-NiE ,
Elementary Environmental disasters
Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
Creative thinking
Children lighting up candles during a vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the industrial disaster in Bhopal. — Filephoto
Match the types of environmental disasters with their correct definitions.
i. Caused by overfarming of lands
B. Health disaster
ii. Caused by radiation from nuclear leak
C. Agricultural disaster
iii. Caused by the introduction of a new species to the environment
D. Industrial disaster
iv. Caused by the spread of a fatal contagious disease
E. Nuclear disaster
v. Caused by factories that release harmful substances into the environment
Problem solving
● Reason
● Question
● Aural
● Research
Collaborating
Communicating ● Oral ● Written
● Listen ● Attain goal ● Contribute respectfully
In pairs, read the article on the right and answer the questions that follow.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is responding to a chemical leak at 166 Kallang Way, which has injured nine people. The injured were sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and Hazardous Materials (HazMat) officers are at the scene. SCDF said in a Facebook post that it was “alerted to an incident at 166 Kallang Way” and deployed its resources there. It added in an update that it dispatched two fire engines, a fire bike, three support vehicles and two ambulances to handle a chemical leak incident, which it said was “contained within a sealed production room in the premises”. “The leak has been shut off,” wrote SCDF. At around 3.15pm, SCDF officers were seen removing boxes from the premises. The company involved is a wafer production firm. A 38-year-old engineer who declined to be identified said that the gas alarm was triggered due to a leak that happened on the third floor of the building. “I was working on the second floor, and it happened in the clean room of a production area,” he said, adding that he could not smell anything. He also said: “We were not worried, because we have had evacuation drills.” SCDF said in its Facebook post that StarHub mobile subscribers within the immediate vicinity of the incident would have received an advisory message urging members of the public to stay away from the area.
A. List out five words that you do not understand from the article. Can you guess the meaning of the words? Next, look up the definition of the words using a dictionary. Did you guess the meaning correctly? Word
Answers:
Nine injured in chemical leak incident in Singapore
Critical thinking ● Identify
E. ii
NiE Activity 1
D. v
A. Biodiversity disaster
C. i
Definition
B. iv
Environmental disaster
A. iii
● Connect
3
Banding together for a cause ONE of the worst environmental disasters in history is the Bhopal gas tragedy, which took place in Madhya Pradesh, India, in 1984. Poisonous gases were released into the air due to a leakage in Union Carbide, a chemical factory whose company is headquartered in Texas, the United States. Investigations showed that the leakage happened due to human carelessness. Around 3,500 people were killed soon after the gas spread over Bhopal, while up to 25,000 died in the years that followed as a result of the effects. Those living near the factory who survived suffered related illnesses, while women gave birth to children with deformities.
Activity
4 OCTOBER 2017
My guess
(The Star, July 19, 2017)
NiE Activity 2 Critical thinking
Definition from dictionary ● Identify ● Reason
B. What do you think could be the reason for this incident? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ C. What are some steps that the company can take to prevent such an incident from happening again? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
● Measure
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Connect ● Brainstorm
Problem solving ● Question ● Research
● Present
Imagine that the Social and Welfare Club in your school has launched a project to help victims of natural and environmental disasters. As the club has limited funds, it can only select one group of disaster victims to help. Your class has been chosen to do the selection. In groups of four, look in The Star for an article about a disaster you feel strongly about and whose victims you think you can help the most. Cut it out and paste it on a sheet of A3 paper. Write down your points to support your choice. Next, as a group, present your choice to the class and persuade them to choose it as the cause to champion. After all the groups have presented, take a class vote to decide which disaster victims to help. What were some things that your class considered before making their decision?
Communicating ● Oral ● Written
● Aural
Collaborating ● Listen ● Attain goal ● Contribute respectfully
A. Disaster: ______________________________ B. Place: ________________________________ C. Date: _________________________________ D. Cause: ________________________________ E. Victims: _______________________________ Paste the article here
F. Help offered: ____________________________ G. We feel strongly about this disaster because ____________________________________ ____________________________________ _______________________________ H. We can help the victims by _______________________________________________ ____________________________________ _______________________________ I. We feel that the Social and Welfare Club should choose to help these victims because _________ ____________________________________ _______________________________ ____________________________________ _______________________________