4 OCTOBER 2017
Elementary
Environmental disasters Note to the teacher
century learning skills
OUR children are riding the great wave of technology today. They now have facts and procedures at their fingertips. Teachers have to equip their students with new skills that allow them to thrive in today’s global economy. The activities in The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education pullout combine literacy skills with current content to build this set of skills. The key below indicates the skills integrated into the activities in this pullout.
When disaster strikes
NO ONE can tell when and where a disaster will happen. Disasters are major events that disrupt our everyday lives. Apart from causing huge damage to things, disasters can also result in deaths. There are many types of disasters such as natural disasters, environmental disasters and man-made disasters. Natural disasters such as tornadoes, floods and droughts happen because of extreme changes in weather. Environmental disasters take place as a result of mankind’s actions which have negative effects on the environment. Nuclear explosions, widespread diseases and oil spills in oceans are some examples of environmental disasters. Some natural disasters can cause environmental disasters, too.
NiE Activity 1 Critical thinking ● Identify
● Reason
● Identify ● Reason ● Measure ● Organise
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Brainstorm
A man wading through floodwaters from Hurricane Irma in a Florida neighbourhood. — AFP
A. Frantic search for Mexico quake victims (Sunday Star, Sept 10, 2017)
B. Mercury threat from fish (The Star, Aug 10, 2015)
C. Strangling haze plagues Klang folk (The Star, Aug 21, 2017)
D. Infectious diseases making comeback (The Star, July 19, 2017)
E. Drought leaves 237,000 people thirsty in central China (The Star, Sept 26, 2016)
F. Four missing after tsunami presumed dead (The Star, June 22, 2017)
NiE Activity 2 Critical thinking
Critical thinking
From the headlines given below, identify those that show natural disasters and those that show environmental disasters.
Answers:
-NiE ,
Natural disaster: A, E, F; Environmental disaster: B, C, D
2
● Identify ● Reason
Creative thinking
Problem solving
● Question
● Imagine ● Connect
Army roped in as storms cause chaos in NZ AUCKLAND: Christchurch, the largest city
on New Zealand’s south island, has declared a state of emergency amid a severe storm which has already seen hundreds of homes evacuated across the Pacific island nation, highway cuts and soldiers called in to help provide emergency services. (Sunday Star, July 23, 2017)
Communicating ● Oral ● Written ● Aural
A. Where did the disaster take place? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ B. What type of disaster was this? ________________________________________ ________________________________________
Collaborating ● Listen ● Contribute respectfully
C. What do you understand by the phrase “a state of emergency”? ________________________________________ ________________________________________ D. What type of help would you need if you were a victim of this disaster? ________________________________________ ________________________________________
● Connect ● Invent
Problem solving ● Question
NiE Activity 3 Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
● Research ● Recreate ● Present
Communicating ● Oral
Natural disaster
In pairs, read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
Creative thinking
Problem solving
● Question ● Research
● Imagine ● Brainstorm ● Connect
Communicating ● Oral ● Written ● Aural
Collaborating ● Listen ● Contribute respectfully ● Attain goal
In groups of four, look in The Star for an article featuring a natural disaster and another article featuring an environmental disaster. Cut out the articles and paste them on a sheet of A4 paper. Read the articles carefully to identify the victims and the help offered to them. Write down your answers. Then, discuss among yourselves what you could do as a group to help those affected.
The victims
Help offered
How you could help
The victims
Help offereded
How you could help
Paste article here
● Non-verbal ● Written ● Aural
Environmental disaster
Collaborating ● Listen ● Contribute respectfully
Paste article here
● Compromise ● Attain goal nie editorial manager: SHARON OVINIS senior nie executive: ROWENA CHUA writer: JAY MENON layout designer: SHOBA illustrator: HASSAN BAHRI To order The Star for NiE lessons, call: Sundarrajan 03-7967 1388 ext 1437 or 016-288 3682 We welcome feedback; write to: Star-NiE, Star Media Group, 15 Jalan 16/11, 46350 Petaling Jaya or e-mail us at: starnie@thestar.com.my