Social Studies 11 Provincial Exam Preparation: Know What You Are Facing

1. Social Studies 11 Provincial Exam Preparation Ms. Underwood

2. Know What You Are Facing • This is an exam that students all over the province will write. • It looks different to class exams, so get familiar with the layout. The questions may also be worded a little differently to what you are used to. • We carefully follow the curriculum, so all parts of the course were covered – but one or two details may be unfamiliar and the emphasis may sometimes be a little different to the way it was in class. • Don’t worry. All students in the province will face these things – even those who had a teacher on the exam writing team.

3. Introduction to the Exam • The Social Studies provincial is made up of two major parts: • 55 marks from objective questions (mostly multiple choice, may include matching and true/false questions. • 24 marks from two essay questions (12 marks each, marked on a 6 point scale) • You will not be given a choice of topics!! • You are expected to answer both

4. How to Answer the Multiple Choice Questions • “The answer is right there in front of you!!”But be careful!! • As a general rule two of the possible answers should be quite close. • Only one of those will be the correct answer. • The other one is meant to see if you know the material well enough to select the correct response. • The other two possible choices are distracters that are meant to confuse you and make it harder to select the correct response

5. How to Answer the Multiple Choice Questions • If you don’t know the answer, the best thing to do is use a process of elimination. • By the process you should be able to cross off the two distracters. • If, by process of elimination, you have managed to get rid of the two distracters, you now have to choose between two possible answers. • You now have a 50/50 chance of getting it right.

6. Multiple Choice Example 1 • Who was the founder of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation? • J.S Woodsworth. • William Aberhart. • R.B. Bennett. • Tommy Douglas. 1st Leader of the CCF (1932) 7th Premier of Alberta (Social Credit Party) 11th PM of Canada. Conservative DISTRACTOR! 7th Premier of Sask., Leader of the CCF 1961-1971 You have a 50/50 chance now! DISTRACTOR!

7. How to Deal With Matching and True/False Questions • You will probably have to do two sets of matching questions on the exam. • Read through the lists very carefully before you attempt to answer the question. • Underline key words. • Make note of any dates/details you know of.

8. Matching Example 1 1911 - 1920 ‘68 – ‘79, ‘80 – ‘84 1930 - 1935 1948-1957 Step 1: Underline key words Step 2: Make notes of any dates or times Step 3: Eliminate all the responses you know are wrong 1935 - 1948 1963-1968

9. True and False Example 1 • A cause of the Great Depression in Canada was the over-production of manufactured goods. • True • False Step 1: Underline key words Step 2: Make your selection

10. Possible Essay Questions • Essay topics will come from the four themes as listed in the MOE SS11 exam specs. They are: • Autonomy and International Involvement • Politics and Government • Society and Identity • Human Geography

11. Autonomy and International Involvement • Study Topics: • Growth of Canadian Independence from 1914 to Present. • Evolution of Canada’s status as a middle power. • Canada’s role in WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. • Canada’s role in the UN Security Council, General Assembly, UN agencies, peacekeeping. • Canada’s role in wars since 1950. • Canada and human right’s issues, 1939 to present.

12. Autonomy and International Involvement • Possible essay questions: • Between 1914 and 1931, Canada moved from colonial status to independent nationhood. Evaluate the accuracy of this statement. • To what extent between 1939 and 1970 did Canada evolve from being an insignificant nation to a middle power?

13. Politics and Government • Study topics: • The legislative process, how laws are made. • Elections and the electoral process in Canada. • The citizens’ influence on public policy. • Impact of the Charter of Rights on Canadian Society.

14. Politics and Government • Possible essay questions: • Explain carefully how a bill becomes a law in the Canadian parliamentary system. • Describe how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has had an impact on Canadian society. • The Supreme Court of Canada has had a critical role in shaping Canadian society. Justify this statement.

15. Society and Identity • Study topics: • Canadian Immigration policies 1914-2000 • Social safety net • Treatment of minorities 1914-2000 • Treatment of aboriginals 1914-2000 • Regionalism in Canada • Canada’s cultural achievements • Causes, events, results of the Great Depression • Effects of economic cycles on the development of the labour movement in Canada • Quebec and its relationship to the rest of Canada 1914-2000

16. Society and Identity • Possible essay questions: • To what extent did Canada become a more tolerant society during the twentieth century? • Describe the evolution of Canada’s social safety net from the 1920s to the present, and assess its success. • Describe and analyze Canada’s immigration policy during the twentieth century.

17. Human Geography • Study topics: • Population issues – ways of responding • Standard of living in Canada compared to the rest of the world • Global warming • Poverty in the developing world and Canada’s response • Threats to water supply and Canada’s response.

18. Human Geography • Possible essay questions: • As the twenty-first century begins, population growth rates have stabilized around the world. Evaluate this statement. • Global warming is the most important environmental issue facing the world today. Evaluate this statement and describe Canada’s response to this issue. • Describe Canada’s and Canadians’ role in attempting to solve poverty problems in developing nations.

19. How to Deal With the Essay Questions • You must write on both essay topics. There will be no choice. • When you open the exam, have a brief look at the essay topics. • As you complete the rest of the exam you may pick up some ideas from the other questions that you might be able to use in the essay. • Do not write the essays before you have answered ALL the other questions on the exam.

20. How to Deal With the Essay Questions • Read each topic carefully and consider the command words that are used at the start of the question. • The exam will contain a blank Organization and Planning page. • Use this page to write down points and plan your response. • Take no more that 5-10 minutes to do this.

21. How to Deal With the Essay Questions • Make sure you allocate an appropriate amount of time for each essay. • Don’t spend too much time on one and then run out of time for the second. • Be sure to write good introductory and concluding paragraphs that introduce and summarize the topic you are presenting. • This will make your essay more interesting for the marker to read and increase your chances of a good mark.

22. Command Words

23. Essay Structure

24. SPERM-G

25. The 6 Point Scale

26. Additional Info • Visit the Ministry website for sample exams: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/ • Sites with good study sheets: • http://www.oakbay.sd61.bc.ca/staff/salexander/courses/socials-11/documents/canadian_american_relations.pdf • http://fcweb.sd36.bc.ca/~wildeman_j/provincialexamthemes.pdf GOOD LUCK!!! YOU’LL DO FINE!! 