John Sayers Geography Blog

Sunday, 20 March 2011

Basic guides to using google search tools 'Timeline' and 'Wonder wheel'

I recently got pointed to google's 'more search tools'. I have found that they have given students greater depth to their research and their writing is becoming more focussed and specific. It has also given me more variety in what students submit when they do a piece of extended writing as by them using google search tools with variation they get pointed to different websites depending on their views (evaluation) of the information. As a direct result in class discussion has greater variety and depth to it and so more students seem to hold their hands up and volunteer what they have researched. Have a go with your classes and see if it has the same impacts.

Using_Google_‘more_search_tools’_for_greater_research_depth_and_thinking.docx Download this file

Be Creative with Carpet Tubes

Make a Didgeredoo

This week I will be making 2 Thai tourism towers to compare positive and negative effects of tourism.

You can also produce Totem Poles with them! Give it a go!

What am I? How am I formed?

The picture has a physical landform in it. Can you guess what it is? How is it formed? Download the picture, put it into a word document and label/annotate the key features and processes that create this landform

Student of the Week certificates

Students are the most important aspect of any school. This is one of my techniques to make students feel valued when they produce work beyond their expectation in the hope it will give confidence to strive on!

Friday, 18 March 2011

Hosting #ukedchat

Well the end to a very eventful day!

Thursdays are my dream teaching day! I have 3 GCSE groups a gorgeous year 7 group and PSHCE with my form class of 3 years.

My year 10s were an absolute dream today making great links with the various causes of tsunamis they came up with 10 different causes! (1. ocean floor based earthquake, 2. Ocean floor based volcanic eruption, 3. landslide caused by human error - building on unstable land over its loading capacity and structural potential, 4. meteor impact in ocean, 5. comet impact in sea, 6. volcanic eruption landslide (La Palma Canaries) 7. Volcanic rock landslide Hawaii due to instability and wave hydraulic action erosion 8. underwater nuclear experiments 9. Nuclear warhead landing in ocean 10. nuclear warhead hitting coast and causing landslide) I thought they could have gone on!!!! They then categorised the effects of tsunamis into human and physical effects and primary and secondary and based this on the current Japanese crisis including the Nuclear issue. They subsequently added to this with short and long effects.

They have a homework to cover the various responses to tsunamis:)

I was observed by my Line Manager today and got a good with outstanding features (which was nice). I had year 11s also doing a tsunami lesson. They were in an ICT room and I had them working through a geog.ICT file on tsunamis (will upload after this blog post) as task 1. Task 2 involved them in pairs comparing the before and after pictures of 4 parts of Japan. One of the pictures had no impact and they had to link this to location on a map and the proximity to the epicentre of the earthquake (west coast). The students had to write annotations around the photos a key skill for the GCSE exam. Students then created a blog post by reviewing 4 articles. They had to classify them into a cause, effect or a response article and evaluate the details they included and add extras to improve them. The final task was to exam a google earth kml I had made on the earthquakes and tsunami and add the layers one at a time to see if patterns emerged. They noted them down as they saw them:) Phew!

The day was not over! Far from it!

I next as manager of my school year 9 football team witnessed them getting a schooling (10-0) One of my players suffered a suspected broken wrist so I had to drive him and his mum to the local hospital for a check up. I had to leave so am hoping he is ok as mum did not ring me to let me know:(

My final part to the day has been hosting the ukedchat on twitter about 'why NQTs leave teaching after or before 5 years and what can we do to stop this from happening?'

It proved to be a very popular chat which I wasn't in control of at all but that is part of the fun watching great practitioners and creative people passing on their thoughts and experiences on any topic. ukedchat had changed my life in teaching more than anything else in my career to date. I recommend it to anyone out there as it will leave you feeling like you do have support in places you least expected.

NOw back to work for me at 12:30am!

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Google Earth KML covering the Japan earhquake/tsunami from google

Japan_earthquake2011_nl.kml Download this file

Before and After images of Tsunami Effects

Picture 1
Satellite photos have been released showing the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The image at the top is an aerial photo of Fujitsuka near Sendai before the quake.

The tsunami that followed destroyed almost everything in its path, with many homes flattened, as the bottom photo shows.

Picture 2
It is a similar picture in the nearby city of Natori. The top image is how it looked before.

The bottom photo taken on Saturday shows a devastating scene.

Picture 3
Towns on the coast bore the brunt of the tsunami's powerful waves. The top picture shows Yagawahama in Miyagi state before Friday, and the bottom one is after they hit.

Picture 4
This is Kashima, which is in Fukushima state. The impact of the tsunami on the town is clear in the bottom photo, which shows a large part of the area completely flooded.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Boscastle 2011 post flood management

See the full gallery on Posterous

£4.6 Million project to reduce future flooding of Boscastle - lowering and widening the river bed, tree removal, widening the Culvert and raising the car park area and trial trenches

What am I?

Wind Farm Upland Siting Carbon Dioxide Emission Problems

This was a presentation that I did for an environmental consultancy firm and a series of colleges / schools. If you want me to come and do it at your school / college let me know!