COV.01, COV.02, COV.03, CCV.01, CCV.02, CCV.03, CHV.01, CHV.02, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.02, SEV.03. HIV.01. HIV.02, HIV.03, HIV.04

Knowledge/ Understanding
Thinking/ Inquiry
Application
Communication

Unit Culminating Activity:

a)   formative preparation and question/answer summative evaluation as a formal written test

b)   creation and presentation of a one-minute infomercial to answer, “In our world history, what is the most significant accomplishment of humanity so far?”

Teaching/Learning Strategies

Brainstorming: development of ideas, generated by groups and expressed without analysis. The use of mind-map diagrams is an excellent recording aid that can be readily expanded upon.

Case Studies: investigations of concepts or ideas or knowledge content through a real or simulated problem. This has particular application to Units 2, 4, and 5.

Comparison Charts: direct way to organize themes, concepts, and issues in an analytical framework. Comparison charts would be effective formative assessment tools in Units 3 and 5.

Computer-assisted Learning: given the extensive websites available, with caution and with teacher pre-planning and previewing, use of a computer to learn or reinforce material will greatly assist student learning in all units.

Critical Reading and Viewing: an essential life skill and historians’ tool for receiving and analysing information and opinions.

Discussion/Debate: an important process in both formative assessment and summative evaluation. It is also an excellent way to begin brainstorming activities.

Group Work: developing skills of cooperative and collaborative learning.

Guest Speakers: introduction of outside resource experts into the classroom. These could include community librarians and archivists. It is essential that all outside speakers be carefully chosen and subsequently approved by the principal. It is also essential that all guest speakers be properly briefed, well in advance, as to how their presentation will fit into the course and student work. In addition, this advanced coordination will assist in defining presenter AV needs and the degree of advanced preparation of student knowledge and understanding.

Mapping: an important spatial understanding of place and distance. Integral to Units 1, 2, and 4.

Note Making: essential life skill and historians’ tool for recording information.

Poster Making: synthesizing information or concepts to demonstrate a larger understanding. This strategy is used in the Unit 3 performance task.

Scrapbook/Portfolio Preparation: throughout the course, students are to keep and maintain an ongoing portfolio or resource vault. An actual scrapbook is a strategy used in the Unit 4 performance task.

Timelines: essential organizers to emphasize the relativity of chronology and its importance in understanding history. Timelines are integral to Units 1 and 4.

Assessment & Evaluation of Student Achievement

Assessment and evaluation are based on the policies set out in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12, Program Planning and Assessment, 2000 and the Achievement Chart levels outlined in The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12, Canadian and World Studies, 2000.

The teacher should provide each student with a variety of opportunities and occasions to demonstrate their abilities and learning within each of the four categories of the Achievement Chart.

Assessment and evaluation in this course are incremental and interweaving processes in which student demonstrations of learning work towards both the unit and course culminating activities. It is critical that students have access to a wide variety of assessment and evaluation strategies and aids that will reinforce student success. The teacher may find the use of diagnostic activities a great help in establishing student prior learning and interests. Formative learning should provide positive comments and direction from both peer and teacher assessors. Summative evaluation processes and standards should be clearly explained to students at the beginning of each unit through rubrics, checklists, and evaluation charts.

All individual student work (diagnostic, formative and summative) should be kept in an individual student portfolio. The portfolio may be called a resource vault, or data bank, or personal research archive. Whatever its name, this portfolio is essential because it is not only a collection place for the variety of student learning demonstrations (as well as all diagnostic, formative, and summative evaluations) but also the principle resource bank for each student’s course culminating activity. The creation of this resource vault/portfolio (resource vault is the term that will be used in this profile) is the performance activity part of the Unit 1 culminating activity. Possible formats and structures for this resource vault are outlined in the expanded Unit 1 description and in Appendix A3.

The following chart outlines sample-learning activities for this course and how they may be assessed:

Learning Activity

Assessment

Use of graphic organizers such as mind-maps, Venn diagrams, comparison charts and graphs

Peer and teacher formative assessment based on observation and constructive comment

Informal and moderately formalized class debates involving: (1) forming and defending a considered view point and (2) listening and recognizing alternate opinions and arguments

The teacher’s formative assessment based on observation and constructive comment. Checklists could also be used to help students to understand the protocols of reasoned debate/discussion

Creation of, addition to, and referencing to timelines and maps (chronologies and extents of empires and civilizations, technologies, cultural developments)

The teacher’s formative assessment based on checklists and comparative samples

Research using traditional print sources and the Internet. This could include popular computer simulations games

Self-assessment and the teacher’s formative assessment and summative evaluation based on checklists and rubrics

Poster making that could: (1) develop and demonstrate comparative analysis (2) synthesize and demonstrate concepts

Formative assessment and summative evaluation based on student-teacher conferences, checklists, and student explanation of their work.

Question/Answer activities such as varieties of quizzes and tests, critical reading and evaluation activities, in-class writing assignments that emphasize a developmental process

Self-, peer, and teacher formative assessment and the teacher’s summative evaluation through checklists, shared evaluation schemes, self- /peer/teacher editing

Creating, organizing, maintaining, and explaining a scrapbook collection that would demonstrate examples of a pre-determined historical concept or activity

Assessment by student-teacher conferences, peer interactions and rubrics

Creating and producing an infomercial using appropriate and available research resources and A/V technologies

Formative assessment by the teacher (and resource teachers, if available) using checklists, constructive comment. Summative evaluation by the teacher using checklists, rubrics, anecdotal comments

 

The assessment, evaluation, and learning practices used in this course profile will assist the teacher to:

·         accommodate the needs of exceptional students, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Educational Plans (IEPs);

·         accommodate the needs of students who are learning the English language;

·         meet the variety of student learning styles and special needs through accommodation when necessary in order to improve student performances;

·         promote a student’s ability to assess his/her own learning and to set specific goals;

·         provide students with models of skills which they are expected to master;

·         provide students with a clear indication of assessment and evaluation criteria by means of rubrics and checklists;

·         provide students with opportunities to demonstrate learning using both formative and summative evaluation strategies;

·         provide clear communications about assessment and evaluation to students and parents at the beginning of the course and at other appropriate points throughout the course.

In determining the percentage ratio allocated to each of the four sectors of the Achievement Chart, the teacher should recognize the individual character of their students and their class and the specific requirements established by their local board. Given the potential issues of differing learning situations, it is essential that summative evaluation ratios be flexible to accommodate student needs. However, it is hoped that each sector of summative evaluation will receive similar although not necessarily identical, standing in overall calculations.

According to The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12, Program Planning and Assessment, “the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning” (p. 13). The information gathered through assessment helps teachers to adapt their instructional approaches to the needs of students destined for the workplace. If some of the assessment practices described in this Profile do not meet the needs of students, those assessment practices should be altered.

In the student’s overall mark, a weight of 70% is assigned to ongoing assessment and evaluation throughout the course, while 30% is assigned to a final evaluation consisting of a final examination and/or a course culminating activity. In the ongoing assessment, the student’s most recent work is given greater consideration and the most consistent level of achievement is used to generate the final mark.

Accommodations

The following additional strategies are suggestions. Consult students’ IEPs for specific recommendations.

Writing Difficulties

·         Give more time to complete written work (copying from the board, proofreading).

·         Have students produce work on a word processor and use the spell-checker.

·         Allow students to read pertinent text into a recording device, such as an audio tape recorder.

·         Give several shorter assignments rather than one long one.

·         Use oral presentation.

·         Check student notebooks regularly and consistently.

·         Give projects that allow for visual responses, such as drawings and charts, with little text being required

Reading Difficulties

·         Teach how to underline or highlight important points.

·         Use blackline masters of sample/exemplar work to help students recognize and emulate proper writing structures such as paragraphs and multi-paragraph work

·         Highlight key points for students.

·         Describe how to use diagrams, charts, and graphs. Reinforce verbally.

·         Provide interesting and relevant books and articles at the appropriate reading level.

·         Use visuals, videos, and films and discuss the content with students.

·         Pre-teach vocabulary and concepts. Discuss the origins and meaning of new vocabulary.

Oral Language Difficulties

·         Have responses given in a written format, when appropriate.

·         Work in a one-to-one setting to establish student confidence, where possible.

·         Allow students to develop skills in small-group settings.

·         Provide practise time.

·         Use electronic media.

·         Do not ask students to respond to questions without forewarning.

Organization, Concentration, and/or Attention Difficulties

·         Teach study skills (resource teacher, classroom teacher, or mentor teacher).

·         Segment long assignments so students may complete work in small amounts.

·         Have students repeat instructions and important information.

·         Encourage daily review of the previous day’s lesson

·         Give visual clues and demonstrations. Use Mind Mapping.

·         Have students highlight important ideas in notes with a highlighter.

·         Provide pre-test preparation sheets/guidelines before quizzes, tests or examinations – whether oral or written

·         Provide checklists and discuss their use and value to assist students to work towards the completion of the task or assignment

Alternative Evaluation Techniques

·         Allow students to bring a teacher-approved two-page “help sheet” into the test or exam.

·         Create tests cooperatively with students so that they can be better prepared to demonstrate their learning.

·         Use audio-visuals in tests that allow for students’ personal critical responses rather than displays of factual learning.

·         Allow students class time on the day of the test to review their notes before writing the test.

·         Allow students to re-write a test in which they were not successful.

·         Review material for the test on the day before test and the day of the test.

·         Use shorter quizzes instead of major tests.

Resources

Units in this Course Profile make reference to the use of specific texts, magazines, films, videos, and websites. The teacher needs to consult their board policies regarding use of any copyrighted materials. Before reproducing materials for student use from printed publications, teachers need to ensure that their board has a Cancopy licence and that this licence covers the resources they wish to use. Before screening videos/films with their students, teachers need to ensure that their board/school has obtained the appropriate public performance videocassette licence from an authorized distributor, e.g., Audio Cine Films Inc. The teachers are reminded that much of the material on the Internet is protected by copyright. The copyright is usually owned by the person or organization that created the work. Reproduction of any work or substantial part of any work from the Internet is not allowed without the permission of the owner.”

Print

Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor and Anthony Esler. World History: Connections to Today. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1979.

McEvedy, Colin. World History Fact Finder. London: Century Publishing, 1984.

Newman, Garfield. Echoes from the Past, World History to the 16th Century, Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2001. (text, teachers’ resource and CD-ROM) A very accessible resource for Units 1-4
and Unit 6

Spodek, Howard. The World’s History: Combined Volume. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.

Video

Biography of the Millennium: Part 1 700656 50 min. 2000

Biography of the Millennium: Part 2 700658 50 min.

Biography of the Millennium: Part 3 700660 50 min. 2000

Biography of the Millennium: Part 4 700677 50 min. 2000
A&E compilation of the one hundred most influential people of the millennium. Useful for classes on World History, World Culture, Theology, Philosophy, Science and Technology, Gender History, Military History, Geography, Literature, Political Science and Sociology. It is appropriate for middle school, high school and college

Lost civilizations (210204) 30 min.
A look at the sophisticated Iroquoian societies that lived in and around today’s southern Ontario leads to a study of the classical civilizations of America. Useful for Units 4 and 6.

Dr. J. Fraser Mustard, Children and Social/Economic Change (991723). NYB, 1994. 42 minutes. Highlights the global history of social/economic changes. Useful for Unit 6.

Websites

The URLs for the websites were verified by the writers prior to publication. Given the frequency with which these designations change, teachers should always verify the websites prior to assigning them for student use.

http://www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decades.html. American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century
This Website, created by Kingswood College Library in Texas, has quick facts about the decade, links to art and architecture, books and literature, fashion and fads, education, historic events and technology, music, persons and personalities, and theatre and film. Useful for Unit 2

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/2020.htm The Atlantic Online – Flashbacks – Twenty From the Twentieth Century
This site provides highlights from the past hundred years of The Atlantic Monthly, selected by the editors of Atlantic Unbound. Useful for Units 5 and 6

http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/english/us_home.htm Medieval Centre – centre for Historical Technology
This website provides interesting descriptions and video segments on the reconstruction of siege engines and cannons. Potential for Unit 6

http://vlmp.museophile.com/cgi/archive/htgrep/file=/vlmp/vlmp-db.html&style=ol?virtual Virtual Library: Find Museums
This website includes a comprehensive list of online virtual museum websites that provides a
ccess to museums in North America, East and West Europe and Asia.

http://www.twics.com/~takakuwa/search/search.html – The Watercolor Epic: 33,000 years of Painting
This site provides a concise history of watercolour painting, from the Stone Age to Present Day.

Human Resources

Where resources are available, teachers may contact school and community librarians, museum and archive curators, gallery directors, writers, artists, crafts persons, technicians, cooperative education and guidance teachers for information and presentations to the class. Various representatives from the multicultural community may provide information and insight. In all cases, it is essential that the school administration be informed in advance of all guest presenters and be invited to attend any presentation.

OSS Considerations

Throughout the Grade 12 Adventures in World History course students have opportunities to acquire skills and knowledge needed to pursue education and career goals and to carry out social responsibility. This course provides students with learning experiences that are consistent with program goals outlined in Choices Into Action: Guidance and Career Education Program Policy for Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1999. Students relate what they are learning in this course to personal aspirations and interests and to possible work and life roles. To reach this objective, teachers should offer a range of career exploration activities, e.g., guest speakers and field trips to representative workplaces. In some situations students may benefit from cooperative education and work experience if teachers choose to add this component to the course. Examples of ways of providing these opportunities for students are suggested in Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12, Program and Diploma Requirements, 1999, section 7.5, Cooperative education and work experience (pp. 52-54).

This course also gives consideration to integrating technology across the curriculum (use of Internet in research); students with special needs (accommodations when necessary); using the community as a resource (visits to representative workplaces); and using the library/resource centre.

This course may be used by students as an additional compulsory credit for diploma purposes.

Course Evaluation

The teacher should make notes after the completion of each activity and use the material as a base for making adjustments to future delivery of the course. The teacher should ensure that all expectations for the course have been delivered using a tracking checklist. It is recommended that students provide input in the evaluation of the course.


Appendix A

Unit 1:  Historical Terms and Processes

Time:  15 hours

Unit Description

In this introductory and foundation unit, students investigate and demonstrate their understanding of the essential elements of the historians’ craft. These understandings include accurate knowledge of geographic location, the value of chronological order, the role of change and continuity in human experience, the processes of rise and fall and of causation, and the presence of opinion, bias, and issues of interpretation in the study of history. These historiographic issues and potential teaching strategies are expanded upon in the detailed Unit 1 outline that follows the overview and in Appendices 1 and 2. Students learning and understanding of such elements are crucial, not only in subsequent units, but are integral to the course culminating activity – both the pencil-and-paper examination and the performance task. These are also crucial to anyone leaving a school community and entering the larger workplace environment. Diagnostic activities and formative assessment in the form of responsive reading, timeline construction, brainstorming, note taking, informal discussions, and class debates establish and encourage student learning. Students demonstrate their learning in the unit culminating evaluation activity: a pencil-and-paper question/answer quiz that emphasizes knowledge, understanding, and direct communication of that learning, and a performance task. The performance task involves the design, creation, and explanation of a resource vault that collects students’ work and assessment pieces continually throughout the course (refer to Appendix A3).

Unit Overview Chart

Cluster

Learning Expectations

Assessment Categories

Focus

1

HIV.01, HIV.02, HIV.04, HI1.01, HI2.03, HI4.04

Knowledge/ Understanding Communication

A world map exercise and creation of Classroom Timeline to locate in space and time the civilizations to be examined in the course

2

CCV.01, CHV.03, SEV.01, SEV.03, HIV.02, CC1.01, CC1.02, CC1.03, CH3.01, SE1.02, SE1.03, SE1.04, SE3.01, SE3.02, HI2.01, HI2.02, HI2.03

Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/Inquiry

Interpretations and the Historians’ Craft:
– change and continuity
– rise/fall/causation
– opinion and bias
– using research skills and artifacts

3

CHV.03, SEV.01, HIV.01, CH3.01, CH3.02, CH3.03, SE1.01, HI1.02, HI1.03

Knowledge/ Understanding Communication
Application

(a)  pencil-and-paper quiz/test

(b)  design, creation, and explanation of individual student’s “resource vault”

Appendix A  (Continued)

Activity 1:  A world map exercise and creation of Classroom Timeline

Time:  6 hours

Description

In this activity, students are introduced to the concepts of geographic location and chronology and that the process of civilization has occurred in various places and at various times throughout history. Students should first be re-introduced to a world map (any projection may be used; however, it is likely that the Mercator view may be the most readily available). By referring to world history resource books, students cooperatively locate on their individual maps, each of the civilizations that will be studied in the course. Following the map work, students work together to create a classroom banner-style timeline that remains in the classroom as an on-going point of reference. Students decorate the classroom timeline with recognizable symbols of the civilizations to be studied throughout the course. Students may develop and decorate personal timelines in order to reinforce those basic identifiers. Skill development highlights literacy, cooperative work, and an introduction to website research. The teacher may use or modify the sample timeline in Appendix A1.

Planning Notes

·         The teacher obtains blank copies of world maps that show the continents and oceans/seas. The teacher provides historical-geography resource books or websites for students use.

·         The teacher prepares an overhead transparency that lists all of the civilizations to be studied and their general continental location, i.e., Han China – Asia; Aztec/Inca – Americas; Egypt – Africa.

·         The teacher prepares and copies a sample timeline prior to the activity.

·         The teacher prepares overhead transparencies of a sample timeline and pictures of sample civilization or cultural artifacts, e.g., Egyptian pyramid, Taj Mahal, Roman coliseum, Chartres, Great Wall of China, CN tower. Note: The teacher may wish to link a variety of cultural identifiers to selected civilizations and encourage a student discussion for a particular civilization.

·         The teacher prepares and copies worksheets that students can put in their notes

·         The teacher prepares a worksheet list of civilizations to be studied that students may use in their timeline activity.

·         The teacher should arrange with the library staff to assemble a resource ‘cart’ of appropriate general world history resource books for in-class use.

·         The teacher may supply students with poster paper, pencils, and marking pens.

Prior Knowledge & Skills

·         Students are expected to have some knowledge, or recognition of such civilization or cultural artifacts as pyramids, amphitheatres, temples/cathedrals, great walls and fortifications, and skyscrapers.

Appendix A  (Continued)

 

Teaching/Learning Strategies

Activity 1:  A World Map Exercise and Creation of Classroom Timeline

Time:  6 hours

1.   The teacher distributes copies of blank outlines of a world map, historical-geography resource books and displays the list and general location of the civilizations to be studied. Students may work together in groups or pairs or individually to complete their draft world map civilization locator. The draft work should be collected and formatively assessed. A finished and corrected map will be completed in the next hour period of time.

2.   (a)  During the first 15-20 minutes, students complete their map exercise that will be collected by the   teacher. Note: map completion may take longer; however, the work should be completed as         quickly and as thoroughly as possible. These maps and the following timelines are to be returned   to students at the end of Unit 1 and should be placed in their completed resource vault (see          Activity 3).

(b)  The teacher introduces the scope of the course and the concepts of chronology and cultural artifacts by showing a series of overheads and generating student recognition and identification of these images. Students should record, either on their own or using a teacher-prepared worksheet, their responses. (Students’ responses might include recognition of pyramids and mummies, cathedrals and crowds etc., from television and/or movies. The teacher should encourage students to connect popular ideas with history.) The teacher continues by introducing the importance of chronology.

One possible strategy for this follows:

·         Tell or have the students briefly tell a familiar story.

·         Retell the story out of the time sequence and initiate discussion on why time sequence is important.

·         Using a simple line drawing, have students develop a timeline for the story.

Note: It is important not to introduce an actual historical event or subject. This would only create an additional content learning situation. The intent here is to work from a common story to emphasize the historical concept of chronology. Almost any familiar story will work as long as it has an accessible chronology and subsequently can be critically analysed using a number of differing perspectives (as suggested in Activity 3).

3.   The teacher reviews the concept and importance of chronology and initiates speculation on the chronology of the artifacts shown in the previous class. The teacher assigns or directs individual students or pairs to investigate in the resource books to find out when and where these artifacts belong. Students should record their findings in their notebooks and/or worksheets.

4.   The teacher reviews and consolidates student findings. Using the overhead transparency of the classroom timeline, the teacher introduces the assignment. Students should be directed to develop in their notebooks “draft” timelines that the teacher may assess in an ongoing work period. (Note: at this time, the teacher may, in advance, draw appropriate lines on the larger paper that will become the class timeline to assist student work).

5.   With teacher supervision and assessment, students create a class timeline. Students may add pictures and/or personal drawings to the timeline. If extra time is needed to complete the task, time may be used during Activity 2. See Appendix A1 for sample timeline models.

Appendix A  (Continued)

 

Activity 2:  Interpretations and the Historians’ Craft

Time:  5 hours

1.   The teacher develops discussion on change and continuity as historical processes by initiating a brainstorming session to answer questions such as: What are some of things that have changed in the world in the past year… past 5 years?; What are some things that have remained the same in the past year… past 5 years?; Do things prefer to change or to stay the same?; Which do you prefer?; Why do historians need to consider change and continuity when they examine civilizations and cultures?” Students should record their discussions and ideas in their notebooks. The teachers should formatively assess student work.

2.   The teacher introduces the concepts of rise/fall and causation by referring to a familiar story and directing students to locate and identify the various causes or reasons for things that occur in the story. Students then discuss the importance of causes and of assigning causes to events. The teacher moves discussion to rise/fall by referring to popular sport teams or fashions or popular music singers – asking why some become famous and why some disappear. Students discuss the concepts and relate rise/fall/causation to the timelines developed in Activity 1. Students should record their discussions and ideas in their notebooks. The teachers should formatively assess student work.

3.   The teacher introduces the issues of opinion and bias by referring back to discussions of the rise/fall of sport teams, fashion, or pop stars by asking how opinions and attitudes can affect individual ideas and outlooks. Students create a list of things that might be understood as opinion and bias and how they can be determined. Students record their discussions and ideas in their notebooks. The teacher introduces a review of the concepts examined in the previous lessons – either in discussion or a prepared glossary/checklist of terms or both. Formative assessment could come through examination of and comments upon student notebooks or checklist of ideas.

4.   The teacher initiates a class discussion on historical revisionism and the importance of good research methods and collection of data to the historians’ craft. This fairly intricate but important discussion can be eased by recalling a familiar story or fairytale. Students or the teacher would retell the story from the traditional perspective and then consider re-telling the story from another character’s perspective. Students would examine the need for good research methods, data collection and complex interpretation. This discussion could serve as a set up for Activity 3 – the unit performance task culminating activity. Students should record their discussions and ideas in their notebooks. The teachers should formatively assess student work.

5.   The teacher initiates a review of the concepts discussed and student learning in this activity. As formative assessment, the teacher also introduces a practice pencil-and-paper quiz/test in preparation for similar quiz/test that would make up the question/answer portion of the unit culminating activity. The time should be used to reinforce student understanding through cooperative identifying games, individual conferencing, and informal discussions. To assist and further student understanding of critical analysis, the teacher may choose to use the Critical Review Activity in Appendix A2 as a formative activity. After appropriate peer and teacher formative assessment and discussion with students, this activity may also be used as the Unit 1 question/answer summative evaluation activity.

Appendix A  (Continued)

 

Activity 3: Unit Culminating Activities

Time:  5 hours

1.   The teacher conducts a review of the concepts studied in the unit and reviews students’ preparation for a summative quiz/test that should occur in the next one-hour class session. The teacher explains (and may show a prepared example) of an effective resource vault, which will be the performance task element of the unit culminating activity. The teacher distributes a checklist (Appendix A3) of required elements to assist students’ creative work on their individual resource vault. The teachers may provide the basic elements of resource vaults (e.g., small or medium cartons or drawers) depending on available resources and storage space. It is essential that students’ resource vaults remain in the classroom or under teacher supervision because they are an essential element in each unit and in the course culminating activity. Students begin planning and designing their resource vaults.

2.   The teacher conducts an appropriate question/answer quiz/test summative evaluation activity. This activity reinforces the learning in the previous units and aims at maximizing opportunities for student success. The teacher evaluates student work and records achievement according to the Achievement Chart. The teacher refers to the accommodations section of the course overview for alternative strategies, if appropriate. If time permits, students may continue planning and designing their resource vaults.

3.   Students work on and complete their resource vaults using peer and teacher formative assessment and performance checklists as guides. The teacher evaluates student work and records achievement according to the Achievement Chart.

Assessment & Evaluation of Student Achievement

1.   Formative assessment (self, peer, and teacher) of individual student note taking, classroom discussion, draft designs, practice quiz/tests, and checklists

2.   Summative teacher evaluation of individual student demonstrations of learning through a question/answer pencil-and-paper quiz/test activity and through a resource vault/performance task checklist.

Accommodations

Refer to the list of strategies in the Course Overview.

Resources

Print

Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1979.

McEvedy, Colin. World History Fact Finder. London: Century Publishing, 1984.

Newman, Garfield. Echoes from the Past, World History to the 16th Century, Toronto, ON: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2001.

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. New York: Viking Penguin, 1989.

Appendix A  (Continued)

 

Websites

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/lessons/psources/pshome.html – The Learning Page: The Historian’s Sources. Library of Congress. Last updated 11/20/00.
This lesson introduces students to primary sources -- what they are, their great variety, and how they can be analysed.

http://www.academicinfo.net/hist.html History Resources – World History Directory – Historical Links
This website provides a
ccess to world history using the following categories: World History Resources; Country & Regional Histories; Topical Histories and European History.

www.reed.edu/resources/library/maps/

www.culturalresources.com/maps.html

www.mariner.org

www.geocities.com/selinunte.geo//timelines/tl001.html

www.hyperhistory.com/chart/history3.html also refer to http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html World History: Hyperhistory
Hyperhistory covers the major epochs of world history during the last 3000 years. The date of 1000 BC has been chosen as the beginning of the main part of Hyperhistory because at around that time four very distinctive civilized traditions began to take shape in Greece, the Middle East, India and China.

www.timelines.ws

www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html

www.mcgrawhill.ca


Appendix A1

Timelines (for Unit 1)

 

For this Course Profile, the calendar selected is the European Gregorian calendar. The teacher may wish to show students a variety of calendars such as Islamic, Judaic, Mayan and/or Chinese to show how different civilizations have organized their chronologies.

The civilizations selected (as noted in the Course Overview) for this profile are:

Unit 2

·         Neolithic Middle East and Europe – circa 9000 BCE

·         Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt – approx. 3000 BCE to 600 BCE

·         Indus river valley – approx. 1500 BCE to 500 CE

Unit 3

·         Roman Empire “Pax Romana” – approx. 30 BCE to 400 CE

·         Han Chinese Empire – approx 210 BCE to 220 CE

·         Twenty-first Century Globalization – approx. 1945 CE to present day

Unit 4

·         European Wars of Religion – approx 1500 CE to 1700 CE

·         Inca and Aztec Civilizations – approx 500 BCE to 1550 CE

·         North American Aboriginal societies – approx 1400 CE to 1700 CE

·         Shogun and Tokugawa Japan – approx 1200 CE to 1870 CE

·         Mughal India – approx 1500 CE to 1800 CE

Unit 5

Polictical

Note: the teacher is encouraged to select two of the four revolutions listed. The French and Russian revolutions were selected for this course profile.

·         French Revolution – approx 1789 CE to 1815 CE

·         Russian Revolution – approx 1917 CE to 1929 CE

·         Indian/Pakistani Independence – approx 1930 CE to1973 CE

·         Chinese Revolution – approx 1911 CE to 1976 CE

Technological

·         English Industrial Revolution – approx 1750 CE to 1850 CE

·         Second Industrial Revolution – approx 1860 CE to 1914 CE

·         The computer revolution – approx 1970 CE to present

Social Change

·         Gender, Equity and Civil Rights; Apartheid; Aboriginal Claims – 1990 to present

 

There are several commercially available classroom size wall charts that can serve as a resource. (Some are too complex for use by beginners in the study of world history.) Several websites have been listed that should be checked regularly for their appropriateness.

There are several ways to create a timeline. For example, a single line along which the civilizations are located and symbols are clustered, or several lines that could represent geographic location or ranges of achievement or activity. The value of the single line method is its simplicity that might be more appropriate for beginners studying World History.


Appendix A2

Critical Review Activity (for Unit 1)

 

Note for teachers

As noted throughout, these historiographic concepts can be challenging to the beginner and therefore it is important that the examples or stories used to highlight the issues be quite familiar. This is not the time or place for new content learning. To focus on the concepts, the topics selected should be taken from students’ immediate or almost immediate experience.

Topics for critical review could include (a) the past season of a sports team or sports figure, either male or female, local, national, or international (b) a recent movie or video/DVD (c) a current event or issue – either local, national, or international.

Some students may have challenges with the whole process; however, effective and encouraging formative assessment along with accessible topics should overcome initial reticence. This activity may be done orally and/or written and may be referred to throughout the course. All student work and assessments should be kept in the students’ resource vaults.

The teacher and students should collectively brainstorm (and record rough notes) on what is involved in a critical review. A good, straightforward topic for this brainstorming review is “what makes a good/bad pizza?” Elements of critical reviewing will quickly become evident and accessible. A mind-map/spider drawing is an effective recording method.

What Every Reviewer Asks and Answers

 

What is the topic I have selected?

 

 

What are 3 to 5 things I need to have in order to describe my topic?

 

 

 

What is my opinion about the topic I selected?

 

 

 

Why do I have this opinion about my topic?

 

 

 

What are 2 to 4 reasons why I have this opinion about my topic?

 

 

 

Which reason is most important to my opinion and which is least important?

 


Appendix A2  (Continued)

 

What proof do I have that would convince somebody else that my opinion is correct?

Proof #1

Proof #2

Proof #3

 

Do my proofs cover all of the reasons I have given for my opinion?

 

 

 

Do I need extra proofs? What does my partner say about my opinion and my proofs?

 

 

 

Do I need to enlarge or sharpen my ideas to be really convincing?

 

 

 

What changes or polishing do I need for my opinion to be most convincing?

 

 

 

If I had to tell somebody about my opinion and proofs about my topic, how would I begin?

 

 

 

How would I arrange my reasons and proofs?

 

 

 

How would I sum up and end what I had to say?

 

 

 

If I had to write about my opinion and proofs, would there be any differences from what I was telling people?


Appendix A3

Student Resource Vault Activity (for Unit 1)

Note for teachers

As noted in the Course Overview and in Unit 1, the creation and maintenance of individual student resource vaults are essential and need careful direction and supervision. Students must be encouraged to respect and to use their efforts and their learning through positive assessment and encouragement. Apart from its use in the course culminating activities, a student’s individual resource vault is an effective tool for monitoring student achievement and for focusing on areas that need applause and that need guidance. The resource vault can be an invaluable vehicle for student-parent-teacher conferencing as well as in consultations with resource teachers and facilitators.

Assuming that storage space is a factor but not a constraint, a good, workable resource vault can be made from duplicating paper shipping boxes. They are sturdy, stackable and a usable size that can be readily decorated and personalized by students.

The teacher and students should brainstorm ideas for how the inside of the vault should be organized and how the outside could be decorated and personalized. The course outline and evaluation schedule that is given out at the beginning of the course is a good place to start.

File folders could also be included in the materials for the vault as a way to help students organize and maintain their vaults; however students may decide to create their own organizing devices. Students’ design, creation, and maintenance of their vaults should be formatively assessed and summatively evaluated as an ongoing activity.

Checklist for My Resource Vault

Inside My Vault

I have:

·         Unit Dividers

yes

no

·         Place for my brainstorming ideas

yes

no

·         Place for diagnostic work

yes

no

·         Place for assessments and edited work

yes

no

·         Place for finished products and evaluation

yes

no

Outside My Vault

·         Have I decided what my vault will look like?

yes

no

It will look like a____________________________

 

 

·         Have I identified accurate symbols and pictures?

yes

no

These symbols are:

 

 

·          

·          

 

 

·          

·          

 

 

·          

 

 

·         Are my symbols and pictures “inclusive” and “appropriate”?

 

 

Decorating my Vault

·         I have a rough draft of my designs and decoration plans

yes

no

·         I have had a friend look over my ideas and make suggestions

yes

no

·         I have collected the materials that I need

yes

no

·         My teacher has approved my plans

yes

no

Maintaining my Vault

·         Have I set a schedule for maintaining and reviewing my vault?

yes

no

·         Do I have plans for adding or changing decorations?

yes

no


Appendix B

Infomercial (for Unit 6 Course Culminating Activity)

 

One of the components of the culminating activity is an Infomercial. This one-to-five minute video/audio or live presentation that students choose to highlight a historically significant event or innovation is a supported opinion, persuasive oral task. Students demonstrate their understanding of cause and effect and support their choice with appropriate resources. Students are encouraged to use their vault as a resource as it contains all relevant course material; however, depending upon time constraints and student ability, the teacher may provide a list of suggestions from those topics studied in class or students may choose to investigate a new topic. In some instances, technological constraints may exist requiring a slight modification. For example, rather than have a video presentation day in which students present previously created videos the teacher may choose to have a Live to Air Broadcast, taping during the actual performances or simply simulated. This presentation may vary significantly from an edited video production with sound, an electronic presentation, a formal debate, a casual talk show style, to a speech with visual support. Though this task is to be evaluated individually, pairing or grouping of students can create interest and save classroom time. The teacher is encouraged to assist students in locating resources, articulating ideas, and organizing an effective and creative presentation. The teacher may refer to Appendix A3 for a general outline for the student handout. Classroom specifics and presentation would need to be adjusted.

 

The teacher states the following:

Purpose

Throughout the course, we have studied various societies and time periods. As a class we have identified many key events, ideas, and innovations that have significantly altered the course of history. You are to decide upon the one development that you think is the most important to mankind and society and convince your teacher and your classmates of the validity of your choice.

 

Task

In a one- to five-minute video presentation you will:

·         identify the focus event, ideology, invention and state the reasons for your choice;

·         support your choice with a minimum of five resources;

·         state at least three main points to support your choice and fully develop each idea;

·         organize your presentation with an introduction and a conclusion;

·         attempt to persuade your classmates and your teacher of the validity of your choice;

·         use visual and audio resources to add interest to your presentation.

 

Prior to your presentation discuss with your teacher and share:

·         your idea and outline of main points;

·         your presentation ideas;

·         any difficulties or gaps in preparation;

·         possible resources.


Coded Expectations, Adventures in World History, Grade 12,
Workplace Preparation, CHM4E

Communities: Work, Technology, and Construction

Overall Expectations

COV.01 · assess how people in different communities developed skills and created implements in order to work productively;

COV.02 · demonstrate an understanding of pivotal inventions and innovations and their effects on community life;

COV.03 · explain why various edifices were built, what function they served, and what they reflected about the communities that built them.

Specific Expectations

Work and the Community

CO1.01 – identify selected developments in tool making from the Stone Age to the present (e.g., fashioning of stone and obsidian implements, invention and uses of the wheel, development of measuring systems and devices);

CO1.02 – demonstrate an understanding of the roles and processes of education and skills training in different communities at different times (e.g., learning skills in Inuit or traditional Chinese families, medieval guilds and apprenticeships, modern trade schools and independent learning facilities);

CO1.03 – describe key features in the development of selected trades and professions throughout the ages (e.g., specialization, hierarchies, wages and working conditions).

Technology and the Community

CO2.01 – identify key developments in communications technologies from the Stone Age to the present (e.g., written language and alphabets, paper making and the printing press, wire and wireless transmission, satellite telecommunications) and evaluate their effects on interactions between communities;

CO2.02 – identify key developments in transportation technologies from the Stone Age to the present (e.g., use of animals, development of astrological navigation systems, development of sail and steam technologies, invention of the internal combustion engine, aerospace innovations) and evaluate their effects on interactions between communities;

CO2.03 – identify key developments in scientific and medical technologies from the Stone Age to the present (e.g., development of different calendar systems, changing perceptions of geography and astronomy, developments in modern medicine) and describe their impact on the community.

Construction as a Reflection of Community

CO3.01 – identify a variety of significant structures (e.g., Great Wall of China, Rome’s Colosseum, stone heads on Easter Island, Eiffel Tower, CN Tower), and explain why people built them and the role they played in their societies;

CO3.02 – describe a variety of ceremonial monuments (e.g., Egyptian and Mayan pyramids; cathedrals, mosques, and temples; triumphal arches and war memorials);

CO3.03 – identify a variety of human dwellings (e.g., prehistoric caves, dwellings in Neolithic fishing villages, Roman tenements, castles and chateaux, Huron longhouses, modern detached single-family homes, high-rise apartments) and explain how they reflect their societies.

Change and Continuity

Overall Expectations

CCV.01 · demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between change and continuity in history;

CCV.02 · explain how and why societies change from rural to urban, and compare the nature of the two;

CCV.03 · analyse how people throughout history have dealt with conflict and conflict resolution.

Specific Expectations

Interplay Between Change and Continuity

CC1.01 – analyse the factors that led to the migration of peoples and assess the effects of such movements (e.g., factors such as economic and political pressures; effects such as demographic changes, language and cultural adaptations);

CC1.02 – analyse key reasons why empires have risen and fallen (e.g., Assyrian, Meso-American, and Roman empires; Chinese dynasties; early European and modern empires);

CC1.03 – demonstrate an understanding of why different societies have tended to place a greater emphasis either on change or on continuity (e.g., Taoist yin and yang; Confucian emphasis on continuity; the role of ideologies such as conservatism, liberalism, and socialism).

Rural and Urban Societies

CC2.01 – demonstrate an understanding of key developments in agriculture through the course of history (e.g., innovations of the Neolithic Revolution, terrace farming in China and Peru, European manorialism, the growth of modern agribusiness);

CC2.02 – outline pivotal reasons for the growth of cities (e.g., Alexandria, Rome, London, Beijing, New York) and describe problems associated with their development (e.g., crowding, slums, poor sanitation and its effects on health);

CC2.03 – analyse key factors that set the stage for industrial revolutions (e.g., a relatively stable society, technological innovation, availability of capital for investment) and describe the outcomes (e.g., development of industrial centres, exploitation of labour, altered environment).

Conflict and Its Resolution

CC3.01 – demonstrate an understanding of the organizations that societies have created to wage war (e.g., regular armies and paramilitary organizations) and those they have created to maintain order (e.g., Roman censors and aediles, London bobbies, Muslim ulema, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, KGB, Interpol);

CC3.02 – identify different types of conflicts and protests, from social unrest to wars (e.g., food riots and peasant revolts, civil rights demonstrations, religious wars, civil wars, hot and cold world wars);

CC3.03 – demonstrate an understanding of various non-violent means used to resolve conflicts and to maintain peace (e.g., negotiation, mediation, international organizations, non-violent demonstrations).

Citizenship and Heritage

Overall Expectations

CHV.01 · demonstrate an understanding of the spiritual expressions of different societies;

CHV.02 · demonstrate an understanding of a variety of types of group membership, and their influence on both the individual and the larger society;

CHV.03 · demonstrate an understanding of a variety of forms of cultural expression.

Specific Expectations

Spiritual Expression

CH1.01 – identify unique and common characteristics of mythologies throughout the world (e.g., creation myths and explanations; hero legends, such as those recounted in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, the Ramayana, Hiawatha, and “Casey at the Bat”);

CH1.02 – compare different perceptions of an afterlife (e.g., as reflected in Egyptian, Chinese, and Incan burials; belief in reincarnation or heaven and hell);

CH1.03 – demonstrate an understanding of the key beliefs of the great religions (e.g., Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam).

The Need to Belong

CH2.01 – describe key characteristics of interpersonal relationships in small social groups (e.g., traditional and non-traditional families, Scottish clans, African tribes, Japanese villages);

CH2.02 – explain how and why people come together to form and maintain groups distinct from the larger society (e.g., monastic orders, Sufi mystics, Jews, guilds and unions, Acadians, “hippies”);

CH2.03 – identify a variety of factors contributing to people’s membership in and political identification with their larger societies (e.g., heredity and tradition, nationality, language, ethnicity, religion; formally accorded citizenship).

Artistic and Cultural Expression

CH3.01 – demonstrate an understanding of meanings of the terms culture and civilization (e.g., culture as the totality of a people’s lifestyle and behaviour; civilization as characterized by a society’s longevity and its enduring legacy);

CH3.02 – describe the artistic expressions of diverse peoples and cultures (e.g., pottery of the Ming dynasty and silk painting of the Sung dynasty, Islamic poetry and architecture, African and Inuit sculpture, modern Western artistic and literary styles);

CH3.03 – describe a variety of forms of entertainment that people have created (e.g., various musical styles and theatrical forms; ancient games and modern amateur and professional sports; cinema, television, telecommunications).

Social, Economic, and Political Structures

Overall Expectations

SEV.01 · demonstrate an understanding of the variety of roles and functions of individuals and groups in society;

SEV.02 · analyse the changes in commercial exchange from antiquity to the present day;

SEV.03 · describe a variety of political systems and processes that have been involved in the exercise of power and authority throughout history.

Specific Expectations

Society and the Individual

SE1.01 – demonstrate an understanding of the function and variety of social customs in different societies (e.g., protocol, as in the courts of imperial China and Russia and at the United Nations; etiquette, from Roman banquets to Amy Vanderbilt; fashions such as foot binding, corsets, and neckties);

SE1.02 – demonstrate an understanding of a variety of determinants of class and social standing through the course of history (e.g., heredity, as in India’s caste system; economics, as in Marx’s proletariat and bourgeoisie; personal achievement, as reflected by notables in industry, sports, and entertainment);

SE1.03 – analyse the different roles played by women, men, children, and the aged in selected societies (e.g., matriarch, gatherer, hunter, breadwinner, child labourer, student, tribal elder);

SE1.04 – describe the contributions to society of significant individuals throughout history (e.g., Moses and Ramses II, Cleopatra and Marc Antony, Abelard and Heloise, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates).

Commercial Exchange

SE2.01 – describe the development of currencies and credit systems, from early barter to the modern Western consumer economy (e.g., wampum, weights and measures, minted coins, paper money, Renaissance banking and double-entry bookkeeping, stock markets, personal credit, electronic banking);

SE2.02 – identify the location and purposes of different trade routes (e.g., the Silk Road; the Atlantic triangle; the Yangtze, Mekong, Nile, Indus, Mississippi, and St. Lawrence Rivers; routes along canal and railway systems);

SE2.03 – identify pivotal examples of the human drive to explore new frontiers, and describe some of the economic effects of these ventures (e.g., Marco Polo and the reawakening of overland Asian trade routes; conquistadors, Incan gold, and the sixteenth-century “price revolution”; aerospace programs and their influence on the telecommunications industry).

Power and Authority

SE3.01 – describe the structure and function of a variety of political systems throughout history (e.g., Athenian and modern democracy, Roman republicanism, Chinese dynastic system, Iroquois confederacy, fascist dictatorships);

SE3.02 – describe the nature of the relationship between social or economic position and political influence or the lack of it (e.g., the slave or indentured servant, the feudal lord, women in different periods of history);

SE3.03 – describe key differences between authoritarian and cooperative models of power and authority (e.g., access to information and decision making; right of assembly and dissent; persecution; regimes of Rameses II, Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Stalin, and Pol Pot contrasted with selected modern liberal democracies).

Methods of Historical Inquiry

Overall Expectations

HIV.01 · demonstrate the practical skills of locating, gathering, and organizing information from a variety of selected sources;

HIV.02 · demonstrate a practical understanding of the key steps in the process of historical interpretation;

HIV.03 · communicate opinions based on effective research clearly and concisely;

HIV.04 · demonstrate an ability to think creatively, manage time efficiently, and participate effectively in independent and collaborative study.

Specific Expectations

Research

HI1.01 – formulate a variety of questions to serve as a basis for research, drawing on examples from world history (e.g., What were some of the technological developments in Neolithic farming? What were some of the motives for building the Great Wall of China or the Mayan pyramids? What are the characteristics of a “civilization”?);

HI1.02 – conduct organized research, using a selection of information sources (e.g., textbooks and reference books, newspapers and magazines, audio-visual materials, Internet sites);

HI1.03 – organize research findings, using a variety of methods and forms (e.g., note taking; graphs and charts, maps and diagrams).

Interpretation

HI2.01 – demonstrate an ability to distinguish bias, prejudice, stereotyping, or a lack of substantiation in statements, arguments, and opinions;

HI2.02 – identify key interpretations of world history (e.g., “great leader”, geographic, economic);

HI2.03 – identify relationships and connections in the data studied (e.g., chronological ties, cause and effect, similarities and differences);

HI2.04 – demonstrate an ability to develop a point of view that reflects research into selected sources. Communication

HI3.01 – communicate effectively, using a variety of styles and forms (e.g., reports, discussions, role playing, group presentations);

HI3.02 – use selected forms of documentation to acknowledge sources of information (e.g., footnotes, endnotes, or author/date citations; bibliographies or reference lists);

HI3.03 – express opinions and conclusions clearly and in a manner that respects the opinions of others.

Creativity, Collaboration, and Independence

HI4.01 – demonstrate an ability to think creatively in reaching conclusions about both assigned questions and issues and those conceived independently;

HI4.02 – use a variety of time-management strategies effectively;

HI4.03 – demonstrate an ability to work independently and collaboratively and to seek and respect the opinions of others;

HI4.04 – identify various career opportunities related to the study of history (e.g., employment in museums, libraries, or the publishing industry).

 

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