Grade 8 NL Social Studies
Important Information Regarding Online Learning
All student work, be it readings, questions and assignments will be posted on the Moodle platform. At this point all St. Bonaventure's College students from Grades K-12 have been given access to Moodle. Should you still have trouble connecting students are asked to contact Mr. Ryan Hayward, IT Coordinator at SBC, myself as the classroom and homeroom teacher.
Take care and stay safe!
Friday March 13, 2020
Just a note for those students who are away and/or are staying home because of illness or because of Covid 19 Virus precautions that today in class we reviewed the Sir Richard Squires scandal and the subsequent intervention of the British Government. We did walk down to the Colonial Building and discussed the St. John's Riot of 1932, and reenacted the chase through St. John's of the mob after Sir Squires. Students should expect some detailed notes and check-in questions on Commission of Government and its impact on Newfoundland government and society next week!
Sunday March 1, 2020
Given a confluence of events including my sickness and snow days I have not been able to return Grade 8 students worksheets on Beaumont-Hamel. This was going to be part of their study preparation for the Chapter 6 test. I will return them tomorrow and have accordingly rescheduled the Grade 8 Social Studies Test for Wednesday March 4, 2020 for both classes. Your time and attention is appreciated on this matter. Any concerns or issues should be brought up with me at cpeters@stbons.ca
Wednesday February 19, 2020
Students in Grade 8 Social Studies have been assigned a test on Chapter 6: The Great War. The test will take place Monday March 2, 2020 (Day 4 of the SBC Schedule, Period 3). Format:
- 10 Multiple Choice- 10 Marks
- 4 of 6 Short Answer Response. 5 Marks Each- 20 Marks
- 1 of 2 Long Answer- 10 Marks
Content for Chapter 6: The Great War
War Breaks Out- Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo, June of 1914. This was the spark that threw the world into war. Newfoundland joined Great Britain in September 1914 against Germany. Newfoundlanders served in the Newfoundland Regiment, Royal Naval Reserve, Forestry Corps, VAD, Merchant Marine, Canadian and British forces. pages 124-128.
Students should review class notes and The Rooms worksheet on the Newfoundland Regiment's participation in the Battle of Gallipoli, 1915; preparations for the Battle of the Somme and the Beaumont-Hamel salient, specifically. Students should also review Beaumont-Hamel in their textbooks, pages 131-132.
The Home Front. Women's Patriotic Association- they knit socks, made bandages, visited families, and cared for veterans. Newfoundland Patriotic Association- were responsible for control, paying and recruitment of NL Regiment (among other jobs). Government of NL got rid of NPA after 1917. Conscription- forcing of Newfoundlanders to join the war. They wanted to keep the NL Regiment independent of the Canadian Army. Students should know reasons for and against. pages 136-138.
The Costs of War. Financial/ Human- Newfoundland lost a lot of men to injury and death during The Great War. It also took on a lot of debt in fighting the war. This left the colony in poor financial shape after the war. pages 140-141. Women's Suffrage- women gained new rights and status during and immediately after The Great War. Society changed. Still, it wasn't until the 1920s that women got the vote and later that they could be elected to office. pages 141-143. Spanish Flu in NL- devastating strain of flu virus that killed millions globally and wrecked havoc in Inuit Labrador. pages 144-145
Friday January 31, 2020
We were going to head to The Rooms and take in the Level 2 exhibit on The Great War 1914-1918 including the Newfoundland Regiment's contributions, Beaumont-Hamel and the Home Front. However, I had failed to account for outside conditions and the request by the school to keep students here at the school. Instead, we read pages 131 and 136-138. This takes in an overview of the Battle of the Somme and the Newfoundland Regiment's contributions on the Beaumont-Hamel salient. The second reading looked at the Home Front. Students were then assigned four questions:
- Explain the purpose of the Women's Patriotic Association.
- Why did some Newfoundlanders feel that the Newfoundland Patriotic Association was a failure of government to fulfill its duties?
- How did the Battle of the Somme (Beaumont-Hamel) effect recruitment to the NL Regiment?
- Do you feel that conscription was a good idea? Explain using two developed examples.
Wednesday January 29, 2020
Welcome back! We have been working on Chapter 6- The First World War, 1914-1918. At the same time, we've had a rather large intrusion into the month of January 2020 with #Snowmageddon2020 last week shutting down schools. Students were asked today about what makes any event Historically Important? Their responses suggested that something has to happen on a large scale, to a famous person, and often times involved death.
While there were thankfully few casualties due to the massive snow storm on January 17, 2020 and its aftermath, it did have a profound and unprecedented impact on the region. We have also been trying to invest in students the idea that they are not mere passive recipients of history passed, but are active participants in its making. In that light I assigned a question on their experience of #Snowmageddon2020. In a paragraph to half a page students were asked to explain How the storm was important to them. Due Friday January 31, 2020.
Year Project- 2019-2020- Ecomusee Overview
This year I am trying something a little bit different with Grade 8 Newfoundland and Labrador Social Studies. Instead of a Major Research Project or Term Project we will be doing a Year Project. This is titled St. John's Ecomusee. The ecomusee model- or a museum without walls, and referred to as an open-air museum in Scandinavia- explores in depth the home-place through local nature and geography, cultural activities and local history. Each helps us better understand the place we live and learn in.
Students will be making use of local landmarks, both prominent and forgotten. We will be incorporating local stories and histories, great and small. It is intended that as we read through the textbook it will provide us with a support for our ecomusee explorations. Students will write journals, make sketches, and draw out story-maps to help appreciate the layers of story and meaning in St. John's- always appropriate to the Grade 8 level.
Finally, students will make a presentation in the Spring of their findings. I will let you know how it's coming. If you have any ecomusee suggestions, or concerns please touch base at cpeters@stbons.ca
Year Project- Ecomusee- Story Maps
Story Maps
Before cartography became the rigorous science it is today maps often were suggestions, making as much use of stories as of distance. Peoples understanding of where they lived and their surroundings informed their sense of place and self.
We have gotten used to the idea of having maps available to us wherever we are with smartphone technology like Google Maps. However, what is lost when we lay out the places we live in grids and distances? We don't know the lived, breathed stories, histories and lives that inform the culture we live and operate within.
Story Maps help us look at the place we live in with new eyes. Instead of worrying about where my house is in a distance relation to the school, we become more interested in the stories that make up that place and inform our understanding of place. This is important in our Year Project- St. John's Ecomusee where stories inform our understanding of this place.
Students were today assigned the task of identifying a place that is important to them and explaining why through a story. Paragraph to half page in total. Pictures were encouraged.
Wednesday September 18, 2019
Today we had a combined class- both 8-1 and 8-2- which occurs every Day 4 in the school's 7 Day Cycle. The highlighted purpose of this class is for students to work on the Ecomusee. Today students were allowed to identify groups they wanted to work in and produce a response(s) on the following focused assignment:
Ecomusee St. John's- using the course content including Notes, the Textbook, the class walk to Prescott Street and the visit to The Rooms students were asked to find a Story/ Stories relevant to the Year Project: Ecomusee St. John's.