Friday, January 6. 2012

Today's schedule is A-Ag-B-C-D

B Block Geography 12 - Today we are going to look at soil: specifically structure, properties, and formation. We'll understand what a soil profile looks like and discover how colour, texture, and acidity differentiate soils. You'll need to complete questions 1 & 4 from page 620 and 8 & 11 from page 621 in your Geosystems textbook.


US Department of Agriculture - NRCS: What is Soil?
The Physical Environment: an introduction to physical geography - Soil Systems
Canadian Soil Information System
Discovery Education The Dirt on Soil
US Bureau of Land Management Soil Biological Communities for Kids
Soil Net

C Block Law 9/10 - On Monday we start with our final forensic quiz and then we are back in the library for you to begin work on another major project - this time it is a forensic science webpage (more on Monday). I'll start today by answering some of your "Burning Questions" about Law that you've always wanted answered. These are the anonymous questions that you put in the Law Question Box and I'll take some time both today and next week to answer them. When we've gone over a few questions I'll put on an episode of CSI (#301 Revenge is Best Served Cold). From tv.com...

Catherine and Nick investigate street racing after one of the drivers is found dead out in the desert at an abandoned airstrip. Back in town, Grissom and his crew look into the death of a poker player who suffered a violent convulsion in the middle of a high-stakes game with three others. As always, things aren't what they seem.

D Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll finish the Mulroney era for Canada's involvement in the Cold War. Yesterday we discussed the debt slashing policy of the Conservatives in the 1980's and touched on supply side economics and trickle down theory. Today we'll look at NAFTA and the Foreign Investment Review Agency. We'll also examine Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms in the Soviet Union and the eventual "collapse" of the Berlin Wall and the sphere of Soviet influence. I'll have you add questions 1 & 2 from page 156 to your work from yesterday (questions 2, 3, & 4 from page 150). We'll also watch the last ten minutes of the Atomic Cafe video and I'll also show you an NFB cartoon by Richard Condie called "The Big Snit" (which is a weird take on the cold war but more of a short movie about the relationship between a husband and wife From the NFB: This wonderfully wacky animation film is a look at two simultaneous conflicts, the macrocosm of global nuclear war and the microcosm of a domestic quarrel, and how each conflict is resolved. Presented with warmth and unexpectedly off-the-wall humor, the film is open to a multitude of interpretations). All of your Cold War questions will be due today.

After, we'll examine the dramatic changes to Canada's culture and identity as a result of the "baby boom" generation. We'll look at how the government tried to protect Canadian culture and the economy along with the development of both the environmental and woman's rights movements.

Thursday, January 5. 2012

Today's schedule is D-C-B-A

D Block Social Studies 11 - So yesterday we got caught up in the United Nations and the programs that they offer like the UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR and peacekeeping. So today, we'll take a look at Canada's role in the post-Vietnam world in two sections - the Trudeau Era and the Mulroney Era. We'll look at NORAD, CIDA, la Francophonie, SALT, SDI, FIRA, FTA, NAFTA, Glasnost, Perestroika and the end of the Cold War. You'll need to work on questions 2, 3, and 4 from page 150 and questions 1 & 2 on page 156 from the Counterpoints textbook today.

C Block Law 9/10 - Today we'll finish the fingerprint activity that we started yesterday in class. You will need to identify the total number of loops, arches, and whorls for each finger (and thumb) for the class (26 sets of prints) and then graph the data. The graph is a comparative bar graph. For each finger (thumb, index, middle, ring & pinky) count up the total number of loops, arches, and whorls and graph that out next to each other (don't forget the five questions that I have up on the board related to the fingerprint graphing activity). When we're done we'll review the extraction and analysis of DNA and talk about its importance in police detective work.We'll do this by using the Rice University CSI Web experience site which you've already worked on in the class.This will get us ready for our next quiz which will be on Monday.

B Block Geography 12 - Today we will begin looking at biomes and biogeographic realms. Biomes are the major regional groupings of plants and animals discernible at a global scale. The distribution of these biomes is connected to climate, soil, and the physical topography of the earth. Biogeography is the study of the distribution and patterns of plants and animals throughout the biosphere.

Using chapter 20 of your Geosystems textbook, I would like you to describe the adaptations and structure for flora and fauna (plant and animal) in each of the following terrestrial biomes (land based not aquatic): Equatorial & Tropical Rain forest (ETR); Tropical Seasonal Forest and Scrub (TrSF); Tropical Savanna (TrS); Mid latitude Broad leaf & Mixed Forest (MBME); Needle leaf & Montane Forest (NF/MF); Temperate Rain forest (TeR); Mediterranean Shrub land (MSh); Mid latitude Grasslands (MGr); Deserts (DBW & DBC); and Arctic & Alpine Tundra (AAT). At the end of this there are questions 8, 12, 13, & 15 from page 693 to complete as well.

While you work on this I will have the Planet Earth Pole to Pole episode on for you to watch.

Wednesday, January 4. 2012

Today's schedule is B-A-D-C

B Block Geography 12 - Today we will continue our work on climatology. You will need to finish up the climate description activity from yesterday and questions 9, 14, and 19 from page 326 in your Geosystems text. After we'll look at how climate graphs are created and interpreted and then begin work on drawing and interpreting two climate graphs (Day 70 in your week 16 package: Bahia, Brazil and Yuma, Arizona). For help on how to draw climate graphs see:
Climate Graphs
Interpreting Climate Graphs

D Block Social Studies 11 - Over the next two days we will finish our look at the Cold War. Just a note of interest...North Korea conducted a test by detonating a nuclear bomb on May 25th 2009 so there is still an appetite for countries to develop a nuclear weapons program even in our post-cold war world (for more on North Korea's test and their nuclear program check out the article from the British paper "The Telegraph" here or the Associated Press article here). We'll take a look at Canada's role in the post-Vietnam world in two sections - the Trudeau Era and the Mulroney Era. We'll look at NORAD, CIDA, la Francophonie, SALT, SDI, FIRA, FTA, NAFTA, Glasnost, Perestroika and the end of the Cold War. You'll need to work on questions 2, 3, and 4 from page 150 from the Counterpoints textbook today.


C Block Law 9/10 - Today, you're going to get fingerprinted. To start we will continue our look at criminal forensics by looking at how investigators estimate time of death, how fingerprints are "lifted" at a crime scene (including what AFIS is). After, we will all get one set of fingers (and thumb) on one hand fingerprinted (our non dominant hand) by using graphite pencils and scotch tape. You will need to identify whether or not your prints are loops, arches, or whorls and then place them up on the blackboard. We will then count up the total number of loops, arches, and whorls for each finger (and thumb) for the class and graph the data. The graph is a comparative bar graph. For each finger (thumb, index, middle, ring & pinky) count up the total number of loops, arches, and whorls and graph that out next to each other comparing each set of data on one graph.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Welcome back family; I hope your Christmas break was enjoyable. Today's schedule is C-D-A-B


C Block Law 9/10 - Today we will continue our look at criminal forensics by looking at how investigators estimate time of death, how fingerprints are "lifted" at a crime scene (including what AFIS is), what the "Four T's" are for marks at a scene, how fibres are used, and what ballistics is. Tomorrow we'll do our fingerprinting activity and Thursday we look at the use of DNA and try to understand the process of analyzing it and you'll have a crime to try and solve in class.

D Block Social Studies 11 - Today, we'll start the class by examining the Cold War in greater detail. We'll learn about the economic and political ramifications on Canada of an ideological conflict between the two superpowers. I hope you got a sense of the fear associated with nuclear war and communists (Senator Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunt - the House Un-American Activities Committee which became known as the ideology of "McCarthyism"). We also took a look at the Truman Doctrine (President Truman pledged assistance to "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures"). We will also be looking at the creation of the United Nations - focusing on the structure of the organization. You'll look at the General Assembly and Security Council along with other UN organizations like UNESCO, ICJ, UNICEF, UNHCR, and others. You'll watch a Brainpop video on the UN and will discuss the purpose and intent of the organization both in the Cold War world and the modern world as well.

B Block Geography 12 - Today and tomorrow we are going to take a look at climatology and climate types on the planet. We will make sense of the Koppen climate classification system and today you'll need to explain in your own words the follwing climates: Af, Am, Aw, Cfb, Csa, Csb, Dfb, Dwb, Dfc, Dwc, ET (don't say it!), Bw, and Bs (Many thanks to Michael Ritter for his on line Physical Environment textbook!). You'll also need to complete questions 9, 14, and 19 from page 326 in your Geosystems text.

For help with Koppen - Geiger see:
Blue Planet Biomes - World Climates
Physicalgeography.net - Climate classification
About.com - Koppen chart