Course Outline

Grade 8 Language Arts and Social Studies

Materials needed-

-Writing utensils 

-Paper

-A binder divided into several sections

-A writing notebook, which could be a notebook, duotang, or scribbler. Not a binder.

-A library card. 

Course Outline for Language Arts

Communication skills are essential and ever changing in our society. With the understanding that all students can be successful learners, students in 6A will be exploring a wide range of how language works, making full use of a modern computer lab. Over the course of the year, we will incorporate the Grade Eight Social Studies curriculum in our Language Art activities. 

           

The provincial curriculum uses the activities of Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Viewing and Representing to develop the outcomes (skills) that students are expected to acquire. 

Grade 8 ELA Essential Learning Outcomes
Reading and Responding ·         understands key ideas and messages ·         interprets a variety of texts ·         responds critically to a variety of texts	Writing ·         generates, selects, and organizes ideas ·         chooses language to have an impact on reader ·         uses conventions and resources to edit and proofread
Communication ·         uses oral and visual strategies for effective communication ·         listening, speaking, viewing, representing	Managing Ideas and Information ·         Research skills (create and follow a plan, use graphic organizers to record information) ·         Organizing information (categorizing, comparing/contrasting, sorting/classifying)

 More details about the curriculum can be found here 

and here 

Course Outline for Social Studies

The Provincial Curriculum is here. The course is about 200,000 years of history, so during the year we won't be going into great depth on any particular time period. What will be important is understanding the trends and patterns that exist throughout history. The four main outcomes for Social Studies in Manitoba and what we will be focusing on during the school year are:

1. Communication
2. Managing Ideas and Information
3. Critical and Creative Thinking
4. Democratic Citizenship

The first two outcomes are important skills to have as the student moves through school and life. The last two skills are vital to produce the kind of society we want to live in and avoid something like this or to deal with this before it is too late.

As we jump from one period of history to another, the class will be asked for their interests and class lectures and activities will be tailored to those interests. During the year we will also be making use of project based learning so that the students can focus on parts of history that they find to be the most interesting.

Much of the course can be described as the history of the Western World. Western thought, customs, religion, etc was predominant in the creation of Canada and remains a dominating influence and point of view in our country. What we have to remember is that other points of view exist and that before Europeans came to Canada, the people here had their own religion, own system of government, a process to educate their children, languages, etc. 

This iTunes U course is a supplement to the actual course, which is delivered in class and on this blog. Supplemental links can also be found here. 

Some points to consider as we start our course:

What is History? Who makes it? Who writes it? How has it affected our country, The province we live in, Our city, YOU? 

Here is the class Edmodo Code hw7vt6

Here is the kidblog  code pvw4vy3

Cole C

You should really be doing you grade 9 work!!!!!!

History Scavenger Hunt

See how you do on this history scavenger hunt.

Only people who win the Stanley cup are allowed to lift it over their heads. How did the tradition of champions lifting it up start?

How did the word ‘football’ come to describe two very different sports? In that answer you might also find the origin of the word 'soccer.'

How did the Grey cup and the Stanley cup get their names? Who were the cups supposed to be awarded to? The answer to the Grey cup question is related to how football started to be called soccer.

Why is this area called St. James? hint, a building south of Polo Park

Why are stores who take a day or evening off most likely choose Sunday day or evening? Except for dine in restaurants, they are often open Sunday evening.

What connection can you draw between pogroms and the Human Rights museum in Winnipeg?

"Portage Avenue is the widest thoroughfare in Canada" Why is the street so wide and how did it get its name?

The Dakota uprising (more than 500 settlers killed), the Battle of Little Big Horn (the 7th Calvary completely destroyed) and the Seven Oakes massacre (the red river settlement decimated) all have the nearby creek in common. Explain.

How did Silver Heights get its name? How about Sturgeon Heights?

Winnipeg was the 3rd biggest city in Canada and growing fast. A couple of events happened in 1919 and Winnipeg would never again be seen as so prosperous and powerful. What were the events?

A few hundred years ago England adopted couverture laws. What effect does this still have on married names in most of the English speaking world?

How did diamonds engagement rings become popular? Why are they worn on the finger next to the little finger?

An 800 year old piece of paper, the Magna Carta, visited Winnipeg a little while ago. Why do many consider this to be the most important piece of paper in Western history?

Your Renaissance Project

Your Renaissance Project

For your project on the Renaissance, you will pick a famous representative or event from the time and educate the class about this person or event or location or philosophy.

You will need to have a 2 1/2minute speech with 10 pictures for the body of your presentation (set the presentation to change the picture every 15 seconds). Besides the body, have an introductory slide, and ending slide, and a slide listing your sources.

You may choose from the following list or in consultation with the teacher, choose something off the list.
Leonardo DaVinci
Machiavelli
Shakespeare
Gutenberg
Michelangelo
Magna Carter
Catherine de Medicci (or another Mecicci)
Henry VIII
Elizabeth I
Descartes
The Borgias
Dante
Fibonacci
The Battle of Vienna
Isabella d’Este
Galileo Galilei
Isaac Newton
Christopher Marlowe
Nicolaus Copernicus
Jacques Cartier
Vasco de Gama
John Cabot
Johannes Kepler
Donatello
Marco Polo
Magellan
Sir Thomas More
Sir Walter Raleigh
Isaac Newton
Printing Press
Raphael
Martin Luther
The Inquisition
Saint Bartholomew's Massacre
The Reformation
Architecture
Developments in Navigation
Spanish Armada
Bloody Mary
Erasmus
Petrarch
Florence
Milan
Genoa
Humanism
Secularism
Artwork
The painting of the Last Supper (was that really St. Thomas?)
Don Quixote
Ulrich Zwingli
John Calvin
Thomas Hobbes
Another suggestion?


Things to focus on:
1. Why they are/it is important.
2. Impact on today’s society.
3. How they/it advanced science/technology/literature/government


We will come up with a rubric as a class. Things the teacher is thinking it should be marked on:
1. The information presented.
2. How it is presented.
3. Pictures used (do they match your speech).

Blog below your choice. If approved, it will be published in the comments section. 

Musical Review of the Middle Ages

The Black Death music video seems to be a hit among some of the music connoisseurs in the classroom, so here are a few more music videos about the Medieval Ages. Before the musical videos is what is called a Gregorian Chant. The large cathedrals would echo the voice, and singers, usually male monks, developed songs to make use of the echo. A few years ago they started to become popular again.

Middle Ages Society

Read here about Life in the Middle Ages. 

The Middle Ages

Explore the links in the picture above. Blog below 3 things you would like to learn about the Middle Ages