What Were the Main Issues Raised in the Pakistan Aid Story?

Questions for discussion

Pakistan aid

What were the main issues raised in the Pakistan aid story?
The flood in Pakistan has been described as a humanitarian emergency. What do you think that means?
What does the United Nations say about the amount of money donated for the Pakistan floods?
Explain the connection between the death toll of a disaster and people donating money.
The main loss of life in Pakistan is expected in the coming weeks and months. What are the expected causes?
Why is trust an important part of people donating to a cause?
Why do charities say that by not donating, it can help groups like the Taliban?
How is empathy described in the story?
How do you think more people could be encouraged to donate money?
Write a message of support and post it on the BtN Guestbook.

Investigate the following question: Are disasters random events or are some people and countries more vulnerable than others?

Volcanoes

Where in Indonesia did a volcano erupt recently?
Describe the dangers to people living close to the volcano.
A dormant volcano won’t erupt again. True or false?
What is the name of the volcano in Naples, Italy?
Describe what happened to the city of Pompeii about 2000 years ago.
When did it last erupt?
How do scientists try to predict when volcanoes will erupt?
Describe what happens in the magma chamber of a volcano.
A scientist who studies volcanoes is called a
Seismologist
Lavologist
Volcanologist
Describe what you think it would be like to live in the shadow of a volcano.

People should not be allowed to live in the shadow of a volcano. Create an argument for or against the statement.

Match fixing

Describe the recent scandal affecting the Pakistani cricket team.
What is a no ball?
What is match-fixing?
Why do some people fix matches?
Micro-betting is…
Betting small amounts of money
Betting on the outcome of a match
Betting on an incident in a match
What are some of the consequences of being found guilty of match-fixing?
What do you think should happen to people who fix matches?
Some people have defended the actions of the accused cricketers. What have they argued?
What is the main purpose of the BtN story?

a)To argue

b)To criticise

c)To inform

d)To warn

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

`Should cricketers be banned for life if they are guilty of match-fixing?’ Vote in the online poll.

Sleep study

Discuss the BtN story with another student and record the main points.
How does a bad night’s sleep affect you?
Why do we need sleep?
What is the connection between sleep and learning?
The younger you are, the less sleep you need. True or false?
Approximately how much sleep do teenagers need?
What health problems can lack of sleep cause?
What did the test results show?
What do scientists recommend for a good night’s sleep?
What was surprising about this story?

Think about a dream you had recently and turn it into a comic strip. Display your comic strips in the classroom.

Wrestling

Before you watch the BtN story, write the words you associate with wrestling.
Briefly summarise the wrestling story.
Compare the sport of wrestling to WWE.
Wrestling was at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. True or false?
What is the aim of wrestling?
Why did Jake and Trevor decide to take up the sport?
Describe their preparation for the National Championships.
Complete the following sentence: To do wrestling you need to be properly trained, that way you’re less likely to…
Illustrate an aspect of this story.
How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story?

Test your knowledge in the online quiz.

Sleeping volcanoes

Focus Questions

Where in Indonesia did a volcano erupt recently?
Describe the dangers to people living close to the volcano.
A dormant volcano won’t erupt again. True or false?
What is the name of the volcano in Naples, Italy?
Describe what happened to the city of Pompeii about 2000 years ago.
When did it last erupt?
How do scientists try to predict when volcanoes will erupt?
Describe what happens in the magma chamber of a volcano.
A scientist who studies volcanoes is called a
Seismologist
Lavologist
Volcanologist
Describe what you think it would be like to live in the shadow of a volcano.

Pompeii

Remember and understand

Create a timeline showing the events leading up to the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in August, 79 AD.
On a map of Pompeii and surrounding areas, highlight towns affected when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Brainstorm a list of words associated with volcanoes. What does each word mean?
Create a multiple choice quiz about Pompeii.

Apply and Analyse

Write an eyewitness account of Mt Vesuvius erupting 2000 years ago. Share and compare your account with other students’.
What was life like in Pompeii before the eruption in 79AD? How do we know? What does the preservation of Pompeii tell us about the way of life at that time?
Pliny the Younger was a witness to the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. Create a biography of Pliny. What information did he give about the famous eruption?

Evaluate and create

Would you choose to live near a volcano? What are the positives and negatives? Consider factors such a frequency of eruptions and scientists’ ability to predict volcanic eruptions in your response.
View the images of Pompeii at the following website and write a caption for each image.
Will Mt Vesuvius erupt again soon? What evidence is there to suggest that it will erupt again in the near future? How is the volcano monitored?

Related Research Links
ABC Behind the News – NZ volcano

ABC Behind the News – Volcanoes

ABC News – Red alert issued as Indonesian volcano erupts

Children’s BBC – Volcanoes: The facts

SBS World News – Indonesian volcano erupts

Kids Discovery Channel – Pompeii

National Geographic – Ancient Roman life preserved at Pompeii

Sleep study

Focus Questions

Discuss the BtN story with another student and record the main points.
How does a bad night’s sleep affect you?
Why do we need sleep?
What is the connection between sleep and learning?
The younger you are, the less sleep you need. True or false?
Approximately how much sleep do teenagers need?
What health problems can lack of sleep cause?
What did the test results show?
What do scientists recommend for a good night’s sleep?
What was surprising about this story?

The science of sleep

Watch the BtN Sleep study story again and ask students to record as many key words as they can. Students then clarify their understanding of the key words by writing down what they think the word means. Swap definitions with a partner and ask them to add to or change the definition. Check them using a dictionary or other source.

Key word / My definition / Dictionary definition

Working in groups of 3-4, students discuss the Sleep study story and come up with some key questions to investigate. Some possible questions include:

How much sleep do people need each night?
Do animals need sleep?
What happens when we sleep?
Why is sleep important?
What are the different stages of sleep?
What are sleep disorders? (insomnia, sleep apnoea)

In addition to investigating one or more key questions, students keep a sleep diary for a week. Ask them to record:

The time they went to bed
The time they woke up
Hours slept
How they feel when they wake up

Students share their research findings in an oral or written presentation. Discuss the results of the sleep diary. Ask them to reflect on how many hours a night sleep they need to feel awake and alert next day, what sorts of things help them get a good night sleep and strategies they use to get to sleep.

Further investigation

Think about a dream you had recently and turn it into a comic strip. Display your comic strips in the classroom.

Related Research Links
ABC Catalyst – Interrupted sleep?

ABC Science – Teenage sleep

ABC Science – Seven hours the magic number for sleep

Big Sleep Survey – What is sleep

Big Sleep Survey – Sleep facts

Sleep for kids

Kids Health – Sleep

BtN: Episode 25 Transcript 07/09/10

On this week's Behind the News:

Thousands flee as a sleeping volcano wakes up with a bang.

It's just not cricket, the match-fixing scandal bringing shame on the sport.

And we look at the effect of sleep on your body and brain.

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

Also on the show today, Kirsty goes wrestling and finds out it's a lot different from what you see on the TV.

But first, let's catch up on what's been making the news this week. Here's Tash with the Wire.

The Wire

Victoria's dealing with its worst flood in 15 years.

Rising floodwaters in the state's north are threatening hundreds of homes.

Locals in towns like Wangaratta and Skipton have been told to evacuate. While more than 250 homes have already been flooded.

Defence force personnel and police are helping with the relief effort and evacuations.

******

To New Zealand now and the city of Christchurch is in recovery mode after it was hit by a big earthquake on Saturday.

The seven-point-one magnitude quake rocked parts of the south island, destroying buildings and leaving big gaps in roads.

Authorities fear water supplies have been contaminated with sewerage so residents are being warned to boil all their drinking water.

Schools are closed and city workers are being told not to go to work, while buildings throughout the city are assessed to see if they are safe.

Green means the buildings can be used. Red means they're off limits.

Pakistan Aid

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Disasters happen a lot around the world and even in Australia.

So with lots of people needing help all the time how do we decide where to donate our money?

The recent flood in Pakistan has been called one of the worst disasters but the money given hasn't reflected that.

As it turns out the reason people give often depends on more than just need.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Every time you turn a corner, there's another cause.

Charity groups on the street, charity groups on TV, even charity concerts to attend.

They're all trying to collect cash for worthy causes but which one needs your money the most?

Well according to the United Nations it's Pakistan, which is still suffering from the floods that hit there more than a month ago.

It's being labelled as the biggest disaster in recent history, so the UN called for massive donations.

But nowhere near enough cash had washed in.

NATHAN: But why is that? Well there are a few things stopping people donating big. Let's look at how charity groups get us to give and why it's not working quite as well this time around.

The first step in getting people to give is telling them the size of the disaster.

During the Asian Tsunami in 2004, tens of thousands of people were killed within minutes.

It shocked the world into donating big.

In Pakistan, the number of people killed by the floodwater is much lower and that's led some to think it's not as serious.

But the main loss of life is expected in the coming weeks and months as some of the twenty million people left homeless die of starvation and disease.

MUMTAZ ALI, FLOOD VICTIM:I am very, very hungry ma'am.

So, even though people tend to give more when lots of people have died it's actually the case that aid is needed most when there are lots of survivors.

So this is one place your aid can have a big impact.

The second step in getting people to give generously is trust.

When people donate they want to see the money going straight to these people.

But sometimes that doesn't happen, especially if there's corruption in the country.

Pakistan shares a border with Afghanistan and is often linked to the Taliban, a terrorist group.

So, trust could be an issue here if donors think their money may end up in the hands of the enemy.

But charities argue that by not giving at all it actually helps groups like the Taliban. It becomes easier for terror groups to win over desperate communities who feel abandoned by everyone else.

It's also worth giving because many charity groups try to make sure the aid they collect bypasses the government and goes directly to those on the ground.

Another reason people give is because of empathy. That means imagining what it would be like to be in the shoes of the victim.

And it's easier to picture that in places you know, like your own country.

In the aftermath of the Victorian Bushfires Aussies gave 379 million dollars.

And in America donors threw heaps of money at the earthquake in nearby Haiti.

But why should these people suffer because they live a long way away?

Or because their government might do the wrong thing?

Or because not enough people have died yet?

Because sadly, if this tin isn't filled quickly, that death toll may spiral out of control just when it's too late to do something about it.

Sleeping Volcanoes

Reporter: Sarah Larsen

INTRO: A volcano that had been sleeping for 400 years has woken up with an almighty bang.

When Mount Sinabung in Indonesia erupted it sent hot ash up to three kilometres into the air.

Thousands had to be evacuated from their homes.

Sarah looks at why volcanoes are still dangerous even if they've been sleeping for centuries.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: It was a sight that no living person had seen before; pillars of black smoke and ash rising from the crater of Mt Sinabung. The mountain is here on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It started rumbling a few weeks ago and people living nearby had to pack up their things and leave. More than 30,000 people are waiting in evacuation centres until it’s safe to go home. They've been given food and water and face masks to protect their lungs from the smoke. There's a smell of sulphur in the air, a bit like rotten eggs. But many are coming to get a better look at this once-in-a-lifetime event.

REPORTER: Mt Sinabung hadn't erupted for 400 years. When a volcano has been quiet for that long people often describe it as dormant but that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous.

Here in Naples in Italy, locals know what it's like to live in the shadow of a sleeping volcano. That hill in the distance is Mount Vesuvius, one of the most famously destructive volcanos in history. At about this time of year in 79 AD, it erupted, burying the ancient city of Pompeii. Then the hot volcanic ash hardened and it formed a cocoon around the buildings, preserving them for thousands of years. It also formed a mould around people as they died and today their casts are an eerie reminder of the volcano's power. But many of the people living here aren't scared.

GIRL: (translation) Absolutely not, we know it's an extinct volcano.

But Vesuvius isn't extinct at all. In fact it blew just 66 years ago. Lava flowed out and destroyed a village. Luckily everyone escaped. But no one knows when the next one is coming.

REPORTER: Predicting when a volcano will erupt can be really tricky but a good place to start is looking at what it has done in the past to see if there's a pattern.

Under volcanoes like Vesuvius there's often a magma chamber which slowly fills with molten rock and gas until there's a big explosion which empties the chamber. Then it slowly fills up again. That might take months or hundreds of years or thousands of years or maybe even longer. So a volcano that's been quiet for a long time could just be getting ready for the next big explosion. Scientists reckon that Vesuvius will have a massive eruption about every 2000 years, so with the last huge one in 79AD, that means it could happen again any-time soon. Around the world volcanologists are trying to get a better understanding of just how volcanos work. They study movements in the ground and even look at satellite pictures to watch for physical changes. It’s important work and not just for Naples. Around the world hundreds of millions of people live near active volcanos. Indonesia has more than any other country and many have the potential to be far more destructive than Mt. Sinabung. And just like this eruption the next one could take everyone by surprise.