Wednesday, Sept 26th

We've watched two videos on world religions so far - Judaism and Christianity. Tomorrow we will watch the final video which will be on Islam. We'll create a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences of the the three main world religions.
Please make sure that you are keeping your binder organized. If you don't use dividers, you might want to consider using dividers for each unit to keep each unit separate.

The big question we'll be addressing in the next few days:  what was the impact of Christianity in the early middle ages? Tomorrow is Day 3, so I'll see you in the class before long break!

By Emesik (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Minarets - towers from which Muslim
people are called to prayer.

Geography Unit 1- Done!

What a great day for geocaching as a wrap up to our first unit- Geography!
Thanks to Mrs. Read & Mr. Blackmore for bringing their GPS units and helping us find treasure here at school.  Almost everyone handed their map project in on time and I'll be taking photos of the maps and posting them as a slide presentation over the weekend. Check back on Sunday evening. If you finished the Europe Map worksheets, you have no homework!!

Monday is the start of Unit 2: The Three Main Religions
We will be looking at what the core beliefs and customs of these religions are and how the early relationships between these faiths impacted not only the Middle Ages (that will be the main focus), but continue to impact the world today. It's amazing to think that the poor relationship between Christianity and Islam, that started in the Middle Ages, continues to haunt our world today. The news from the Middle East about the riots and attacks on American embassies because of an anti-Islamic video is evidence that ignorance continues to cause problems between faith groups.

We're also going to look at what everyday life was like as Europe changed from being ruled by the Roman empire to a time of changing borders, tribes and rulers.

Enjoy your weekend & I'll see you in last class on Monday! Don't forget Monday is photo day - look your best!

Map of Ancient Pisa: Photo from Wikimedia - Public Domain

Maps, Maps & More Maps!

Your map project will be due on Friday morning, first thing before we go geocaching!  I look forward to seeing your maps of cities, villages, countries, ski hills, malls and/or schools. I'll ask you tomorrow which location you've decided to create a map for.

About symbols for maps: Your symbols could be for building types, physical or man-made features, size of cities, and any number of things. The idea is that the map will be a view from above. Don't forget scale - a hugely important feature on any map.

One of the maps you may have looked at today was an elevation map. If not, here is an example of an elevation map (sometimes called a topographical map). Look closely at the colour chart. Each color represents a certain height above sea level. Red is 5000 metres above sea level. Most of BC is yellows, so how high above sea level is that? How high are the purple sections? What level is Kamloops approximately?
Why would an elevation map or topographical map be useful? Who might use it? Is there a business or industry that needs this kind of information? Do satellites gather this kind of information and how do they do it? See if you can find answers to some of these questions!

Week 1 Done!

It's hard to believe that the first week of grade 8 is over already! Congratulations on finding your way around and getting such a good start to the year. I really enjoyed playing "Get to know ya!" Bingo today. On Monday, we'll work on the criteria and rubric for Title Pages and we'll learn a little bit about how GPS units work, as well as look at the project for Tuesday and Wednesday. There is no formal homework this weekend, but I would recommend looking at your binder and making sure it's tidy and organized. If you left it here at school, let's organize first thing on Monday morning! (Before you come to class.) Enjoy the lovely weather and I'll see you on Monday!

Textbooks, Tsunami trash & maps - oh my!

Thanks for a great start to the course, everyone! It's early evening and I'm enjoying reading your responses to the survey, so far. Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this) you will get your textbook, we're going to look at a current event that demonstrates how mapping helps communities prepare for problems, today and how even though communities are oceans apart, we're still connected. The big question - why should we care about a big pile of tsunami debris from Japan?

Course introduction

Gode Dai! (Hello in Middle English)

Welcome to my Socials 8 Blog! There will be useful information and course related assignments posted here, as well as links to our class wiki, surveys, videos and other things we create together. On the first day of class you will receive a course outline. This introduction is a short version of the key information you received then. It should be in the front of your course binder. The focus of Social Studies in grade 8 is on World Civilizations from approximately 500 C.E. to 1600 C.E.  In European history this covers the time period from the fall of Roman Civilization to the start of the Reformation. We will also explore Chinese civilization, Arabian Civilization and Indian Civilization in these time periods.

You can expect to learn how to debate (or argue) in a formal way, more mapping skills (including looking at GPS), and more research skills. These are all things you will use for the rest of your life - very practical stuff!
You'll also learn some problem solving strategies, how to work in groups successfully, organization strategies and some skills to analyze information so that you aren't fooled by bogus websites, news stories or gossip.

You are going to write, create, talk, take photos, make presentations and present to your classmates and the world!

We're going to look at big questions.

• Why do civilizations end?
• What drives exploration?
• What happens when civilizations end?
• How did different civilizations before ours contribute to ours today?
• What lessons can we learn from past civilizations? 
• Are we headed for the end of our civilization sometime soon?

I expect you to be on time (in your seat before the bell goes) with all the things you'll need (pencil, pen, coloured pencils or markers, eraser, lined & unlined paper & textbook). I expect you to be respectful listeners for both me and your classmates. I expect you to complete homework assignments (which I'll try to keep manageable and minimal). In return, I will do my best to ensure that I provide learning experiences which are engaging and meaningful, to involve you in the assessment process and to be fair, and to communicate clearly (with you and your parents/guardians).

You will have opportunities to have input into class assessments, but you will also be responsible for doing your best. You earn your grade, I don't give it to you.

Evaluation:  Your work will be evaluated in the following way:

     Assignments, minor projects, quizzes, discussion participation                            50%
     Major projects, tests                                                                                        50%
 Accountability: There will not be re-tests. If you miss a test or an assignment deadline, you will be given an alternate (probably harder) assignment to assess your learning. You may be required to stay in during break/lunch to complete missing work.  The more work you miss, or don't finish, the harder it is to learn and demonstrate what you've learned. Several missed assignments means a phone call to parents and possibly Academic Intervention. If your parents choose to have a vacation during the semester, you will be responsible for catching up on what you've missed. I do not give out assignments or tests in advance, in order to be fair to everyone in the evaluation process.

If you have any questions outside of class time, you can find me in the library, email me at cmcvittie@sd73.bc.ca, or leave comments on the blog. I will have regular online tutoring/"office" hours during the week, but will announce those in mid-September, once my own children and family have settled into their school routines and I'll know what time and which evenings will work best for me (and them).

NOW,  check out your first assignment:  Take this Google Docs survey about yourself

>