Friday, January 8. 2016

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

D Block Geography 12 - Today we are going to make sense of ecosystem evolution and community succession (thrown in will be the terms establishment and extinction). We'll try to understand how species co-evolve and adapt to create complex communities (self regulation and emergent properties) and then we'll look at Mount St. Helens to understand primary and secondary succession. We'll watch the last portion of the DVD "Fire Mountain: The Eruption and Rebirth of Mount St. Helens" in order to better grasp the rates of recovery for ecosystems around the volcano. The embedded video below from PBS is also a very good (specifically chapters 3 "The Blowdown Zone" and 5 "Bouncing Back") You'll need to complete questions 21 and 22 from page 662 of your Geosystems text along with a question on fire ecology and the effects of modern fire suppression. For more on ecosystem services and conservation see the National Geographic Earth Pulse website

C Block Crime, Media and Society 12 - Today we'll watch the fictionalized version of the Russell Williams case from Law & Order: Los Angeles "Silver Lake". This episode aired on April 16, 2011...that's 6 months after Russell Williams plead guilty. To film a television show (like a 1 hour drama police procedural) takes anywhere between six to eight days. A day normally begins at 6am and runs 11 to 13 hour long. It takes between 60 and 96 hours to produce 44 minutes of program content (for a 60 minute television show). That's just filming - don't forget scriptwriting, set construction and post production work too so NBC "ripped from the headlines" the Russell Williams story literally as it was happening. If you think that's fast consider that NBC's Dateline aired "Conduct Unbecoming", the one that we watched this week, on Friday, February 18, 2011 (4 months after his guilty plea) and CBS aired the 48 Hours episode "Name, Rank, Serial Killer?" on April 9th, 2011 (the L&O:LA episode aired one week later!).

So we'll watch the episode and then I have three questions for you to answer (from yesterday):

1. Do you think the news coverage of Col. Russell Williams' sentencing was too sensational? Do you think the court was right to release so much information and that the Canadian press were right to publish it all, or do you think that there is such a thing as too much information, and that there are some details we really don’t need to know?
2. How did the Canadian and American coverage of the Russell Williams case differ? Use the Dateline episode "Conduct Unbecoming", the 48 Hours episode "Name, Rank & Serial Killer?" as well as the Fifth Estate episode "Above Suspicion" as your sources of information.
3. Why did the Rob Ford story garner so much attention in Canada and the United States? Was too much information revealed about Rob Ford's problems? Given the different socio-economic backgrounds of Williams and Ford and the different crimes they committed was the Ford case more media worthy than Williams? Why?

A Block Social Studies 10 - Today we'll start taking a look at your family history assignment. Your task is to research your family history, which includes learning how to conduct academic research, making critical evaluations regarding sources, and managing information. Please remember that I want you to focus on the context of history - did your ancestor fight in the war of 1812? What was life like for farmers during early settlement of the west? Why do you have American relatives? Use the primary documents and stories you find to uncover what daily life might have been like for your relatives. You have the assignment sheet and what should you research?

1. Start with you. Collect documents, facts, vital statistics, and stories about you. This can be done by checking your birth certificate, tracking down old report cards, or interviewing family members.
2. Then move one generation up to include your parents, step-parents, adoptive parents, etc. Collect information and stories from them. Gather the basics of birth, full name, places born / lived, dates of graduation, marriage, divorce, remarriage, etc. Set time aside to interview them or tell stories over dinner.
3. Has anyone in your family already started researching your family tree? Might you borrow some of their documents and research? Sure…but you also need to help by finding new and different things for them.
4. Some work can be done through interviews, but you also need to use proper historical research techniques and track down primary documents.
5. Most people in Canada can find a few generations worth of information quite easily. Keep going backwards, following whatever leads you have to collect as much info as you possibly can. Consider yourself as History’s detective…solve the puzzle.
6. Focus on the context of history- did your ancestor fight in the war of 1812? What was life like for farmers during early settlement of the west? Why do you have American relatives? Use the primary documents and stories you find to uncover what daily life might have been like.

Links to help with research...
Government of Canada Geneaology Site
American National Archives
Pier 21 Immigration Museum Research Canada
Ellis Island - U.S. Immigration
Climbing Your Family Tree
Family Search
BC Department of Vital Statistics
Ancestry
Family Echo
Geni
Roots Magic (download program for home use - check with parents)
My Heritage