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Questions for discussion

Japan kids

1. Retell the BtN Japan kids story in your own words.

2. The earthquake in Japan was __ thousand times more powerful that the one in New Zealand.

3. What happened after the earthquake?

4. Where does Hiroshi and his family live?

5. Why have schools in Tokyo been closed?

6. What impact has the earthquake and tsunami had on goods and services?

7. Why is the weather causing problems?

8. What are Hiroshi and his family going to do?

9. Think of three questions to ask Hiroshi about the situation in Japan.

10. How did this story make you feel?

Test your knowledge in the online Japan quiz. Go to the BtN website and follow the links.

Write a message of support to Hiroshi on the special message board on the BtN website.

Nuclear power

1. What issues were raised in the Nuclear power story?

2. Describe the events leading up to the nuclear power station crisis in Japan.

3. What fuel do most nuclear plants run on?

4. How is radiation turned into electricity?

5. Why are cooling systems important?

6. What is a nuclear meltdown?

7. What happened at Chernobyl in the 1980’s?

8. What health problems can high levels of radiation cause?

9. Do you think that nuclear power plants should be built in earthquake prone countries? Why or why not?

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

`Should Australia build nuclear power plants?’ Vote in the BtN online poll

Rumble in the jungle

1. Summarise the BtN story.

2. What are the different ways animals communicate?

3. If the soundwaves are close together you’ll hear a _______ note.

4. What is frequency measured in?

5. Humans can hear sounds that are between

a. 1 and 100,000 hertz

b. 20 and 20,000 hertz

c. 50 and 50,000 hertz

6. What is meant by infrasonic and ultrasonic?

7. Give an example of an animal that can detect frequencies outside this range.

8. How did researchers use technology to help them understand communication between elephants?

9. What did they discover about elephant mums-to-be?

10. Do you think it is important to understand animal behaviour? Explain your answer.

Investigate ways in which animals communicate with each other using sight, sound and other signals.

F1 future

1. How did Cameron start in motorsport?

2. What sort of car does he race now?

3. Why are Formula Fords seen as a great way to get into F1 racing?

4. What are some of the special features of the Formula Fords?

5. How are F1’s and Formula Fords similar?

6. What is the disadvantage of having wheels on the outside of the car?

7. Some of the kids that race aren’t old enough to get their drivers licence. True or false?

8. What sorts of cars would Cameron eventually like to race?

9. What skills do you think are needed to race cars?

10. Summarise the story in a paragraph.

Create a crossword, wonderword or quiz about car racing.

World music

1. What words do you associate with `world music’?

2. Give examples of music or instruments unique to particular cultures.

3. Why is culture an important part of world music?

4. What sort of materials were the instruments in the World music story made from?

5. Describe the leather belt used by the group `Rango’.

6. How did the group get its name?

7. About how old is the xylophone-like instrument played by Rango?

8. Why does Hassan want to teach others how to play the instruments?

9. What do you think the kids involved in `Rango’ workshop learnt?

10. Illustrate an aspect of this story.

Find out more about the Womad festival. What type of festival is it, when did it start, where does it take place and who performs at the festival?

Nuclear power

Focus Questions

11. What issues were raised in the Nuclear power story?

12. Describe the events leading up to the nuclear power station crisis in Japan.

13. What fuel do most nuclear plants run on?

14. How is radiation turned into electricity?

15. Why are cooling systems important?

16. What is a nuclear meltdown?

17. What happened at Chernobyl in the 1980’s?

18. What health problems can high levels of radiation cause?

19. Do you think that nuclear power plants should be built in earthquake prone countries? Why or why not?

20. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

Nuclear power

The nuclear crisis in Japan has reignited the nuclear power debate. Students will investigate some key questions about the safety and need for nuclear power in Australia and the rest of the world.

After watching the Nuclear power story, ask students to record words they associate with nuclear power. Share with the rest of the class and discuss the words chosen by students. What do the words say about their attitude towards nuclear energy?

Students investigate their own questions about nuclear power or use the following as a guide:

▪ How does uranium generate electricity?

▪ What is radiation?

▪ How do you feel about building nuclear power plants in Australia?

▪ How do you feel about uranium being mined in Australia?

▪ Should the public have a say about whether nuclear power plants are built?

▪ Why are some countries using uranium as a power source and not others? What are the costs and the effects on the environment?

▪ What is mainly used to generate electricity in Australia?

▪ What does the current Australian Government think about nuclear energy?

▪ How is the waste from nuclear power reactors handled/disposed of?

▪ Should nuclear power plants be built in earthquake prone countries?

▪ What are the pros and cons of the different sources of energy? Including solar, wind, coal and nuclear.

Using their research findings, students write a magazine article, news report or information report about nuclear power. Students can also share their research and opinions about nuclear power on a class blog or wiki.

Reflect on your research and learning

What were the most important things I learnt from this activity? Write a response under each of the following headings:

Knowledge

Skills

Understandings

Values

( Related Research Links

ABC Behind the News – Nuclear power



ABC News – What is a meltdown? (graphic)



ABC Science – Japan meltdown not like Chernobyl: expert



Children’s BBC – How dangerous is radiation?



Children’s BBC – Nuclear Power



Thinkquest – Nuclear Power



Energy kids –Uranium (nuclear)



World music

Focus Questions

1. What words do you associate with `world music’?

2. Give examples of music or instruments unique to particular cultures.

3. Why is culture an important part of world music?

4. What sort of materials were the instruments in the World music story made from?

5. Describe the leather belt used by the group `Rango’.

6. How did the group get its name?

7. About how old is the xylophone-like instrument played by Rango?

8. Why does Hassan want to teach others how to play the instruments?

9. What do you think the kids involved in `Rango’ workshop learnt?

10. Illustrate an aspect of this story.

World music

Different cultures make musical instruments from things found in their local environment like dried gourds (hollow vegetables), hollowed tree trunks or dried cactus branches. Many instruments, including percussion, can be made from inexpensive, found or recycled objects.

Students will make their own percussion instruments using recycled materials. They can invent their own instrument, research on the internet to get ideas or try one of the following :

Rain stick

Rain sticks originated from Chile, South America and were traditionally made from a dried cactus branch. They can be made from recycled cardboard tubes, nails, dried beans or rice and some materials to decorate the tube. Step by step instructions can be found at this website

Coffee can drum

A simple drum can be made from a coffee can and a balloon. Cut the mouthpiece off the balloon and stretch it over the opening of the can. Secure the balloon using packing or gaffer tape.

Guiro (scraper)

A guiro is a Latin American percussion instrument made from a hollowed out gourd with notches carved out of it. It’s played by scraping the notches with a stick to make long and short sounds. A similar sound can be created using a ridged water bottle or can (make sure sharp edges are covered) and a chopstick.

Rango shaker

The Rango shaker featured in the BtN story, and was originally made from gourds but is now made from recycled aerosol cans. The students participating in the Rango workshop made the shakers using Pringles canisters, rice, foil and coloured paper, stickers and other materials to decorate.

[pic]

Working in small groups, students create a soundscape (music that tells a story) using the percussion instruments they made. Encourage them to perform their soundscape to the class.

Further investigation

Find out more about the Womad festival. What type of festival is it, when did it start, where does it take place and who performs at the festival?

( Related Research Links

ABC The World Today – Sudanese slave music revived



Womad Festival – About Womad



National Geographic – World music



New York Philharmonic – Instrument lab



BtN: Episode 7 Transcript 22/3/11

On this week's Behind the News:

• A kids perspective living alongside the devastation in Japan

• A rumble in the jungle but you'd need elephants ears to hear it.

• And right on track. The Aussie kid hoping to be a Formula 1 star.

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

Also on the show today it's an unusual musical instrument and only one person in the world knows how to play it.

Before all that we start with the big story that's been dominating the news all week.

Japan Kids

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: The recovery is continuing in Japan after the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the country.

Thousands of people have been killed and many others have been injured.

But for many, life simply has to go on as normal so what must it be like for a child living in Japan right now.

Here's Tash.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: First an earthquake.

8,000 times more powerful than the one that recently hit New Zealand.

Then a tsunami.

A 10 metre wave of water swept across the north-east coast of Japan.

Cars, boats, buildings washed away!

While the search continues for missing people, many of the survivors are trying to continue with lives as normal.

But what is normal life for a kid living in Japan right now?

HIROSHI: Hello BtN, it's Hiroshi here!

This is Hiroshi's home video. He's 13 and lives in Tokyo with his family.

Although the earthquake and tsunami didn't destroy that part of the country, he could still feel the rumbles and aftershocks.

His brothers Ken and Jin go to this school and Hiroshi says they also felt the quake.

HIROSHI: It was very scary. My friends screamed. Everybody went to our school yard, then we wait for our parents to pick us up.

Schools across Tokyo have been closed. Not necessarily because the buildings are falling down, but many kids and teachers simply can't get there.

Roads have been damaged and there's a lack of power so trains are unreliable.

Many families like Hiroshi's can't buy petrol, so they can't even drive their car.

There have been big line-ups for fuel.

HIROSHI: Here you could see cars are waiting for the gasoline station to open. They don't know what time it will be because gasoline station is waiting for their supply.

Some service stations have even shut down!

HIROSHI: This is the Shell, still closed. The time now is 11am and also this gasoline station still closed. The gasoline station here is also closed.

Some people have been so desperate; they've resorted to stealing petrol from abandoned cars.

While there are problems with petrol, there's no power either.

And since it's really cold in Japan right now, even snowing, people can't use their heaters to keep warm.

But it's not just the petrol and power that's causing problems for people; supermarkets have run out of stocks.

Basic foods and fresh water are hard to find.

And bare essentials at chemists are low.

HIROSHI: This is the drug store near our place. Look at the tissue paper and toilet paper stand, it's empty. Even the tissue and toilet paper are out of stock.

Hiroshi, his brothers and his parents have decided to leave Japan for the time being.

They're off to the Philippines to stay with family and friends.

And they're not alone; thousands of people are trying to get out of the country.

So while it may be some time before Japan recovers from this devastating disaster, kids like Hiroshi are trying to get on with life, as best as they can.

Web Messages

And we've set up a special message board on the BtN website so that you can leave your messages of support for Hiroshi and others like him who are going through a tough time.

It's at .au/btn

Nuclear Power

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: As if the disaster in Japan wasn't bad enough already then came news of another threat.

The combined force of both the earthquake and tsunami knocked out power to one of the country's nuclear power stations leading to explosions and fears of radiation leaks.

So why is Japan facing a possible nuclear disaster?

Let's take a look.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: In the aftermath of the Japanese quake disaster, these explosions created shockwaves that moved through Japan and the world.

Survivors that already made it through so much, now had a new and invisible threat to contend with radiation.

WOMAN (translated): As for radiation, I've heard it can come down from the sky with the rain.

EVACUEE (translated): Nuclear power is the most frightening thing, even more than the tsunami.

But is Japan really on the brink of nuclear disaster?

To work that out, we need to look at how nuclear power stations work and how this one stopped working.

Most nuclear plants run on a fuel called uranium.

Once they put it in a reactor and treat it a certain way, uranium releases huge amounts of radiation.

This incredible heat energy is controlled and used to boil water to make steam, which then drives a turbine to generate electricity.

A lot of effort goes into making sure the heat from the nuclear reaction doesn't get out of control.

So water cooling systems work continuously to keep the temperature at safe levels.

But in Japan, the quake and tsunami knocked out many of the safe-guards meant to protect the reactors.

The absolute worst case scenario in nuclear situations is a nuclear meltdown.

That's when the fuel rods heat up so much they start to melt.

From there they can explode and blow deadly radiation into the air.

In the 80's in a place called Chernobyl, this actually happened.

An explosion blew huge amounts of radiation into the sky.

Thousands were killed over time and it made a big area uninhabitable.

So far in Japan, there hasn't been a nuclear explosion.

Those big explosions were a result of gas blowing up in the sheds that house the nuclear reactors.

But there have been radiation leaks, and that's been enough to worry the authorities.

People have been evacuated from nearby towns.

And many have been tested for radiation with these special scanners.

High levels of radiation can lead to cancer.

The radioactivity at the nuclear plant has reached high levels around the same amount as getting thousands of x-rays per hour, which is dangerous.

But in the communities surrounding, only small levels have been detected. Much less than even one x-ray in most areas.

This nuclear emergency has led other earthquake prone countries to question the safety of their nuclear power plants.

In Australia, where we don't have any nuclear power, some are saying this is a perfect example of why we shouldn't ever consider it.

But others say a similar quake disaster here is extremely unlikely.

Also, they point to the fact that the Japanese plant is around 40 years old, and the modern day nuclear plants are much safer.

All of these debates will continue on in the background, but everyone's immediate concern is for the people of Japan, as they face the latest equally scary threat.

And unlike the effects of the first natural disasters, the full effects of a nuclear disaster may not be known for years to come.

Online Poll

Well the events in Japan have made a lot of people think about the safety of nuclear power.

Let's make that the subject of our poll this week.

The question is:

Should Australia build nuclear power plants?

To vote just head to our website

The Wire

Now for some more of the stories that made the news this week here's Matt with the wire.

*****

French, American and British forces have launched air-strikes against Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi's regime to try to stop them bombing Libyan civilians.

The civilians are fighting to get rid of Gaddafi and his government but he has vowed to do anything to stay in control.

Coalition forces have fired more than a hundred missiles at Libyan target after the UN voted to enforce a no fly zone over the country

Around 8,000 rebels have reportedly been killed since the conflict begun.

*****

And Prince William has toured disaster hit areas in Australia and New Zealand.

Over the weekend he looked through towns and cities in Queensland that had been hit by the floods and Cyclone Yasi.

He also attended a fundraising event in Brisbane.

"I have met many Queenslanders who've been struck by the brutal force of nature at its cruellest. On behalf of the queen, the Prince of Wales and other members of my family, I would like to extend heartfelt condolences to all in Australia who have lost family members and friends in these terrible natural disasters"

Earlier he attended a national memorial service in Christchurch to honour those that had died during the devastating earthquake there a month ago.

Elephant Sound

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: From chirping birds to howling wolves animals have their own way of making themselves heard.

But there is some communication in the animal world that humans aren't aware of.

It's been found in elephants and as Kirsty reports; it's got zookeepers very excited.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: The animal kingdom can be one noisy place! All this racket is just one of the ways animals communicate. Just like humans they can also use body language to get their message across. But there's one form of animal communication that we can't see or hear. It's a language that's been recently discovered in elephants and it's one humans can only tap into with the help of technology. Before we get into that, let's look at why human hearing isn't able to pick up all animal sounds.

Our ears pick up sound waves as they travel through the air.

If the waves are close together you'll hear a high note.

And when they're a bit more spaced out you'll hear a lower note.

That's called pitch.

The number of these waves or cycles that are in each second is called frequency and that's measured in hertz.

People can pick up sounds that sit between 20 and 20,000 hertz.

It sounds like a lot but if you compare it to some animals, we really can't hear that much!

Giraffes for example can pick up sounds that are in the infrasonic range that's less than 20 hertz.

Whales and dolphins can detect frequencies in the ultrasound range which is more than 20,000 hertz.

While bats can hear sounds which can be as high as 100-thousand hertz!

You can also visualise the scale by thinking of the keys on a piano imagine if you could only hear the notes in this middle bit think of all the beautiful sound that we could be missing out on up in this range or right down here.

So it's in these frequencies hidden to us where many animals are communicating.

So how can we hear it and what are the animals saying?

To answer that let's head to San Diego Zoo in the US.

Here, researchers are looking very closely at African elephants.

They're using huge collars with microphones in them to record elephant sounds 24 hours a day.

We've all heard this trumpet call.

But there is one sound that the microphones have picked up that we haven't heard before.

To hear the full sound we have to bring the rumble's frequency up into our hearing range.

And researchers do that by speeding it up.

So this is how it would sound.

It might just seem like another noise but researchers reckon it has a much more important meaning.

And it could be about their elephant called Litsemba.

Dr Matt Anderson, San Diego Zoo: One of the most exciting things we discovered recently is mums to be. So just before she's expecting she has a special kind of rumble call which changes within that low frequency boundary that we can't hear but they can to announce to the rest of the herd that the baby is coming.

Tapping into these conversations is vital for researchers who want to understand more about animal behaviour.

And with technology on their side, humans don't need ears the size of an elephant to be able to hear what's being said.

Quiz 1

Make sure you're listening carefully because we're about to have our first quiz.

How many muscles does an elephant have in its trunk?

10

100

100,000

Answer: 100,000

It means the trunk can be extremely strong and flexible at the same time.

Car Racing

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: The Formula One season shifts into gear this week with the first race of the year to start in Melbourne.

Mark Webber will once again be fighting to break Australia's 30 year championship drought.

But in the future it's hoped that we won't be relying on just one Aussie driver to bring home the title.

Kirsty checks out the next generation of drivers.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Beneath this helmet could be Australia's next hope.

CAMERON WATERS, DRIVER: Hi I'm Cameron Waters and I race a Formula Ford.

REPORTER: At only 16, Cameron already has an impressive motorsport career. He started in go-karting where he won six championships. He then moved into Formula Fords, which is the type of race car he drives now.

CAMERON: Well they're pretty quick, they're about 3 seconds off the V8s. Pretty nimble and they're pretty quick on the steering so you've got to be on your game.

REPORTER: Since Formula Ford started in 1967, it's been the breeding ground for many of the stars of motor racing. Drivers like Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Mark Webber all started in Formula Fords and went on to become household names in the elite racing of Formula One. So why is Formula Ford seen as the perfect pathway for budding F1 drivers?

Well the clue is in the car. It looks and drives very much like an F1 so it's the perfect place to learn but there are some subtle differences. Firstly there's the speed. These machines can go as fast as 225 k's an hour. Fast, but not as fast as an F1, which can reach top speeds well in excess of 300 k's. And perhaps the most obvious difference is at the back of the car. An F1 has a rear wing. Even though it's called a wing, the idea is to stop the car from taking off. It provides downward air pressure, which helps the car to stick to the track. The Formula Fords are able to drive safely without a rear wing. But it actually makes the cars harder to control, not a bad thing when you're learning.

But while there are a few differences, one glance at a Formula Ford, and you can see that there are lot of similarities. They're lightweight, low to the ground and have a similar engine and design.

REPORTER: Both Formula Fords and Formula Ones are open wheel cars. So that means the wheels are outside the body. That's a good thing for racing because it cools off the brakes, which can get really hot.

The downfall of having wheels on the outside is that it's easy to wreck your car with the slightest touch from another driver and we've all seen this happen.

COMMENTATOR: Mark Webber has gone completely over the top.

REPORTER: Only a select few will ever make it to Formula 1, but for drivers like Cameron it's just one of many options.

CAMERON: Hopefully I could get to formula one, or NASCAR or even V8s super cars I'd be stoked if I made it so nah it'd be really good if I could.

REPORTER: So even though some of these kids aren't even old enough to get their driver’s license, they're proving that if you're good enough, you're old enough to have a crack at the chequered flag.

Presenter: OK, while we're talking about motor racing let's have a quiz.

Quiz 2

The question is: Which city hosted the Australian Grand Prix before Melbourne?

Adelaide

Sydney

Brisbane

Answer: Adelaide

The Grand Prix was moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in 1996.

Let's catch up on what else has been happening in sport this week. Here's the score.

The Score

Aussie Casey Stoner has had a perfect start to the 2011 MotoGP season and a perfect start with his new Honda team with a win at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Stoner won it from Hawhay Lorenzo and teammate Dani Pedrosa who both had a chance up front during the race before Casey reeled them back in.

****

To cricket now and in the World Cup, Australia has lost to Pakistan by four wickets.

The game looked lost from the start after the Aussies were skittled out for 176.

Brett Lee's 4 for 28 wasn't enough to keep Pakistan from reaching the total with 54 balls to spare.

The loss ends Australia's 34 match winning streak in World Cup matches.

****

And finally over in Europe the Winter Extreme Games are in full flight.

Competition history was made when American rider Chas Guldemond scored a near perfect score of 99.33 in the Snowboard Slopestyle Men's Finals.

It's one of the events being considered by the International Olympic Committee for 2014, along with halfpipe and slopestyle skiing.

World Music

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: The next time you switch on the radio the chances are you'd hear pop music.

The lyrics would probably be about love it would feature a guitar or piano and the song would be between 2 and 4 minutes long.

The point is a lot of the music we listen to is very similar and follows a familiar pattern.

But there is a type of music that provides much more variety because it's influenced by all the different countries and cultures of the World.

Tash reports

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: You don't need to see it, to know what it is or where it comes from.

And just as the didgeridoo is one of the sounds of our land, many other countries have music that's grown from their culture.

Like traditional Asian drumming.

Indian Sitar music.

European folk like this from Ukraine.

African traditional choirs.

And Reggae or Creole music from the Americas and Caribbean.

These are just a few examples of traditional music performed by Indigenous musicians.

All together it's called 'world music'.

The sound and style of world music is influenced by the culture of each country.

And with so many different cultures in the world, the music has a lot of variety.

And that's why World Music festivals like this one in Australia, are so popular.

World music often uses instruments which you may not have seen before.

Some are made using the most simple items like recycled goods, dried fruits and vegetables or anything that can be found on the land.

REPORTER: It's a bit like the didgeridoo, that's been in Australia for thousands of years. Aboriginal people found they could make music out of these tree trunks that were made hollow by termites. And it's this sound we recognise as being true Australia.

This group called Rango perform Sudanese songs.

They use a lot of percussion instruments like drums and even this leather belt.

It's actually made from goats toenails, which clash together to make a sound when you move around.

Another instrument played in the group is called the Rango, which is how the group got its name!

It's a bit like a xylophone and is more than 200 years old!

The different lengths of wood, the way it's tuned and how hard you hit the bars helps to produce the sound.

Hassan is thought to be the only person in the world who can play the instrument!

He wants to teach others how to play instruments like the Rango, because if he doesn't share his skills with the next generation, Rango playing could die out.

These kids were given the chance to play the instruments, dance and singing along!

GIRL 1: I think it sounds better when they're actually playing it, than hearing it recorded.

GIRL 2: It was good to see the feather person and to see the people from different countries.

So with lots of variety, world music definitely has something for everyone!

Closer

And that's it!

Don't forget to log onto our website and get more info about any of our stories you can send us your comments and vote in our poll.

And we'll see you next time.

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Episode 7

22ND MARCH 2011

LEARNING AREA

The Arts

Key learning

Students will create their own percussion instruments using recycled materials.

Episode 7

22ND MARCH 2011

LEARNING AREA

Society and Environment, Science

Key learning

Students will develop a deeper understanding of the nuclear energy debate by researching key questions.

Episode 7

22ND MARCH 2010

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