Not me. But I wrote something for those who are: my top six tips for starting the school year. I took into account the new Ministry of Ed. policy on attendance and participation.
Check out my article on the OHASSTA website.
If you don’t know OHASSTA, it’s the Ontario History, Humanities and Social Science Teachers Association. They do great work!
Here’s my amazing last class! We went out to the field for my “goodbye” speech. Thanks Mr. P for the photo!
Updated August 25, 2026
Hello to anyone who uses my blog for world history teaching materials. Some of the links may not work for a while as my TDSB account has been terminated now that I have retired. I hope to have access again at some point and start reorganizing. [I started August 2026 on the first two units of CHW3M].
Thanks for your patience. I promise I won’t stop maintaining my World History blog in order to help teachers and share my reflections on a meaningful career.
Thanks, please also feel free to check out some of my other content such as book reviews.
Risa
If you are interested in taking history at York Mills, you have come to the right place. History is a very valuable subject; it’s not about memorizing factoids and dates. It’s about thinking, interpreting, discussing, and inquiring. The skills you gain in senior history courses will help you with any education path you choose because you will always need to THINK!
Grade 10 history (CHC2D), Canada Since 1914, is a mandatory course. It explores events and themes in our country’s history since World World War One. This course is also offered for French Immersion students (CHC2D5).
In grade 11, you can choose between American History (CHA3U) or World History (CHW3M) to the 16th Century. Speak to Mr. Chang about American History.
You can search on this website (Ms. Gluskin’s blog) under the CHW3M tab to see what the course is like. And, read on.
Here are some materials for you to decide if grade 11 World History (ancient civilizations) is for you:
Grade 12 World History starts in 1450, where the grade 11 course finishes. However, grade 11 history is not a prerequisite for grade 12 history.
You can search this website (Ms. G’s blog) under the CHY4U tab to see what this interesting course is like.
Here’s what two of Ms. Gluskin’s former students have to say about taking World History at YM (by the way, one of these wonderful people is a lawyer in and the other was a business consultant and is now working in education administration).
If you would like to ask questions to Ms. Gluskin about World History at YM, she can usually be found in the guidance office.
See you at Course Fair on Wed. February 11, 2026 in room 137.
Don’t forget about all of YM’s senior (gr 11 + 12) courses in the Canadian and World Studies area.
PD @ York U SWSH Conference, Dec. 13, 2022
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1O4_hqBe8vZZvVQZTsZxkB6fwnjlVtE_3TXO4JjPJQ8U/edit?usp=sharing
I hope to see you on Feb. 17, 2023 at York Mills CI for the SWSH PD Conference.
I’ll be sharing my grade 11 World History culminating activity.
Sorry, virtual class. I meant to take a pic with Ms. K in front of the screen with you but my camera didn’t have a card in it!
From https://www.researchgate.net/figure/This-map-of-the-North-Atlantic-regions-shows-the-location-of-the-Norse-Eastern-and_fig4_254862418
What do these animals have in common?
reindeer, gannet, orca, Arctic fox, walrus, seal, eider duck, storm petrel, sea otters, gyr falcon
As the Vikings made the journey from their Scandinavian homelands they came into contact with forms of nature that they hunted and made use of, not always killing animals.
As they made their way from 800 t0 1000 CE, jump by jump, across the North Atlantic – Shetland Islands, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Vinland (Newfoundland) – they learned from nature, profited from it for trade purposes, and survived because of it.
Walrus tusk ivory from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/greenland-vikings-got-wealthy-walrus-tusks-180969962/
We don’t usually think of the Vikings as doing anything other than raiding. Natural history reminds us that humans cannot survive without nature. PBS’ long-running program Nature does an excellent job of reinforcing this timely truth.
Inside NATURE: Making of Wild Ways of the Vikings (6 mins)
Reindeer cyclone – incredible to watch!
Hello new students. I’m Ms. Gluskin, your World History teacher.
Ms. G in Hagersville, Ontario on her recent bike trip.
I like history, horses (I am a wannabe dressage rider), cats (I have two), bike-riding (only in the summer), and reading (mostly non-fiction). I am married to a wonderful guy named Val. I do not have a smartphone. Yes, you read that correctly.
This is Shadow. There are plenty of pictures of my other cat, Richard, on this blog so I won’t put one here.
I usually try to think of something interesting for students to do to introduce themselves to me rather than the standard questionnaire.
This year I’m going to try a new activity. First, I’d like you to pick a website or YouTube video related to history (a time or place you’re interested in). Then, I’d like you to mull over why you think this site or video is (or is not) reliable.
Be prepared to discuss it tomorrow.
That’s it. See you in class tomorrow.
Ms. G
Thanks everyone. We had some ups and downs but you were a fun bunch.
Thanks for putting giraffe in the photo!
Watch this video to see what all the fun is about!
History is not dead. Consider these recent articles about new discoveries.
A new mapping technique is being used to find large structures hidden in the jungle where archaeologists didn’t know they existed in Guatemala. Perhaps up to 10 million people lived there.
Discovery of a new 3400 years old tomb in Egypt from the 18th dynasty (my personal favourite dynasty).
A new map of Turtle Island – pre-contact Canada – is being constructed. What did it look like, map-wise, from an Indigenous perspective, without modern political boundaries and things imposed by the colonizers? This is a very exciting project!
Moving to a settled, farming way of life, the people of Catalhoyuk gave up something – their health. This way of life was difficult but it was unlikely they’d go back to their hunter-gatherer way, ironically, because they had built up their possessions.
