Canadian and World Studies
The World – Social Sciences Department
Quick Links
- Written Research Requirements
- Research Report/Essay Requirements
This department at Earl of March includes courses in Geography, History, the Social Sciences and Family Studies courses. Students obtain 2.5 compulsory courses from our department. These include grade 9 Canadian Geography, grade 10 Canadian History and grade 10 Civics. Due to the excellence of our program and the dedication of our teachers, the vast majority of EOM students choose to take optional courses with us in grades 10, 11, and 12. Thus we provide the most extensive senior Canadian & World Studies, and Humanities & Social Sciences programs in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. In addition, EOM is the only high school in Ontario that successfully offers two Advanced Placement history courses in European and American history. These enriched courses allow our students to obtain university credits while in high school. Lastly, the World – Social Sciences Department offers five French Immersion courses leading to the French Immersion Certificate.
The quality of our program is reflected in the educational trips that our teachers offer on an ongoing basis. Field trips to local sites include visits to the Parliament Buildings, the Supreme Court, the Bank of Canada, the Courthouse, the Museum of Civilization, and to firms in the fashion design industry. International destinations have recently included Boston, Washington D.C., Italy, and Central America.
To further the goals of our program, EOM’s history teachers have developed a partnership with Carleton University’s Department of History. Professors have provided their expertise in lectures to our students both at our school and at Carleton. Assistance also has been provided to our students as they produced historical documentaries and many learning materials have been donated to our department.
A key characteristic of our department is our team’s teaching of an extensive skills continuum from grades nine to twelve. Over the last decade, we have developed a unique approach to the process of researching and writing essays in the independent study unit. Beginning in grade nine, students write a short geography report and by grade 12 they produce a sophisticated, analytical essay. Incorporated into the grade 12 process is a visit to Carleton University which exposes students to the organization and resources of a university library. Our firm belief in developing transferable skills such as time mangement, research techniques, essay writing skills, and critical thinking provides our graduates with clear advantages in their post-secondary studies.
The main goals of the Canadian and world studies program are to help students to:
- Gain an understanding of the basic concepts of the subjects taught at this level, as a foundation for further studies in the discipline;
- Develop the knowledge and values they need to become responsible, active, and informed Canadian citizens in the twenty-first century;
- Develop practical skills (such as critical-thinking, research, and communication skills), some of which are particular to a given subject in Canadian and world studies and some of which are common to all the subjects in the discipline;
- Apply the knowledge and skills they acquire in Canadian and world studies courses to better understand their interactions with the natural environment; the political, economic, and cultural interactions among groups of people; the relationship between technology and society; and the factors contributing to society’s continual evolution.