Exam Overview
The Socials 11 provincial exam contains 55 multiple choice quesitons and 2 written essays. Students will be asked questions related to a variety of socials an historic topics explored in the course. Some questions will require students to analyze charts, graphs, cartoons and other historic statements or headlines. The exam ends with two essay questions relating to social or historic events that have effected Canada.
Students will have 2 hours to complete the exam, though an extra hour will be given if needed. There is the option to take either a paper or electronic exam. Electronic exams are more readily available and offered at more times. Students will be required to type written essays in an electronic exam. If you desire a paper exam it must be requested ahead of time so please alert your teacher well in advance.
Test Taking Strategies
It is important to manage your time effectively on a provincial exam. Ideally you want to leave the test having answered EVERY question to the best of your ability. The best way to accomplish this is to work through the test answering all the questions you are familiar with first. Skip the others. Then once you have reached the end of the test go back and look at the more difficult problems. This is a fairly straightforward process on paper exams but is a bit more tricky on the electronic exams. In the exam preparation assignments below you will be directed to try this strategy in a practice electronic exam.
You also need to gage the time you spend on written questions to be sure to give yourself enough time to complete them all. The two essays are worth 30% of your mark but you may need to spend more than 30% of the time (36 min) to answer them succesfully. Here is a break down of the exam with suggested time limits for each portion.
| Section | % of mark | Contents | TIme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | 70 |
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60min |
| Part B | 30 |
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60min |
Problem Solving Tip
In multiple choice tests, remember that one of the answers listed is the correct one. On difficult problems you can often eliminate obviously wrong answers and then choose the best one from those that remain. If you are really stuck on a problem you can work backwards, checking each supposed solution till you find the correct one. It is best to use these strategies at the end of an exam on any problems you find really difficult. Also note that some questions may seem silly or confusing. Do your best to pick the most logical answer. Remember you want to leave the test having answered every question. You won't be marked down for wrong answers. Every answered problem, even guesses, is a possible point in your favor.
Preparation Assignments
Give yourself 2-4 weeks to complete these preparation assignments after you have completed the course work for this course. Example, if you aim to take an exam on June 20th, plan to finish working through your English resources by mid to late May.
Essays will be scored using the rubrics found in the Practice Provincial Exam key. Read through this rubric to familiarize yourself with the marking expectations for exam writing.
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| Pracitce Exams |
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First access a practice provincial exam. Select and download one practice exam and key.
Make a chart to present the questions you missed. List what mistake caused you to make that error. Example:
Submit this chart to your teacher. Work through the exam going over each question you missed. Find the correct solution and learn the material. You may want to start making a list of challening vocabularly words, a list of notable policies, laws and events to memorize, etc. Once you have correctly answered all the questions on the exam try another one and go through the same process. You should see your precentage go up! |
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Next go the practice exam site and try out an eExam. Logging into the exam requires a PEN number and session number. Do not be confused. Simply click on one of the blue options for an exam and the computer will enter these fields for you. Then click submit. Once the e-Exam loads explore the format and the content. Play around till you are able to:
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| History Study | |||||||||||||||
| After you have taken one or two practice exams and analyzed your results, identify areas you need to review. Use the resources you explored this term and your SNAP or KEY study guides to review material. Make a list of notable events to memorize. | |||||||||||||||
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Writing |
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In order to write well on the exam it is important to know what the writing prompt is asking. Review these key words used in the exam essay questions and their explainations. |
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| Essay Practice: For each of the topics below add events from Canada history that address it. Create an outline adding details to each point summarizing their significance. The idea is that from these outlines you will have enough information in your mind about each topic to write a convincing essay on the exam. Some of the topics have have a few details already added. These are not exhaustive. Please feel free to add more. |
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Canada’s contribution to WWI
Canada’s contribution to WWII
The effect of WWI on the home front
Steps to Canada rising as an autonomous nation
Development of French Canadian and English Canadian Relations
How the Canadian government dealt with the Great Depression
Difficulties with trying to break the poverty cycle
Explain how intolerance has been an issue in Canada since 1914
Challenges facing Canadians due to Global Warming
Strategies Canadians could take to reduce their negative impact on the environment
Challenges that have faced first nations people
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| For further practice take one or two of your outlines and turn them into a completed essay. | |||||||||||||||
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Once you have reviewed try a practice exam again and note your improvement. If you are not satisfied with your mark discuss strategies with your teacher for further review. |