Social Studies 20-1: Course Outline (Sem.)

Program Rationale and Philosophy

The Alberta Social Studies 20-1 curriculum is titled “Perspectives on Nationalism”. Exploring the complexities of nationalism will contribute to an understanding and appreciation of the interrelationships among nation, nationalism, internationalism, globalization, and citizenship and identity. Developing understandings of the various points of view associated with nationalism as well as an appreciation for the perspectives of others will encourage students to develop personal and civic responses to emergent issues related to nationalism.

Overview

Students will explore the complexities of nationalism in Canadian and international contexts. They will study the origins of nationalism and the influence of nationalism on regional, international and global relations. The infusion of multiple perspectives will allow students to develop understandings of nationalism and how nationalism contributes to the citizenship and identities of peoples in Canada.

Learning Resources

The primary textbook for this course isExploring Nationalism(Gardner, Hoogevenn, McDevitt & Scully, 2007). Supplementary resources such as curriculum-related audio-visual materials, articles from noted newspapers and magazines, and educational internet sites will also be accessed to enhance the program.

Key Issue & Related Issues:

The single key issue that defines the Social Studies 20-1 program is:

To What Extent Should We Embrace Nationalism?

To more deeply address this key issue, the following related issue questions will be examined to help students explore, analyze, and evaluate topics that arise and are related to the overarching issue question.

Related Issues
  1. To what extent should nation be the foundations of identity?

  1. To what extent should national interest be pursued?

  1. To what extent should internationalism be pursued?

4. To what extent should individuals and groups in Canada embrace a national identity?

Skills & Processes

The following skills are interrelated and students will continue to develop them in Social Studies 20-1:

  1. Dimensions of Thinking
  • Critical and Creative Thinking: evaluate ideas and information from multiple sources
  • Historical Thinking: Analyze mulitiple historical and contemporary perspectives within and across cultures
  • Geographic Thinking: Analyze the impact of physical and human geography on history
  • Decision-making and Problem-Solving: Demonstrate leadership in groups to achieve consensus, solve problems, formulate positions, and take action, if appropriate, on important issues
  1. Social Participation as a Democratic Process
  • Cooperation, Conflict Resolution, and Consensus-building: Demonstrate leadership by initiating and employing various strategies to resolve conflicts peacefully and equitably
  • Age-appropriate behaviour for Social Involvement: Demonstrate leadership by engaging in actions that enhance personal and community well-being
  1. Research for Deliberative Inquiry
  • Research and Information: Develop, express, and defend an informed position on an issue
  1. Communication
  • Oral, Visual, and Textual Literacy: Communicate effectively to express a point of view in a variety of situations
  • Media Literacy: Assess the authority, reliability, and validity of electronically accessed information

Assessment and Evaluation

The purpose of Course Work is to diagnose the learning needs of students to achieve the required skill objectives, to provide feedback to students before and/or after completing an assignment, to assist students in improving their achievement in future assignments, and to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies and improve instruction.

Assignmentsmay include:

Written Work

Research Assignments

Debates/Seminar/Forums/Panels

Presentations

Role-Playing Simulations

Document Responses

The purpose of Unit Evaluations is to measure how well students have achieved in meeting the learning expectations of the Social Studies program of studies.

Unit Evaluations may include:

Exams (Multiple Choice and Written)

Quizzes

Unit Projects

Students will engage in a broad range of learning activities that will give them ample opportunities to participate in and develop critical and creative thinking skills. The tools used for assessment will require a demonstration of a student’s knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation abilities.

Social Studies 20-1 (Sem.)

Bins / Course Work
80% / Final Exam
20%
Groups /
Assignments-30% Unit Evaluations-70%