Questions for discussion

Royal Life1. Discuss the Royal life story with another student.2. About how many people watched Prince William marry Kate Middleton?3. What responsibilities do members of the Royal Family have?4. Why doesn’t Prince William want to do royal duties full time?5. What sort of engagements do the Royal Family attend?6. How are members of the Royal Family expected to behave?7. Describe the attention members of the Royal family attract.8. In your own words, describe how Kate Middleton’s life will change now that

she’s married to Prince William.9. How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story?10. Do you think comparing the Royal wedding to a fairytale is accurate? Why or

why not?

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

Green plan1. What does the BtN story mainly explain?

a) What greenhouse gases areb) The Emissions Trading Schemec) What carbon pricing is and how it works

2. What is the major source of human-produced carbon dioxidea) Burning fossil fuelsb) Humans breathingc) Farming

3. The chemical formula for carbon dioxide is a) H20b) C02c) C

4. The aim of carbon pricing is a) Making all people pay for the carbon they produce.b) To charge companies for how much carbon they produce.c) Turning off the electricity when companies have used too much.

5. It is hoped the amount of carbon companies produce willa) Increaseb) Decrease c) Stay the same

6. Draw a diagram that shows how the cost of the carbon pricing scheme could be passed on to consumers.

© ABC 2011

EPISODE 10

3RD MAY 2011

7. To compensate consumers for an increase, the Government says it will offer money back. This is called a a) Levyb) Incentivec) Rebate

8. Some companies think the carbon pricing scheme will make products more expensive so people will buy more things from overseas. a) Trueb) False

9. What other ways could carbon emissions be reduced?

10. The BtN Carbon price story is an example of aa) Procedureb) Argumentc) Report

`Is a carbon tax for Australian businesses a good idea?’ Vote in the BtN online poll http://www.abc.net.au/btn/

Back to school1. Summarise the Teacher for a day story.2. What skills do teachers need to have? 3. Why do teachers need to know first aid?4. Why is managing students’ behaviour an important skill for teachers to have?5. What do you think makes a good teacher?6. What are some of the challenges of being a teacher?7. Describe some of the rewards or benefits of being a teacher.8. Describe Nathan’s attempt at being a teacher for a day.9. How has your thinking changed since watching the story?10. What was surprising about this story?

Post a message about this story on the BtN guestbook http://abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html

Asthma answers1. How many children in Australia does asthma affect?2. What are some common triggers that cause asthma?3. Describe what happens when someone has an asthma attack?4. How do doctors test for asthma?5. What is the best way to prevent and treat an asthma attack?6. What is an inhaler and how does it work?7. Some kids with asthma need to use a breathing machine called a

________________.8. Why is it important for asthmatics to check the `pollen count’?9. Why do you think asthma is considered a serious health problem in Australia?10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

Interview someone who has asthma. Write a diary entry describing the symptoms and treatment from their point of view.

© ABC 2011

Flying feathers1. Briefly describe the history of badminton.2. Badminton is not an Olympic sport. True or false?3. How long has Verdet been playing badminton?4. What skills does she think you need to be successful at badminton?5. Instead of hitting a ball, players hit a _________________.6. Describe the construction of the shuttle.7. How does it move through the air?8. Why can it be difficult to predict when the shuttle will stop?9. What are the similarities and differences between badminton and tennis?10. Name three adjectives to describe the game of badminton.

Create a badminton fact file using information from the BtN story and the internet.

© ABC 2011

Carbon taxFocus Questions

1. What does the BtN story mainly explain?d) What greenhouse gases aree) The Emissions Trading Schemef) What carbon pricing is and how it works

2. What is the major source of human-produced carbon dioxided) Burning fossil fuelse) Humans breathingf) Farming

3. The chemical formula for carbon dioxide is d) H20e) C02f) C

4. The aim of carbon pricing is d) Making all people pay for the carbon they produce.e) To charge companies for how much carbon they produce.f) Turning off the electricity when companies have used too much.

5. It is hoped the amount of carbon companies produce willd) Increasee) Decrease f) Stay the same

6. Draw a diagram that shows how the cost of the carbon pricing scheme could be passed on to consumers.

7. To compensate consumers for an increase, the Government says it will offer money back. This is called a d) Levye) Incentivef) Rebate

8. Some companies think the carbon pricing scheme will make products more expensive so people will buy more things from overseas. c) Trued) False

9. What other ways could carbon emissions be reduced?

10. The BtN Carbon price story is an example of ad) Proceduree) Argumentf) Report

© ABC 2011

EPISODE 10

3RD MAY 2011

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop a deeper understanding of the issues associated with carbon pricing.

Carbon taxNegotiate with students how many activities they will need to complete from each section.

Remember and understand

Choose five key words from the BtN Carbon price story. How were they used in the story? What other meaning, information or synonyms are there for the key words? Illustrate them if possible and write your own sentence for each.

Create a 10 question and answer quiz about carbon pricing facts.

Working in pairs or small groups, record on a mind map what you know about climate change. Share your mind map with the class.

Apply and analyse

Predict what will be the attitude of governments to environmental issues in 50 years from now. How different will they be from today?

Explore ways your school and home can reduce energy demand, become more energy efficient and incorporate renewable energy sources.

Investigate what is meant by the following statement: Forests are often described as `our lungs and our sink.’

Evaluate and create

Should companies pay for the pollution they produce? Is the carbon tax fair? Outline the different perspectives on the issue.

Create a response to the following question: How much are you prepared to change the way you live to show that you care about the environment? Display your response in an interesting way.

Develop an effective advertising campaign promoting businesses paying for the pollution they produce.

8 Related Research LinksABC Behind the News – Emissions Votehttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2653903.htm

ABC Behind the News – Emissions Tradinghttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2564766.htm

Kids.net.au – Carbon Taxhttp://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/ca/Carbon_tax

Department of Climate Change – Carbon Price Framework

© ABC 2011

http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/multi-party-committee/carbon-price-framework.aspx

Asthma answersFocus Questions

1. How many children in Australia does asthma affect?2. What are some common triggers that cause asthma?3. Describe what happens when someone has an asthma attack?4. How do doctors test for asthma?5. What is the best way to prevent and treat an asthma attack?6. What is an inhaler and how does it work?7. Some kids with asthma need to use a breathing machine called a

________________.8. Why is it important for asthmatics to check the `pollen count’?9. Why do you think asthma is considered a serious health problem in Australia?10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

Asthma answersBegin by asking student to look at the words/phrases below. With a partner, recall how they were used in the BtN story. Students can then write a paragraph about asthma using all the words/phrases. Asthma attack Trigger Allergies

Manage Medication Preventer

Inhaler Nebulizer Pollen count

Cure

Students can choose one or more of the following activities:

Draw a diagram that shows the changes to the respiratory system when someone has an asthma attack.

Interview someone who has asthma. Write a diary entry describing the symptoms and treatment from their point of view.

Write a response to the following statement: `Asthma is considered a serious health problem in Australia.’ Research the topic and present your response to the class.

© ABC 2011

EPISODE 10

3RD MAY 2011

Learning Area

Health and Physical Education

Key learning

Students will develop a greater understanding of common asthma triggers and changes to the respiratory system during an asthma attack.

An `Asthma Friendly School’ is one that adopts and works towards strategies that support the whole school community in the management of asthma. How does your school support kids with asthma? Conduct an audit of your classroom and school to determine how `asthma friendly’ your school is.

Write ten true or false statements about asthma. Give them to a group of students to work out.

To get some idea of how it feels to breathe through a restricted airway, students conduct the straw experiment. Place two straws in mouth side by side, pinch nose and breathe through the straws for ten seconds. Remove one straw, keep nose pinched and breathe through remaining straw for ten seconds.Join the two straws together, pinch nose and breathe through straw for ten seconds.Discuss with students how difficult it was to breathe with each method.

Research and respond to the following statement: `Exercise is a common asthma trigger therefore people with asthma should not play sports.’

8 Related Research Links

ABC Behind the News – Asthmahttp://www.abc.net.au/btn/v3/stories/s1909685.htm

National Asthma Council of Australia – Kids with Asthmahttp://www.kidswithasthma.com.au/

Asthma Foundation – Asthma in school-aged childrenhttp://www.asthmafoundation.org.au/asthma_in_school_aged_children.aspx

Child and Youth Health – Asthmahttp://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=290&id=1510

© ABC 2011

BtN: Episode 10 Transcript 03/5/11

On this week's Behind the News:

Why the life of a Princess, might not be the stuff of fairytales.

We look at what life's like for people who suffer from asthma.

And I head back to school and try being teacher for a day.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today we check out a popular racquet sport that has no ball, but first.

Royal LifeReporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: Around two billion people watched the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. And all eyes will continue to be on Catherine as she takes on her new role in the Royal Family but it's not all glamour and luxury her new job can actually be quite demanding. Here's Kirsty to explain.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of becoming a Princess. On her journey

© ABC 2011

to the castle she came across a frog. It looked at her with loving eyes and with that she gave it a kiss.

Even from a young age we're encouraged to dream about becoming a Prince or Princess but while it's a fairytale to us, it actually happened to Kate Middleton. From a normal life as a student, she's now Princess Catherine, and by marrying Prince William who's set to be King one day she's in line to be Queen.

WEDDING VOWELS: “I do”

After all the, I do's, what happens next for Princess Catherine? Well, it's not just back to the castle and put your feet up. She's going to soon learn that being a Princess is a full-on job!

Being a Royal has lots of responsibilities. One of the big ones is the work they do with the public and with charities. Each year the Royal Family attends more than 2000 functions across the world. That can be anything like opening a new building or attending a ceremony. It can involve a lot of travel and a lot of time away from home. As for Prince William, he's able to mix his royal duties with another job. He wants to continue to serve in the Royal Air Force as a helicopter pilot.

All these appearances look effortless but what we don't see at these events is the Royal rulebook! And that takes us to the next responsibility, to look and act like a royal!

PRINCESS DIARIES 1, AMELIA'S GRANDMOTHER: Now princesses never cross their legs in public why don’t you tuck one ankle behind the other and place the hands gracefully on the knees.

© ABC 2011

PRINCESS AMELIA: Argh!

Just like Princess Amelia in the film the Princess Diaries Kate hasn't spent her life being raised for Royalty. She'll have to learn the rules about how to look and act when out and about. She'll get advice on anything and everything from how she eats, to how she greets people, to what to say, how to say it, how to stand, walk. There's hardly any area where she won't be scrutinized. It's starting to feel like there's a lot of pressure on a Princess. And then there are the sacrifices.

Along with the Royal title, comes royal attention.

PRINCE WILLIAM: I can't see any of you but I can see the flashes.

KIRSTY: Princess Catherine will be photographed wherever she goes. It might sound glamorous but it's not great when you just want to be left alone. And even when there are no cameras she's likely to have her own bodyguards following her. All that attention makes it harder to do simple things so for Princess Catherine going out with friends or just going shopping is made all the more difficult or dangerous.

So as you can see becoming a Princess isn't just a fairytale. It's a real job with everyone watching your every move so now you know the real deal, maybe becoming a Princess isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Presenter: Let's catch up with some of the other big stories making the news this week now. Here's Matt with the Wire.

The Wire

© ABC 2011

The huge news out of America is that Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by American soldiers.

He was the man behind a terrorist attack on America nearly 10 years ago which killed nearly three thousand people.

The U.S has been hunting him ever since.

President Barack Obama said troops found him hiding in a mansion in Pakistan.

20 people were killed in the attack on Bin Laden's compound but all of the American team sent in to get him were unhurt.

His body was DNA tested to make sure it was him.

After the announcement thousands of Americans gathered at the gates of the White House to celebrate the death

In many countries security has been increased because of fears Al Qaeda might try to get revenge.

Carbon TaxReporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: Many of you would've heard pollies rant and rave over something called a carbon price or carbon tax. It's the latest move by the Federal Government to make companies pay for the amount of greenhouse gases they release into the air. The ultimate aim is to slow down climate change but not everyone's too keen on the plan. Kirsty looks at what it all means and why it's so controversial.

© ABC 2011

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Each year Australia releases millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases, and in this pollution is carbon dioxide, which can be bad for the environment. It can be produced by burning fossil fuels like coal or oil. The problem is, we're releasing more carbon dioxide into the air each year.

The Federal Government has come up with an environmental plan to tackle the problem. The aim is to charge companies for each tonne of greenhouse gases they release into the atmosphere. It's called a carbon tax. So how does it work?

Just imagine that each of these kids represent a company. This company releases a lot of pollution, so they're holding more balloons. Whereas this company has cut its emissions, so they don't have as many. The more balloons you have, the more money you have to pay.

KID: You have 3 balloons so that's 50 dollars.

KIRSTY: And that goes straight to the government!

KID: You have 10 balloons so that's going to be a lot.

KIRSTY: The idea is companies will cut down their pollution so they don't have to pay as much. But what does all this mean for you? Well a lot, according to some people.

There are obvious things like having to pay more for gas and electricity. But then there are things that you might not think about like the cost of groceries going up. Take a loaf of bread for example. If the price of fuel and electricity goes up, the farmer and bread factory may have to pass some of

© ABC 2011

those expenses on to you so it could mean we end up paying more for a loaf of bread.

The Government hasn't said yet how much money they'll charge companies under the carbon tax scheme but they have said that if people are worse off because of it, the government will give them financial help. While there's a level of protection for shoppers many Australian businesses are feeling uneasy.

Some think the carbon tax gives an advantage to businesses overseas who can sell their stuff over here without having to pay for their pollution. And the worry is, if Australian firms are at a disadvantage it could lead to job losses. The agriculture industry so far is the only one which has been let off from paying the carbon tax.

The carbon tax plan still has to go through Parliament, and if it passes, it could be rolled out from July next year. The Government hopes the tax will encourage companies and people to invest more in clean energy alternatives like solar and wind power. If the scheme works, instead of paying lots for our pollution, we might decide to save money by saving the environment at the same time.

Presenter: OK that's an issue that has a lot of people talking so let's make that our poll this week.

Online Poll

The question is: Is a carbon tax for Australian businesses a good idea?

To vote, just head to our website.

© ABC 2011

Teacher for a DayReporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Teachers might seem like they have an easy job. They stand at the front of the class giving you heaps of work to do but how much work is really involved in being a teacher? To find out, I became a teacher for a day.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: For kids, this bell means hours of hard work but you know what? It means exactly the same thing for your teachers! And today, I'm on my way to experience the school day from their side.

NATHAN: Okay so I've been given the challenge today of having to teach a class for a whole day. I've gotta teach English, fractions, which I'm horrible at, and Science. I don't even know how to do them myself! This is not going to go well!

The school day started with a quick briefing from my supervising teacher Mrs McMahon about what she expected me to cover.

NATHAN: Morning, how are we?

Then there was another bit of work I never realised teachers had to do when I was at school: regular staff meetings. Teaching is a career and teachers spend a lot of time meeting together to discuss new methods of educating and testing, all to teach you better!

© ABC 2011

NATHAN: All settled? Very good! Welcome! My name is Mr Bazley and I'll be your teacher for today.

Maths was one of the first lessons we tackled.

NATHAN: Now they are the same, we can add them together and what's that, 9 plus 4? 13/12 for that one!

NATHAN: Okay pizzas were each cut into 12 pieces for a party, after the party there were 17 pieces left. How many pizzas were left? So that's a really good question.

Class reading was first up after recess but I don't think my reading was really holding their attention so we took off to the oval for some touch footy.

NATHAN: Make sure you get your hat, your lunches, everything.

Teachers not only have to teach the class, but have to make sure everyone is organised and kept safe and well, especially on trips outside the school. And that includes needing to know first aid.

TEACHER: Well Nathan this is your yard duty bag. You'll find bandaids in there; you'll also find a triangular bandage if there is a broken bone.

NATHAN: Oh gee!

But even without injuries to think about, there were still other issues causing headaches.

NATHAN: I'm noticing that Mrs McMahon's side over there is really nicely behaved; all sitting down in a line, my side

© ABC 2011

are running around kicking footballs. Discipline might be a problem. Maybe I could show the kids whose boss on playground duty?

NATHAN: Okay guys, can we stop now and go back to playing. I'm a teacher so I can tell you that, so go. Thank you. That was good! See? I can do it!

NATHAN: Okay maybe I can't do it.

But it seems the trouble was only just starting after we got back into class.

NATHAN: Okay can you tell me what's up? What happened?

NATHAN: Whoa, okay okay, enough, enough. We said a lot of things we regret. It's understandable, group hug, go. I ended up calling for professional backup.

TEACHER: What I want you to do is to go back to your desks and sit down. Use commands, you are not asking, you are telling. And with that, all the kids seemed to settle and get stuck into it, proving that being able to control a classroom of kids is vital for a teacher and not an easy skill to master. And as the day wound down to home time, I started wondering what my class had thought of my attempts at becoming their teacher for the day.

STUDENT: Umm I gave him a C minus plus because I don't think he was that good.

STUDENT: Sometimes though he had no idea what he was doing and he couldn't keep the kids under control.

© ABC 2011

STUDENT: I think I've given him this grade because although his journalist skills might be good, but as a teacher he's very useless and un-controlling.

And as I packed up after my first and last day teaching, I couldn't help but agree.

Presenter: You can see lots more of my day as a teacher, including what the real teachers thought of my efforts in a special long version of that story on the BtN Website. That's at abc.net.au/btn. Check it out.

Now, let's see if you can succeed where I failed as a teacher. Here's a quiz about fractions!

Quiz 1

What is 0.2 as a fraction?

1/2

1/4

1/5

Answer: 1/5

AsthmaReporter: Natasha Thiele

© ABC 2011

INTRO: Here's another fraction for you, one ninth. This figure, one in nine is the amount of kids who suffer from asthma. It affects 2 million Aussies every year. And on average one Australian dies from asthma every day so with today being World Asthma Day, we thought we'd look a little deeper into what asthma is all about. Here's Tash.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: These are the sorts of things people with asthma have to deal with every day! Pollen, dust, chemicals, perfume and pet hair are just some of things that can trigger an asthma attack. And that can be pretty dangerous, even landing some people in hospital.

Asthma is a serious health problem in Australia and it's one of the main reasons for students missing school. You can get it at any age, but you can't actually catch it from another person. It can run in the family or people can be more likely to get it, if they already suffer from eczema or other allergies.

Anastasia has had asthma since she was a baby and says having an attack can be scary!

ANASTASIA: It felt like you're just holding your breath and you could only get a little bit of air in at a time.

People with asthma have sensitive airways. If they're exposed to certain triggers like you saw before, the lining becomes inflamed and produces extra mucus and the muscles around the airways can tighten. That makes it harder for the air to get through. That can cause coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing.

© ABC 2011

You can find out if you've got asthma by having a test at the doctors.

REPORTER: So what's one of these tests I can take to find out if I've got asthma?

DR KERRY HANCOCK: Well we have a test called spirometry, so what that does it measures how well air can move in and out of your breathing tubes in your lungs and that can tell us whether you've got asthma or not. Okay, so should we do that?

REPORTER: Let's do it!

The idea is to fill up your lungs with lots of air, then blow the air out quickly into the machine, but it's not as easy as it looks! It's hard to tell from these results if I have asthma, but Kerry reckons I've got a pretty normal lung function so it's looking like I don't have it. If you do have asthma, there are ways to manage it starting with medication!

REPORTER: Anastasia do you wanna explain to me what these medications are for?

ANASTASIA: This one's the preventer. I take this one day and night. It prevents me from having an asthma attack.

REPORTER: And what's this one?

ANASTASIA: This is the one when I'm actually having an asthma attack. I press this and breathe it in, hold my breath for 5 seconds then let the air out.

REPORTER: Do you wanna show me how it works?

© ABC 2011

ANASTASIA: And I do that 6 to 12 times.

You've probably seen friends at school carry these things called inhalers or puffers. They've got a gas inside that pushes the medicine into the lungs. It relaxes them, widens the airways and makes it easier to breathe! Some kids with asthma need to use a breathing machine like this called a nebulizer. It's meant to be easier to use than a puffer. It turns the liquid medicine into a fine mist that can be breathed in.

People with asthma can also look out for 'pollen counts' (WEATHER REPORT: “And pollen count, 147 there, after yesterday's warm and windy conditions”.) They're found in newspapers and on the TV news and are put out by the Asthma Foundation. They tell us how much pollen will be in the air, so people with asthma who are allergic to pollen can prepare for the next day.

So far there's no cure for asthma, but scientists are working on finding one. That doesn't mean people with asthma can't have lots of fun and be active. So while scientists continue to look for a cure for asthma, people like Anastasia will have to keep their inhaler on standby!

Presenter: OK, time for another quiz.

Quiz 2

The question is: Which of these words is commonly used to describe breathing?

Perspiration

© ABC 2011

Respiration

Aspiration

Answer: Respiration

Respiration and breathing are actually a bit different though. Technically respiration has to do with how your cells use the oxygen that you breathe in. Time for some sports news now. Here's the score.

The Score

First to AFL and Essendon have smashed newbie team, the Goldcoast Suns, 197 to 58 bringing the Queensland team back to earth after their first win last week. The bombers started the game in record-breaking fashion posting 94 points in the first quarter alone but from there the suns staged a mini-comeback winning the second term five goals to three but it only delayed the inevitable with Essendon pushing ahead to finish the match three points shy of 200.

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

Next to the V8 supercars and a fireball crash has marred the 2nd race of the round in Perth. Karl Reindler stalled on the starting grid and Steve Owen ploughed into the back of him at up to 150ks an hour. The crash is thought to have punctured his fuel tank leading to the explosion but miraculously both drivers walked away, Reindler with some burns to his hands.

© ABC 2011

REINDLER: I have singed my face and my eyebrows, but I think I'm pretty lucky to get away with as little damage.

Back at the track, Jamie Whincup was the winner of the weekend taking out two of the three races to extend his overall championship lead.

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

Finally to one of the dirtiest and toughest races the top end has to offer the Kamfari motorbike endurance race. The race involves smashing your bike through 4 hours of swamps, creeks and sand dunes. Not surprisingly it can take its toll on riders.

VOX: Broke it, that one.

Jehi Willis led for most of the final hour, but got bogged just 10 metres from the end! By the time race marshals pulled him out, Brad Williscroft cruised past to win his 5th title in a row.

BadmintonReporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: What sport uses a racquet but has no ball. That's right, it's badminton. While it's not generally as popular as other racquet sports like tennis it's actually been in the Olympics for almost 20 years! We thought we'd find out a bit more about the game by going one-on-one with a young champion. Here's Tash.

© ABC 2011

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: It's a sport that demands fitness, speed, strength and agility. This is badminton!

The modern game of badminton dates back to the 1800s. It used to be known as 'battledore' or 'poona', after an Indian town where British army officers played the game. They took it back to England, where a duke named it after his estate, called Badminton House.

Back to the modern day and it's played in many countries, and is even in the Olympics but it doesn't get as much coverage as many of the other mainstream sports. Verdet's 16 and has been playing badminton since she was 7. Her talent has meant she's travelled overseas to compete where she can perfect her skills against some of the best in the world.

VERDET: You definitely need to be fit 'cause it's very tiring and you need to be quite quick around the court and you need to have good co-ordination as well 'cause it's sometimes really hard to see then hit the shuttle at the same time.

The badminton racquets are like tennis racquets but a lot lighter and if you hit a tennis ball you'd probably break the racquet but instead of a ball, they hit one of these things called a 'shuttlecock'.

REPORTER: This is what we're talking about, also known as the shuttle or the birdie because it's made up of 16 overlapping goose feathers. They're arranged in a cone shape and attached to the base that's made out of cork. The shuttle can actually fly really fast, reaching speeds of up to 400 kays an hour! And there's a bit of science behind it!

When the shuttle is hit, it flies through the air cork first at high speed but then the air drags on the feathers which

© ABC 2011

slows the shuttle down. Then the weight of the cork takes over, causing the shuttle to drop suddenly. So predicting when the shuttle will stop and drop is one of the skills of the game. It can be the difference between hitting it in or out.

Badminton is played on a court that looks similar to a tennis court, but a smaller version. It's a rectangle split in half with a one and a half metre high net in the middle. To win a game it's the first to 21 points. A match is the best of 3 games.

VERDET: When you're playing the aim is to hit the shuttle right in the centre of the strings right there and pretty much just hit back and forth to your opponent until it lands on the ground, then you score a point.

TASH: Okay, so should we give it a go?

VERDET: Yeah sure, okay.

TASH: Let's go!

Badminton might not have the high profile in Australia like other sports do, but there are young people like Verdet aiming to keep the sport powering on!

Closer

Don't forget to log onto our website and check out the full-length version of my teaching story.

We'll see you next time.

© ABC 2011

© ABC 2011