Course Syllabus

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Explorations in Social Studies 11

Faculty

Mr. C. Vytasek (Sept- Dec)/Mr. T. Stevens (Jan-June)

Course Description

The goal of Explorations in Social Studies 11 is to support students in gaining a fuller understanding of the causes and consequences of local issues and gain the tools needed to dig deeper into topics they are interested in. To do so, students learn how to look at events through historical, political, economic, ethical, and cultural lenses. Moreover, together we grow out media literacy, reading for understanding, and research skills so that students can explore topics of their choice and produce an argumentative research paper equivalent to what is expected in a first year university course. This paper is considered the capstone of the course.

Course Expectations

St. George’s School expects all students at the Senior School to be interested and motivated in achieving their personal best while at the School. We expect students will be engaged in their endeavors, responsible for their studies, classmates and teachers, and demonstrate integrity in their pursuit of learning.

Workload

Students are expected to come to class ready to think. Teachers of Explorations of Social Studies 11 believe in using class time to the fullest and assigning minimal outside of class tasks. If work is done at home, there will be a unique reason for it or a student was not able to complete our in-class activities before the end of class.  

Submitting work

Students in this course are expected to complete work assignments on the date assigned and to submit their work on Canvas.

If circumstances prevent the student from completing a work assignment on the assigned due date, the student must inform the teacher prior to the due date for the work assignment. The teacher may provide a second due date through the 5th block system. Work is only accepted through Canvas, not email. 

Instructional Aims

Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn through the following experiences:

  • Introduction to the different fields of social studies and how they apply to daily life.
  • How to take in information: reading for understanding, media literacy, and research.
  • How to communicate ideas in reasoned and audience appropriate ways: research essay, argument writing in assessments, and discussions
  • Understanding and viewing relevant and important current events through different perspectives.

Learning Outcomes

Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn and be evaluated on the following knowledge and skills. Each outcome's weight is in bold. 

  • Research: Gather information, analyze sources, and judge the quality of evidence. 5%
  • Academic writing: Writing APA argumentative essays. 15%
  • Media Literacy: Evaluate different forms of media and their purpose and impact. 10%
  • Social/Culture: Consider how different social groups are constructed and impacted. Explore how daily issues have an impact on our daily lives, relationships, customs, beliefs. 12%
  • Political: The role that politics plays in decision making. 12%
  • Historical: Consider the historical background of an event and predict future trends. 12%
  • Economic: Consider the role of economics in issues. 12%
  • Ethics: Consider the ethical frameworks to decision making. 12%
  • Reading for Understanding: Reading non-fiction written sources. 10%

Assessment and Evaluation

A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to demonstrate proficiency in these skills and learning these concepts.

 

Major assessments for this course include:

  • An argumentative APA essay
  • A research log 
  • Mini-writes
  • A presentation
  • Harkness discussions

There are a variety of academic supports available at St. George’s for students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the range of supports available to them which include:

  • Faculty support
  • 5th Block
  • Head of Grade
  • Student Success Centre
  • Personal Counselling

First Peoples Principles

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded ancestral territory of the Halq'eméylem speaking Peoples, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured to live, work, and play on this land together.

 

As a part of our contribution to reconciliation, this course makes First Peoples Principles of Learning visible in class by:

  • ultimately supporting the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors by making learning relevant, context specific, and aims to build ethical, empathic, responsible citizens
  • being reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational by using reflexive and adaptive teaching and learning
  • recognizing the consequences of one’s actions by considering various perspectives, searching for cause and consequence and centering personal and societal responsibility
  • recognizing learning is embedded in memory, history, and story; thus incorporating these elements into our lesson plans 
  • exploring one’s identity by exploring one’s interests and personal connections to the curriculum

Literacy/Numeracy

This course makes literacy/numeracy visible by using the following comprehension tasks and strategies:

  • Places a major focus on research, academic essay writing, APA citations, media literacy, and reading for understanding in an effort to promote the literacy of St. George’s students. 
  • Evaluating statistics data to help draw conclusions.

Learning Resources

Resources that will be used as part of this course include:

  • All resources in Explorations of Social Studies 11 will be posted to Canvas. This should be considered a student's home base for things course related. 

Canvas Information

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due