Mark also posted this link on Twitter - to a pdf file which is a study of the Brisbane River from 1999, and might be worth a read for those of you aiming for A/A* grades.
Let me know if you find any other useful resources.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
SDME revision podcast
Mark Howell, a Geography teacher in Northamptonshire, has put together a podcast to help with SDME revision. I've not had chance to listen to it yet, but if it's half as good as the last one he did, it'll be well worth you downloading it and having a listen. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-manor-geog-pod/id376186285
Monday, 2 January 2012
SDME - January 2012
Happy New Year GCSE Geographers!
Hopefully the Year 11s amongst you have spent some time over the past couple of weeks looking at the resource booklet for the SDME exam (which is on Tuesday 24th January - pm). Assuming you were in your last lesson before Christmas, you have a black and white copy of the booklet. If you haven't or you need to look at a colour copy, a reminder that the booklet is here (direct link to the .pdf document - you will need a .pdf reader on your computer to be able to access this) as well as in Student Share.
Hopefully the Year 11s amongst you have spent some time over the past couple of weeks looking at the resource booklet for the SDME exam (which is on Tuesday 24th January - pm). Assuming you were in your last lesson before Christmas, you have a black and white copy of the booklet. If you haven't or you need to look at a colour copy, a reminder that the booklet is here (direct link to the .pdf document - you will need a .pdf reader on your computer to be able to access this) as well as in Student Share.
Remember that, in order to get the higher grades, you need to be reading beyond the booklet... The Geographical Association's website has a useful list of links about the Australian floods which - although written primarily for teachers - is well worth you exploring. This article from the GCSE Wide World magazine (link to .pdf file) will be making an appearance in lessons in the next couple of weeks, but you might like to have a look at it now, and there are various useful bits and pieces, including links, on this site.
If you find anything else that you think is particularly useful - either specific to the Australian floods or about flood management more generally, email details to me (type vel into address bar from your school emails) and everyone can benefit!
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Panorama: Drinking our rivers dry
This week's Panorama programme (on Monday evening) was about rivers, and whether the water industry is doing enough to protect them - it's available on iPlayer here http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b013pzns/ and my group need to have watched it and written a summary of the key ideas by Monday.
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Tropical storm names...
Those of you who were asking last week about the naming of tropical storms (hurricanes/cyclones/typhoons) might like to have a look at these two links:
World Meteorological Organisation
National Hurricane Center
World Meteorological Organisation
National Hurricane Center
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Year 11 - Controlled Assessment
Welcome back Year 11!
Those of you who have not finished your Fieldwork Focus Controlled Assessment (for whatever reason) will need to get it completed as soon as possible.
There will be after school sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting on Tuesday 13th September (room to be confirmed).
If you have any questions/concerns, please come and speak to me.
Those of you who have not finished your Fieldwork Focus Controlled Assessment (for whatever reason) will need to get it completed as soon as possible.
There will be after school sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting on Tuesday 13th September (room to be confirmed).
If you have any questions/concerns, please come and speak to me.
Year 10 Homework
Greetings new Year 10s...
The first part of your homework is to cover your book with a geographical theme.
The second part of your homework is to leave a comment on the blog, with an interesting geographical fact. Do your best to tell me something I don't know already... There might be a prize for the most interesting fact!
To leave a comment, you need to click on the "Comments" button at the bottom of this post. Type your comment, and then enter the "captcha". You should not need to have a Google account to leave a comment (although it is useful to have one anyway). Your comment will not appear straightaway, as they come to me to be moderated first, but I will make sure I check regularly and publish them as soon as I can. Please make sure that you are writing in "proper" English (ie nt txt spk), and also, put your FIRST NAME (not your surname, although if there are two people in your group with the same name, the initial of your surname as well would be helpful), and if you are in my group VEl and for Mr Mattia's group NMa in your comment.
The first part of your homework is to cover your book with a geographical theme.
The second part of your homework is to leave a comment on the blog, with an interesting geographical fact. Do your best to tell me something I don't know already... There might be a prize for the most interesting fact!
To leave a comment, you need to click on the "Comments" button at the bottom of this post. Type your comment, and then enter the "captcha". You should not need to have a Google account to leave a comment (although it is useful to have one anyway). Your comment will not appear straightaway, as they come to me to be moderated first, but I will make sure I check regularly and publish them as soon as I can. Please make sure that you are writing in "proper" English (ie nt txt spk), and also, put your FIRST NAME (not your surname, although if there are two people in your group with the same name, the initial of your surname as well would be helpful), and if you are in my group VEl and for Mr Mattia's group NMa in your comment.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Young Geographer of the Year 2011
Could you be the RGS's Young Geographer of the Year 2011? Click on the flyer below to go to the RGS's website where there are more details about the competition and what you need to do.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Year 10 Controlled Assessment
Some bits and pieces that might be of use for your introduction:
Background information:
http://www.eurosion.org/shoreline/57holderness.html
http://www.hull.ac.uk/erosion/
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/climatechange/environment/coastal/coastalErosion.html
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/yorkshire_and_the_humber/ourwork/shorelinemanagement.aspx
http://www.withernseatowncouncil.co.uk/
News stories:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-town-under-siege-by-the-sea-since-its-beach-was-washed-away-withernsea-on-humberside-is-cracking-up-from-twicedaily-poundings-at-high-tide-1511370.html
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/coast_erosion_calls_time_on_pub_1_2387512
Map links:
http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/login.html (You will need a login name and password for this site - speak to your Geography teacher.)
http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm
http://magic.defra.gov.uk/website/magic/
Don't forget about Google Earth and Google Maps as well.
You might also like to have a look at David Roger's blog - he is Head of Geography at Priory School in Portsmouth. His Year 10 students are working on the same Controlled Assessment title as you, and he has put various resources on his blog to support them.
Background information:
http://www.eurosion.org/shoreline/57holderness.html
http://www.hull.ac.uk/erosion/
http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/climatechange/environment/coastal/coastalErosion.html
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/regions/yorkshire_and_the_humber/ourwork/shorelinemanagement.aspx
http://www.withernseatowncouncil.co.uk/
News stories:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-town-under-siege-by-the-sea-since-its-beach-was-washed-away-withernsea-on-humberside-is-cracking-up-from-twicedaily-poundings-at-high-tide-1511370.html
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/around-yorkshire/local-stories/coast_erosion_calls_time_on_pub_1_2387512
Map links:
http://digimapforschools.edina.ac.uk/login.html (You will need a login name and password for this site - speak to your Geography teacher.)
http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm
http://magic.defra.gov.uk/website/magic/
Don't forget about Google Earth and Google Maps as well.
You might also like to have a look at David Roger's blog - he is Head of Geography at Priory School in Portsmouth. His Year 10 students are working on the same Controlled Assessment title as you, and he has put various resources on his blog to support them.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Year 10 Homework - Dharavi
Several links with pictures, video and audio about Dharavi and life there:
The Places We Live explores four slums across the world, including Dharavi.
This is an audio slideshow from The Guardian.
Article and photo gallery from the National Geographic.
BBC Interactive tour of Dharavi.
Your homework is to explore these links (and any others you find - there are lots of clips on YouTube too), and to leave a comment explaining:
- whether you think Dharavi is a "slum of hope" or a "slum of despair"
- what you think of the redevelopment plans for Dharavi.
Your comment should explain your ideas with reasons - not just a sentence or two - and should include your first name (not full name... if there are two of you with the same name, put the inital of your surname too).
The Places We Live explores four slums across the world, including Dharavi.
This is an audio slideshow from The Guardian.
Article and photo gallery from the National Geographic.
BBC Interactive tour of Dharavi.
Your homework is to explore these links (and any others you find - there are lots of clips on YouTube too), and to leave a comment explaining:
- whether you think Dharavi is a "slum of hope" or a "slum of despair"
- what you think of the redevelopment plans for Dharavi.
Your comment should explain your ideas with reasons - not just a sentence or two - and should include your first name (not full name... if there are two of you with the same name, put the inital of your surname too).
Some SDME links...
A handful of St. Lucia links here. If you find any more that might be useful, leave a comment or send me an email so that everyone can benefit.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
SDME preparation
By now, we're well underway with preparation for the SDME exam which is on Thursday 20th January. Remember that with a thorough understanding of the resource booklet, you should be able to get a C grade, but those of you aiming for grades above a C will need to be bringing in some of your own knowledge...
There's plenty of St Lucia information available on the internet for you to get your teeth into - if you find any particularly good links, leave a comment or send me an email so that everyone can benefit.
Mark Howell, a Geography teacher in Northampton, has put together an SDME revision podcast which is well worth a listen.
There's plenty of St Lucia information available on the internet for you to get your teeth into - if you find any particularly good links, leave a comment or send me an email so that everyone can benefit.
Mark Howell, a Geography teacher in Northampton, has put together an SDME revision podcast which is well worth a listen.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Year 10 Homework
Greetings new Year 10s...
The first part of your homework is to cover your book with a geographical theme.
The second part of your homework is to leave a comment on the blog, with an interesting geographical fact. Do your best to tell me something I don't know already... There might be a prize for the most interesting fact!
To leave a comment, you need to click on the "Comments" button at the bottom of this post. Type your comment, and then enter the "captcha". You should not need to have a Google account to leave a comment (although it is useful to have one anyway). Your comment will not appear straightaway, as they come to me to be moderated first, but I will make sure I check regularly and publish them as soon as I can. Please make sure that you are writing in "proper" English (ie nt txt spk), and also, put your FIRST NAME (not your surname, although if there are two people in your group with the same name, the initial of your surname as well would be helpful), and if you are in my group VEl and for Miss Bradford's group LBa in your comment.
The first part of your homework is to cover your book with a geographical theme.
The second part of your homework is to leave a comment on the blog, with an interesting geographical fact. Do your best to tell me something I don't know already... There might be a prize for the most interesting fact!
To leave a comment, you need to click on the "Comments" button at the bottom of this post. Type your comment, and then enter the "captcha". You should not need to have a Google account to leave a comment (although it is useful to have one anyway). Your comment will not appear straightaway, as they come to me to be moderated first, but I will make sure I check regularly and publish them as soon as I can. Please make sure that you are writing in "proper" English (ie nt txt spk), and also, put your FIRST NAME (not your surname, although if there are two people in your group with the same name, the initial of your surname as well would be helpful), and if you are in my group VEl and for Miss Bradford's group LBa in your comment.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Yr10 Controlled Assessment - Data Presentation
A reminder about a couple of things that I mentioned to you this morning if you are in my group, and that Miss Bradford will be mentioning next week if you are in her group:
- GE Graph is the tool that allows you to add data into placemarks and therefore create graphs in Google Earth. There's more info here about it from Noel Jenkins, and from the Google Earth Community here.
- There's a really useful blog post here, also from Noel Jenkins. It was written about ways the Google Earth could be used in coursework, but most, if not all, of the ideas could also be used in your Controlled Assessment.
- Although it's written for A Level, the guide here about how to draw an isopleth map is quite useful if you need a reminder.
Don't forget that the key purpose of your data presentation is to present your findings in a clear, logical and accessible way. Think about what you want each map or graph to show, and make sure that you choose the type of map or graph accordingly.
- GE Graph is the tool that allows you to add data into placemarks and therefore create graphs in Google Earth. There's more info here about it from Noel Jenkins, and from the Google Earth Community here.
- There's a really useful blog post here, also from Noel Jenkins. It was written about ways the Google Earth could be used in coursework, but most, if not all, of the ideas could also be used in your Controlled Assessment.
- Although it's written for A Level, the guide here about how to draw an isopleth map is quite useful if you need a reminder.
Don't forget that the key purpose of your data presentation is to present your findings in a clear, logical and accessible way. Think about what you want each map or graph to show, and make sure that you choose the type of map or graph accordingly.
Monday, 7 June 2010
DME resitters....
I'm hoping that those of you resitting the DME are making regular visits to the blog as it seems that Sports Day, Maths exams (and, I'm sorry to say, a bit of exam stress and/or general apathy on your part!) are getting in the way of us having any sort of conversation about the DME before your exam.
A new series of 'Mary Queen of Shops' has just started on BBC2 (it's 9.05pm on Monday 7th June as I write this!) and the focus of the series is to help out local shopkeepers and give them some support in keeping their small businesses running - not sure how useful it will be, but might be worth a watch.
I also have some photos that I took when we were in Sheringham with the Year 13 geographers a few weeks back, which are on Flickr here. As you will know, the last couple of resources in the booklet (and therefore, presumably, the decision) focus on Sheringham and the proposals for a supermarket there. There was much discussion about the proposals to build a Tesco in Sheringham, and the majority of local people fought very strongly against it. Miss Taylor and I were amazed that, in a town similar in size to Alfreton or Ripley, we found only five shops/businesses that we had heard of (ie 'chain stores' of some description) and even then, those five included names like Julian Graves - not exactly McDonald's or Tesco!
A new series of 'Mary Queen of Shops' has just started on BBC2 (it's 9.05pm on Monday 7th June as I write this!) and the focus of the series is to help out local shopkeepers and give them some support in keeping their small businesses running - not sure how useful it will be, but might be worth a watch.
I also have some photos that I took when we were in Sheringham with the Year 13 geographers a few weeks back, which are on Flickr here. As you will know, the last couple of resources in the booklet (and therefore, presumably, the decision) focus on Sheringham and the proposals for a supermarket there. There was much discussion about the proposals to build a Tesco in Sheringham, and the majority of local people fought very strongly against it. Miss Taylor and I were amazed that, in a town similar in size to Alfreton or Ripley, we found only five shops/businesses that we had heard of (ie 'chain stores' of some description) and even then, those five included names like Julian Graves - not exactly McDonald's or Tesco!
Saturday, 5 June 2010
DME...
Those of you resitting the DME could do worse than to have a listen to this podcast from Mark Howell who is a Geography teacher in Northampton. As well as discussing and explaining the resources in the booklet, Mark also talks about the sorts of questions that you can expect for each of the resources...
A quick search of the iTunes store will bring up lots of other geography revision podcasts as well. Or, you could make your own!!
A quick search of the iTunes store will bring up lots of other geography revision podcasts as well. Or, you could make your own!!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Monday, 3 May 2010
Exam Papers
Some past exam papers now uploaded to the Revision Ning... If you haven't joined yet, check your school emails for the link.
Friday, 30 April 2010
DME Resits (Yr11)
Those of you resitting the DME (at least those of you who are not STILL on holiday...) will be interested to know that the resource booklets are in school and you will be receiving them soon.
I've been at a meeting this afternoon to discuss ideas and put together some teaching resources, and we'll get some lunchtime/after school sessions up and running soon.
In the meantime, the theme (as you should know by now) is "Local shops for local people?", so you can get thinking about what the issues might be, and do a bit of research. I've put a few links together here and will continue to add to this list. If you find anything particularly interesting, either leave a comment here with the link, or email it to me and then everyone can benefit.
I've been at a meeting this afternoon to discuss ideas and put together some teaching resources, and we'll get some lunchtime/after school sessions up and running soon.
In the meantime, the theme (as you should know by now) is "Local shops for local people?", so you can get thinking about what the issues might be, and do a bit of research. I've put a few links together here and will continue to add to this list. If you find anything particularly interesting, either leave a comment here with the link, or email it to me and then everyone can benefit.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Cadbury....
To add to the information you already have about Cadbury from our visit and from the DVD, etc., it is worth having a look at the Cadbury website and their corporate website.
Remember, Cadbury will cover several case studies (secondary industry, industrial location factors, TNC, Fairtrade, LEDC development/aid project...) for the Economic Systems and Development unit, so it is in your interests to know it inside out!
Remember, Cadbury will cover several case studies (secondary industry, industrial location factors, TNC, Fairtrade, LEDC development/aid project...) for the Economic Systems and Development unit, so it is in your interests to know it inside out!
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
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