ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



Questions for discussion

National Energy Guarantee

1. Explain the BTN National Energy Guarantee story to another student.

2. Malcolm Turnbull says that a National Energy Guarantee (NEG) will have three main benefits. Give one example.

3. Most coalition MPs and senators have agreed to support the plan. True or false?

4. Complete this sentence. The guarantee refers to having reliable ___________.

5. What Australian state was hit by a blackout in 2016?

6. Australia has agreed to reduce emissions by 26 percent from what the 2005 emissions levels were by the year…

a. 2020

b. 2030

c. 2040

7. What promise does the NEG contain?

8. Who doesn’t agree with the plan?

9. Give one reason why some don’t like the NEG?

10. What questions do you have after watching the BTN story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Homework Ban

1. Retell the story in your own words.

2. Where in Australia have some primary schools decided to drop homework?

3. What would they rather students be doing after school?

4. Why did they decide to not give their students homework?

5. Give one reason why homework is a good idea.

6. Complete this sentence. Homework can help students prepare for _______ ____________.

7. About how much time do you spend on homework each night?

8. What would you do if you didn’t have any homework?

9. What are your thoughts on the issue?

10. Hold a poll in your class asking if you should have homework. Discuss the results as a class.

Check out the Homework Ban resource on the Teachers page.

Drought-affected Communities

1. Summarise the BTN Drought-affected Communities story.

2. Where in NSW do Kennedy and Elias live? Find using Google Maps.

3. How has the drought impacted on their family?

4. What has happened to some of the businesses in the local town?

5. Why can’t some farmers plant their crops?

6. Describe what the environment looks like.

7. How is the school trying to help?

8. Illustrate an aspect of the story.

9. How did this story make you feel?

10. Why do you think BTN reported on this story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Tassie Devils in Trouble

1. What did the BTN story explain?

2. Tasmanian devils can only be found in Tasmania. True or false?

3. Tasmanian devils are…

a. Vulnerable

b. Endangered

c. Extinct

4. What disease is threatening Tasmanian devil populations?

5. How are researchers helping to protect Tasmanian devils? Explain.

6. What can researchers find out by measuring Tasmanian devil’s teeth?

7. Has the number of Tasmanian devil babies being born increased or declined?

8. Researchers believe there isn’t enough genetic diversity in the population of Tasmanian devils. What does this mean?

9. Why were Tasmanian devils placed on Maria Island?

10. What did you learn while watching the BTN story?

Check out the Tassie Devils in Trouble resource on the Teachers page. Do the quiz on the BTN website.

Get your class involved in BTN’s Ask A Reporter! This week’s topic is Tassie devils.

Mega Skate Ramp

1. Discuss the Mega Skate Ramp story with another student.

2. How old is Keefer?

3. Who built Keefer’s skate ramp?

4. What is Keefer’s favourite thing about the ramp?

5. How is Keefer’s ramp different to regular ramps?

6. What is the X Games?

7. Where is the X Games held?

8. Keefer is the youngest person ever to compete at the X Games. True or false?

9. What are Keefer’s dreams for the future?

10. What advice does Keefer give to other kids who want to be pro skaters?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Teacher Resource

Homework Ban

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1. Retell the story in your own words.

2. Where in Australia have some primary schools decided to drop homework?

3. What would they rather students be doing after school?

4. Why did they decide to not give their students homework?

5. Give one reason why homework is a good idea.

6. Complete this sentence. Homework can help students prepare for _______ ____________.

7. About how much time do you spend on homework each night?

8. What would you do if you didn’t have any homework?

9. What are your thoughts on the issue?

10. Hold a poll in your class asking if you should have homework. Discuss the results as a class.

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Note taking

Students will practise their note-taking skills while watching the BTN Homework Ban story. After watching the story, ask students to reflect on and organise the information into three categories. What information in the story was...?

• Positive

• Negative or

• Interesting

Hold a class discussion about the issue of whether primary school students should do homework. Use the following questions to help guide the discussion:

• What are the benefits of doing homework?

• What are the disadvantages?

• List some activities you could do if you didn’t have homework.

• How do you feel about homework?

• Should homework be compulsory for all students? Why or why not?

• Are some types of homework more beneficial than others? Give examples.

• How would you change homework?

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The BTN Homework Debate story looks at different opinions on the issue of whether kids in primary school should get homework. Students watch the story then answer the following questions:

1. Why does Ms Atsalas think that homework is good for kids?

2. In the BTN story Marc Wedding says `when you’re in primary school you need time to be a kid’. List some of the activities you could do if you didn’t have to do homework.

3. Complete this sentence: What we’re saying in this book is that less ______________is better and that the quality of the homework needs to be ___________________.

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Students will investigate the issue of banning homework in primary schools and develop either a persuasive text or hold a mini debate.

Persuasive text

Students will explore the issue of banning homework for primary school students and develop a persuasive text for or against the following statement: `Homework in primary school should be banned’. Students can use the information collected during the class discussion and their own research to help develop their argument. Encourage students to use a range of sources.

Provide students with the following structure to follow when completing this activity.

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Mini Debate

• Working in pairs, students will prepare a 1-2-minute speech for a mini debate on the topic of banning homework. One person will speak for the affirmative and the other will speak for the negative.

• Before students begin to construct their argument, ask them to record what they already know about the topic and what they would like to find out. Students then research the topic to gain a greater understanding of the issue.

• Ask students to list their arguments in point form on paper (without their partner seeing them). When they have done this, ask them to choose the five best points that will form the basis for their debate.

• Students will write in point form, their debate on cards that fit into the palm of their hand. Their debate needs to have an introduction (introducing the topic), middle (three main points) and a conclusion (restating their position). Students practise their speech and then present the mini debate to other students.

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Opinion Poll

Students will conduct their own opinion poll on the issue of banning homework. Working in groups, students will need to decide who their sample group will be and how many people will be polled. What method will they use to conduct the poll? (Face to face interviews or written responses).

• Ask students to graph the opinion poll results and display in the classroom. Students can reflect on how reliable they think the results were. What would they do differently next time?

• Students may want to film their interviews and then create a movie to present to other students.

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BTN - Homework Debate



ABC News – Primary schools ditch homework for students in favour of play, reading and downtime



ABC News – Does homework help? Only if it’s the right homework, expert says



CBBC Newsround – Is homework a good idea or not?



Teacher Resource

Tassie Devils in Trouble

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1. What did the BTN story explain?

2. Tasmanian devils can only be found in Tasmania. True or false?

3. Tasmanian devils are…

a. Vulnerable

b. Endangered

c. Extinct

4. What disease is threatening Tasmanian devil populations?

5. How are researchers helping to protect Tasmanian devils? Explain.

6. What can researchers find out by measuring Tasmanian devil’s teeth?

7. Has the number of Tasmanian devil babies being born increased or declined?

8. Researchers believe there isn’t enough genetic diversity in the population of Tasmanian devils. What does this mean?

9. Why were Tasmanian devils placed on Maria Island?

10. What did you learn while watching the BTN story?

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Discuss the BTN story as a class. Students will then write a personal response to the BTN Tassie Devils in Trouble story. Students can leave a comment on the BTN Tassie Devils in Trouble story page. Students can finish one or more of the following incomplete sentences:

• It was interesting to learn that…

• Tasmanian devils are in danger because…

• Tasmanian devils are special because…

• It’s surprising that...

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Glossary

Students will brainstorm a list of words that relate to the BTN Tassie Devils in Trouble story. Students will then use the words to write their own sentences about the issue. Students may want to use pictures and diagrams to illustrate the meaning and create their own glossary. Here are some words to get you started.

|Genetic diversity |Threats |Habitat |

|Species |Ecosystem |Marsupial |

|Conservation |Population |Endangered |

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Six Hat Thinking

As a class, use Edward De Bono’s Six Hat Thinking to explore Tasmanian devils. Make your own coloured hat cut-outs and place on the floor.

Students will take it in turns answering questions in relation to what they already know about the issue, what they have learned from the BTN Tassie Devils in Trouble story and what they want to learn further about the topic.

Download this worksheet for students to respond to a range of questions about Tasmanian devils.

Reflection

After this activity, ask students to reflect on what they have learnt. Students can include details about how their thinking on this issue has changed and why they think we should act.

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Creature Feature

Students will research and write a Creature Feature about Tasmanian devils. Students will use this Creature Feature worksheet to record their findings. Encourage students to use a range of sources to find their information.

Students will research the following for their project:

• Common and scientific name

• Appearance - what are some of their physical characteristics?

• Habitat - where do Tasmanian devils live? Describe their habitat.

• Conservation status

• Threats - what are some of the threats to the survival of Tasmanian devils? What is being done to help increase genetic diversity in Tasmanian devils?

• Interesting features.

• Further investigation – why is genetic diversity in Tasmanian devils important?

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Campaign

In this activity students will design a public education campaign to raise awareness about Tasmanian devils and the threats to their survival. Students will need to think about their campaign’s aim, target audience and the value of raising awareness in their school community. Students can use Canva to design a poster which can be put up around their school and the wider community.

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Be a reporter for a day

As a class, read the ABC 730 News transcript from August 2018 – “The race to save our Tassie Devils from a new threat”.

Using their own words, students will write an online news report for kids about Tasmanian devils and the threats to their survival. Tips for students:

• Think about the language and tone you will use in your report. Is it appropriate for a young audience?

• Write a headline that is short and to the point.

• Use words and pictures in your report. Use captions for any photos included in your report.

• Present the facts and/or opinions clearly and accurately.

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BTN – Devil Island



Tasmanian Government – Tasmanian Devil information for kids



WWF – Tasmanian Devil



National Geographic – Tasmanian devil



ABC 7.30 Report – The race to save our Tassie Devils from a new threat



Australian Museum – Tasmanian Devil



BTN: Episode 23 Transcript 21/8/18

Hey, Amelia here. You’re watching BTN. Check out what's coming up.

• Some schools are saying no more homework. We find out why.

• Discover how the drought’s affecting people that don't live on the land.

• And imagine having this in your backyard? We meet the lucky kids and the dad that made it for them.

National Energy Guarantee

Reporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: Stick around for that fun story. But first we're talking about the NEG.

Not to be confused with that scary shark movie that's out right now. NEG stands for National Energy Guarantee. It's a plan the Government says it wants to make happen and while it's not set in stone, here's the gist of what it is and why it’s causing controversy.

You know when you think you've got a really good idea, and then everyone you speak to is just a bit "meh" about it? Yeah. But then, eventually, you talk them around. Mostly. Well, welcome to being Malcolm Turnbull. Lately, he's been trying to sell an energy plan called NEG. It stands for National Energy Guarantee. It's a plan that he says will make power bills cheaper, and power sources more reliable.

MALCOLM TURNBULL, PRIME MINISTER: What we have today is a game changer. This is a national energy guarantee.

The Government announced it nearly a year ago, and it's gone back and forth since. But now, Coalition MPs and senators have agreed to support it. Well, some of them, anyway.

TONY ABBOTT, LIBERAL MP: Idiocy is doing more of the same and expecting a different result. We have massively increased renewables and what have we got? We’ve got a doubling of price, we’ve got blackouts and rationing.

We'll come back to that. But first, here's the gist of the NEG. Of all the letters, in this three-letter acronym, the "G", or guarantee, is the most important. It's referring to two things. One of them is the guarantee of reliable power. Companies will have to supply a minimum amount that can be used at a moment's notice. That's to stop situations like when South Australia was hit with a blackout in 2016.

The second part of the guarantee, is a guarantee of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Back in 2015, Australia agreed to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent from what the 2005 emission levels were, by the year 2030. Yeah, that's a bit of a mouthful. Let's keep it up on screen for a bit.

Helping reach those targets was part of the original plan. But remember those slightly non-supportive party members? Yeah. Well, they weren't particularly enthusiastic about this part of the NEG, so Malcolm Turnbull has now ditched that part of the guarantee because he doesn't think it'll get through Parliament.

Finally, the NEG contains a promise that electricity bills will be cheaper. We don't actually know how much cheaper. Under the original plan, households were tipped to save around $150 a year from 2020.

So that's NEG. A confusing, changing promise that energy will be cheaper and more reliable. Within the Government, there are still disagreements. Tony Abbott is one of a few pollies who says it won't save people enough money. Meanwhile, Labor says NEG isn't doing enough to bring emissions down. But despite all the changes so far, it's likely to go through even more before we get to a vote in parliament. And from there all the states and territories will have to back it, too. So, if you were to ask me if this issue's all settled, I'd say negatory.

This Week in News

Firefighters are battling blazes across parts of New South Wales. While no one has died in the fires, a pilot sadly died when his waterbombing helicopter crashed.

He's been honoured for putting his life on the line to protect the community.

70 bush and grass fires are still burning across the state but better weather over the weekend gave them a head start this week.

Overseas now and nearly two weeks of heavy rain in India's south has caused one of the worst floods there in a century. In Kerala, buildings and bridges have collapsed and hundreds of people have died. About 800,000 others have been forced to live in shelters.

Authorities are now bringing drinking water to the affected areas and working hard to find people who are stranded.

And people on the Indonesian island of Lombok have been hit by another series of powerful earthquakes just weeks after the last lot of damaging tremors.

One of the most recent earthquakes was a massive magnitude 6.9. Aid efforts there are continuing to help people.

World famous singer Aretha Franklin has died at 76. She was known as the Queen of Soul.

ARETHA FRANKLIN: R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means to me.

Her career took off in the 1960s and she continued to sell more than 75 million records worldwide over the next two decades. She also won 18 Grammy Awards and was the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Finally, to some good news, if you love ice cream and puppies together as one.

Which turns out to be a bit freaky, actually. Who would've thought? These puppy shaped ice creams are on sale at a restaurant in Taiwan and each one takes around five hours to make.

Homework Ban

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Okay. Next up a few primary schools in Western Australia have decided to stop assigning students homework. Here are the arguments for and against it, plus we found out how some of you feel.

You know that saying "the dog ate my homework?". Yeah, well, there's a reason that exists. Homework isn't exactly the funnest thing in the world. But most of you would be pretty used to it by now.

KID 1: I do about three hours of homework during the week and probably about one to two hours on the weekend.

KID 2: I'm meant to do around two hours, but I usually only do one hour.

KID 3: I think when you'd rather be doing something else like playing with family or friends, then you just feel like - can we get it done with?

So, is homework worth the hassle? It's a question some people have been asking lately, including principals at a few primary schools in WA. They discussed it and decided to drop homework altogether and assign their students more free time for friends, family and fun activities.

JAYNE MURRAY, BRAMFIELD PARK PS PRINCIPAL: We felt it's better for them to have some family time, talk to people, get to bed early rather than be up all night worrying about homework.

REBECCA BURNS, SOUTHERN GROVE PS PRINCIPAL: I would like them to be reading, I'd like them to be cooking with their parents, I would like them to be playing board games, I would like them to having physical activity outside.

They say that while homework can be handy for high school students, primary school kids aren't necessarily getting that much out of it. They reckon it's taking away from their after-school down time. They're not necessarily learning that much more doing it and that it's causing more stress for kids, parents and teachers than it's worth.

But before you go tearing up your books and calling for your non-existent dog you'd better turn the page to hear the other side of this debate. A lot of educators still think homework is a really good thing. Stay with me. They say practise is the key to getting better at things so taking some work home can really help you learn. It can also teach you how to complete tasks in your own time and lets you finish work you didn't get time to do at school, and it helps to prepare you guys for high school where more homework's pretty much a given.

But experts say it's also important for the work you take home to be interesting and educational, and for there to be a balance between homework and life. As far as who gets to decide on this whole homework/no homework thing, well, it's really up to every school to make its own policy. So, what are your thoughts?

KID 2: I think homework's not really useful because students do a lot of work during the school day. It's just kind of overloaded and some students can't handle.

KID 1: I’d say overall a ban on homework is a bad idea because school's meant to be a time for people to be learning and it's like a pathway to their future career.

KID 3: I think it could be a good idea, so people can get out more but I think it also means students have to work harder at school and be on task more.

Podcast Promo

BTN has a brand-new podcast. We’re bringing you the hard hitting, quirky, and just plain weird news stories of the day. A survey has found, one in three Aussie kids doesn’t brush twice a day. That’s a bit gross.

There’s a new episode out every weekday. You can get it as a podcast, on the BTN website and, if you’ve got one, on your smart speaker. Tune in and we’ll brush up on the news together.

Drought-affected Communities

Reporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: Now. Over the past couple of weeks, we've found out a lot about the drought and how it's impacting farming families and schools. This week, we're continuing our special focus, with a look at how it affects communities. As you'll see, it's not just those on the land that can do it tough in times of drought.

KENNEDY: I'm Kennedy Watt.

ELIAS: And I'm Elias Watt, we live in New South Wales Narrabri and we're here to talk about the impact of the drought.

KENNEDY: The impact on our family is that the drought has, dad has to go around and travel a lot, that's his job and when he has to do it, it makes it even harder for mum because she's working a lot and that's harder for us. It's real hard for mum because she's obviously got to work when dad's away and she's also got to take care of us four and that makes it real hard for her and more frustrating.

ASH, FATHER: My business is called "Why Leave Town" and we help a lot of businesses to encourage the "shop local" message. What I've seen I guess in the last six to twelve months, a lot of businesses putting off staff, a lot of businesses closing their doors. It's become really tough. A lot of businesses don't have the money to invest in advertising or to stock new products. A lot of them are finding it really rough.

ELIAS: Looking around town, I've seen a lot of businesses have closed and it's really quiet.

KENNEDY: And on the streets there's hardly any cars and as Elias said, the business has closed down a lot of them, and people are moving out of Narrabri real quickly. Around town the drought has impacted real bad. Across the road from us is where the kangaroos are and you can just see the land. It's just all dark, and no green grass, and it's real hard for those kangaroos to find water and things like that. And kangaroos coming across the road, and we've nearly hit some. And around town people's lawns are just yellow and dirty and dry.

ELIAS: Dry.

KENNEDY: Yeah and dead. The lake doesn't have much water in it, but it's been filling up a bit. It's not even a quarter full though, it's been real hard. At least we've got a little water, but we hope that it fills up.

We've got friends and they are farmers and it just makes it hard for them and they have to do all this work when they're earning no money and they can't plant their crops. People like Sydney kids don't know what's happening to us right now. We want to try to get them involved.

ASH, FATHER: Most of them are just waiting for rain. It's becoming difficult for them to even keep their doors open. It's really a huge impact out here, I do a lot of travel around NSW and the other states as well, and it's a similar story through most of regional Australia at the moment in this part of the country. They're all hoping for rain and waiting for rain.

KENNEDY: At school we've made a farmer day, and we dress up as farmers, and all the kindies can dress up as little animals, and we have a whole farmer day, and we bring a gold coin donation, and that goes for the farmers to help raise money for them and the drought.

Quiz

What proportion of Australians live in regional areas?

1/3

1/10

1/4

The answer is 1/3.

Tassie Devils in Trouble

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: It hasn't exactly been a good few decades for Tasmanian devils. A facial tumour disease has wiped out about 80% of them and now, scientists have discovered another problem that they're working hard to solve. Check it out.

Being a Tassie devil isn't easy. First, you roamed the whole country. Then you were hunted by Europeans. Now you're only found in Tasmania, your species is endangered and everyone you know is getting sick from a facial tumour disease. I mean, it's rough.

Luckily, these researchers have their back. For many years, they've been working to protect the last healthy population of wild devils. They travel across Tasmania every year to give them a health check.

DAVID SCHAAP, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: Clare's just getting him into a restraint position where we can get bit of a closer look and checks will progress on through to dental checks.

The good news is that once again the devils here are disease free. The bad news is, researchers say they've got other problems. As if they didn't already have enough on their plates. For a while now, there haven't been as many devil babies around.

DR DAVID PEMBERTON, MANAGER, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: The number of babies born to the mums every year has declined dramatically. We're only getting about 20 per cent or less babies born where we expect 60 to 70 per cent of the mums to have babies.

This Tassie devil watching team isn't exactly sure why, but they've made an educated guess, there isn't enough genetic diversity. You see, for any animal population to grow bigger and stronger and keep surviving there has to be a mix of different kinds of genes in their DNA. So, without a whole, different population of Tassie devils to reproduce with, these guys could be in trouble. But researchers aren't about to give up on them.

PROFESSOR KATHY BELOV, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: We've come so far in, you know, bringing the devils back, I guess, from the brink. So, for me now to leave devils in the wild, thinking they may recover, they might not, seems quite inconceivable.

A group of devils were released on Maria Island, just off Tassie's coast, back in 2012. They were placed there just in case things went bad and the rest of species became extinct. Now, a few of them are packing their, ah, pouches and moving back to the mainland.

DR SAM FOX, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: Yeah, that's Egmont. He's one to go.

Researchers hope island devils like nice little Egmont here will meet a nice girl devil back home. Or two, or three maybe a few.

DR SAM FOX, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: Egmont is a beautiful, perfect two-year-old male so hopefully he's going to go out. He's just starting his breeding life. So, my hope is that he'll go out to his release site and breed with lots of other females out there and create a new generation of genetically diverse devils.

The idea already seems to be working.

DR SAM FOX, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: That's Andy, that's one of the new girls so we should probably check her pouch.

A sign that hopefully there will be more good fortune for these little devils in the future.

DR DAVID PEMBERTON, MANAGER, SAVE THE TASMANIAN DEVIL PROGRAM: They breed well, they're tough. I think between the devils and the effort we're going to, we should be alright.

Ask a Reporter

Do you have a question about Tassie devils? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter. Just head to our website for the details.

Did you know?

Warner Brothers based a cartoon character on the Tasmanian devil. He was called Taz and he used to whirl around creating chaos

Sport

The Sunshine Coast Lightning will defend their Super Netball grand final title after a prelim win over the Giants in Sydney 59 to 50.

The Lightning started the season with three straight losses but finished strong. They take on the West Coast Fever in the grand final on Sunday.

It's been a big week of AFL with just one round to go it's the final race to well the finals.

The Melbourne Demons had a 17-point win over West Coast which pretty much guarantees they'll finish in the eight for the first time in 12 years. Meanwhile, Richmond wrapped up the minor premiership sitting two games clear on top of the ladder.

Over in NRL, the finals race is even closer. Just one win separates the top six teams with two rounds to go.

Melbourne Storm are on the top of the ladder on percentage only while the second placed Roosters missed their chance to go a game clear after an upset loss to the Raiders.

And Aussie NBA star and Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons has made a trip home to Australia to host a basketball camp for hundreds of young players.

BEN SIMMONS: Be a good role model to them and have someone they can look up to.

KID 1: I aspire to be him.

KID 2: I've got him as my phone cover, it's really cool and surreal.

He's heading back soon to prepare for the upcoming NBA season with his team the Philadelphia 76ers. But in the meantime, let's enjoy this dunk one more time.

Mega Skate Ramp

Reporter: Ruby Cornish

Finally, today. Let's meet 11-year-old Keefer a skater who's set to become the youngest competitor at the X Games. And who better to ask the questions, than his sister and fellow skateboarding fanatic, Aaliyah.

KEEFER: Hi my name is Keefer Wilson and I'm 11 years old and I love to skate.

AALIYAH: How did you get into skateboarding?

KEEFER: I've been around it my whole life and I saw it and I was just like `that looks really fun.’ I tried it and I've loved it ever since. You just get to go really high and it just feels really good. To help me practice my skating, my dad and his friends built me a skate ramp in our backyard. But he got a bit carried away. As you can see, it's no ordinary skate ramp. In fact, it's the world's biggest skate ramp.

PETER, KEEFER'S DAD: I've been a builder all my life and my family's been into building, and I got good friends who are ramp builders, so we got together and built the biggest ramp.

KEEFER: The surface which goes on top which you skate on, that got sent from Sydney and then we got heaps of beams and posts from the local hardware. And then some of the ply from Bunnings.

AALIYAH: What is your favourite thing about the ramp?

KEEFER: I like that it's a lot bigger than others. It catches you, so you don't get hurt as much as a regular vert ramp because it's so tight. It's really fun to skate I am so lucky because I get to practice on it every day. We've had some pretty big-name skaters here to try it out like Tas Pappas and Jake Brown. They've been using the ramp to prepare for the X Games.

AALIYAH: What is the X Games?

KEEFER: The X Games is the world’s biggest skateboarding and extreme sports competition. Most of the time it's held in America but this year it's coming to Australia for the first time. I've always dreamed of competing, so when I found out that I'd been invited, it was the happiest moment of my life. I'm going to be the youngest competitor at the X Games, which is cool. I have a few tricks ready, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

AALIYAH: What are your dreams for the future?

KEEFER: I wanna become a professional skateboarder and travel the world and maybe be the best one day. I know going pro will take a lot of hard work, but I'm ready to do anything it takes.

AALIYAH: What advice would you give to other kids who want to be pro skaters?

KEEFER: Train hard and never give up.

Closer

Great work guys and good luck at the X Games Keefer. Well, that brings us to the end of the show. But as always, there's plenty to see and do on our website. You can find it here. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week for more BTN.

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Episode 23

21st August 2018

Episode 23

21st August 2018

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Students will investigate the issue of banning homework in primary schools and develop an argument for or against a ban.

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English – Year 5

Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience.

Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’ own experiences and present and justify a point of view. 

English – Year 6

Use interaction skills, varying conventions of spoken interactions such as voice volume, tone, pitch and pace, according to group size, formality of interaction and needs and expertise of the audience.

Plan, rehearse and deliver presentations, selecting and sequencing appropriate content and multimodal elements for defined audiences and purposes, making appropriate choices for modality and emphasis.

Participate in and contribute to discussions, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions. 

Structure of a persuasive text

Introduction

• What is the point you are trying to argue? Construct an introductory paragraph which states the issue or topic.

• Introduce the arguments that will be developed in the body of the text.

Body

• Construct arguments that support your point of view.

• Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence which introduces each point.

• The rest of the paragraph gives more reasons.

• Arguments can be ordered from strongest to weakest.

Conclusion

• Restate your position on the argument.

• Construct a concluding paragraph that provides a summary of your arguments and a call to action.

Tips for writing persuasive texts

• Who is your audience? For example, are you directing your argument at kids, teachers or politicians?

• Explore how language choices can have a big impact on persuading your audience.

• Which language devices give the report credibility and authority?

• Which are designed to create an emotional response in the listener?

• Provide facts and evidence to support your argument.

• Write in the present tense.

• Check your spelling and punctuation.

Use this Read Write Think persuasion map to plan your exposition text.

Guide for giving feedback

• Was the information clear and accurate?

• Were the arguments logical?

• Were the counter arguments accurate and relevant?

• Comment about the presentation style (tone of voice, body language, enthusiastic, convincing).

Reflection

• How difficult was it to think of points to support one side of the argument?

• Do you think you would have done a better job supporting the other side of the argument?

• Were you able to convince others of your opinion?

• Did your opinion change?

• What did you learn from this activity?

Episode 23

21st August 2018

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Students will develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing Tasmanian devil populations in Australia.

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Science – Year 5

Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment.

Science – Year 6

The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment.

Science – Year 7

Classification helps organise the diverse group of organisms.

Interactions between organisms, including the effects of human activities can be represented by food chains and food webs.

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