History TeacherHistory 54: The Twentieth Century World
Course Outline 2005-2006:
Welcome to the History of the Twentieth Century. We will be covering the major events of the past century. We will be looking at events as far reaching as the two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the rise of atomic and nuclear power, and as seemingly insignificant as "Rock 'n Roll" and the X-Files.
This course is subtitled, “A Walk through the Twentieth Century.” It is hoped that as the students stroll through the events of this century, the relevance of those events to them and their families will become evident.
While the teacher will serve as the basic textbook and resource person, students are encouraged to seek out sources, be they print materials, videos, web sites, which can aid them in their journey through the past 100 years.
Course Outline:
The Turn of the Century World c. 1900
World War One and the Treaty of Versailles
The World between the Wars: 1920's-1930's
The Great Depression 1929-1939
Important People: F. Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Stalin
World War Two: 1939-45
The Cold War: 1945-91
Social History of the 1950's
The rise of Pop Culture 1950's -1970's
Issues of the later 20th Century
Evaluation: There will be no formal exams, nor will there be any class tests, unless the class would prefer the latter. Evaluation will be based on assignments. There will be eight assignments, about one each month from the end of September to the end of May. For some assignments there will be a series of possible questions/topics, a pre-submission date, and a due date. Students will have between two and three weeks to complete assignments. Do not fall behind. Learn to plan your time wisely. CEGEP profs wait for no man. [or woman]. Due Dates have been posted to the web site.
Questions/Topics: Usually between four and eight choices, related to causes, results, significance of topics discussed in class. Students will be expected to write, [computer print] 3-5 pages on one from the list. Should a student have a different idea for a topic, she may suggest it.
Pre-Submission: Up to about a week before the due date, students may pre-submit an assignment for teacher correction and suggestion, to ensure that the final draft is a good as possible. These may be emailed to the teacher as part of the email, NOT as an attachment.
Final Draft/Due Date: Assignments should be handed in on time. Late assignments will be penalized. Very late assignments will not be accepted. Should a final draft not be up to standards, it will be returned without a mark, to be done again, with another individual due date set. These MUST be printed out and handed to the teacher. They may NOT be emailed!
Marks: Your history mark is a living breathing entity. It will fluctuate in direct proportion to your skills. By the end of the year, it will reflect, as accurately as possible, the true value of your effort throughout this school year.
The better assignments will be posted to the LaurenHill History Society page found at:
http://www.emsb.qc.ca/laurenhill/history
This is an excellent place to start to get an idea what a really good assignment should look like.
Doing Assignments: It is not enough to rely solely on the text book for the assignments. Students are expected to seek out sufficient background information in various libraries and on the World Wide Web. Naturally, sources of such material must be noted. A separate memo regarding notation form will be given.
Two Set Assignments:
1. The Family Tree: Students are to begin immediately researching their family trees as far back as 1900. This family tree is to be accompanied by a time line of the major events which affected the family. This will aid in giving perspective to events of the 20th century. This is due by the end of September.
2. The Last Assignment: Due during the month of May, this assignment may be handed in at any time in place of that month’s assignment. The topic is Change or Constant. What do you feel is the greatest change which has taken place during this century? It could be an invention, a far reaching event, and significant person, and idea, etc. Or, what has been this century’s greatest constant? What influence, type of event, way of thinking, has remained the same, for good or for bad, throughout this century. While it is much too early to write this one, it is never too early to start thinking about it.
Students are encouraged to make any of their assignments Cross-Curricular. Topics may be done in conjunction with another one of your teachers in another subject area. Certain topics each month will lend themselves to a cross curricular approach. A novel of historical fiction dealing with World War I could be dealt with from a historical viewpoint for history and from literary one for English. An important scientist could be researched for science, and the historical importance of his contributions would be suitable for history.
Students are encouraged to keep an open dialogue with their history teacher. If you have a suggestion, idea, a topic you wish to be covered, a creative way of approaching an assignment, do not hesitate to ask. His door is always open.
J. Hackett
http://home.ca.inter.net/~jersey
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