Geography - Scoilnet · Geography Literacy in Geography Autumn 2012 These materials are for classroom use only. Efforts have been made to trace and acknowledge copyright holders

Cultural and Environmental Education

Geography

Literacy in Geography

Autumn 2012

These materials are for classroom use only.

Efforts have been made to trace and acknowledge copyright holders.

In cases where a copyright has been inadvertently overlooked, the copyright holders are requested to contact the

Cultural and Environmental Education Administrator, Catherine Begley, [email protected]

© 2012 Cultural and Environmental Education, Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST),

01 4358585 , [email protected]

© PDST, 2012 Page 1

Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST)

Cultural and Environmental Education

Geography

Contact details

National Coordinator Conor Harrison

Mobile 087-2405710

E-mail [email protected]

Administrator Catherine Begley

Telephone 01-4358585

Fax 01-4358596

E-mail [email protected]

Address 14 Joyce Way

Park West Business Park

Nangor Road

Dublin 12

Associate for Geography: Tony Dunne

Acknowledgments

With special thanks to Vera Kerrisk, Ken Hickey who generated the materials and to Tony Dunne, Associate

for Geography, who acted both as writer and editor on the project .

Note: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the geographical data contained herein. Any

inadvertent errors are regretted.


CONTENTS

Title Page

PDST Contact Details 1

Contents 2

Introduction 3

Listening and Speaking 4

‘Blind’ Listening 5

Listening and Speaking 7

Stimulating Discussion Using Photographs and Cartoons 11

Question Quotas 14

Bingo 15

Reading and Writing 23

Using a Textbook 24

Readability 25

Fry Graph 26

Using the Fry Graph 27

Skimming, Scanning and Summarising 28

K-W-L Reading and Comprehension Strategy 32

Cloze Tests 35

Exam Keywords 38

Structured Writing 39

Postcard Exercises 45


Introduction

Few would argue that literacy, numeracy and graphicacy are the foundations of

educational development. Little progress is possible for students if these

fundamental skills are not acquired and mastered fully as early as possible. In

subject centred educational systems these fundamental skills may seen to be

the sole responsibility of individual teachers. For example, literacy may be laid

at the door of the English teacher, numeracy at the door of the Maths teacher

and graphicacy at the door of the Geography teacher. Such rigid specialism may

eliminate many opportunities to practice and reinforce these fundamental skills

in other subject areas thus slowing the student‟s possibility of development.

Reinforcing the acquisition of literacy, numeracy and graphicacy skills in

subjects areas across the curriculum, it is felt, will optimise our students

chances to develop these critical skills as efficiently and quickly as possible.

PDST has been tasked with the job of demonstrating how literacy and numeracy

skills can be introduced and reinforced across the curriculum. The Geography

Team adopted this strategy in Autumn 2012. The two in-services provided since

then on „Population‟ and „Resources and Economic Activities‟ have demonstrated

how Geography can support the development of literacy and numeracy and the

accompanying resources provided many class room examples of how this could be

achieved. (These resources will be available soon on the PDST website at

PDST.ie) This approach will continue in future in-service.

This booklet focuses on literacy and demonstrates how it can be reinforced in

the Geography classroom through a variety of exemplar activities which can be

photocopied for immediate use. In particular the booklet focuses on the four

key skills in literacy: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Activities are

provided in each of the skill areas but these skills are not mutually exclusive so

some activities integrate two or more of the skills.

It is hoped that this booklet will be a useful reference for Geography teachers

and that it will ultimately encourage practitioners to think about their role in

the development of their students‟ literacy. It is hoped that teachers will

develop their own strategies for reinforcing literacy in their classrooms.


Listening and Speaking


Blind Listening

Careful listening is a fundamental skill for absorbing

information, understanding concepts and interacting with

people. Very often people are distracted from listening

because there is a visual stimulus competing with the aural

one. By closing their eyes during an aural exercise the focus

is taken off the visual and placed firmly on the aural re-

enforcing its importance.

The visual world is not excluded completely from such „blind‟

activities as the students will usually generate mental

pictures of what they are listening to.

This technique can be employed in all aspects of geography.

Here are a few examples you might wish to try. Get

students to close their eyes when listening to the radio. In

all types of fieldwork closing one‟s eyes focuses attention

on the surrounding sounds, e.g. coastal waves, flowing water,

traffic, wet and windy weather etc.

Give the class a minute or two to settle down.

Read the following piece as dramatically as possible.

Depending on the level of the class the reading may be

repeated once or a number of times.

Ask the students to open their eyes.


Questions students to encourage them to comment.

„My sister Ann and I were on the holiday of a lifetime

in San Francisco, California. We were visiting our aunt

Sive who had emigrated from Ireland in the 1980‟s.

She lived on the 10th floor of an apartment block. I was

gazing out the window when suddenly there was a

tinkling sound as the glasses in the press began to

vibrate. Then there was a rumbling sound like a truck

passing but it was louder and it was coming from every

direction. Then the building began to sway. Ann

screamed, „the glass in the window is bending‟. Sive

shouted, „Earthquake! Quick into the door frame: it‟s

the safest place‟ We ran to aunt Sive who put her arms

around us to protect us. All the time my mind was

puzzling over the question: „Why is the furniture not

moving?‟

1. Name the speaker‟s sister and aunt.

2. Where were they on holiday?

3. What floor were they on?

4. Give three signs that an earthquake was happening.

5. Why is a door frame a safe place during an

earthquake?

6. Why did the furniture not move?


7. Describe what happens to buildings during an

earthquake.

Listening and Speaking

Listening and speaking are interdependent, both are vital to literacy

development, effective communication and effective learning.

Listening is a cognitive act that requires students to pay attention

and think about what they hear. Listening helps students to make

sense of and understand what another person is saying and hence

learn from them.

Speaking is the most pervasive use of language as almost every

aspect of learning and socialising involves it. While speaking comes

naturally and easy to some students, it is not the case for many

others. A lot of students lack confidence, simply because they are

afraid of saying something that is silly or incorrect. Others believe

that they lack the ability to speak fluently and coherently. It is

therefore very important that all students be encouraged to speak

in class and be given the opportunity to articulate their thoughts,

ideas and viewpoints. Praise and positive reinforcement are also of

great importance.

There are many activities that can be used to structure

student‟s speaking and listening such as role play, debating or the

discussion of photos, diagrams and maps.

The use of a photo, diagram or map to initiate discussion.

Using a data projector or visualiser present a photo, diagram

or map to a class.

Distribute number cards or letter cards to all students.


Ask students to study the diagram, photo or map and to

discuss and explain the formation of a landform corresponding

to the number or letter on their card.




1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12


Stimulating Discussion Using Photographs and Cartoons

Photographs

A photograph is an excellent resource for creating a discussion

around a topic. Ask students to study a photograph in great detail

and then either ask questions around it or invite them to make

observations. Photographs can be sourced from text books, printed

photographs, photopacks, downloaded pictures shown on the data

projector or simply aerial photographs from the examinations. If

you have taught the photograph section of the course, it is good

practice to use the accepted terms when identifying areas of the

photograph, e.g. right foreground etc. Alternatively, a more

systematic approach would be to ask students to study the

photograph in detail, starting at the bottom left-hand corner and

moving in an S shape to the top right-hand corner. It is important

for students to support their answers with evidence from the

photograph where possible. On the next page there is an example of

a photograph and sample questions that could be used by the

teacher.

Cartoons

The use of cartoons is also very common in both Geography exam

papers and textbooks. However, they can prove very challenging for

students to identify the hidden message or attitude that is shown in

the cartoon. Therefore, they are an ideal resource for developing

discussion and conversation in the classroom. Cartoons can be

sourced in textbooks, newspapers or onlin

The cartoon below would allow discussion around topics such as

north/south divide, inequality, famine, aid, N.G.O.‟s and obesity.


Bustee Dweller

Questions

1. Describe what you see in this picture?

2. How does it differ from your home?

3. What is the climate type in the area?

4. What is the person in the left foreground doing

5. What problems might this woman face?

6. Why are the peoples shoes outside the door?

7. Based on the number of shoes, how many people do you think

live in this house?

8. What do you think the steel pans in the right fore-ground are

used for?


‘Poor Devils’

Questions

1. Describe the landscape in the cartoon.

2. What, do you think, is the climate in the area?

3. How many people are shown in the cartoon?

4. Contrast the people in the newspaper with the other people in

the cartoon?

5. Why, do you think, the cartoon is called „Poor Devils‟?

6. What is the message of the cartoon about the world?


Question Quotas

It can be a good idea when organising a class discussion around

photographs, cartoons or on a topic, to assign students a quota of

questions they can ask. Depending on the numbers in the individual

class, three to five questions/ observations per student is a good

balance. This strategy helps to maintain order, especially if you have

a student who is very eager and tends to hog a topic. If this

strategy is introduced at the start of the year, students will

understand it very quickly, making class discussions more productive.


Bingo is a wonderful teaching tool to have at your fingertips no

matter what subject you are teaching. Use bingo in any content area

that has a vocabulary with definitions for students to learn. Even

though the objective of this activity is to encourage students to

study, it also enables students to use kinesthetic, visual and auditory

learning techniques. Students use auditory learning techniques as

they must listen carefully to the definitions and words called out.

Visual learning techniques are adopted as students search for

corresponding definitions or words on the bingo cards. Kinesthetic

techniques are also used as students get to mark definitions or

words on the cards. The basic premise of Bingo is simple as students

start with a bingo card containing key words and they mark off the

words corresponding to the definitions read by the Bingo "caller."

Winners make a complete line going vertically or horizontally. Also

teachers may prefer to play "Black Out" which means the winner is

the first student who marks of all of the spaces on the bingo card.

There are two bingo packs included in this booklet, one

relevant to the study of economic activities and the other relevant


to the study of climate and weather. Both packs contain cards of 15

definitions to be read by the “bingo caller” (teacher or student) and

6 bingo cards with 15 corresponding words. Should you require more

bingo cards you will have to prepare extra ahead of time, making

sure that all cards are configured differently.

Preparation

1. Distribute a bingo card and marker to each student.

2. Once students are settled and paying attention, read out a

definition from the definition card. If students recognize the

word it defines and have that word on their bingo card, they

mark the word off. When a student gets a row either

horizontally or vertically, they may say “bingo.”

3. When a student wins, he or she must tell the teacher each of

the words in their row, as well as the definitions that go with

them. This gives all students in the class an oral review of

words they may not have on their cards.

4. If preferred, laminate blank copies of a bingo card. You can

then allow students to choose 15 key words from a list and

write them with white board markers onto their card in any

square they choose. This gives them ownership of the activity.

Erase the cards after each bingo game and allow students to

choose a different set of words.

5. Alternatively the “bingo caller” can call out words instead of

definitions and the students will mark the corresponding

definitions on their cards. Allow students time to read the

definitions before the activity begins.


Things that are

provided by nature that

have not been processed

(altered).

Raw Materials

Inputs, processes and

outputs.

System

Services that people

need.

Tertiary Economic

Activities

The process of

gathering a crop, e.g.

grass and cereal crops.

Harvest

Something that can be

used again and again. It

will never run out, if it

is managed properly.

Renewable/Non Finite

Resource

A limit on the amount of

fish that can be caught

annually by EU member

states.

Quota

An oil company that has

been involved with the

development of the

Corrib Gas Field since

2004.

Shell Corporation

Natural resources

obtained from the

earth, e.g. Farming.

Primary Economic

Activities

Shallow bogs up to 4

metres in depth located

in hilly upland areas.

Blanket Bog

Artificially applying

water to dry land and

crops using canals,

piping and sprinklers.

Irrigation

Over-fishing may lead

to the exhaustion of

certain fish species.

Depletion

The raising of cattle

for beef production.

Beef Farming

A company that has

branch plants located in

many different

countries.

Multinational Company

Power generated by the

force of falling water

resulting from dams

built across rivers, bays

and estuaries.

HEP

Natural resources are

processed into

manufactured goods.

Secondary Economic

Activities


Raw Materials

System

Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Blanket Bog

Renewable/Non-

finite resource

Quota

Beef Farming

Profit

Dairy Farming

Desertification

Primary

Economic

Activities

Harvest

Multinational

Companies

HEP

Secondary

Economic

Activities

Raw Materials System Renewable/Non

-finite Energy

Harvest Quota

Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Shell

Corporation

Capital Raised Bog Irrigation

Sustainable

Exploitation

Mixed

Farming

Multinational

Companies

HEP Secondary

Economic

Activities

Economic

Activities

System Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Harvest Farm Labour

Quota Shell

Corporation

Primary

Economic

Activities

Raised Bog Irrigation

Depletion Tillage Farming Sustainable

Exploitation HEP Trawler


Raw Materials System Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Tillage Farming Inputs

Barrier Shell

Corporation

Outputs Miller Irrigation

Depletion Beef Farming Multinational

Company

HEP Secondary

Economic

Activities

Economic

Activities

System Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Fleet Farm Labour

Quota Shell

Corporation

Primary

Economic

Activities

Peat

Exploitation

Irrigation

Over-fishing Beef Farming Sustainable

Exploitation

Multinational

Company

Secondary

Economic

Activities

Raw Materials System Tertiary

Economic

Activities

Harvest Renewable/Non-

finite Resource

Quota Shell

Corporation

Primary

Economic

Activities

Blanket Bog Irrigation

Depletion Beef Farming Multinational

Company

HEP

Secondary

Economic

Activities


A layer of gases that

surrounds planet Earth.

Atmosphere

An imaginary line around

the centre of the earth

spaced equally between

the North & South Pole.

Equator

Moving Air

Wind

A cylinder marked in

millimetres used to

measure rainfall.

Rain Gauge

A scale that describes

wind speed and strength

by observing its effect

on the landscape.

Beaufort Scale

Clouds like fluffy cotton

wool pods located at

medium altitudes in the

sky.

Cumulus Clouds

An instrument used to

measure humidity, in

other words the amount

of water vapour or

moisture in the air.

Hygrometer

Rain that occurs when

cold and warm air

masses meet.

Cyclonic/Frontal Rain

The unit of measurement

of temperature.

Degree Centigrade

Height above sea level.

Altitude

A boundary between two

air masses.

Front

The most common or

frequent wind in an

area.

Prevailing Wind

Rain that occurs when

air is forced to rise

over mountains.

Relief Rain

People that prepare

weather forecasts.

Meteorologists

A pressure area that

brings cloudy skies, rain

and windy weather.

Low pressure area /

Cyclone/ Depression


Atmosphere

Tropic of

Cancer

Humidity

Rain Gauge

Anemometer

Cumulus Cloud

Wind

Cyclonic

/Frontal Rain

Kilometres Per

Hour

Latitude

Air Mass

Prevailing Wind

Convectional

Rain

Meteorologists

Low Pressure

Area/Cyclone/

Depression

Atmosphere

Equator

Wind

Hygrometer

Beaufort Scale

Stratus Cloud

Humidity

Relief Rain

Degree

Centigrade

Latitude

Front

South

Westerly

Winds

Convectional

Rain

Meteorology

Anticyclone

Ozone Layer

Equator

Precipitation

Stevenson

Screen

Beaufort Scale

Cirrus Clouds

Temperature

Relief Rain

Degree

Centigrade

Latitude

Rain Shadow

Prevailing Wind

Convectional

Rain

Meteorologists

High Pressure

Area


Air

Equator

Wind

Rain Gauge

Beaufort Scale

Cloud Cover

Atmospheric

Pressure

Cyclonic/

Frontal Rain

Degree

Centigrade

Latitude

Front

Prevailing Wind

Convectional

Rain

Meteorologists

High Pressure

Area/

Anticyclone

Atmosphere

Equator

Wind

Campbell Stokes

Recorder

Anemometer

Cloud Cover

Sunshine

Convectional

Rain

Millimetres

Latitude

Front

Prevailing Wind

Relief Rain

Meteorologists Low Pressure

Area/Cyclone/

Depression

Atmosphere

Equator

Wind

Rain Gauge

Beaufort Scale

Cumulus Cloud

Humidity

Cyclonic/

Frontal Rain

Degree

Centigrade

Altitude

Front

Prevailing Wind

Relief Rain

Meteorologists

Low Pressure

Area/Cyclone/

Depression


Reading and Writing


Using a Textbook

Many students have difficulty in using their textbook, because they

simply do not have the skills to know how to use the book. Here are

some points that are worth addressing with them:

The Contents page(s) – this is the part of the book that lists

the chapters in the book and their page numbers. It is also

often divided into the various sections of the curriculum.

Chapter – A book is broken down into chapters. A chapter is a

section of the book on a specific topic. Each chapter may have

a summary box at the end and questions from that chapter.

Some textbooks also give learning outcomes at the start of a

chapter.

Diagrams – Textbooks will have many diagrams which are often

referred to as figures, for example fig 1.

Tables – Textbooks will have many tables of information, often

containing numbers. These can be referred to as tables, for

example, table 3.

Glossary – Textbooks often have a glossary at the back of the

book which lists important key words and their definitions.

Index – Textbooks may contain an index at the back of the

book, which lists the important words and topics, in

alphabetical order, giving the page number in which you can

find them in the textbook.

It is advisable when using a textbook to highlight important

points in the book. However, if you do not wish your students

to write on the book, a good tip is to use coloured post-its to

make notes and stick into the relevant pages in the textbook.

As the majority of books are now available digitally, teaching

students how to use a textbook can be done very simply using

the data projector.


Readability

Readability is the level of difficulty of reading materials. A high

readability level means the material is difficult to read. Low

readability means it is easy to read. Readability is said to exist at

three levels:

1. Frustrational - the reading level is too high leading to frustration

2. Instructional – the reading level is beyond the student‟s level but

because of high motivation and/or help from teachers or parents

the student can cope. In such circumstances students can cope

with readability levels 2 years above their own level.

3. Independent – the reading level is well below the students level.

It is suggested that homework should only be set on materials

which are 2 years below the reading level of the students.

Adapting Readability Levels

If the readability of a text is above the students‟ level then it may

have to be adapted for independent work by students. The

readability of a text can be adapted by:

Use easier synonyms for difficult words.

Use simple short sentences.

Make concepts as concrete as possible

Have a clear organisational pattern


Fry Graph

The Fry graph below is a graphical way of working out the

readability level of a written text.


Using the Fry Graph

Randomly select three sample passages and count out exactly 100

words in each, start with the beginning of a sentence.

Count the number of sentences in each 100 words calculating the

length of the fraction of the last sentence to the nearest one-

tenth e.g. 6.7 sentences

Count the total number of syllables in each 100 word passage. A

short cut for doing this is as follows. If a word has more than one

syllable mark the extra syllables over one as shown in the

sentence below. When you get to the end of the passage, count

the number of marks above the extra syllables and add 100.

Example: „There was a terríblé flood on the rivér.‟ = 11 syllables

as there are 8 words and 3 extra syllables.

Work out the average number of syllables and the average

number of sentences for the 3 passages you choose

Draw lines on the graph to represent the average number of

sentences and the average number of syllables. Plot a dot where

the two lines intersect. The area where the dot is plotted will

give you the approximate US grade level. The Irish reading level

is 5+ US grade level so you must add 5 to the result you get

on the graph.

If a great deal of variability is found in syllable count or sentence

count, putting more samples into the average is desirable.

When counting syllables for numerals and abbreviations, count one

syllable for each symbol. For example, 1945 is four syllables, IRA

is three syllables, & is one syllable.

Worked Example on the Fry Graph

Average sentence length 6.3

Average syllable count 141

Plotted on the graph these values give (see dot on the graph) US

grade level of 7. One must add 5 to this to get the UK reading

level. This gives a reading level of 12.

This is only an approximate guide.


Skimming, Scanning and Summarising

Novels, textbooks, magazines, newspapers, manuals, letters and web

pages are just a few of the things that people read every day. As

efficient readers, people have learned to use many styles of reading

for different purposes. Two important and regularly used reading

styles are „skimming‟ and „scanning‟.

Skimming

Skimming is a reading style that makes it possible for people to read

quickly to get the general gist of an article or passage. People skim

to decide whether information is of use, relevance or interest to

them. People skim as they glance over a newspaper to ascertain

whether an article deserves a closer read. Skimming is useful if

people have a lot of information to read in a short amount of time.

Skimming can also be an effective way of quickly reviewing

something that has previously been read, so as to recall important

parts. As people skim they are not reading word by word nor are

they trying to comprehend every word. Instead they read three to

four times faster than their normal reading pace. It is very

important that students be shown how to skim. Encourage students

to make skimming a step they always take before they intend to

read anything.

Encourage students to do the following:

Read the first and last paragraphs of an article first.

Read the titles, headings and subheadings.

Read the captions of accompanying illustrations, photos, tables

etc.

Read the opening sentence of each paragraph.


Read quotes and phrases that might be in italics or bold print.

If time permits skim read each of the remaining paragraphs to

get a general idea of what each is about. Only read each

paragraph to understand what it's generally talking about, and

try to ignore less important information.

Skim read a summary of an article if available.

Finally, skimming is a very useful tool for revision, so learn it

and use it. Reviewing frequently and rapidly is the best way to

remember information from notes that have already been

carefully studied.

Scanning

Scanning is the skill of looking for specific information such as

individual words, facts or answers in an article or passage. When

scanning, people know exactly what they need, they do not read for

meaning and usually stop reading as soon as they locate the

information they require. Scanning often comes before skimming as

scanning is necessary to determine if an article has the required

information. Once the article is scanned, it can then be skimmed for

more detail. People scan as they search for a name in a telephone

book, for a word in a dictionary or for a topic in a contents page,

book index or web page.

Scanning is a skill that students already use. Students scan when

looking up a word in a dictionary or when locating specific answers in

a reading comprehension. When students scan, they move their eyes

quickly down the page seeking specific information. Many students

are completely unaware of the fact that scanning is a skill, that it

has a name or that it is beneficial to their learning. It is very


important that students are made aware of scanning and encouraged

to use it.

Remind students to pay attention to different font sizes,

styles, colours, italics and to words that are bold faced.

Since scanning is a skill that needs to be practiced, introduce

students to a scanning game. Select three to five keywords and

write them on the board. Ask students to scan a specific

article to find how many times the keywords appear in the

article. Alternatively ask students to scan an article for

unfamiliar words, search for their meaning in a dictionary and

record them.

Summarising

To summarise is to write in your own words a condensed version of

information that you have read or listened to. It is an important

skill that students must acquire so as to obtain and study

information from books, teachers and lecturers. Summary writing is

a skill, but it does not come naturally to students, it needs to be

taught and practised. It is however well worth the time and effort

as it also helps to improve students‟ reading, comprehension,

thinking, writing and editing skills. Comprehension is very important

because if students fail to understand information they have read

they may find it very difficult to create their own version, in words

that make more sense to them.


Encourage students to do the following:

Distribute to students a handout containing a short story, e.g.

„The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of

Pompeii‟.

Tell students to read the story to find out what it is about.

Tell students to reread the story, highlighting or underlining

the main points.

Explain to students the importance of reading the story a

number of times so as to develop a clear understanding of it.

Ask students to write notes using keywords that sum up each

of the highlighted main points.

Ask students to condense and re-write the main points of the

story in their owns words.

Remind students to write simple, short and clear sentences.

Encourage students to edit their work, ensuring that it makes

sense.

Ask students to read their summaries to check that they have

included all the important points.


K-W-L Reading & Comprehension Strategy

The KWL Reading Strategy developed by Donna Ogle in 1986 is a

graphical organiser designed to help students develop their reading,

their comprehension and enhance their ability to remember

information. The strategy also elicits students‟ prior knowledge of a

topic, it sets a purpose for reading, provides an opportunity for

discussion enabling students to expand their ideas beyond what they

have read. Therefore KWL supports learning before, during, and

after reading. In fact it is a reading strategy that can be used with

any subject to motivate students and to develop their interest in a

topic prior to reading.

The letters KWL stand for "what we know", "what we want to

know", and "what we learned". The KWL table is therefore divided

into three columns titled Know, Want to know and Learned. In the

first column students write what they already know about a topic.

This step is to be completed before the reading. The next step is

for students to think of and generate a list of questions that reflect

what they want to learn during the reading. When students think

about what they want to learn, they engage themselves as active

learners rather that passive listeners.

Students write their questions in the second column. This step is

also to be completed before the reading. In the third column

students write the information they have learned from reading.

Students may have discovered answers to many if not all the

questions listed in the previous column. Once students read the

passage they have the opportunity, in a structured manner, to

summarize what they have learned. For a struggling reader,

summarizing is essential and must be done in writing. It is important

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarative_knowledge


to encourage students to share the information that they learned

with others to increase understanding, active participation, and

interest, which improves overall comprehension and retention of

material read.

Using K-W-L in the Classroom

1. Distribute a three-column KWL worksheet to each student.

2. Select a passage with a familiar theme.

3. Direct students‟ attention towards the passage. Remind

students not to read the passage until step two is completed.

Encourage students to study the title of the passage and any

accompanying pictures or diagrams.

4. Begin a brainstorming session and activate students‟ prior

knowledge by asking them to list in the K column what they

already know about the topic of the passage. Gather

information from each student or group and record their

thoughts on the board or overhead projector.

5. Then ask students to list what they want to learn. Initially the

guidance of the teacher is needed to lead the discussion by

asking questions based on the level of knowledge generated in

the first step. Direct students to read the passage and write

down information they learn as well as new questions that rise.

6. After reading the passage, engage students in a discussion of

what they have learned.

7. Students should summarize the discussion in the L column of

the KWL table.


K

What I Already Know?

W

What I Think I Will

Learn?

or

What I Want To Know?

L

What Have I Learned?


Cloze Tests

Cloze tests are very easily adapted for differentiated learning.

There are three different types of cloze tests given as examples

here, the first has no word bank, the second has a word bank and

the third has a word bank plus the first letter of the word in the

correct blank space.

Example one: No word bank

Soils

Soil is a natural _________. Without soil there would be

no ______ for animals or humans. Soil is made up of five

main ingredients, mineral matter, ________, living

organisms, ________ and _______. Ireland has four main

soil types. The most common soil type in Ireland is

_______ _______. Wet upland areas, covered in forests

often have ________ type soil. The other two soil types in

Ireland are ________ and ________. Tropical _______

soils are found in tropical and equatorial regions. Excess

water can wash minerals and nutrients down through the

soil, this process is called _________. A soil profile

consists of a number of __________. If leaching is very

severe, the soil becomes cemented together to form a hard

layer called the _________. People can make soil more

fertile by adding _________ and __________. People can

make soil less fertile by __________.


Example Two: Word bank

Soils

Soil is a natural _________. Without soil there would be

no ______ for animals or humans. Soil is made up of five

main ingredients, mineral matter, ________, living

organisms, ________ and _______. Ireland has four main

soil types. The most common soil type in Ireland is

_______ _______. Wet upland areas, covered in forests

often have ________ type soil. The other two soil types in

Ireland are ________ and ________. Tropical _______



soil, this process is called _________. A soil profile

consists of a number of __________. If leaching is very


layer called the _________. People can make soil more

fertile by adding _________ and __________. People can

make soil less fertile by __________.

Word Bank:

air, irrigation, gley, peaty, resource, podzols, fertiliser,

leaching, food, red, hardpan, brown soils, horizons, water,

overgrazing, humus.


Example Three: Words bank and the first letter

Soils

Soil is a natural R________. Without soil there would be

no F_____ for animals or humans. Soil is made up of five

main ingredients, mineral matter, A_______, living

organisms, W_______ and H_______. Ireland has four

main soil types. The most common soil type in Ireland is

B______ S______. Wet upland areas, covered in forests

often have P_______ type soil. The other two soil types in

Ireland are P_______ and G_______. Tropical R______



soil, this process is called L________. A soil profile

consists of a number of H_________. If leaching is very


layer called the H_________. People can make soil more

fertile by adding F_________ and I__________. People

can make soil less fertile by O__________.

Word Bank:

air, irrigation, gley, peaty, resource, podzols, fertiliser,

leaching, food, red, hardpan, brown soils, horizons, water,

overgrazing, humus.


Exam Keywords

The following is a list of keywords that regularly appear on

Geography exam papers. They are listed along with their definitions

in the separate categories of both Literacy and Numeracy.

Literacy

Analyse – Examine in detail.

Contrast – Point out differences.

Compare – Explain similarities and differences.

Complete – Finish.

Describe – To give an account.

Discuss – To talk over.

Examine – To look at closely.

Explain – To give a clear account.

Identify – To select.

Indicate – To point out.

Label – To attach information.

Locate – Indicate the position.

Name – To give a name.

Outline – A rough draft.

State – Express in words.

Study – To investigate slowly

Summarise – Give a brief account of the main points.

Verify – To confirm.

Numeracy

Calculate – To work out by mathematics.

Estimate – To calculate the approximate value.

Evaluate – To assess the value.

Quantify – To determine the amount.

Total – Add up.


Structured Writing

Writing is an action that students engage in for a variety of reasons.

Students write to text, to tweet, to email, to complete homework,

assignments and exams. While there are many reasons for students

to write, there is often only one reason students don‟t write, that

being their „fear‟ of the blank page. Students may fear making

grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Students may also fear

that everything they write is riddled with errors. Furthermore

students often do not feel comfortable writing freely allowing their

ideas to flow. So how do we as teachers dispel student‟s fear of

writing?

Perhaps begin with a structured writing template. A structured

writing template contains a number of question boxes. Each question

acts as a prompt to get students writing about a particular topic.

The idea behind the question box is to encourage students to create

a paragraph. If the questions are removed from the original

template, the written information takes the form of an essay. To

help students adapt to the strategy at the beginning, present them

with answers but in the wrong order. Overtime students become

accustomed to this approach and capable of completing writing

templates independently without prompts or answers.


Structured Writing

Kolkata – A Densely Populated City

Describe Kolkata referring in particular to its location &

population.

Explain why Kolkata‟s population has grown so rapidly.

(5 Reasons)


Explain the effects of Kolkata‟s rapid population growth and

its high population density. (4 Effects)



Overcrowding is a huge problem in Kolkata. The population density is so high

that there is not enough space for everybody. Approximately two thirds of the

population live in severely overcrowded bustees or shantytowns. Families live in

tiny makeshift shacks made of waste plastic, timber and canvas. There is no

electricity, running water or sanitation in many of the bustees. Another half a

million people have no home at all and live on the streets. They are known as

pavement people.

Poverty leads to population growth. People who struggle to make ends meet

have more children in the hope of sending them out to work and generating an

income. Since infant mortality is high, families also have more children assuming

that not all of them will survive.

Even though Kolkata stretches for 60 km along the River Hooghly, there is little

open space. Apart from a large park in the centre of Kolkata, every patch of

land is occupied by tightly packed buildings. Houses lack gardens and the

streets are busy and overcrowded. Children play on the streets, while traders

sell their produce and many others live and sleep on the streets also. The

streets of Kolkata are where life is lived and the rich and the poor mix.

Kolkata is located on flat swampy land alongside the River Hooghly in Eastern

India. It is the country‟s second largest city and also one of India‟s most

densely populated cities. Kolkata has a population of over 14 million according to

the 2011 census. The city formerly known as Calcutta was officially changed to

Kolkata in 2001.

Wages in urban areas such as Kolkata are higher than those in the countryside.

Families leave the countryside in the belief that they can earn a better income

in Kolkata.


Clean water is scarce in Kolkata. Only the wealthy have access to tap water, but

there is no tap water in the poorer districts or bustees of Kolkata. The poor

collect water from water pipes on the streets. The water in Kolkata is highly

contaminated, either poisoned by the old, worn out lead water pipes or polluted

with human waste.

Farmers find it very difficult to earn a living from their small farms. They

struggle to support their families. They leave the land in search of a better life

in cities such as Kolkata. Other farming families are forced to leave the land

and move to Kolkata because of famine, flooding during monsoon season or

evictions.

Kolkata has a reputation of being one of India‟s most polluted cities. Air

pollution is a cause of growing concern. Some 60% of people in Kolkata suffer

from respiratory ailments caused by air pollution including breathing

difficulties, asthma and lung cancer. The fuels used in vehicles particularly in

the two stroke engines of rickshaws contribute greatly to air pollution. Sewage

facilities do not exist in Kolkata, raw sewage flows through open drains in

streets and bustees. Domestic waste and rubbish also build up on the streets.

People move to Kolkata because many rural areas lack water supplies, schools,

hospitals and electricity.

Young people flock to cities such as Kolkata because they see cities as places of

better opportunities.


Postcard Exercises

Give each student a blank postcard and ask them to write a postcard

home or to a friend explaining the characteristics of the

environment they are in. Here are a few examples:

You are a tourist in Majorca, write a postcard giving details of

where you are, the weather, activities you did, the culture and

the people.

You are a tourist in a country with a Boreal climate; write a

postcard giving details of the country you are in mentioning the

climate, the people and the vegetation etc.

You are a tourist who has experienced a natural disaster such

as an Earthquake or a Volcano. Write a postcard giving details

of your experience.

You are a tourist on holidays in a city with a high population

density such as Kolkata. Write a postcard giving details of the

city, how people live and how different it is to your life at

home.

You are a tourist on holidays in the area shown on the Aerial

Photograph. Write a postcard about your activities while

staying in this area, describing it in detail.

This exercise is an excellent revision exercise at the end of a

chapter. Also, where differentiated learning is necessary, a

postcard can be made out in cloze-test format to help less able

students to complete the task. Attached you will find a blank

postcard which is suitable for photocopying.


Documents

Geography - Scoilnet · Geography Literacy in Geography Autumn 2012 These materials are for classroom use only. Efforts have been made to trace and acknowledge copyright holders