Social Studies 9

Canada and the World 1750 to 1919

Ms. Jenn Meens
jenn.meens@sd6.bc.ca
website: www.jmeens.weebly.com
Introduction: My goal in Social Studies is to help you learn more about yourself, the world
we live in, and how human and physical geography have affected each other over time.
Through becoming informed citizens who are able to think critically, understand and explain
the perspectives of others, make judgments, and communicate ideas effectively you will
become more actively engaged in the world around you. My hope is that when you
complete this course you will have a deeper understanding of your place in Canadas past,
present and future.
You will be successful in this course when you can demonstrate your capacity to interpret
evidence, assess and defend positions, conduct inquiry related to our course topics.
The BIG IDEAS create general concepts that guide the content or THEMES of the course
and provide some key terms that we will be exploring respect to the story of CANADA.
To do this we will practice skills and processes called COMPETENCIES such as using
inquiry processes and
skills to ask questions and
TOPICS: Canada 1750-1919
generate answers.
BIG IDEAS

-Political, social, economic and

technological revolution
New ideas profoundly influence
- Effects of imperialism and
societies and events
colonialism on indigenous peoples in
Canada and around the world
The physical environment
- Global demographic shiftspatterns
influences political, social, andof migration and population growth
economic change
- Nationalism and development of
nation states
Differences in power alter the- Local regional and global conflicts
relationships between individuals
and
- Discriminatory
policies, attitudes
between societies.
and historical wrongs

- Physiographic features of

Collective identity is constructed

Canada and geological processes

COMPETENCIES SKILLS AND PROCESSES

Conduct effective inquiry based research
When you are faced with different kinds of geographic or social data,
evidence or perspectives about historical content or current events, be
able to determine the following

What is significant, what has serious consequences

What are the turning points, and how is this known?
What makes a source credible and adequate?
Where and why do sources agree or disagree?
Whats the social context (influence of society)?
Is there a right and wrong and so what?

More information can be found at: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/socialstudies/9

COURSE AND CLASS EXPECTATIONS:
I do not have many rules but I expect that we can work together with a few codes in
mind:
Mutual Respect: treat students, teachers and the learning space with care, pride, safety,
calmness and kindness
Self-reliance: take responsibility for your actions, attendance, work habits, expected
workload, deadlines and progress. If you are going to miss a class let me know, take
responsibility for your learning and make sure you pick up missed work from the class
website/blog.
Curiosity: ask thoughtful questions of yourself, teacher, and classmates, and ask for help
when you need it.
Balance: there is a time in class for everything: teacher, student, group, individual, talking,
listening, reflecting and for every type of resources such as cell phones, tablets, textbooks
etc. There will be times when gadgets will be encourages and time when they must be
put away. When will be something between what is obvious or necessary and what is
negotiated as a class.
You are an active part in the course and classroom experience unfold. Working with these
codes I will strive to make the class time as positive and productive as possible, minimize
homework, and keep the focus on critical thinking, meaningful connections, and strong
learning about our topics.

ASSESSMENT:
The evaluation of your skills, understanding, and knowledge of the content will be on an
ongoing basis. I will be using as much inquiry based approaches as possible this
involves a combination of group and individual exploration of a topic through research,
current events, teacher and student presentations, field trips, and guest speakers, and

teacher-student feedback sessions. At times our skills, knowledge and understanding of a

topic area may result in a project presentation, test, or completion of a summary
assignment. The Final Exam may be a combination of a summary project and written test.
Course Work: 80%
Summative Project/Exam: 20%

TEACHER WEBSITE and STUDENT DIGITAL PORTFOLIO:

To find details about this course, texts and resources please see the teacher website
www.jmeens.weebly.com. The website is the best place to go first to find out what we did
in class that day, pick up missed assignments, etc. I will also be using a digital portfolio app
called FreshGrade to create student portfolios (hand in work), communicate between
students, parents and myself, and provide course assessment and evaluation. Each student
will be given a private log-in to be used by student and parent which will give access to that
students personal portfolio and allow for announcement communication between teacher
and student/parent. Please also feel free to email me at any time with any questions or
concerns.