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Judgements and Decisions (incorporating good citizenship, ethics and morals)

The ‘Judgements and Decisions’ entries on this page are designed for teachers to read to (or print out for) their students. Responses could either be

written down or discussed among the class; some may spark lively debate.

Zofia’s Kittens Zofia’s family recently arrived from South America and don’t speak much English.

Zofia herself can speak a little English but, as she hasn’t been at your school very long, hasn’t yet

developed any firm friendships.

You hear the popular Carmella Zeni say to some other girls, “Zofia smells,” and you notice that

this group is not friendly to Zofia in the playground. Feeling sorry for Zofia you befriend her

and, before long, you’re invited to her house and she to yours.

Some months pass and one day Zofia brings a cute little kitten to school. It is a fluffy little ball of

white and has big, light-blue eyes. All the students -and the teacher- pat the kitten and generally

make a very big fuss of it. When Zofia says that her parents breed these cats she is, suddenly,

someone everyone wants to know. Zofia, finally, is accepted and liked and she’s now welcomed

into all the playground games.

But there’s something no one but you is aware of…the cats bred by Zofia’s parents are cooped up

in small cages with barely room to move.

What is the best thing you can do?

———————————————– Creative and Original Thinking Suitable for whole-class discussion or as a writing exercise.

Proverbs Make happy those who are near and those who are far will come. (Chinese)

Happiness you pay for is to be found everywhere. (Gypsy)

True happiness lies in giving it to others. (Indian)

Can you say what these three proverbs mean? (even better if you can give examples)

———————————————— Science and Technology Inventors and Inventions: Faster and Better A hundred years ago all nails used by carpenters were handmade, and whole towns were

engaged in nail making—men, women, and children. It was not only cruelly hard work, but was

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one of the worst paid of all jobs, and nail makers always lived on the edge of starvation. Then

inventors set their brains to work, with the result that we now have a machine which makes

nails at the rate of a thousand a minute. The cruel old trade of nail making by hand is now gone,

and nails are cheaper and better than they ever used to be.

Bricks are still moulded by hand in some small, out-of-the-way places, but the handmade brick

cannot compete with the machine-made. The machine will mould thirty thousand bricks in ten

hours, whereas the most skilled workman could not make even a tenth of that number in the

same time.

A machine for folding, wrapping, and addressing magazines was invented by George Richards,

an American publisher. This machine occupies a small room, yet does the work of a hundred

people. Piles of newly printed magazines are fed in on one side of the machine, and a moment

later come out upon the far side rolled, wrapped and addressed, rushing along a conveyor belt

and falling gently into their appointed sacks. The machine handles the magazines at the rate of

several thousand an hour. Equally

ingenious is a smaller piece of mechanism, about the size of a typewriter, which ‘licks’ stamps

and puts them on the packets at the rate of eight thousand an hour, and, while so doing, counts

every stamp used.

Talk about or Write about

Justify your responses with explanations and examples wherever possible.

1. What would be one of the hazards of making nails by hand?

2. Why do you think it is that machine-made nails are better than hand-made nails?

3. What would be one of the hazards of making bricks by hand?

4. Some benefits of George Richards’ machine are mentioned in the passage. Can you think of

any benefits that are not mentioned?

5. Who could have been disadvantaged by the introduction of the two machines referred to in

the third paragraph?

—————————————– Mathematics and Numeracy Square Numbers to 202 The first ten square numbers are - 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100.

Each is the result of multiplying a number by itself - 1 x 1, 2 x 2, 3 x 3, 4 x 4, 5 x 5 …

- which can also be written - 12, 22, 32, 42, 52… where the small 2 means ‘squared’.

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Exercise: Without using a calculator work out and write down the values of all the square

numbers from 112 to 202

Solutions:

112 = 121 122 = 144 132 = 169 142 = 196 152 = 225

162 = 256 172 = 289 182 = 324 192 = 361 202 = 400

———————————————— English and Literacy Writing Practice: Nature, Wild and Wonderful Choose one of the natural features below and then, adhering to the *additional

instructions, write an interesting fictional story about your experience of it.

thundering waterfall forbidding canyon raging river tranquil lake

towering tree erupting volcano gentle breeze violent earthquake

bubbling brook crashing waves steamy swamp giant surf

*Additional instructions:

- Write in the first person.

- Include: one young person apart from yourself; a crippled old man or lady; an

animal of your choice.

- Conclude with a surprise ending.

- Give your story a suitable title.

———————————————– Creative and Original Thinking Suitable for whole-class discussion or as a writing exercise.

The Wise Crow (a fable of Aesop) It was a very hot day. A crow wanting to quench his thirst searched the forest but he could not

find water anywhere. “I’m going to die of thirst if I don’t find some water soon, ” he thought.

At last, he came across a pitcher at the edge of the forest. There was a little water in the bottom

of the pitcher. But the neck of the pitcher was very narrow. The crow could not reach the

water. The crow being very clever soon had a plan.

He went about collecting small stones and started to drop the stones inside the pitcher one by

one. Slowly the water in the pitcher started to rise, till it came up to the brim.

The crow was delighted. “At last I can quench my thirst,” thought the clever crow. He drank the

water from the pitcher and flew away happily.

Moral: Every problem has a solution.

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Do you agree with the story’s moral that every problem has a solution or do you

think there are some problems that don’t? Back up your view with one or more

examples.

———————————————— Science and Technology Inventors and Inventions: Ideas and Methods If you want to invent, look at what is wrong with things you use now.

It is often said that every inventor dreams of making a better mousetrap.

The US Patent Office alone has more than 4 000 mouse-catching devices on file and patent

offices around the world continue to report the improved mousetrap as the most commonly

registered entry.

Many inventors lack the skills they need to let people know what they have created and why

their invention is better than previous inventions.

You may be able to invent without understanding reading, writing, maths, history and science.

However you are not likely to profit from inventing without sound skills in most of these areas.

You need to be able to read well to learn new skills. A good idea is useless if you do not have the

writing skills to be able to tell other people how and why your invention is valuable. You often

need maths to figure out how to make your invention and you always need maths to figure out

the cost to make and sell the invention. You almost always need science to make the invention at

the lowest cost; it is important to be able to make the invention at a price that people can afford.

Before creating something you should meet with different people. Talk with them about how

they would use your invention. What do they like about it? What don’t they like about it? This

will help you decide if your invention is worth pursuing or not.

Talk about or Write about

(justify your responses with explanations and examples wherever possible)

1. Why might mousetraps be such a popular invention?

2. Apart from the mousetrap, can you think of another simple invention that inventors try to

continually improve?

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3. If you were interested in inventing a machine that could clear city streets of litter more

effectively than current methods say which people you would need to speak with about your

proposed invention. Include those whose permission you may need as well as those whose

opinions you would seek regarding the positive and negative attributes of your device.

4. What could an inventor do if he/she was not skilled in marketing their invention?

5. If someone is planning on inventing a new type of golf club whose advice should they seek

prior to redesigning the current model?

———————————————————– Citizenship, Morals and Ethics Can of Oil Wherever he went, the old man carried it with him. If he found a door that was squeaking, he

would put a spot of oil on the hinges; if a neighbour’s sewing machine wasn’t running

smoothly, he was always ready with his oil can; and all the boys in the neighbourhood knew

whereto go if their bikes were needing attention.

As the old man went through life, he and his oil can were always there to make life pleasanter

and easier for those with whom he came into contact.

Perhaps some of the people we meet have problems that make their life difficult. And perhaps,

like that old man, we can lubricate it with the oil of kindness, gentleness and thoughtfulness.

If we have our own can of oil ready for such occasions, what a difference it can make!

Talk about or Write about

1. What adjectives can you think of to describe the character of the old man with the can of oil?

2. The old man made others’ lives better by carrying around a can of oil. A person with a special

talent (drawing, singing, dancing, playing a musical instrument, ….) can enrich others’ lives and

lift their spirits by putting their talent on show willingly and freely, expecting nothing in return.

Do you know anyone -child or adult- who has done this? (if you don’t know of anyone personally

you may be able to think of a celebrity who has brought pleasure and joy to others).

3. The can of oil in this passage is used firstly in a literal sense and, at the end, in a metaphorical

way. What is the difference between literal and metaphorical?

4. Smiles, nice manners and random acts of kindness are three ways we can ‘lubricate’ the lives

of others. What are random acts of kindness?

————————————————-

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English and Literacy Acrostic Poem An acrostic poem is a special kind of poem.

The first line begins with the first letter of the title, the second line with the second letter of the

title, the third line with the third letter of the title, and so on.

Here is an example of an acrostic poem:

Storms Skimming the sky

The clouds build up

Over the mountains

Rain, thunder and lightning

Make people stay inside

See them listening and waiting

Now write your own acrostic poem, with a subject of your choice.

————————————————– Society and Environment Europe

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents.

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Though it’s the second-smallest continent in area (Australia is smaller) it is the third-largest

(after Asia and Africa) in population.

Europe gets its name from Europa who was a princess in Greek mythology. Originally

Europa stood for mainland Greece but by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to lands to the

north.

Eighty to ninety per cent of Europe was once covered by forests, which stretched from the

Mediterranean Sea to the Arctic Ocean.

Though over half of Europe’s original forests disappeared through the centuries of deforestation,

it still has over one quarter of its land area as forest.

Talk about or Write about (suggested solutions in grey)

1. What do you think might be a reason(s) why Europe, a small continent in area, has a large

population? suitable lands to cultivate and inhabit; (others)

2. What might have been the reason that the name Europa came to extend northwards from

Greece? Greek influence may have spread north

3. What do you think could have been reasons for Europe losing so much of its forests? people

needed more land for farming and settlement

4. What kind of animal and plant species may have been affected by Europe’s loss of

forest? birds, tree-dwelling mammals, plants needing shade, etc

5. (a) Perhaps you have a European heritage. Would you care to share that with us? (b) Have you

visited Europe? If so, where did you go and what were some highlights?

———————————————— Creative and Original Thinking suitable as a discussion or written exercise

Two Famous People Thomas Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, produced more than 1 000

inventions in his workshop in New Jersey, USA.

Edison’s desire was to create devices that could be useful to a majority of people.

He is credited with developing the phonograph, used to record and play back music. Another

invention attributed to Edison is the motion picture camera.

Probably Edison’s most famous invention is the light bulb, used all over the world in homes,

businesses, factories and towns.

————————————

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Walt Disney, cartoonist, animator and film producer, created many unforgettable characters,

loved by children in lands near and far. Probably the most famous Disney characters are Mickey

Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy.

Walt Disney also made many outstanding films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,

Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Treasure Island, The Shaggy Dog and

Pollyanna.

Disneyland theme parks, another initiative of Walt Disney, have given pleasure to millions of

families.

In your opinion which of these two men have made the most difference to

humans’ lives? How would the world be different without Edison’s

inventions? How important to people are Disney’s characters, films and theme

parks? Who do you think, Edison or Disney, would be more satisfied with their

contribution to humanity? Whose work would you have liked doing the most,

Edison’s or Disney’s?

————————————————- English and Literacy Poetry: Tarantella (Hilaire Belloc) Do you remember an Inn, Miranda?

Do you remember an Inn?

And the tedding and the spreading

Of the straw for a bedding,

And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,

And the wine that tasted of tar?

And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers

(Under the vine of the dark verandah)?

Do you remember an Inn, Miranda,

Do you remember an Inn?

And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteeers

Who hadn’t got a penny,

And who weren’t paying any,

And the hammer at the doors and the Din?

And the Hip! Hop! Hap!

Of the clap

Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl

Of the girl gone chancing,

Glancing,

Dancing,

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Backing and advancing,

Snapping of a clapper to the spin

Out and in –

And the Ting, Tong, Tang, of the Guitar.

Do you remember an Inn,

Miranda?

Do you remember an Inn?

Never more;

Miranda,

Never more.

Only the high peaks hoar:

And Aragon a torrent at the door.

No sound

In the walls of the Halls where falls

The tread

Of the feet of the dead to the ground

No sound:

But the boom

Of the far Waterfall like Doom.

Talk about or Write about

-What is Tarantella about?

-How is the poem similar to other poems?

-How is it different?

-Both rhyme and rhythm are strong features of Tarantella. What is the difference between

rhyme and rhythm?

-Choosing two or three lines from the poem show by finger-tapping or hand-clapping how

Hillaire Belloc varies the rhythm.

Teachers may wish to ask their students about any techniques used by the poet (metaphors, similes, etc). Some may like students to make up their own

poem where the rhythm varies.

—————————————————– Mathematics and Numeracy Famous Mathematicians: Isaac Newton

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Isaac Newton was born in England in on Christmas Day, 1642.

His father (also Isaac) was a farmer whose property and animals made him quite a wealthy man.

Isaac senior was completely uneducated and could not sign his own name.

Isaac was orphaned at a very young age and was brought up by his grandmother. His childhood

was not at all a happy one. At school the young Newton was at first ‘idle and inattentive’ and

showed little interest. However, he soon developed a passion for making models of machines

such as clocks and windmills. As a young adult he began studying mathematics seriously and by

age 25 his work had revolutionised mathematics, optics and physics.

For example, after passing a thin beam of sunlight through a glass prism, Newton saw that light

can be broken down into a spectrum of colours; he argued that white light is really a mixture of

many different types of rays, each producing a different colour when refracted.

Newton’s greatest achievements were in physics, in particular concerning laws on motion and

gravity. He found that the gravity of the earth tends to pull the moon toward it but the

centrifugal force (caused by the motion of the moon around the earth) keeps the moon in its

orbit.

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Newton later asserted that the planets are attracted to the sun and, what’s more, all matter

attracts all other matter. It is the force of this attraction that we know as gravity.

Newton found that the force of gravity between two objects gets bigger as their masses increase

but smaller as the distance between them increases.

A person’s weight is the gravitational force between them and the planet they happen to be

standing on. If your mass should double, the gravitational force would double. The same would

be true if the mass of the planet you were standing on doubles.

On the other hand, the further you are from the centre of the planet, the weaker the pull

between the planet and your body, and this force gets weaker rapidly. If you double your

distance from the planet, the force is one fourth.

If you triple the distance, the force is one-ninth. Ten times the distance, one-hundredth the

force. See the pattern? The force drops off with the square of the distance.

Example 1: The force of gravity on the moon is 0.17 times the force of gravity on Earth. How

much would a 40kg person weigh on the moon?

40 x 0.17 = 6.8.

Solution: the person would weigh 6.8 kg on the moon.

Example 2: If the gravitational pull exerted by the sun on the Earth is 100 units, what would the

gravitational pull exerted by the sun on the earth be if the Earth suddenly moved twice as far

away from the sun?

100 x ½ x ½ =25

Solution: the gravitational pull of the sun on Earth would be 25 units

Challenge Questions:

1. The force of gravity on planet Jupiter is 2.5 times the force of gravity on Earth. How much

would a 60 kg person weigh on Jupiter?

2. Jenny weighs 100 kg on Jupiter, which has 2.5 times the gravitational pull of Earth.

How much does Jenny weigh on Earth?

3. How much does Jenny weigh on Pluto, with a gravitational force only 0.06 times that of

Earth?

4. Jeremy’s mother would weigh 10 kg on the moon which has a gravitational force 0.17 times

that of Earth. How much does Jeremy’s mother weigh on Earth?

5. On Earth Bob weighs twice as much as Bill. How many times Bill’s weight would Bob be on

Jupiter which has 2.5 times Earth’s gravitational pull?

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6. The gravitational pull of planet Jupiter on a huge asteroid is 90 units. How much would the

gravitational pull of Jupiter on the asteroid be if the asteroid tripled its distance from Jupiter?

7. As a comet passes close to Earth the gravitational pull of Earth on the comet is 100 units.

What is the gravitational pull of Earth on the comet when the comet is ten times further away?

8. An astronaut notices that his capsule is being pulled toward a planet with a

gravitational force of 50 units. What will be the gravitational pull when the

astronaut’s distance from the planet is halved?

9. Two identical planets, P1 and P2, are discovered in another solar system. It is calculated that

P1 is only one quarter of the distance from its sun than is P2.

If the gravitational force of the planets’ sun upon P1 is 128 units what is the

gravitational force of the sun upon P2?

10. In the space of a few days two giant meteors move ten times as close to one another.

By how many times does their mutual gravitational attraction increase?

Solutions

1. 150 kg. 2. 40 kg. 3. 0.24 kg or 240 gm.

4. 58.8 kg. 5. 5 times Bill’s weight. 6. 10 units.

7. 1 unit. 8. 200 units. 9. 8 units. 10. 100 times.

————————————————– Society and Environment Famous People in History Quiz

1) What was the first name of Bonaparte, the French military and political leader?

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2) _______ Polo walked from Italy to Asia where he had a series of adventures; he returned

after 24 years.

3) Vice Admiral Horatio _________ won several military victories for Britain, including the

Battle of Trafalgar.

4) This ancient Greek philosopher was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle.

5) Julius ________ was a military and political leader in ancient Rome.

6) Louis_______ invented a method of reading for blind people.

Solutions:

1) Napoleon 2) Marco 3) Nelson 4) Plato 5) Caesar 6) Braille

————————————————- English and Literacy Writing Practice: Curious Combinations Use the table below to write a story based on the combination of birthday months particular to

you. You may (but don’t have to) use your combination as the title.

Example 1: If your birthday is in June, your mother’s is in January and your father’s is in

September, you would write a story about Mr Wilson’s absolutely huge chess set (and your

title -if you wanted- could be ‘Mr Wilson’s Absolutely Huge Chess Set’).

Example 2: If your birthday is in December, your mother’s is in April and your father’s is in

February, you would write a story about Sylvia Morris’s gigantic red refrigerator (and your

title -if you wanted- could be ‘Sylvia Morris’s Gigantic Red Refrigerator’).

My

Birthday

Month

Whose?

My

mother’s

Birthday

Month

Descriptor

My

father’s

Birthday

Month Inanimate

Object

Jan Aunty May’s Jan

absolutely

huge Jan boomerang

Feb

The Benson

Twins’ Feb magical pink Feb refrigerator

Mar My Mar

ugly-looking,

useless Mar spoon

Apr

Old Mrs

Apr gigantic red Apr letter box

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Hamilton’s

May Uncle Tony’s May broken-down May table lamp

Jun Mr Wilson’s Jun brand new Jun chimney

Jul

Ned the

Builder’s Jul

incredibly

cool Jul bicycle

Aug

Professor

Pumpernickle’s Aug

unbelievably

shabby Aug shoes

Sep

The Alien

invader’s Sep prize-winning Sep chess set

Oct Jimmy’s Oct

mysterious

silver Oct watch

Nov Dr Smithers’ Nov

unpredictable

purple Nov book

Dec Sylvia Morris’s Dec ever-so-tiny Dec computer

—————————————————— Australian & American Spelling Here are the principal differences in spelling between Australian and American English.

Australian American

Final -l is always doubled after one vowel in

stressed and unstressed syllables in Australian

English but usually only in stressed syllables in

American English, for example:

rebel>

rebelled

travel >

travelled

rebel>

rebelled

travel >

traveled

Some words end in -tre in Australian English

and -ter in American English, for example:

centre center

©Australian Teacher

theatre theater

Some words end in -ogue in Australian English

and -og in American English, for example:

analogue

catalogue

analog

catalog

Some words end in -our in Australian English

and -or in American English, for example:

colour

labour

color

labor

Some verbs end in -ize or -ise in Australian

English but only in -ize in American English, for

example:

realise,

realize

harmonise,

harmonize

realize

harmonize

——————————————————– Creative and Original Thinking Suitable for debate, class discussion or as a written exercise.

“The Traditional Indigenous Lifestyle is better than the Modern Western Lifestyle.” Present a good argument saying why you agree or disagree with the above

statement.

Note to Teachers: Information, thoughts and ideas for this topic may be found at the ‘Our First People’page under

the heading Dreamtime and Dreaming. Click here to go to that page.

——————————————————— Mathematics and Numeracy Child Prodigy: Zerah Colburn Zerah Colburn (1804-1839) was a child prodigy of the 19th century who gained fame as a

human calculator.

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Zerah Colburn was born in Cabot, Vermont (USA) in 1804 and educated at Westminster School

in London.

Apparently Zerah had six fingers on each hand and 12 toes on each foot.

He was thought to be mentally retarded as a very young child. However, after six weeks of

schooling his father overheard him repeating his multiplication tables. His father wasn’t sure

whether or not he learned the tables from his older brothers and sisters but he decided to test

him further on his mathematical abilities and discovered that there was something special about

his son when Zerah correctly multiplied 97 by 13.

When he was seven years old he took six seconds to give the number of hours in thirty-eight

years, two months, and seven days.

By age eight Zerah was able to carry out amazing feats of mental arithmetic. When asked the

question, “How many seconds in 2 000 years?” he replied, “730 000 days which is 1 051 200

000 minutes which is 63 072 000 000 seconds.”

Zerah’s abilities developed rapidly and he was soon able to solve such problems as the product

of 12 225 and 1 223, or the square root of 1 449.

Zerah could solve complex problems. For example, to find whether the number 4 294 967 297 is

prime or not Zerah calculated in his head that it was not because it can be divided by 641. (the

other divisor is 6 700 417 and can easily be found using a calculator).

His father soon began to capitalize on his boy’s talents by taking Zerah around the country and

eventually abroad, demonstrating the boy’s exceptional abilities.

Although Zerah’s schooling was rather irregular he also showed extreme talent in languages.

Zerah Colburn died in 1839 aged just 35.

————————————————– English and Literacy

©Australian Teacher

Writing Practice: Creative Thinking Here are the beginnings of some stories. Choose one and finish it. Additional instructions..(1)

have two main characters; (2) if you wish, you may make your story fun/humorous

(3) include an animal of your choice in your story

- Suddenly, the sky lit up…

- He limped toward the waiting train..…

- There was a loud bang and then…….

- The young musician walked nervously on stage.…

- A huge black bear lumbered toward the highway…

- Out of the darkness and into the light of the campfire came…

- A piercing scream was heard…

- I didn’t believe in magic spells, but…..

- The huge crocodile opened its jaws wide…

- The express train roared on into the night…

- The tornado moved slowly toward the Jacksons’ house.

- The tiny boat slowly pulled away from the shore…

- Under a blazing hot sun an empty road stretched far into the distance.

- The army sergeant roared…

- There, right in my own backyard, was…

- His name was Ludwig.

- A strange, unusual smell came from the swamp…

- I felt my body shrinking, shrinking…

————————————————- Science and Technology

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Inventors and Inventions: Patents If someone has a good idea or invention, they may not want others to copy it. They need a patent

so no one can copy their idea and make money from it.

To stop someone from copying their invention, inventors apply for a patent from the

government. The government gives them a patent if their invention is new and useful.

When a patent is granted no one can copy that object, pattern or design.

Anyone can apply for a patent, as long as the idea is new.

A patent cannot be written material; books are protected by copyright not patents.

The life of a patent depends on what kind it is, but it is usually at least ten years.

A lawyer can help an inventor find out if anything about their invention is already protected by

another patent and can also assist by helping them to fill out the right papers for a patent.

If an inventor has an idea for a new or improved product, he/she needs to know: (1) Is there a

patent? (2) Can all or just part of it be claimed as new? (3) Which parts are new?

Talk about or Write about

(justify your responses with explanations and examples wherever possible)

1. What could happen if there were no such things as patents?

2. How likely do you think it is that two people might apply for a patent for exactly the same

invention?

3. Why would someone want to copy another person’s invention?

4. Why might governments welcome new inventions from their people?

5. What might be something that an inventor might wish to improve only a part of?

—————————————————–