Friday, October 30, 2009

October 30


We continued our look at the Cold War today by watching a couple of short videos from the BBC 20th Century History series: "The Road to Berlin" which dealt with the end of WWII and "Cold War Confrontation" which covered some early tensions between the superpowers, namely the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War. We'll continue looking at the Korean War on Monday. I also gave you a rough outline of the remainder of Unit 2 that we need to cover, it's a lot of material and we'll have to work hard to get through it! To that end, your Cold War Key Events booklet is due on Monday and your Chapter 7 Key Terms are due on Tuesday.If you didn't check out the WWII Behind Closed Doors website yesterday, take some time this weekend to check it out, please check yesterday's post for the links.


We continued debating the "Dilemmas of Global Trade" today, which took up more than half of the period. Your Chapter 10 Questions are due on Monday, November 2nd. You have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Monday as well, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).

Thursday, October 29, 2009

October 29


I gave you a handout today called "Dilemmas of Global Trade" that presented you with seven different scenarios, that you were to respond to, and start thinking of arguments and evidence to support your position on the issue. This is the beginning stage of positional-thinking that you will need to develop over the next three years to have success on your Diploma Exam. We'll talk about another scenario tomorrow (we'll vote again on what you want to discuss). Social 10-4 talked about and debated the merits of requiring countries like Thailand, Pakistan, India and Malaysia to put TEDs on shrimp fishing nets whereas Social 10-3 debated the issues surrounding genetically modified foods and informing consumers if the food products they are purchasing genetically modified. If you like discussing controversial issues such as this, you might want to go the Science Cafe that is happening after school tomorrow. The topic centers around evolution and intelligent design.
Please remember that you have your Unit 2 Final Exam on Monday, November 2nd, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).


I gave you back the results of your Chapter 5 Test today. The class average again was outstanding, for a test that I know is not easy. We started our examination of the Cold War today. I hope that you read Chapter 7 prior to today's class. If you haven't read it yet, please do so tonight. I delivered a PowerPoint presentation today called "The Origins of the Cold War", which I have already sent to you. I also sent today's other handouts by e-mail as well, make sure you read these handouts. I know that I gave them out at the end of the period, but they are important. The handout that covers the WWII conferences and agreements is especially valuable in my opinion. I would like you to go to the World War II Behind Closed Doors website tonight, and read the sections on the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference. This is an excellent site, with tons of information, maps, video clips, timelines and archival footage and re-enactments as well. You do need to really make sure that you understand the Yalta Agreements and the Potsdam Declaration (among other things) and this is a great site to do this. Episode 3 is the one that contains most of the information that you would need to read and watch. There's a great little video clip on this website called "Stalin's Distrust of the West" that might help you see WWII from the Soviet perspective and why the Soviets might wish to extend control over Eastern Europe and be so distrustful of their wartime allies. You can find this video clip in Episode 3 (Dividing the World), scroll down and click on the video clip on the right called "Stalin's Distrust of the West". It's a short little clip, but you'll get the idea. We'll continue our look at the Cold War tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

October 28


You wrote your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I, which took most of the period. I will be doing a homework check tomorrow to see if you printed off your "Foundations of Economic Globalization" PowerPoint presentations (4-6 slides per page). Please keep in mind that I have two classes of Social 10-1 this semester, and it will take me approximately 10-11 hours to mark your three source analysis papers. So please, don't ask me first tomorrow, "have you finished marking our 3 source analysis papers?" Please study for your Unit 2 Final Exam, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).


You wrote your Chapter 5 Test today, which took the whole period. You'll get the results back tomorrow. As always, I was very impressed with the results. Some of you set personal best results on this test. I also gave you back the results of your Nazi Germany Quiz that you wrote yesterday (also outstanding results). It would be a very good idea to read Chapter 7 tonight in your textbook because I will be starting the Cold War era tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

October 27


I went through a PowerPoint presentation on the "Techniques of Dictatorship", which also looked propaganda techniques used in the Third Reich. In all likelihood, I won't be sending this presentation to you. I will, however be sending you some information on the White Rose student group and the obituary of Leni Riefenstahl. We watched a short excerpt from the German propaganda film "Triumph of the Will". You also wrote your Nazi Germany Quiz today. Please remember that you have your Chapter 5 Test tomorrow, please see the study guide here. If you are really interested in watching the rest of "Triumph of the Will", you find it pretty easily on YouTube.



I finished the PowerPoint presentation called "The Foundations of Economic Globalization", and I have already sent it to you, so please check your e-mail. Please print off the presentation (4-6 slides per page), I will do a homework check on this tomorrow. Please study for your Unit 2 Final Exam (which is on Monday, November 2nd), in doing so, you will be preparing for your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I (which is tomorrow). Please see the study guide for the Unit 2 Final Exam here.

Monday, October 26, 2009

October 26


I decided to finish off a lot of Chapter 5 material today by delivering the remainder of the "20th Century Rejections of Liberalism" PowerPoint presentation. I have sent this presentation to your e-mail accounts, so please print it off (4-6 slides per page). I will do a homework check on this on Thursday, since we will be busy for the next couple of days. Tomorrow we'll revisit the techniques of dictatorship and specifically we'll look at propaganda and indoctrination in Nazi Germany and the USSR. We'll also watch a short excerpt of "Triumph of the Will" tomorrow, and you'll write a matching quiz on Nazi Germany (39 key terms, please see the study guide here). See what I mean? We're going to be busy! On Wednesday, you will be writing your Chapter 5 Test, please see the study guide here.


Today, I started a PowerPoint presentation called "The Foundations of Economic Globalization" which I will finish tomorrow. If you chose to not read Chapter 10 in advance (like I recommended), you have a lot of work to do tonight. I have assigned your Chapter 10 Key Terms for homework for tomorrow. If you didn't to the reading, you obviously have to do that tonight as well. I gave back your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions today as well. Please note the upcoming important dates below:

  • Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I (3 source analysis) is on Wednesday, October 28th
  • Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, November 2nd (please see the study guide below)


This final exam is entirely multiple choice format. There are 57 multiple choice questions. This Unit 2 Final Exam will be on Monday, November 2nd. Please make sure that you study your key terms from Unit 2 (Chapters 6-9), as well as the three PowerPoint presentations from this unit:

  • "Historical Globalization and Imperialism"
  • "Legacies of Historical Globalization"
  • "Legacies of Historical Globalization in Canada"


Key Concepts from Unit 2:

  • world views
  • historical globalization
  • cultural contact
  • depopulation
  • the Silk Road
  • international trade
  • mercantilism
  • capitalism
  • free market
  • entrepreneurs
  • Adam Smith
  • exploitation
  • communism
  • industrialization
  • Industrial Revolution
  • cottage industries
  • imperialism
  • "new" imperialism
  • "old" imperialism
  • colony
  • protectorate
  • sphere of influence
  • paternalistic
  • Confederation
  • residential schools
  • the Oka crisis
  • First Nations Policing Policy
  • legacy
  • ethnocentrism
  • Eurocentrism
  • Scramble for Africa
  • Leopold II
  • migration
  • displacement
  • British East India Company
  • Queen Elizabeth I
  • the Raj
  • Mohandas Gandhi
  • swadeshi
  • deindustrialization
  • colonization
  • the Hundred Associates
  • Hudson’s Bay Company
  • Rupert’s Land
  • North West Company
  • Seven Years’ War
  • Proclamation of 1763
  • Quebec Act of 1774
  • the Numbered Treaties
  • the Indian Act
  • Status Indian
  • Non-Status Indian
  • multiculturalism
  • specific claims
  • comprehensive claims

Friday, October 23, 2009

October 23


I did a homework check on your Chapter 5 Questions. I gave you the class period to work on a booklet that covers the core fascist values, conditions in the Weimar Republic that were exploited by Hitler, Hitler's steps to dictatorial power (January 1933-August 1934), and the techniques of dictatorship used in Nazi Germany and the USSR. This booklet is due on Monday, October 26th. I will give a pop quiz next week (either on Monday or Tuesday) on key people, key events, key groups associated with Nazi Germany (please see the study guide below). It's a short matching quiz. The only reason why I'm telling you about this "pop" quiz in advance is so you won't be freaking out when I give it to you. On Wednesday, October 28th, you'll have your Chapter 5 Test. Please see the study guide for this test below. I'll be starting the Cold War (Chapter 7 material) on Thursday of next week.



This quiz is a short matching quiz, with a word bank. What you'll have is a list of key people, key terms and key events associated with Nazi Germany (this is your word bank) and then you'll have a description that you'll have to match it up with. Here's a list of possible key terms that you might see on this quiz

  • anti-Semitism
  • Aryan
  • concentration camp
  • corporate state
  • Dachau
  • decree
  • deportation
  • dissent
  • elite
  • Enabling Act
  • ethnic
  • Fuehrer
  • Gestapo
  • Hitler
  • Holocaust
  • indoctrination
  • inequality
  • inflation
  • judicial
  • jugend
  • Mein Kampf
  • Kristallnacht
  • nationalism
  • Nazi
  • Niemoller
  • Nuremberg
  • passive
  • plebiscites
  • pogrom
  • prinzip
  • Reichstag
  • Ruhr
  • SA
  • SS
  • state
  • swastika
  • War Guilt Clause
  • White Rose



The Chapter 5 Test will be on Wednesday, October 28th. It is a 70 multiple choice question test. Since we're writing this test on Wednesday, you'll have 85 minutes to write it.


Please review the following:



  • "20th Century Rejections of Liberalism" (ppt): I will be finishing this off on Tuesday
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Soviet Economy notes
  • Soviet Economic System notes
  • Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin notes
  • Gorbachev to Collapse notes
  • Economic Planning in the USSR booklet
  • Characteristics of Democracy
  • Characteristics of Dictatorship
  • Democratic Systems notes
  • Non-Democratic Systems notes
  • Types of Dictatorships notes (includes Techniques of Dictatorships as well)
  • A Comparison of Communism and Fascism notes
  • Totalitarianism notes
  • Fascism/Nazism booklet (has techniques of dictatorship in Nazi Germany and USSR; I gave this booklet to you on Friday, October 23rd)
  • do a brief review of the political and economic spectrums

The following key concepts/key events/key people are mentioned in this test, if you (re-)familiarize yourself with them it will help you out immensely!



  • centrally planned economies
  • initiative
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • Reaganomics
  • consumer sovereignty
  • invisible hand
  • Keynesian economics
  • laissez faire economics
  • War Communism
  • Five Year Plans
  • mixed economies
  • indicative planning
  • proportional representation
  • democracy
  • dictatorship
  • political spectrum (characteristics associated with the various ideologies)
  • status quo
  • egalitarianism
  • conservative
  • reactionary
  • liberal
  • radical
  • SA
  • Hitler
  • Bolshevik
  • fascism
  • communism
  • indoctrination
  • controlled participation
  • terror and force
  • direction of popular discontent
  • democratic socialists
  • supply-side economics
  • authoritarian
  • tyrant
  • totalitarian
  • totalitarianism
  • ultranationalism
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • propaganda
  • progressive taxation
  • Marx
  • Lenin
  • utopian socialism
  • Gorbachev
  • martial law
  • Reichstag (Reichstag Fire, Reichstag election results)
  • referendum
  • collectivization
  • modernization
  • classical liberal
  • laissez faire free market economy
  • mixed economy
  • planned economy
  • (review your economic political quadrant model)
  • Das Kapital
  • Mein Kampf
  • The Wealth of Nations


I showed a video today from the CBC News in Review that covered Canada's Residential School Apology. I also gave you a handout with a few articles on the residential school apology and the actual apology of the Canadian government. You were to hand in your Imperialism Research Projects today. I gave you back the results of your Chapter 7 Test today. Please have a look at the upcoming important dates below:

  • Unit 2 WRA I (3 source analysis) is on Wednesday, October 28th
  • Unit 2 Final Exam is on Monday, November 2nd (see study guide below)


This final exam is entirely multiple choice format. There are 57 multiple choice questions. This Unit 2 Final Exam will be on Monday, November 2nd. Please make sure that you study your key terms from Unit 2 (Chapters 6-9), as well as the three PowerPoint presentations from this unit:

  • "Historical Globalization and Imperialism"
  • "Legacies of Historical Globalization"
  • "Legacies of Historical Globalization in Canada"


Key Concepts from Unit 2:

  • world views
  • historical globalization
  • cultural contact
  • depopulation
  • the Silk Road
  • international trade
  • mercantilism
  • capitalism
  • free market
  • entrepreneurs
  • Adam Smith
  • exploitation
  • communism
  • industrialization
  • Industrial Revolution
  • cottage industries
  • imperialism
  • "new" imperialism
  • "old" imperialism
  • colony
  • protectorate
  • sphere of influence
  • paternalistic
  • Confederation
  • residential schools
  • the Oka crisis
  • First Nations Policing Policy
  • legacy
  • ethnocentrism
  • Eurocentrism
  • Scramble for Africa
  • Leopold II
  • migration
  • displacement
  • British East India Company
  • Queen Elizabeth I
  • the Raj
  • Mohandas Gandhi
  • swadeshi
  • deindustrialization
  • colonization
  • the Hundred Associates
  • Hudson’s Bay Company
  • Rupert’s Land
  • North West Company
  • Seven Years’ War
  • Proclamation of 1763
  • Quebec Act of 1774
  • the Numbered Treaties
  • the Indian Act
  • Status Indian
  • Non-Status Indian
  • multiculturalism
  • specific claims
  • comprehensive claims

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

October 21


We finished watching "Where the Spirit Lives" today. I also went through a PowerPoint presentation which should help you to avoid plagiarism in your Imperialism Research Projects. I have sent this presentation to you already. Your Imperialism Research Projects are due on Friday, October 23rd. It would be best to burn your project to a CD and hand that in on Friday. It would be best if you DIDN'T send the project by e-mail since my CBE e-mail account has less memory than your own CBE mail accounts.

I gave you interim report cards as well today. You don't have classes tomorrow because of Parent Teacher Interviews (1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).


I gave you some notes today on totalitarianism (key features of totalitarianism) and notes that outline the unique features of communism and fascism and differences between these two ideologies. We then watched part of a A & E Biography of Adolf Hitler called "The Fatal Attraction of Adolf Hitler". During this video you were to take notes.
I gave you interim report cards as well today. You don't have classes tomorrow because of Parent Teacher Interviews (1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.).

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

October 20


I gave you back the results of your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I today. This will appear on your interim report cards that go home tomorrow. I went through the "Democratic Systems" notes today. I gave you another couple of handouts today as well, "Non-Democratic Systems" notes and "Types of Dictatorships" notes. Please make sure that you have read over these notes, highlighted them and made annotations to yourself on them. Your Chapter 5 Questions are due on Friday.


We started a film study of "Where the Spirit Lives" in class today, which we will finish tomorrow. Please remember that your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions will be due tomorrow.

Monday, October 19, 2009

October 19


You wrote your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I today in class. You'll get the results back tomorrow. Please read over the Democratic Systems notes that I gave you today, and check your e-mail later tonight because I will be re-sending the Characteristics of Democracy notes.


You wrote your Chapter 7 Test today, which took most of the period. Please make sure that you have read Chapter 9 prior to tomorrow's class. Your Chapter 9 Key Terms and Questions are due Wednesday, and your Imperialism Research Project is due on Friday.

Friday, October 16, 2009

October 16


I went over how to write a Written Response Assignment I today using a PowerPoint presentation called "Preparing for the Written Response Assignment I" (see picture below). I will be sending the PowerPoint that I used to deliver this information to your e-mail accounts this afternoon. Please check your e-mail and print this presentation off. I will also send you the rubric, and if at all possible a sample WRA I. You will be writing your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment I on Monday, in the classroom. The topic/theme of this Written Response Assignment I will be from material that we have covered in Unit 2 thus far.


We finished watching "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" today and you wrote a short quiz based on the film. I also reminded you that you had your Chapter 7 Test on Monday, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it). Your Imperialism Research Projects are due on Friday, October 23rd.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

October 15


We continued watching "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" today. We'll finish the film tomorrow, and write a short quiz on the film. Please remember that you have your Chapter 7 Test on Monday, October 19th. Please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it).




You wrote your Economic Systems Exam today. It took most of the period. I'll be reviewing how to write a Written Response Assignment I (three source analysis) tomorrow in class. On Monday, you will write an in-class Written Response Assignment I, which is based on material covered thus far in Unit 2. Please remember that you will have another in-class position paper later on in Unit 2 (date TBA).

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

October 14


We started a film study of "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee", which we may finish tomorrow, but in all likelihood, we'll finish on Friday. We're watching this film to see how the American government dealt with one particular group of American Indians, in this case the Sioux. You do have a couple of homework assignments tonight: please complete the Chapter 8 Key Terms and Questions from your Unit 2 Worksheet, and please print off the "Legacies of Historical Globalization in Canada" PowerPoint presentation (4-6 slides per page). You have your Chapter 7 Test on Monday, October 19th, please see the study here (scroll down to find it). Don't forget to get some work done on your Imperialism Research Project as well (this is due on Friday, October 23rd). Please check your e-mail for instructions on how to access the Gale e-books that are available in our school library (in library, reference only) and online (anytime). These e-books are an excellent source of information, particularly for this project.


I went through a very quick PowerPoint presentation on economic models explained by cows at the beginning of class. I then wrote out some quick notes on the board of the Soviet leaders from Lenin to Gorbachev and what concepts you should associate with each of them. I gave you some readings today, including "Gorbachev to Collapse" and "Economic Planning in the USSR" (the questions in this booklet are due tomorrow), as well as a short reading booklet on Gorbachev's economic reforms (perestroika) and Deng Xiao Ping's economic reforms ("four modernizations" and "building socialism with Chinese characteristics"), which constitute examples of market socialism. As always, there was a list of advantages and disadvantages of market socialism, when a command economy moves towards a mixed economy, and introduces these economic reforms. Please remember that you have your Economic Systems Exam tomorrow, please see the study guide here (scroll down to find it, it's long, so copy and paste it into MS Word, and print it off). I gave you back the results of your Market Economy and Mixed Economy Test today, and there were some outstanding results. Don't get overconfident, no one got 100% on that test, so there's always room for improvement. Make sure that you have a strong grasp of all of the economic systems that we've looked at.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

October 8


I went through a PowerPoint presentation today called "The Legacies of Historical Globalization in Canada". I will be sending this presentation to you by e-mail, so please make sure that you print it off (4-6 slides per page) and add it to your notes. I also did a homework check to see if you printed off your "Legacies of Historical Globalization" PowerPoint presentations. You don't have school until Wednesday, so I would use this time to work on your Imperialism Research Projects. Don't feel the need to jump into building a PowerPoint presentation or a Prezi right away, you should use this time to get the research completed. I really urge you to use some online collaborative tools, such as Google Docs, so you don't have to meet face-to-face with your partner (if you have a partner) if you have a busy weekend planned. You will have your Chapter 7 Test on Monday, October 19th. I am posting the study guide for this test, please use this study guide (I recommend copying it and pasting it into a Word document) to focus your review efforts.

This quiz will have three sections: a matching section, a multiple choice section, and a short answer section.
1. Key Terms for Chapter 7 Quiz:

  • historical globalization
  • the Silk Road
  • international trade
  • the Columbian exchange (the grand exchange)
  • mercantilism
  • capitalism
  • free market
  • Adam Smith
  • entrepreneur
  • communism
  • industrialization
  • the Industrial Revolution
  • cottage system
  • physiocrats
  • exploitation
  • imperialism
  • Eurocentrism
  • ethnocentrism
  • European imperialism
  • "old" imperialism
  • "new" imperialism
  • colony
  • protectorate
  • sphere of influence

2. Study the Questions for Inquiry from Chapter 7 (be able to answer these questions using case studies and examples that we have covered in class):

  • What were the beginnings of global trading networks?
  • What values are associated with capitalism?
  • Whose values did industrialization effect?
  • Why did England industrialize before other European powers?
  • What were some of the effects of the Industrial Revolution?
  • In what ways did imperialism benefit one people over another?


You wrote your Market Economy and Mixed Economy Exam today. After you finished this exam you were to pick up the handout called "Changes to the Soviet System After Stalin", this will help bridge the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev. We'll be looking at political and economic reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev on Wednesday of next week, and then next Thursday (October 15th), you'll have an exam that covers all of the economic systems, please see the study guide below for this test.

This is a comprehensive exam that covers all of the major economic systems: market economy, mixed economy, and command economy. It is 70 multiple choice questions. This exam will be administered on Thursday, October 15th.

  • Chapters 3-6 in Perspectives on Ideology
  • study the applicable PowerPoint presentations that I have sent you for Unit 2
  • In Chapter 5, just focus on the Soviet Union, and left-wing of economic spectrum (command economy), we haven't covered aspects of dictatorships or Nazism yet (the techniques of dictatorship and fascism will be on a Chapter 5 Test)
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada), #16 (Japan), #17 (Fascism and Nazism)
  • also see the Democratic Socialism booklet on Sweden (indicative planning, "cradle to the grave" economics)
  • characteristics of a mixed economy
  • nationalization
  • privatization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession (remember "the percolator": increase circulation of money reducing taxes, increase government spending on "make work" projects, and reduce interest rates, which according to Keynesian economics is going increase demand for goods and services and lead to more money circulating in the economy)
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession (remember "trickle down coffee maker": government should stimulate the goods and services sector of the economy by reducing corporate and personal taxes, eventually benefits will "trickle down" to the middle class and working class, make connections between supply-side economics and laissez faire economics/classical liberalism)
  • advantages and disadvantages of a mixed economy
  • neo-conservative criticism of government intervention
  • characteristics of a centrally planned economy
  • advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy
  • Marx notes (sent by e-mail)
  • Lenin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • establishment of the Soviet Union
  • Soviet economic system (top-down decision-making process)
  • Lenin's War Communism and the New Economic Policy
  • "Stalin and the Modernization of Russia" (see film notes)
  • Stalin notes (sent by e-mail)
  • "Changes to Soviet Society After Stalin" notes (this bridges the gap between Stalin and Gorbachev)
  • Gorbachev to Collapse Notes (you'll get these notes on Wednesday, October 14th)
  • Economic Planning in the USSR (again, you'll get these notes on Wednesday, October 14th)

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

October 7


You spent today's class in the library doing research for your Imperialism Research Project. This project will be due on Friday, October 23rd. We'll talk about this project tomorrow. Please make sure that you have printed off the "Legacies of Historical Globalization" PowerPoint presentation for homework check marks tomorrow.


We watched a video called "Joseph Stalin: Red Terror" and completed a film study for part of today's class. I gave you some very detailed notes on the Soviet Economy and another handout with characteristics and advantages and disadvantages of the command economy. Tomorrow, I will be sending you some notes by e-mail which will detail the economic conditions in the USSR after Stalin, prior to the reforms introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev. Tomorrow you have your Market Economy and Mixed Economy Exam, please see the study guide here. You don't have school on Friday, Monday or Tuesday. Next week, on Wednesday, we'll be looking at the political and economic reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev. Next Thursday, you will have an exam on economic systems next Thursday, October 15th. I will post the study guide for this exam tomorrow on the blog.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

October 6


I started a PowerPoint presentation today called "20th Century Rejections of Liberalism", in which I emphasized the radical and reactionary ideologies that rejected liberalism in the 20th century: communism and fascism. I will be focusing on communism for the next few days, and the economic systems that was was associated with the former USSR. I gave you some handouts as well today that covered the command economy. I have sent you today's handouts to your e-mail accounts as well. I did a homework check on your Chapter 5 Key Terms today as well. Please remember that you should be studying for your Market Economy and Mixed Economy Exam, which is on Thursday. It's 70 multiple choice questions, and it's difficult! That's why I haven't assigned any homework tonight, my expectation is that you are reviewing for this exam. Please see the study guide here.


We finished watching "Tools of Exploitation" today, and we also finished the "Legacies of Historical Globalization" PowerPoint presentation. I will send this presentation to you by e-mail this afternoon. We also drew lots and picked countries for our Imperialism Research Project. We will be in the library tomorrow, so please go directly there instead of coming to the classroom. You will only get one class period for research, you will have to work on the project outside of class time.

Monday, October 05, 2009

October 5


I did a quick review (and notes on the board) of differences between supply-side economics and demand-side economics. I then gave you some background information on Russian-Soviet History (notes on the board), these notes will connect to some notes that I have sent to you today. Please check your e-mail for notes on Marx, Lenin, and Stalin. I also gave you a handout that covered the different strands of socialism: Utopian socialism, democratic socialism (which we have already looked at) and scientific socialism (also known as revolutionary socialism, or more commonly as communism, if you remember back to our economic-political grid, you'll remember that it was called dictatorial socialism as well). I also showed you a video today which looked at "Stalin and Modernization of the USSR", this video is from the BBC 20th Century History series. As you watched this video, you were to take some notes. We'll be looking at the economic system in the former Soviet Union, as this will be material that will appear on your Economic Systems Exam, this exam will be next week, on Thursday, October 15th. You have an exam this week, on Thursday, and it will cover the Market Economy and the Mixed Economy. This exam is 70 multiple choice questions, and you must do some review this week to be ready for it. Please see the study guide here. You do have some homework tonight, please read Chapter 5 and complete the Chapter 5 Key Terms (you don't have to worry about the Chapter 5 Questions yet). I also did a homework check today to see if you printed off the PowerPoint presentation called "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism".


I did a couple of homework checks, one of the homework checks was to see if you printed off the "Historical Globalization and Imperialism" PowerPoint presentation from last week. I also did a homework check on your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions. I started another PowerPoint presentation/lecture today on the "Legacies of Historical Globalization". I will finish this presentation tomorrow. We also started a video today, that we will finish up tomorrow called "Tools of Exploitation".

Friday, October 02, 2009

October 2


You wrote your "Ideological Reaction to Industrialization Test" today, which corresponds to material in Chapter 3 and part of Chapter 4. I also did a homework check on Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions today as well. Next Thursday, you have a test on Market Economy and Mixed Economy (covering material from Chapters 3-4 and Chapter 6). Please see the study guide below.

  • Chapters 3-4 and Chapter 6 in Perspectives on Ideology
  • please see the summary notes from the Ideologies textbook: Chapter 7 (Private Enterprise)
  • supply-side economics
  • boom and bust cycle/business cycle
  • laws of supply and demand, Adam Smith, invisible hand, market forces
    self-interest, consumer sovereignty, competition, private ownership, profit motive
  • basic economic problems/questions
  • advantages/disadvantages of the market economy
  • causes of the Great Depression
  • FDR and the New Deal
  • please see summary notes from the Ideologies textbook on the Mixed Economy Case Studies #14 (Sweden) and #15 (Canada)
  • nationalization
  • democratic socialism
  • welfare capitalism
  • Keynesian economics
  • the business cycle and fiscal and monetary policies (study all of the notes I gave you and the booklet that I gave you)
  • demand-side economics
  • neo-conservatives
  • monetarism
  • trickle down economics
  • supply-side economics
  • Thatcherism and Reaganomics
  • Milton Friedman
  • Friedrich Hayek
  • how Keynesian economics deals with a recession
  • how supply-side economics deals with a recession



I gave you results back for your Unit 1 Written Response Assignment I and your Unit 1 Final Exam. I also did a PowerPoint presentation called "Historical Globalization and Imperialism". This presentation corresponds to Chapter 7 in your textbook, with some supplementary material. I have sent this PowerPoint presentation to you already, please print it off (4-6 slides per page) and add it to your notes. I will be doing a homework check on this on Monday. As well, your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions are due on Monday. Please see the instructions below if you're not sure how to print off a PowerPoint presentation.




When I send you presentations, here is what I recommend that you do: keep an electronic copy of the presentation, preferably in an appropriately named folder. Next you'll need to print it off. I recommend that you print off 4 slides per page. Here's how you do it. Open the presentation up in PowerPoint, then go under File and select Print. Then set things up like the picture below:

Thursday, October 01, 2009

October 1


You wrote your Unit 1 Final Exam today, which took some of you most of the class period. Your Chapter 6 Key Terms and Questions are due tomorrow. Your Chapter 7 Key Terms and Questions will be due on Monday, October 5th.



I delivered a PowerPoint presentation today that hit on the second half of Chapter 4 (Keynesian economics, which we've already talked about), and the important material in Chapter 6. This presentation was called "The Evolution of Modern Liberalism", and I have already set it to you, so please check your e-mail. Print this PowerPoint presentation off, add it to your notes. I will do a homework check on this on Monday. Please remember that you have your "Ideological Reaction to Industrialization Test" tomorrow. It's 55 multiple choice questions and it covers material in Chapter 3 and the first half of Chapter 4. Please see the study guide here.