Page 154 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies

Civics (Politics)
Formulate Questions
Students formulate questions:
− to explore various issues, events, developments, and/or policies that are related to the overall expectations
in order to identify the focus of their inquiry
− to help them determine which key concept (or concepts) of political thinking is relevant to their inquiry
− that reflect the selected concept(s) of political thinking
− to help them focus on the kind of evidence they need to gather
− to develop criteria that they will use in evaluating policy, data, evidence, and/or information; in making
judgments, decisions, or predictions; in reaching conclusions; in formulating and/or in evaluating plans of action
Gather and Organize
Students:
− collect relevant qualitative and quantitative data, evidence, and/or information from a variety of primary
and secondary sources,a including visualsb and community resourcesc
− determine if their sources are accurate and reliable
− identify the purpose and intent of each source
− identify the points of view in the sources they have gathered
− use a variety of methods to organize the data, evidence, and/or information they have gathered
− record the sources of the data, evidence, and/or information they are using
− decide whether they have collected enough data, evidence, and/or information for their inquiry
The Political Inquiry Process
In each course in politics in the Canadian and world studies curriculum, strand A focuses explicitly on the political inquiry process, guiding students in their investigations of issues, events, developments, policies, and/or plans of action. This process is not intended to be applied in a linear manner: students will use the applicable components of the process in the order most appropriate for them and for the task at hand. Although strand A covers all of the components of the inquiry process, it is important
to note that students apply skills associated with the inquiry process throughout the content strands in each course. (See page 27 for a fuller discussion of the inquiry process in the Canadian and world studies program.)
The following chart identifies ways in which students may approach each of the components of the political inquiry process.
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies
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a. Primary sources may include, but are not limited to, census data, interviews, legislation, letters, photographs, policy documents, speeches, and treaties. Secondary sources may include, but are not limited to, documentaries and other films, editorials, news articles, political cartoons, reference books, song lyrics, and works of art. Depending on the context, digital sources, including social media and websites, can be either primary or secondary sources.
b. Visuals may include, but are not limited to, photographs, media clips, maps, models, graphs, and diagrams.
c. Community resources may include, but are not limited to, a range of resources from community groups and associations, government offices, and non-governmental organizations.