Tenth grade students begin their year looking at the history, organization and structure of the United Nations. They will also be expected to play a significant role in the school’s UN Day celebrations as part of their first major assessment task.
Unit: United Nations – In this unit students will examine the history and structure of the United Nations as well as the many challenges faced by the UN.
Significant Unit Assessment: Presentations, Oral & Visual (Individual): Students will complete a variety of presentation projects that incorporate both oral and visual components. These might be documentary films, slideshows, multimedia presentations, interactive oral presentations, dramatizations or some other form of dynamic presentation. Each presentation type will allow students the opportunity to develop an independent argument and conduct research to complete the work. All assigned research must adhere to the Research Guidelines. Oral and visual presentations, regardless of their subject matter, must be accompanied by a bibliography. General guidelines for all presentations in Grade 10 are:
- Appropriate eye-contact
- Proper posture and voice projection
- Clarity and accuracy of language (English mechanics and grammar)
- Must clearly communicate key words, main ideas, and simple conclusions
- Present opinions clearly and accurately
- Need to recognize and present an argument (not necessarily of their own)
- Handout and/or visual aids
- Rubric provided (to be used in conjunction with assessment criteria)
- Specified word count
- Written drafts, storyboards etc. (required)
- Specified graphic quality/detail
- Clearly established research parameters (see Research Guidelines)
- Need to recognize and present an argument (not necessarily of their own)
- Present arguments that are concise and well articulated, and that include some of their own thinking
- Bibliography in standard MLA format
Unit: Globalization– Students examine the effects of globalization in a variety of areas such as economics, geography and social structure
Significant Unit Assessments: Unit Exam– Students will take an internal examination that adheres to the following structure: Timed essay responding to sources (DBQ); response to two texts or visual sources to be analyzed and evaluated in a critical essay in response to a prompt within a time-limit; five paragraph essay putting forth an argument in response to a prompt within a time limit; two DBQs and one open prompt essay per 120-minute exam (MYP requirement); choice of three questions per essay. The unit exam should be prepared so that relevant assessment criteria are identified within sections.
Research Paper– Students will also write an essay assessment that adheres to the following structure:
- 1200 word research paper for external moderation
- Research question
- Thesis statements
- Outline
- Annotated bibliography
- Works cited page
- In-text citation
- Sources – both primary and secondary source materials
- Standard MLA format
- Topic arising from relevant history-based unit
*Use of different languages to explore primary source documents where possible
Unit: Personal Economics– Students will learn simple but practical tools for using money.
Significant Unit Assessment: See entry for the United Nations unit.
Unit: To be announced– Given the lengthy nature of the units and assessment tasks in Grade 10 there may be insufficient time within the academic year to complete a fourth discrete unit of work.
Geography Skills: Students in tenth grade should continue their geography skills by incorporating geographical data into their general work. Students should interpret and analyze maps and be able to:
- use an atlas
- use various types of maps: physical, political, topographic, thematic
- identify physical and cultural features on a map
- use the points of a compass to determine direction
- identify and interpret relief using shading, spot heights, color and contour lines
- construct a sketch map
- distinguish between different types of map projections
- Identify and use elements of maps, including legend, direction, title, scale, border
- Scale
- measure distances on a map using a linear scale
- identify scale as written, linear or representative fraction
- Grid references (locate features on a map using):
- latitude and longitude
- area and grid references
