Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Assignment # 9 The diary of an englishmen


(the perspective of a loyalist being kicked out of America)


Day one

Dear Diary,

I live in Charleston, at the bottom dot of the map. A few days ago, me and my family were told to leave America or become a patriot with the other traitors. We decided to stay loyal to the to the crown and some of us have been beaten or killed as a result of that. Finally, we were forced to leave the thirteen colonies and we gathered up with the other groups of loyalists in our area and were told to follow the map up to Canada. How could they do this? My family and I have lived here for years! They don't have right to kick us out like this. Even so we are outnumbered and have no weapons to defend ourselves with, so are unable to protest against them.





Day two: We begin traveling

Dear Diary,
We have just finished packing up and have begun our journey to Lower Canada. It is still broad daylight, and my back is already aching from walking. After an hour, we stopped to take a break. Then a heard the cry of a wolve and suddenly I wondered, what if something were to happen and stopping us from making it to Canada? What if we are looted by bandits or attacked by wild animals? I must hope for the best of luck for us.





Skip ahead to day six: We are almost there

Dear Diary,

Just a couple of more hours until we arrive to Canada! Me and my family are in good health, and we have plenty of food from all the abundant supply of fruit trees and animal meats. On this journey, I have learned how to catch wild game better, and now know a couple of more poisonous plants not to eat to add to my list. It's around midnight, and should be there in the morning! Me and my family are very excited and happy now that our week-long hike is close to over.



Day 7: Canada....

Dear Diary,

We are in Lower Canada right now, and are living in tents for the winter. The rations are meager, and we barely have enough supplies to spread around. After the winter though, we will be given the chance to seek our own homes, and start a new life.
Day 8: Finally!
We have finally been granted the permission to build our homes! The area seems pleasant, but our neighbors aren't being that kind to us . I think that's because they probably think we are like the Americans, traitors to the Queen, but they'll soon know that I'm just like them. The other loyalists that arrived with me have also taken settlement nearby, and starting from tomorrow, we are going to start to help eachother build our homes. While the men are doing that, all the women will be either forraging or planting seeds for crops. It is mid-summer, and the weather is perfect for these things. Overall, I thought that was a great experience moving up here and all, because every time you do something, you get a little more better at it and in this case, I learned what plants not to eat, and how to catch wild game better. Not to mention that I'll soon be building a home again and help others build theirs so that will "refreshen" my skills in that so I can brag about it to my other friends.


Yours Truely,


Richard Osinly

P.S. We are in Quebec
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The only website I used for this assignment was wikipedia, since it is one of the best sites to look for infomation, I really didn't need to search up two more sites because it had all the information I needed

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Live the Change : Bonus Assignment #1

The categories I chose to describe was the "Help Lesotho" category and the "Ryan's Well" category. First off, ways to help Lesotho are to donate money to charities that help countries like Lesotho. As you know, thousands of children are left orphans each year because of the fact that their parents died from HIV/AIDS. But, if we were to give enough money to help fund and educate these children, I think that there would be a dramatic decrease of deaths caused by HIV and other deadly diseases. Also, the poverty in Lesotho is outstanding. Charities like the "Happy Factory" are on a mission to help give every child in that country a toy, whether they can afford or not, just out of generosity or to do the right thing. Another Charity a would like to mention is "Ryan's Well". This organization was founded by a boy named Ryan. At the age of six, he saw a commercial on television telling people about less fortunate people around the world. Since then, Ryan has been raising money to help to provide clean water for the people in Lesotho, by building wells all across the country. This is significant because in countries such as these, people cannot afford clean water, so what most of them do is that they walk all the way to a river or a water hole they made by themselves and take their water supply from that. This is highly dangerous because the people have no clue what is in the water. Millions of parasites live and breed in it, and not only that, but the water is just plain dirty. Up along the river, an animal could have urinated in it or person could have dumped their garbage into the river. Organizations like "Ryan's Well" help millions of people stay alive and stay healthy, for the most part. That is why we should help fund these projects; to help other people less fortunate than us have a better life.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Assignment #8 The Real Riel

Interviewer: And now, he's a ghost from the past, some say he was the father of confederation but some say he was a traitor; let's give it up for Louis Riel!

(audience claps)

Louis Riel: Thanks! it feels great to be here.

Interviewer: Very good! O.K. so Louis, I'm going to ask you a series of questions; about three, and I was hoping you could answer them the best you can for me. Is that alright?

Louis Riel: Sure! That's fine with me.

Interviewer: Great! Let's get started then. Question number one: What was your main occupation or job and what did you do to help benefit Canada' s future?

Louis Riel: Well, I was a Canadian Politician, and was the founder of Manitoba, to answer your second question. I was also the leader of an aboriginal group named the Metis. I fought for their rights, to preserve their culture and their homeland, and I led 2 resistance groups against the government because they had threatened the Metis. They didn't care about them, but someone had to; so I chose to defend them.

Interviewer: That was very brave of you. Question number two: After each of your rebellions, were there consequences for your actions? If so, what were they?

Louis Riel: The consequence for the first rebellion was exile in the United States. Even so, I was elected into the house of commons three times, but I never attended my position because how could I without being arrested? I was a fugitive. But all didn't seem that bad though, when I met my wife in Montana while still in exile in 1881, and had my two wonderful children. When it was over, I returned to Saskatchewan to represent the Metis again. It later turned into another rebellion, but this time when I was arrested, I was executed because I apparently had committed "high treason" towards the country, which resulted in my trial and death.

Interviewer: That's very sad. Question number three: Why do you think some people think that you are a traitor while some think that you are a father of confederation?

Louis Riel: I think that some people think that I am a traitor because even though I fought for what I thought was right, I led two resistance against my own country and died because of it as an outcome. I think that some people think that I a father of confederation because I founded Manitoba, and fought for the cause I believed in which in my mind was in the right thing to do in the end.

Interviewer: Louis, I think that you are an amazing person and not a traitor in my opinion but unfortunately we are out of time. Ladies and gentleman let's say goodbye to Louis Riel!

Louis Riel: Goodbye and thanks everyone!

A helpful source for all of my information was Wikipedia. They had all the facts I needed to know and more.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Assignment #7 Canadian Personalities

Assignment #7


a) Which category of Canadian personalities interested you the most?


The category that interested me the most was the "We Fought" category because it displays the courage and heroism the soldiers showed when they fought for Canada. For example, even though James Wolfe, a British Military General died in the Quebec war, his men still gained control of Quebec and ended the battle between the French and the British which basically started the colonization of North America and South America.



b) Which Canadian Personality interested you the most? Why?


Above is a portrait of Marquis de Montcalm. I chose him because during the Seven Years war, he led many successful attacks against British armys and captured several forts and seized military supplies for the French. He died on 1759 September 13, in the same battle James Wolfe died in.


c) In your post, suggest three more influential Canadian personalities that could be added to this site. Why did you choose these people? Which categories would they fit into? Link to information about each of them.


Three influential Canadian personalities I would add to this site would be Terry Fox, Sir Frederick Banting and Dr. Charles Best. Terry Fox because he was the one ran across Canada despite an amputated leg and previous cancer. I think Terry would fit into the "We inspired category," because he inspired many Canadians to run each year to raise money for Cancer Research and help find a cure for cancer. Sir Fredrick Banting and Dr.Charles Best because they made a remarkable discovery "insulin" and had cured diabetes as quote from http://www.medhunters.com/, "The discovery of insulin in 1921–22 by the four-man team of physician Frederick Banting, graduate student Charles Best, Professor of Physiology J.J.R. Macleod, and biochemist J.B. Collip is the most famous Canadian medical discovery to date, and earned the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Today, the World Health Organization estimates that at least 171 million people suffer from diabetes, and insulin injections along with diet management remain the best treatment available." I think these men would fit into the"We Founded category because they did find a cure for diabetes called insulin and also saved the lives of millions of Canadians.


Which History-Maker did you have the most in common with? Were you able to figure it out from the clues given? What do you share with that person? What are some things that are different between you and that person?


No, I was not able to figure out who it was. The man I am most common with is David Mctaggart, a world famous activist and founder of Greenpeace. We both cared about the environment, which was basically all we had in common. He dropped out of high school before graduation, which is something I don't plan to do.

One hundred years from now, (in 2109!) imagine that students are learning about Canadian History Makers and they discover you. What will you be remembered for? How were you a Canadian History Maker? You are using your imagination, so think about some things that you would like to accomplish in your life and imagine that you have all the accomplishments of your life to look back on. Write a short profile of yourself, imagining the contributions you have made to the future of Canada.

First, I graduated from Brookfield High School, (at the top of my class). Then I went to college, and study as a scientist, and found a cure for asthma (since I have it). After that, I studied computers and founded a giant computer company, greatest there will ever be. Then, I've always liked videogames, so I got a job as a videogame designer for the best company ever (Microsoft) and after had a fortune to spend to live off the rest of my life.

Oh and Miss Pollock, please re-check my other posts because before instead of pressing the "Save As Draft" button, I clicked the "Publish Post" button so you basically only read my half finished assignments.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Assignment #6 Black history month



Lincoln MacCauley Alexander was born in January 21, 1922 and immigrated to Canada. I chose to write about him because of all the things he accomplished in the past that were outstanding although he is still alive today. He began his career when he graduated from Oswood Hall Law School in Toronto and then distinguished himself by serving in World War II as a pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war was over, Alexander became nominated as the first member of parliament when he was elected as member of the Progressive Conservative of Canada, which was a pretty big deal. He also served as a observer under the United Nations Between 1976-1978. Alexander also was a minister of labour, when Joe Clark was prime minister in 1979-1980. He resigned his seat in 1980 to serve as chairman of the Worker's Compensation Board. Lincoln the became the 24th Lieutenant Governer of Ontario. When he left office in 1991, he was awarded the "Order of Ontario," and the "Order of Canada." MacCauley was then named chairman of Canadian Race Relations Foundation in 2000. He is still a spokesman for them, as well as the Honorary Patron of Hamilton and also the Honorary Chief of the Hamilton police. In just 1 life, this man accomplished so many things that some people would take them at least probably 2 lives to do and yes, I am talking about myself.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Assignment #5 It's really cold

The first settlers arrived here in 1500's to seek a better life. The situation in Europe wasn't the best, as jobs were sinking away after the increasing population. Some people were dieing on the streets because they couldn't find any work and produce enough money to buy food for themselves. So, many people decided to move to North America to seek a better life for themselves and their siblings dispite the harsh cold they knew they would have to endure.Not even the boat ride that took them to America was pleasant. It would take them over three months to get there, and it was usually very dangerous due to storms and diseases such as scurvy; a deadly sickness caused by lack of vitamin C. Most of the fortunate settlers were able to arrive to Canada and quickly build houses in the summer. But still, the winter was still very harsh for them. At first, many settlers decided just to give up and head back to their country but the ones that stayed were usually prepared. They survived on the food they had stored during the summer harvest, and had made homemade candles to last them the entire winter. They had cut plenty of firewood to keep them warm, but eventually though, they would have to go outside. And they were ready for it. By befriending their Aboriginal allies, they were taught how hunt and trap, and make fur coats out of beaver skins or skin of some other animal. They were taught how to survive basically and eventually got used to the winter.

I didn't really visit any web-sites because during term 1 at school, we had already learned everything in history class to answer assignment #5. So ya, I didn't really learn facts or points.

My family first came here about 16 years ago, when my mom had my brother before I was even born. At first my family was completely caught off guard by the cold weather, and they didn't even go outside in the winter unless they had to and when they did, they would dress up in 2 layers of huge winter jackets. Wow. As you know, China is a pretty warm country, and it doesn't even snow in the northern part of the country. So basically, some people who live there have never it before. Moving to canada was a big change, because my mom and dad were used to warm weather. Eventually, we got used to the cold climate but nowadays, it's beggining to feel colder than ever.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Assignment #4 : Linking back to your peers

In this assignment, I went to James' blog to see his entry on what it would be like in 2109. He basically wrote the same thing as I did, but his talked about "space travel and astronomy". He also mentioned that human beings would all have all ready advanced so far in technology, that the human race would have already found another "habitable planet" such as mars, for example. Constructively, I found this quite naive at because Canada and the United States have entered recession, and it would take a few years to recover. Also, Earth's fossil fuels and oil are running out, so even if we would be able to advance in technology, what substance would we use to power our spaceships or cars? Even with solar powered engines we would be stranded when it would become dark outside. Overall, I did like his entry because he used strong vocabulary and paragraphs in the right places and good details to support his facts and topic sentences.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Assignment #3 : What will it be like in 2109?

In 2109, I think that the world will be at a near end. Governments will have collapsed and poverty would be outstanding. I think this because the United States and Canada have both entered recession, and estimates claim that it could last for a couple more years. By then, the jobs losses would reduce the majority of the country's population to beggary, and the municipal governments would be bankrupt. Global warming would have melted the northern and southern icecaps, therefore causing an extreme amount of flooding as well as intense heat, resulting in a huge number of deaths and casualties. Earth would be like a stove, and there would be no more winter or cold climate whatsoever. All of my observations are based on the current situation in Canada, like the economic crisis and Global warming and the little effort put in to stop these factors. Although, Barrack Obama, the new president of the United States says that he has a ready economic plan to move his country out of recession, trillions of dollars will be needed to put the plan into action. Let's just hope it works.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Welcome

Hello, my name is Dillon. I am in grade 7, live in Ottawa, Canada and will be learning and writing about Canadian History. Feel free to comment and I hope you enjoy yourself. I think having a blog is pretty cool and now that I have one, I don't have to read from a random textbook :) and it is pretty exciting doing assignments on a computer for a change. Another thing is that my teacher also has her own blogspot, and it's way better than mine so you should check it out while your at it.