Ayrshire geography: October 2008

Thursday 30 October 2008

Walk to school

School drop-off: The children who walk to class each day along 5,000ft cliff ledge

It is the only way these Chinese pupils can get to the school. No moans about your journey to school now!
See more here

Wednesday 29 October 2008

India - the fate of girls

This video is a bit long but you will get the idea. Some people think 10 million baby girls have been aborted in India.

Listen to this BBC programe if you can - it is only a few minuted long. Compare this to China.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mnmtKLQRh6g

In some ways this is a very old tale. Long before medical abortion became available, unwanted girls were killed after birth or not given enough food and medicine to survive. But modern technology has changed that. Ultrasound machines, which make it possible to determine the gender of a fetus, have spread from big city hospitals to small country clinics. Portable machines are taken to remote villages by motorcycle.

Here is another video.

Hundreds dead after Pakistan earthquake

Each year when we do the Earth Forces section this seems to happen. This time it is Pakistan’s turn. Hardly surprising when you see the plate boundaries in this region. Large parts of south Asia are at risk because a tectonic plate, known as the Indian plate, is pushing north into the Eurasian plate. Remember we mentioned that India used to be found at the Southern part of Africa! Look at the other posts to find out about this. At least 170 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit south-west Pakistan, leaving thousands homeless. Baluchistan is Pakistan's largest region geographically but is sparsely populated. There were aftershocks throughout the day. Boulders came crashing down from the mountains. The people were really scared. The Pakistan meteorological department put the magnitude (strength) of today's quake at 6.5. The official death toll is around 170 but reports are still coming in from remote areas. Some homes were buried in a landslide triggered by the quakeThis is expected to rise. Several people were injured in the panic, with one person hurting his legs after jumping from a first floor window and three people wounded when people fired guns in the air after the quake, hospital officials said. Read more here and here and watch a video here.

Wednesday 22 October 2008

Want to travel in Time?

Want to time travel? See this article to see how you can do this one in Arizona. Cool!

Monday 20 October 2008

Loo with a view

Great article here in the Daily Mail showing toilets with the best views. Anyone got a loo overlooking Ailsa Craig or Arran? Take a pic and send it please – unoccupied preferably!! Thanks to Alan Parkinson on Living Geography for highlighting this one.

Monday 13 October 2008

Earthquake cartoon -not good geography

Any idea why Manhattan can't get earthquakes? Anyone from Carrick who puts in a comment can win a prize after the hols. (Yes - OK I mean a sensible comment!)

Polish Migration to the UK

A couple of videos here highlighted by Richard Allaway. Great stuff for Higher, Int 2 and S grade. Will the return to Poland of all these immigrants be bad news for Britain? Who will fill all the jobs? Are there enough people here available to do the jobs vacated by the Poles? Will it be better for Britain with less pressure on the health service and schools? What about the lack of tax being paid now by the immigrants? Lots to consider in these two short films.

Rainforest Canopy – Ray Mears

Weather Games

Good one here with lots of silly games t fill your time. Don’t know if they will help a lot but have a go if you have a spare 5 minutes.
The glossary is useful though. Might be a good idea for S grade classes to add to your favourites to refer to later.