Questions for discussion



Questions for discussion

Swine flu

1. In which country did the first swine flu outbreak occur?

2. What are people in that country doing to stop swine flu spreading?

3. Which countries have confirmed cases of swine flu?

4. How did the flu virus begin?

5. Why can pigs and humans exchange viruses?

6. How do experts think the latest swine flu virus formed?

7. What treatment is available for the virus?

8. What is a pandemic?

9. What can people do to prevent the flu virus from spreading?

10. What do you think is meant by the statement `swine flu requires a global response’?

Create a game that teaches students about influenza and healthy habits that help prevent the spread of swine flu.

Modern pirates

1. Summarise the BtN pirates story.

2. In your own words, describe a modern day pirate.

3. Where have pirates been causing problems recently?

4. What effect are they having on the shipping industry?

5. Briefly describe the situation in Somalia.

6. Why did Somali fishermen turn to piracy?

7. Describe the impact pirates are having on Somalia.

8. What solutions to the problem are being suggested?

9. Think of three adjectives to describe modern day pirates.

10. How has your thinking about pirates changed since watching the BtN story?

Create a fact sheet about female pirates. The following website has a number of useful links

Digital TV

1. What was the main point of the story?

2. In your own words, describe the impact television has had on Australia.

3. What changes to TV are about to happen?

4. What are the benefits of digital TV?

5. Why are there more channels on it?

6. What is the new ABC channel that was recently announced?

7. What equipment is needed to watch digital TV?

8. What percentage of Australian households have switched over to digital TV?

9. In what year will analogue television end?

10. What impact do you think digital TV will have on Australia?

Find out more about the history of television at the Learning @ Film Australia website

Pakistan kids

1. Briefly explain the Pakistan kids story to another student.

2. How many hours a day are children working and how much do they get paid?

3. Retell Nawaz Khan’s story.

4. Use three adjectives to describe how his story made you feel.

5. Describe the political and economic situation in Pakistan.

6. How does poverty effect children’s education in Pakistan?

7. Why is education important for jobs in Pakistan?

8. What does it mean for the future of Pakistan?

9. What are some groups doing to help the situation?

10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the Pakistan kids story?

Use the BtN story transcript to create a word search or crossword about Pakistan.

Dog trainers

1. In your own words, describe the Labs `n life program.

2. What is the program trying to achieve?

3. What sorts of things are they teaching the dogs?

4. How often do they train the dogs?

5. Describe the kids’ lives before they became involved in the program.

6. How does the program benefit them?

7. Describe the relationship they develop with the dogs.

8. How do the kids feel about saying goodbye to the dogs they train?

9. Why do you think Labs `n life has been a successful program?

10. How did this story make you feel?

Send a message or tell us what you think on the BtN Guestbook.

Modern pirates

Pirates have become a serious problem in some parts of the world. So how do modern day pirates compare with historical ones?

Focus Questions

1. Summarise the BtN pirates story.

2. In your own words, describe a modern day pirate.

3. Where have pirates been causing problems recently?

4. What effect are they having on the shipping industry?

5. Briefly describe the situation in Somalia.

6. Why did Somali fishermen turn to piracy?

7. Describe the impact pirates are having on Somalia.

8. What solutions to the problem are being suggested?

9. Think of three adjectives to describe modern day pirates.

10. How has your thinking about pirates changed since watching the BtN story?

Pirates and piracy

Students will create an information report about historical and modern day pirates and piracy. To establish what students already know, ask them to create a concept/mind map about pirates/piracy and record what they know about the topic. Students will be adding to their map as they go through the inquiry process. The map will also help them to develop headings for their information report. Key issues to consider in their research include:

• The history of piracy (including the Golden Age)

• Compare the motivations of modern day pirates with historical pirates.

• Places in the world where piracy is a problem

• The economic and social impact of piracy countries (for example, Somalia)

• Strategies to deal with piracy

• Role of organisations to stop piracy

When students have completed their research, discuss the purpose, structure and features of an information report. Use the following as a guide to use with students.

Purpose

An information report provides information to the reader by stating facts.

Structure

Introduction - the opening statement explains the subject of the report, and includes a definition or short description. Students need to define what a pirate/piracy is.

Description – the body of the report is a series of paragraphs giving information about pirates and piracy.

Conclusion – a summary of what has been said.

Language features

Present tense

Technical words

Written in the third person

Encourage students to publish their report in a format they haven’t used before.

Further investigations

Research symbols associated with pirates or piracy. Reproduce or recreate the symbols and display them in an interesting way.

Create a fact sheet about female pirates. The following website has a number of useful links

( Related Research Links

ABC Foreign Correspondent – Pirateland



BBC News – Q & A: Somali piracy



International Maritime Organization – Piracy and armed robbery against ships



ICC Commercial Crime Services



Pirates and Privateers: The history of maritime piracy



Swine flu

Health authorities are concerned that there could be a world-wide swine flu pandemic. But what is swine flu and what can be done to help prevent it from spreading?

Focus Questions

11. In which country did the first swine flu outbreak occur?

12. What are people in that country doing to stop swine flu spreading?

13. Which countries have confirmed cases of swine flu?

14. How did the flu virus begin?

15. Why can pigs and humans exchange viruses?

16. How do experts think the latest swine flu virus formed?

17. What treatment is available for the virus?

18. What is a pandemic?

19. What can people do to prevent the flu virus from spreading?

20. What do you think is meant by the statement `swine flu requires a global response’?

Understanding the flu

Students will increase their knowledge and understanding of swine flu and the influenza virus by completing some of the following activities. Negotiate with students how many activities they will need to complete.

Remember and understand

• Students will create a glossary of common words associated with influenza. Students can use the BtN transcript of the swine flu story and highlight unfamiliar words to include in their glossary. Words students could include are: virus, infection, epidemic, pandemic, strains, quarantine and vaccination. Students write what they think the meaning of each word is then check these against the dictionary definition.

• Create a true or false quiz about swine flu facts.

• What is the difference between an epidemic and a pandemic? Explain the difference to another student.

Apply and analyse

• Research the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 1900’s. Create a PowerPoint presentation and include information about where it came from, how it spread and the effect it had on Australia.

• Develop an argument either for or against the following statement `All people in Australia should wear a mask in public to protect themselves from swine flu’.

• Use the internet to find out more about viruses. Key questions to research include: Are viruses alive? Where are they found? What purposes do they serve? How do they reproduce? Display your research in an interesting way.

Evaluate and create

• Create a travel brochure for a country that has confirmed cases of swine flu. The task is to promote the country but also include any warnings or precautions travellers should be aware of. More information can be found at the following website

• Create a game that teaches students about influenza and healthy habits that help prevent the spread of swine flu.

• Predict what you think will happen with the latest outbreak of swine flu. Support your predictions with facts where possible.

Self assessment

What do you understand more clearly now?

What would you do differently next time?

( Related Research Links

ABC News – World waits for flu to hit



ABC News Swine flu: How to avoid infection



ABC News – Swine flu requires a global response



ABC News – Swine flu photographs



Children’s BBC – Swine flu Q and A



NSW Government Department of Health – Swine flu factsheet



Kids Health – What is the flu?



BtN: Episode 10 Transcripts 05/05/09

On this week's Behind the News:

• Coming face to face with real life pirates

• How kids in Pakistan live very different lives

• And why your TV channels are multiplying.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News.

Also on the show today – we meet kids teaching dogs, and dogs teaching kids.

We’ll get to those items later, but first to our top story.

Swine Flu

Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: Over the last week, the news has been filled with fears we could be hit by a worldwide Flu pandemic.

Overseas people have died and hundreds are in hospital with the virus which is called Swine flu or Influenza type A.

But what is Swine Flu? It sounds like a flu for pigs, not humans! And what's a pandemic anyway? Catherine went searching for answers.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Mexico has been at the centre of the global Swine Flu outbreak.

It's a country with more than five times the population of Australia, but last week it began to look more like a ghost town as lots of people hid in their homes.

Every school in the country was closed. Restaurants, cinemas and sports stadiums were also shut to stop people potentially spreading the virus.

Before long countries to the north reported their first cases.

In New York classrooms were scrubbed with disinfectant and messages were sent out cancelling lessons.

As each day went by more countries announced confirmed and suspected cases of the swine flu including Australia.

So what is going on?

For starters let’s examine the Flu.

The flu is a virus which actually began thousands of years ago in birds.

But gradually over the years other animals have been infected and now every animal - even the snake - has its own form of flu.

Normally each species only gets infected with their own flu, but sometimes similar animals can exchange them.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Now even though pigs don't look like bird, they have similar cells so they can get bird flu.

And would you believe pigs and humans have similar cells so we can exchange viruses with each other.

Now this latest Swine Flu virus experts reckon is a mixture of bird flu, pig flu and human flu!

They reckon at some stage a pig's been infected with the pig flu and at the same time has caught bird flu and the two viruses have combined to create a new flu.

Later the pig has got that new flu again and at the same time has caught the human flu and those viruses have combined to create the deadly Swine Flu.

The trouble is it's so different to our human flu our bodies aren't prepared for it. We haven't built immunity to it and that's why it's making people so sick.

And it's now spreading from human-to-human. It spreads in the normal way our flu does - through coughing and spluttering.

Health authorities are worried it will spread quickly and cause a pandemic, which is when a virus gets out of control and infects lots of people.

Luckily there are medicines available which can treat the virus and scientists are working hard to create a vaccine.

And flu pandemics are rare. They happen about every forty years and experts say the world is better prepared to deal with a pandemic than at any point in history.

So far in Australia there hasn't been a single case of Swine Flu and the Government says, should an outbreak happen here it has lots of plans in place to fight it.

Presenter

And if you want to avoid the flu - the advice is 'Wash, wipe, cover - don't infect another.'

Quiz

Let's do a flu quiz.

How long does the flu virus live on objects likes tables and door knobs?

1. 30 seconds

2. 30 minutes

3. 3 days

Answer: Up to 3 days

The time varies a lot but it certainly lives for hours and even days so that's why it's so important to be careful when you sneeze and cough. There's a story with more details about how the flu works in our archives, and a bit more in the Wire as well.

The Wire

Australian airports have begun scanning passengers with thermal cameras to try and pick up people with swine flu.

The cameras respond to heat and are sensitive enough to measure differences of less than a degree.

If some shows up with a high temperature they are then questioned and tested for the flu.

**************

South Australia has become the first state to ban the sort of plastic bags used in supermarkets.

The move is protect the environment. It's estimated it will stop 400 million bags going to landfill every year.

Other states are looking at similar bans.

***************

And Rebecca Gibney has won this year's Gold Logie for Packed to the Rafters.

ABC News won two awards - one for its coverage of the China earthquake. The other went to Foreign Correspondent.

Best kids' show was H2O from Channel 10.

Modern Pirates

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: Now to something else that's been big in the news lately - pirates! And we're not talking Long John Silver.

These are real pirates and they're a serious problem. Last month, the American navy had to rescue a ship captain who'd been taken hostage by pirates and later a cruise liner full of tourists was also attacked.

So what are these pirates doing? And why are they causing the shipping industry so much grief? Sarah found out.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Think of pirates and you probably imagine something like this.

REPORTER: Thanks to Hollywood it’s all hats and eye patches and Arrrrrs. And you know, some of this get up is based on real pirates that terrorised the Carribean 300 years ago. Even the old Jolly Roger was really flown to scare crews before they were attacked. There are still pirates today but they look very different.

It might look like a scene from Top Gun but these heavily-armed war ships are hunting pirates. A Pirate is a criminal who attacks ships and boats - more like a mugger than Johnny Depp. They've always been around and they still operate all over the world. But one particular group has been causing havoc and costing the shipping industry millions of dollars. They're here off the coast of East Africa. These seas are a shortcut between Asia and Europe so they're always busy with ships carrying millions of dollars worth of cargo. And that's what the pirates are after. Sometimes they take the cargo and sometimes they take hostages. Often they'll hold the ship and crew captive and demand a ransom for their return. That can earn them millions of dollars. In the past few months there have been some high profile attacks.

REPORTER: So what is it that's dragged pirates out of the history books and into the headlines? Well part of the answer lies in a very poor and dangerous country called Somalia.

This ABC journalist went there to have a look.

SOMALIAN MINISTER: Welcome to Boosaaso. This is Boosaaso airport we hope you will have a good time while you're here.

This is a province of Somalia called Puntland. And this is the local jail, jammed full of pirates. They might not look like the sort of people who would take on high-tech cargo ships. That's because they used to be fishermen. Fishing used to be a huge industry here in Puntland. But back in the 1990s there was a big war in Somalia and while the fighting was going on the fishermen say fishing boats from overseas came in and took a lot of the fish. The pirates say they started fighting against the boats that stole their fish. But the pirates don't just attack fishing boats. They target all sorts of ships from all over the world and that hurts everyone. Like these people who make a living working at Puntland's ports. The pirates also make it harder for ships to bring much needed food aid into Somalia, where many are starving. So the Somali authorities want the pirates stopped too. Last year the United Nations asked for countries around the world to send navy ships here to try to stop the pirates. Some have been rescuing ships and crews. But some say the answer to piracy isn't out at sea, it's here in Puntland. They say the money spent on navy ships would be better spent helping Somalia rebuild, and if that happens the pirates might be able to earn an honest living.

Presenter: And those Somalia pics came from the ABC show Foreign Correspondent. You can see the whole story on our website.

Quiz 2

Ok let's move on from that, and into a quiz about another place that's been in the news.

Which country has Australia been playing cricket against in Abu Dhabi?

1. Saudi Arabia

2. India

3. Pakistan

Answer: Pakistan

They are playing Pakistan, but Abu Dhabi is a city in the United Arab Emirates, a long way from their home ground.

Pakistan Kids

Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: You may remember last term we told you that those matches were supposed to be in Pakistan, but after terrorist attacks there, the games had to be moved.

There's been lots of violence in that country so Catherine decided to find out how it affects the kids there.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: If you're around the age of 11 in Australia it's most likely that during the week you'll be found in a classroom or school yard somewhere.

You may not love every subject but you know one day it's going to help you to become what you want to be when you grow up.

In Pakistan however it's a different story.

Eleven year old Nawaarscarn's school days are already over.

NAWAARSCARN: My name is Nawaarscarn I work in a mechanic shop. I studied until grade four. My father is a poor man. He picked me up from the school and sent me to the mechanic shop.

Thousands of kids here are pulled out of school and put to work - it's hard work and it goes for about 11 hours a day!

CATHERINE: So say they were to start at roughly the same time you guys start school each day they wouldn't finish until about eight o'clock at night and they get paid about 40 cents for it!

NARWAARSCARN: When I see the boys walking past the store in their uniforms I want to go to school like them.

Narwaarscarn's dad knows his son wants to be at school but he can't afford to keep him there. He has eight kids to look after and he only earns four dollars a day taxiing passengers around.

FATHER: All the people in the neighbourhood are leading similar kinds of hard lives. It to make ends meet for all of us.

These people live roughly here in Pakistan in a place called Lahore.

Now next door to Pakistan, in Afghanistan there's a lot of violence. There are rebels causing trouble and people say that fighting has spread into parts of Pakistan.

FATHER: I pray to god for the welfare of Pakistan. The situation is very unstable.

There is also fighting here because people are angry about the way the country is run and there's lots of poverty.

Governments have been so busy trying to get control that some people say they've forgotten to take care of kids' futures.

Half the population are kids and many of them aren't in school getting an education.

Now a country with lots of people who can't read or write is in big trouble. How will they get jobs? How can a country survive if there's no one to do jobs like nurses bankers or teachers?

A special aid group is offering some hope. They've taken over some of the schools in Lahore and are now educating thousands of kids, but there's still a long way to go.

In the meantime Nawaarscarn practices his reading every day because he's worried he'll forget what he learnt in the few years he had at school.

He's hanging on to his dream of one day becoming a doctor.

NARWAARSCARN: When I get an education I can become a doctor I want to work with some senior doctors and then get trained, I just need some school.

As the country battles with terrorism, political troubles and poverty, the dreams of millions of kids here in Pakistan are on hold.

Digital TV

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

Television has been around for over 50 years, but in that short amount of time it's become a massive part of our lives.

Virtually all of the 8.4 million households in Australia have on, and watching tv is regularly listed as our number one leisure activity.

But this huge part of our lives is changing. New channels, new programs and most importantly, it's just been announced there'll be heaps more stuff for kids! Welcome to the future of TV!

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It started off with such humble beginnings. Now, everything's changed.

Television is undergoing its biggest revolution since colour was first broadcast.

It involves better pictures, better sound, and best of all - heaps more content for kids!

It's called digital TV!

Now you've probably heard about it before. In fact, you probably already know way more about it than your parents.

But what actually is it?

Well digital is just a different way to send signals to your TV than the old analogue way, but it has a lot of benefits.

Digital signals are able to send much more information to your TV. So that means pictures can have a far better resolution like this, and can be heard in surround sound, like this!

Some channels are even broadcast in High Definition, which means even crisper pictures and sound than that!

On top of this, if you have the right TV, you can view pictures in widescreen, meaning instead of seeing this much of a shot, you see all this!

But that's not even the best feature.

Each different TV channel is given only a certain amount of space, or spectrum, to broadcast in.

Digital uses this space more economically, meaning they can broadcast more channels!

They've branded all these extra goodies 'Freeview.'

There are a few stations that have already launched new channels.

The ABC has ABC2, which shows original and some repeated shows, many especially for kids.

SBS has a World News broadcast, and Nine and Seven's HD channels have a few different shows on them too.

Channel Ten has also just launched OneHD, which is a 24 hr sport channel.

But there is even better news than that!

Another new ABC channel has been announced for the end of the year - that will be 100% for kids!

What does this mean for you?

Well it's all aimed at school kids and will broadcast from six in the morning till nine at night, seven days a week.

Half of the content will be stuff made right here in Australia and you can expect heaps more dramas, cartoons, comedies and your own daily news as well!

So how do you get to watch all these new channels?

Well if you have a new TV you might already be able to.

But if not, you'll need some new equipment to pick up the digital signals.

You can either buy a new TV that is Digital Ready or you can buy a set top box, which connects to your old TV and converts the signal.

The government is hoping the new ABC channel will help convince people to switch over to digital, because the old analogue signals have to be switched off soon.

So far only 40% of Aussie households have switched over, but the deadline is set for 2013.

After that, if you haven't made the swap, you won't be able to pick up any tv at all!

Of course kids probably won't have any trouble getting their mind around it all.

You might have to give the older generations a bit of a hand though.

Quiz 3

I'm sure my parents would be in the same boat...time for some TV trivia

Which was first introduced into peoples' homes?

1. TV

2. Radio

3. Computers

Answer: Radio

Radio came first, then TV then computers!

Time for some sports news now - here's the Score.

The Score

Six athletes have been caught as drug cheats 7 months after the Beijng Olympics.

They were caught under rules which allow blood samples from athletes to be kept for years after the games.

That mean they can be retested when science comes up with new ways to find evidence of cheating.

********

Meanwhile there's been a big change for competitive swimming and you might see the results at your local pool.

These new starting blocks have been approved for competition. It's expected they'll reduce mistakes like slipping and improve times.

********

And there's probably not any drug testing or cutting edge technology in this event.

The annual Puffing Billy race has been held in Victoria

Three thousand runners took on the old steam train over a distance of 13 k’s and people power won.

The first across the line was 20 minutes faster that the engine.

Dog Trainers

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: You've probably heard of guide dogs that help people who are blind or vision impaired to get around.

But did you know there are also companion dogs that are trained to help people with other disabilities.

Training dogs to do that sort of work is really difficult and takes a lot of time and effort, but Sarah's found out about some kids that are doing it, and by teaching dogs new tricks they're learning a few new things themselves.

CHELSEA: Stella is my best friend. Her personality; she makes me feel good about myself, yeah.

AIDAN: Um, she farts a lot. She loves food - she'll do anything for food. She's a really lovely, soft dog. She's just a lovable pet.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: If your best friend is furry, has a wet nose and occasionally smells a bit you're not alone. Lots of people have pet dogs they're lovable and a lot of fun.

These dogs are friends to these kids but they're not pets. This is Labs'n'Life; a school where dogs and kids are taught life-changing lessons. For the furrier students there are tricks like this. The kids are training the dogs to help other kids with a disability. They have to be able to ignore all distractions, even food or their favourite toy.

REPORTER: And if you have a dog you'll know that's not easy. Stay Nelly. Stay!

KALEB: How to press buttons, how to pick up a phone. We teach them how to press stop buttons at traffic lights and that sort of stuff.

Kaleb is one of the dog trainers.

KALEB: My dog's name's Finn. I've had him since he was a little puppy and I've trained him ever since. And me and Finn have got a very good bond.

The dogs don't live with the kids. They meet up a few times a week to train. But many have been working with their assigned dog since it was a puppy and have become good friends. But it's not just about training dogs. The kids are learning too.

These guys have had a pretty tough time growing up. Some don't have mums and dads and some got into trouble at school.

KALEB: I used to probably get suspended every week and I got excluded twice in the same year before I started this program.

ALEX: I was loud, I was outgoing, I was a trouble maker.

And that's where the dogs come in. The organisers of this charity reckon if kids can master the tricky job of training an assistance dog, they can do anything.

CHELSEA: I've changed a lot. And if it wasn't for this program - before I came to this program, I wasn't going to school, I started lots of stuff that wasn't that good. But now, I'm like wanna be a vet. I'll be here when I'm 25, volunteering. I'll be here when I'm 45 volunteering. It's just the best.

ALEX: Now I'm quiet and I'm at the moment doing Year 12 which I never thought I'd be able to get to. So that's a high.

But there's a sad side too. These guys know that one day they're going to have to say goodbye to their friends if they go off to be an assistance dog.

KALEB: I sort of don't want to get rid of my dog but then I know that he's helping somebody else and he's gonna possibly could save somebody's life or somebody from getting hurt. So, thinking in that way, I'm really happy for him.

They know that their furry friends will go on to help others. They've already changed the lives of these kids.

Closer

If you think Sarah's dog was well behaved there - that's not the full story.

I've stolen some shots off the camera tapes and put them on the web to show you what really happened.

And Catherine had quite a few problems with the piglet as well so have a look at that! That's it for another show. Catch you later.

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Episode 10

5TH MAY 2009

Episode 10

5TH MAY 2009

LEARNING AREA

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop an understanding of historical and modern day pirates and piracy.

.

Episode 10

5TH MAY 2009

LEARNING AREA

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will increase their knowledge and understanding of the influenza virus and swine flu.

.

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