Tuesday, April 28. 2015

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

C Block Geography 12 - Today we're looking at glaciers and we'll make sense of how they erode the landscape and examine the landforms they create. We'll understand the differences amongst the various alpine and continental glaciers and we'll define: cirque, arete, pyramidical peak, hanging valley, truncated spur, esker, drumlin, kettle lake, and fjord; along with questions 3, 8, and 12 from page 587 in your Geosystems text.
For glacier websites check out:
Geoscape Nanaimo ice age legacy
Canadian Geographic Mountains of Canada: Glaciers
USGS Glaciers of Canada book
National Snow & Ice Data Center All About Glaciers
Tongass National Forest Icefields & Glacier facts
USGS Glacier terminology
Eastern Illinois University Department of Geography glacier notes
Encyclopedia of the Earth: Glaciers
Rocky Mountain National Park glacier basics


D Block Crime, Media and Society 12 - Yesterday we watched an episode of Scooby Doo. I'd like to have a conversation about the following:

1. What assumptions or beliefs do Scooby Doo’s creators have that are reflected in the content?
2. How does this make you feel, based on how similar or different you are from the people portrayed in the media product?
3. How does the commercial purpose of Scooby Doo cartoons influence the content and how it's communicated?
4. Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light? Why might these people and things be shown this way?
5. Who and what is not shown at all? What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts?

Huffington Post article on Daphne's Curse of going from size 2 to size 8
Huffington Post article on Beauty Stereotypes in Scooby Doo

After our discussion I'd like you to answer the following:

 "How does Scooby Doo explain crime and gender roles to young people"?

Next, we'll start our unit on media literacy. Not only are media constructions (made by humans) but that the receiving audience interprets the meaning of the message themselves.

1. Media are constructions - Media products are created by individuals who make conscious and unconscious choices about what to include, what to leave out and how to present what is included. These decisions are based on the creators’ own point of view, which will have been shaped by their opinions, assumptions and biases – as well as media they have been exposed to. As a result of this, media products are never entirely accurate reflections of the real world – even the most objective documentary filmmaker has to decide what footage to use and what to cut, as well as where to put the camera – but we instinctively view many media products as direct representations of what is real.

2. Audiences negotiate meaning - The meaning of any media product is not created solely by its producers but is, instead, a collaboration between them and the audience – which means that different audiences can take away different meanings from the same product. Media literacy encourages us to understand how individual factors, such as age, gender, race and social status affect our interpretations of media.

 3. Media have commercial implications - Most media production is a business and must, therefore, make a profit. In addition, media industries belong to a powerful network of corporations that exert influence on content and distribution. Questions of ownership and control are central – a relatively small number of individuals control what we watch, read and hear in the media. Even in cases where media content is not made for profit – such as YouTube videos and Facebook posts -- the ways in which content is distributed are nearly always run with profit in mind.

4. Media have social and political implications - Media convey ideological messages about values, power and authority. In media literacy, what or who is absent may be more important than what or who is included. These messages may be the result of conscious decisions, but more often they are the result of unconscious biases and unquestioned assumptions – and they can have a significant influence on what we think and believe.
As a result, media have great influence on politics and on forming social change. TV news coverage and advertising can greatly influence the election of a national leader on the basis of image; representations of world issues, both in journalism and fiction, can affect how much attention they receive; and society's views towards different groups can be directly influenced by how – and how often – they appear in media

5. Each medium has a unique aesthetic form - The content of media depends in part on the nature of the medium. This includes the technical, commercial and storytelling demands of each medium: for instance, the interactive nature of video games leads to different forms of storytelling – and different demands on media creators – that are found in film and TV.

So, I'll ask you to work in groups of three on commercial advertisements that I'll give you today. I'll ask you to practice the skills of critical analysis of the message and the medium. Together as a class we'll look at the following commercial and try to consider the message that this commercial sends to people.

B Block Social Studies 11 - Today we'll go over the military strategic movements in Europe and the Pacific at the beginning of World War Two. You'll look at the Fall of France, the Battle of Britain (Operation Sea Lion & the Blitz), along with Barbarossa in Europe; while in the Pacific you'll look at Pearl Harbor and Hong Kong. For this you need to:

1. List out the events in chronological order
2. Identify what happened during these military conflicts and
3. Explain Canada’s role (if any)

After you'll watch “The Razor’s Edge” as well as “Dieppe” from Canada: A People’s History. When you’re done, you can work on questions 1, 2, and 3 on page 110 of the Counterpoints text.