Frozen Earth

Not a brilliant response from Year 10 to the snow challenges last week.... However, I was extremely impressed with Grace's effort:

Year 10 Geographers.... SNOW!!!

Hopefully you will have spent some of your time off over the last few days keeping an eye on the snow news, and looking at the weather forecasts (including deciphering those pressure charts with the big high pressure area over Greenland...).

You are most welcome to do some research and reading about changing shopping patterns and out-of-town shopping centres (and Meadowhall being closed early because of the snow!) and also make a note in your diary to watch Slumdog Millionaire (Wednesday 13th January, Channel 4, 9pm) and Slumming It (Thursday 14th January, Channel 4, 9pm).

However, your official work while we're not in snowy Swanwick is.... to do AT LEAST four of the following (hopefully interesting and fun) Geography Snow Challenges. You must provide some evidence for each challenge you complete - this can be in written form (ideally a comment on this blog post, but email will be fine either), photographs (emailed, or uploaded to Flickr - send me the link or leave a comment on here with it), video (emailed, or uploaded to Vimeo or YouTube - again, email the URL or leave a comment here)...

The challenges are for my group and Miss Bradford's, and can be completed individually or collaboratively. If you are leaving a comment, make sure that you include your first name, and the initial of your surname if there's another Year 10 geographer with the same first name as you.

I'd also like you to have a think about why it is that we're struggling so much (as a country) to cope with the conditions - and leave a comment here with your answer.

Enjoy!!

The Geography Snow Challenges:

1. Measure the depth of undisturbed snow on grass.

2. Collect a cup of snow... Bring it inside and let it melt. How much water does it produce? Is this more or less than you expected?

3. If you have a thermometer at home, keep a record of the temperature... How does it change? Why? Keep a record of the times when it’s snowing... Watch the sky and how it changes... How do the temperature, the weather conditions and the state of the sky relate to each other?

4. Choose a particular spot – somewhere in your garden... or out of your bedroom window. Take a photo every hour. Put them together in MovieMaker to make a timelapse movie... (Email me the finished product, or upload to Vimeo or YouTube and email me the link.)

5. Wrap up warm and put your wellies on... Then go for a walk. Put together a snow/ice/cold weather hazard map for your local area.

6. Find some black paper and freeze it. When it snows again, take your frozen black paper outside and catch some snowflakes. Look at them carefully (with a magnifying glass if you have one). Describe them. Have a go at taking some photographs of them.

7. Make a glacier... Send me photos and/or video...

8. What does the snow look like? Feel like? Smell like? Sound like? (Taste like? H&S!!)

9. Make a geographical sculpture... The Eiffel Tower? The Taj Mahal?

10. Make some icicles or freeze some bubbles...

11. Something else!!! Can you come up with your own interesting educational snowy geographical challenge?

ps There might be a prize or three for the best (most interesting and creative) responses...

Year 11 - DME Preparation

Good evening Year 11. Hopefully you are enjoying the snow - and keeping an on the forecasts and the news reports...

We will most likely be back on Monday so that you can have your DME booklets and we can get started properly with the preparation for the exam on 29th January. In the meantime, however, it's worth you having a think about the energy crisis, alternative forms of energy, wind energy, and the Isle of Lewis. I've gathered quite a few links together which I will post tomorrow. Had we been in yesterday afternoon, however, the plan was for us to watch this Teachers' TV video which looks at the production and use of electricity, the impacts of our energy use, and considers where we'll get our energy from in the future. It would be very useful for you to watch the video, note down any key words, and then to do some research around the topics mentioned earlier. If you find any particularly useful websites, email me the URLs, or leave a comment here with the link.

And when you have done so much work (!) that you need to go play out, have a go at one or two of the activities in the Year 10 post... Have fun!