Page 518 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies

Grade 11, Open
A1. Political Inquiry: use the political inquiry process and the concepts of political thinking when investigating issues of political importance in various communities and ways to address them;
A2. Developing Transferable Skills: apply in everyday contexts skills developed through investigations related to politics, and identify some careers in which a background in political studies might be an asset.
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | Canadian and World Studies
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS Throughout this course, students will:
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
A1. Political Inquiry
Throughout this course, students will:
A1.1 formulate different types of questions to guide investigations into issues of political importance in various communities and ways to address them (e.g., factual questions: How many people use food banks in my community?; comparative questions: What criteria could I use to evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies used to try to bring about political change?; causal questions: What are some factors that contribute to economic inequality?)
A1.2 select and organize relevant evidence, data, and information on issues of political importance and ways to address them from a variety of primary and secondary sources (e.g., primary: interviews, photographs, speeches, statistics, surveys; secondary: documentaries and other films, news stories, political cartoons, textbooks, websites), ensuring that their sources reflect different perspectives
Sample questions: “What type of statistics might help you determine the impact of this issue on different groups? Where might you find such statistics?” “What individuals or groups could provide informed opinion about the short- and long-term effects of this policy?”
A1.3 assess the credibility of sources relevant to their investigations (e.g., the reliability of the evidence presented in a source; the purpose, intended audience, and context of a source; the bias, values, and expertise of the speaker/author)
Sample questions: “What criteria might you use to help you determine which sources are credible?” “Is the evidence that this person uses to support his or her opinion on this issue reliable? Is it convincing? Can it be easily refuted?”
A1.4 interpret and analyse evidence, data, and information relevant to their investigations using various tools, strategies, and approaches that are appropriate for political inquiry (e.g., use a 5Ws chart to help them analyse information they have gathered; use a web chart to record the points of view of different stakeholders; assess the validity and rank the importance of various points made in their sources; collaborate with their peers to discuss, clarify, and compare positions on an issue)
Sample questions: “What type of diagram could you use to show the relative importance of the factors that contribute to homelessness?” “What headings might you use in this chart to categorize the positions of stakeholders on this issue?”
A1.5 use the concepts of political thinking (i.e., political significance, objectives and results, stability and change, and political perspective) when analysing and evaluating evidence, data, and information and formulating conclusions and/or judgements about issues of political importance in various communities and ways to address them (e.g., use the concept of political significance when determining the impact of a change in foreign aid policy; take the concept of
objectives and results into consideration when analysing arguments for and against higher or lower taxes; use the concept of stability and change
A. POLITICAL INQUIRY AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
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