Questions for discussion

Transcription

1 Questions for discussion Economic forecasts EPISODE TH NOVEMBER Briefly summarise the BtN story. 2. What do economists study when trying to work out the economic forecast? 3. What do they use to help predict the economic future? 4. Explain how the economy in one country can affect other countries? 5. What is happening to economies in other countries at the moment? 6. How does that affect Australia? 7. What impact might it have on your family? 8. How are the Federal and State Governments reacting to the economic forecasts? 9. Do you think economic forecasts are helpful? Explain your answer. 10. What do you understand more clearly after watching the BtN story? Interview adults (at school or home) about how the economic forecast might affect them. Record the responses and share with the class. Teen courts 1. What was the main point of the story? 2. Why do you think the media aren t allowed to identify kids involved in crime? 3. What does an informal caution involve? 4. What is an official warning? 5. Why do you think a family conference or mediation is sometimes used? 6. How is a youth court different to an adult court? 7. Who decides whether the person is guilty or innocent? 8. Describe how a teen court works. 9. Why are some people opposed to teen courts? 10. Do you agree or disagree with the idea of teen courts? Explain your answer. Send a message or tell us what you think on the BtN Guestbook. Hand-washing 1. Why is thorough hand-washing important? 2. How long can cold and flu germs survive on surfaces? 3. Approximately how many germs are on every square centimetre of your hands? 4. When and how was the importance of hand-washing discovered? 5. How many children are dying each day from diseases that could be prevented by hand-washing? 6. What is being done to raise awareness? 7. Why is hand-washing particularly important when preparing food? 8. What can be the problem with raw meat? 9. When are the most critical times to wash your hands? 10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story? 1

2 Create a true or false quiz about hand-washing. Feral cats 1. Summarise the BtN story in a paragraph. 2. Where in Australia are sea birds threatened by feral cats? 3. What are they doing to control the feral cat population? 4. Apart from setting traps, what else is Harko doing to fight the feral cat problem? 5. What impact do feral cats have on the environment? 6. What do you think responsible cat ownership involves? 7. What are some solutions to controlling the feral cat problem? 8. What strategies are governments thinking about introducing to control the problem? 9. What do you think should happen next? 10. Predict what might happen if feral cats aren t controlled. `Should all pet cats be desexed? Vote in the online poll. Test your knowledge in the online quiz. Rocking harpist 1. Why did Sylvia first start playing the harp? 2. Why can playing the harp be challenging? 3. What sort of music does Sylvia prefer to play? 4. Why was it difficult for Sylvia to find a harp? 5. How did her Dad solve the problem? 6. What did it inspire Sylvia to do? 7. How did Sylvia s ability to play the harp help her design a harp? 8. What is Sylvia going to do with the finished harp? 9. What are three things about the harp that you learnt from the BtN story? 10. How did this story make you feel? Use the Internet to find out more about how musical instruments are made. 2

3 Teen courts What if kids could decide on what punishment young offenders should receive? Victoria is looking at introducing the Teen Court system where panels of kids are trained to act like judges, juries and lawyers. EPISODE TH NOVEMBER 2008 Focus Questions 1. What was the main point of the story? 2. Why do you think the media aren t allowed to identify kids involved in crime? 3. What does an informal caution involve? 4. What is an official warning? 5. Why do you think a family conference or mediation is sometimes used? 6. How is a youth court different to an adult court? 7. Who decides whether the person is guilty or innocent? 8. Describe how a teen court works. 9. Why are some people opposed to teen courts? 10. Do you agree or disagree with the idea of teen courts? Explain your answer. Learning Area Society and Environment Key learning Students will develop an argument based on an issue related to the legal system. Present your case Students will be developing a persuasive argument (exposition) based on an aspect of the legal/justice system they feel strongly about. Negotiate with students ways of presenting their argument. Using the BtN story as a starting point, ask students to brainstorm issues related to the legal/justice system. Students will need to choose an issue that will form the basis of their exposition and decide what their position for the argument will be. Some possible issues include: Parents should be made accountable for the actions of their children. Teen courts are an effective way to stop young people re-offending. Restorative justice is a more effective option than mandatory sentencing (restorative justice involves the offender meeting with their victim to discuss the consequences of their behaviour, explain their actions and apologise). Sixteen-year-olds should be treated as adults in relation to crimes they commit. The following is a guide to structuring an exposition (argument) text. Structure of an exposition Statement of position State what the issue or topic is. Form a clear, forceful statement of position or opinion. 3

4 The audience should be clear about the stand being taken by the author. Argument stage Each paragraph starts with a topic sentence which introduces each point. The rest of the paragraph gives more reasons. Arguments can be ordered from strongest to weakest. Reinforcement of statement of position (Summing up) Sums up the author s position. Language features Words that link arguments (because, therefore) Evaluative language (important, best, safest) Thinking verbs (we believe, people think) Students publish or present their argument as negotiated with the teacher. Further investigations Create a glossary of words relating to the court/legal system. Present your glossary in an interesting way. Create a game that explains the court system. Related Research Links ABC News Vic teens set to judge their peers SA Youth Court virtual tour National Centre for State Courts - The teen court concept Attorney-General s Department The Courts 4

5 Hand-washing The simple act of hand-washing could prevent thousands of children around the world from getting sick or dying. EPISODE 33 Focus Questions 1. Why is thorough hand-washing important? 2. How long can cold and flu germs survive on surfaces? 3. Approximately how many germs are on every square centimetre of your hands? 4. When and how was the importance of hand-washing discovered? 5. How many children are dying each day from diseases that could be prevented by hand-washing? 6. What is being done to raise awareness? 7. Why is hand-washing particularly important when preparing food? 8. What can be the problem with raw meat? 9. When are the most critical times to wash your hands? 10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story? 18 TH NOVEMBER 2008 Learning Area Health and Physical Education Key learning Students will devise a public education program to promote hand-washing. Education is the key! Students will be devising a public education program to promote the importance of hand-washing. Begin the lesson by asking students write down what they think the following words mean: Bacteria Contamination Hygiene Contagious Virus Ask them to compare their definitions with other students and then check them with the dictionary. In small groups, ask students to think about their own hand-washing habits by posing the question - `Under what circumstances should people always wash their hands? Share the responses with the rest of the class. What hand-washing practices are common amongst the class? What are the differences? Discuss with students what the aim of a public education programs is. Students then need make decisions about the following: Who will be the target group for their education program? What information will it include? How will it be presented? Encourage students to share their public education program with their class or another class. Possible ways to present a public education program include: Posters Web page Public service announcement Video Brochure Reflection How effective do you think your hand-washing public education program was? What would you do differently next time? 5

6 Further investigations Create a true or false quiz about hand-washing. Observe hand-washing habits among people your own age. Document your findings. Use the following website to create a rap about hand-washing. Related Research Links ABC News Wiggles push UNICEF hand-washing campaign ABC News Global hand-washing day for S Asia kids Betterhealth website - Hand-washing why it s important s_important?open NSW Health Department Hand-washing handwashing.asp Global Hand-washing Day 6

7 BtN: Episode 33 Transcripts 18/11/08 On this week's Behind the News Kids turning judges in teen courts. Why there's a call for pet cats to be de-sexed. And how hand-washing can save lives. Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show today, the harpist who's become a harp maker. Those items later but first to our top story. Economic Forecasting Reporter: Catherine Ellis INTRO: On the weekend, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joined other world leaders in the United States to talk about fixing the international economic crisis. The meeting was called the G20 summit and it was held in Washington. The countries agreed that they would cut taxes and interest rates to keep everyone spending. They also said they'd make new laws to control the finance system and banks to avoid problems in the future. Now one reason for the summit is that there are predictions that economies around the world might be about to go into serious recession. But how does anybody know there'll be a downturn? Who's predicting the future? Catherine tells us who holds the crystal ball. WEATHER GIRL: Taking a look at the week ahead and it's going to be sunny and hot right through till Friday and the weekend s looking good. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Weather forecasters don't know for sure what's going to happen with the weather, but they do their best to predict it, to help us plan for the future. And THAT is exactly what an economist does with the economy. ECONOMIC FORECASTER: There's an economic storm in the United States and it could be heading down here so you better get ready. 7

8 But instead of looking at satellite pics of clouds and rain, economists study people, businesses and governments. They check out lots of statistics on all sorts of things; who is buying what, how many people have jobs, how many homes are being built. They're looking for early signs of what people are going to do. They use maths and special computer programs and come up with a prediction for the future. Here's an example; say economists see that people in the United States are struggling and they are buying fewer plasma TVs and they know the TVs are bought from China, well that will mean less money and fewer jobs for China. Then if they start to struggle they might cut back on buying stuff like coal and iron from Australia then that affects jobs and the economy here. it's one big ugly cycle! And at the moment the signs overseas aren't good. People aren't buying as much, businesses are cutting back and banks aren't lending as much money. Now some economic forecasters are predicting this will have a big effect in Australia. How? Well businesses may not be able to afford to keep all their staff on, so people lose their jobs and become unemployed. Some companies might even have to close! Mums and dads might also have to cut back on spending, so there'd be fewer trips to the movies, or a family holiday might get the flick - times could get tough. Governments are already reacting to the forecasts to try to stop all this happening. The Federal Government is spending up big on projects in the hope it will keep the economy moving. Some state governments are cutting back in areas in case things slow down and they have less money. Now remember, what actually happens in the next year no one can be sure. Economists are experts in their area, but they sometimes disagree with each other. 8

9 And like weather forecasts, it's impossible to get it right all the time. Presenter Thanks Catherine - now let s check some of the week's headlines. Here's the Wire. The Wire The clean-up is continuing after deadly storms lashed south-east Queensland on Sunday night. Huge winds ripped off roofs from homes and brought down trees and powerlines. A 20 year old man died in a flooded storm water drain at the height of the storms. ************************************************************* Fires have ripped through the state of California in the US destroying more than one hundred homes and injuring 13 people. Winds of more than 100 km an hour have made things difficult for firefighters who are trying to contain the huge blaze. Around five and a half thousand homes have been evacuated as Governor Arnie Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. ************************************************************* And it's well known Australians suffer from the highest rates of skin cancer in the world but a world-first new vaccine might be able to change that. Human trials for a skin cancer vaccine will be underway within months after the treatment proved successful in rats. It's been developed right here in Australia by a team led by Professor Ian Frazer, the man who developed the cervical cancer vaccine we told you about a few weeks ago. He's hoping the new vaccine could be available within five to ten years. Teen Courts Reporter: Sarah Larsen INTRO: Dealing with kids when they break the law is a really difficult problem. On the one hand they have to be 9

10 punished but on the other they have to be helped so they can avoid a life of crime. Now a radical new solution is being looked at that is said to be getting great results overseas. It involves teenagers being judges and lawyers in their own court. Here's Sarah to explain. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Have you ever imagined what would happen if you were caught breaking the law? POLICE WOMAN: You're nicked, sunshine. We know you took that chocolate bar and you're going to admit it! REPORTER: This might be what you see in the movies but in real life kids aren't usually just thrown in the clink. Let s go back and look at it more sensibly. When it comes to the law kids are treated differently to adults. But that doesn't mean you get away with it. REPORTER: Now if this was real we couldn't show his face because the media aren't allowed to identify kids involved in crime but we're just pretending so it s ok. If you're caught committing a crime four different things could happen. Let's have a look. First of all, if it's minor, you could get an informal caution. The police officer writes down your details but they won't go on the record. But if it's more serious or if you've done it before you could be taken to the police station. Your parents or a guardian will be called in and if you admit to the crime you could be given a formal police caution. That goes on the record and could be brought up later in your life. You could end up here in a family conference or mediation. The police talk through the crime with the offender and his parents and sometimes the victim also joins in. The group can end up deciding on a punishment like community service or a fine or even a written apology. This everyone wants to avoid: Court! If the crime is serious enough, or if you say you're innocent, things are settled in a youth court. REPORTER: They're a bit different to an adult court. In here no-one wears wigs or robes and it's not open to the public. The youth court judge decides whether or not you're guilty, then decides on a punishment. The worst case here would be time in detention or jail or a big fine. But the judge always tries to give kids a second chance. REPORTER: Of course, you know these guys have been pretending. They're not really judges and lawyers. But what if they were? What it kids could really deal out justice to other kids? 10

11 Well that's happening overseas in special teen courts. Panels of kids are trained to act like judges, juries and lawyers. They listen to the case, ask questions and then decide on the punishment. It s about kids judging kids and some people are saying it's having a lot of success stopping young people re-offending. Now Victoria is looking at bringing in the new system but critics have spoken out against it. They reckon it would lower kids' respect for the court system. But its supporters say kids are more likely to listen to people their own age. What do you think? Quiz Alright - I reckon it's time for a quiz. Which animal was a god in Ancient Egypt? 1. Bear 2. Cat 3. Puma Answer: Cat Feral Cats Reporter, Nathan Bazley INTRO: Bastet was the goddess of cats. Cats were revered because they protected food from mice and if you killed one you could be executed. Families even mummified their cats when they died. Nowadays cats are still really popular - but not all of them. One government estimate says there are 12 million feral cats in Australia and that's a huge problem for native animals. One Island off Tasmania is looking very closely at the issue. Cloudy Bay Beach on Bruny Island off Tasmania certainly lives up to its name. But clouds aren't the only thing that make their home here. Huge numbers of sea birds also flock to these shores. But they in turn attract something else. This is Bernard, a parks and wildlife officer, and he makes his way here twice a day. 11

12 His Job? To check six feral cat traps set in the dunes. He's trying to catch the cats responsible for hunting these little birds called Hooded Plovers. They breed on the beach just above high tide mark, so they're easy targets for feline hunters. Unfortunately there is none today, but Bernard often has more success. And he isn't the only one fighting kitties on the Island. Many people lend a hand. HARKO WERKMAN: We had a visitor. The trap's been sprung. Nobody is home. This is Harko and he looks after trapping on private land. Some years they get up to 70 cats but the problem is, nobody knows how many are still out there. HARKO: The bait looks good. Fill it fresh. Just reset it. HARKO: I have been running an education program so I will speak to residents, I've given talks to schools, we prepare a brochure on responsible cat ownership and fairly soon we hope to have a web page up and running on the issue of feral cats. And it's a similar story right around Australia, where ferals do enormous damage to native wildlife. But what has responsible cat ownership got to do with it? NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: Well it's cat owners that are a big part of the problem! Not all of them are looked after like this one. Each year, thousands of cats are dumped or run away. Many find their way to animal shelters like these, but it's the ones that aren't caught that are the big issue for native wildlife. Ingrid runs this cat centre in Tasmania and says a big part of the solution is mandatory de-sexing. That's when pussycats have minor surgery so they can't ever have babies. Putting microchips in kittens so they can be identified could also help. But there are other options being considered by governments too. Night curfews could be brought in to stop your pets going out hunting at night. 12

13 And some people even want councils to be able to take any cats that wander away from home. Whatever the solution, most people agree the feral cat problem is one that needs to be put on a leash as soon as possible. Because this should not be the native environment for cats in Australia. This should be! Online Poll OK we'll make that our poll this week. The question is: Should all pet cats be de-sexed? If you want to vote go to our website at Handwashing Reporter, Catherine Ellis INTRO: Parents are always nagging kids to wash their hands and that can get pretty annoying but have you ever stopped to wonder why it's so important? Did you know the simple act of hand-washing could prevent thousands of kids around the world from getting illnesses or even dying? Catherine explains. CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Hands - we keep them very busy every day with hundreds of tasks! And every little step of the way they're gathering more germs. And those places where there's a lot of people traffic, there's a lot of germ traffic! Did you know cold and flu germs can survive on surfaces for up to three days! All you need to do is jump on a computer at school that a sick kid's been using and those germs jump right onto you. Germs are so tiny you can't see them and they're sneaky. The bad ones can creep into your body and cause infection and disease. Hold out your hands. Did you know roughly every square centimetre of skin holds about 1500 germs! 13

14 They're everywhere and there's no way of avoiding them, but there's an easy way to stop them spreading and to keep you as healthy as possible - send them that way! And it doesn't count unless you use this! Yep it's time you became a soaper hero! Soap is the only way to break the germs loose. Now this simple act might seem obvious, but people haven't always known. The importance of hand-washing was only discovered about a hundred years ago by an Austrian doctor in a maternity ward. Lots of the new mums were getting bad illnesses and dying because doctors and nurses would go from patient to patient without washing their hands. So Dr Ignaz conducted an experiment. He made everyone 'soaper' heroes and after a short time, death rates dropped dramatically. But 100 years later some still aren't getting the message. About 5000 kids die every day from diarrhoea, most of which could be prevented by hand-washing. There is now a big campaign to raise awareness and even the Wiggles have jumped on board. Now hand-washing around the kitchen is particularly important. Not just before you start making snacks but while you're working. Especially if you're using this stuff - chicken. Raw meat can have lots of dangerous bacteria. They're destroyed when heated and cooked properly, but they stay on everything else till you wash it off. CATHERINE: Say you'd been chopping up raw chicken and you then went to cut up fresh salad, you'd end up with chicken germs all over it and who ever eats it could end up feeling really sick! So the best thing to do is use a totally separate chopping board and wash you utensils and your hands really well first. Also if you're not going to use the rest of that chicken, don't leave it out, because germs love warm temperatures - it makes them grow faster. So chuck it in the fridge like you do to keep your other food fresh! Now we're certainly not saying you need to go germ crazy and start wearing gloves or scrubbing like mad. But just be smart about it. The most critical times to lather up are after you go to the toilet and before you eat. 14

15 Presenter And of course another good time to wash your hands is when you come in from playing sport. So get the soap ready as we check out the score. The Score The wallabies have continued their winning run with a 28 to 14 point victory over England. Fly-half Matt Giteau had a killer game kicking 20 of Australia's points. The win should give the Wallabies even more confidence heading into their next match against France. ************************************************************* In league, Australia has thrashed Fiji 52 - nil to romp into the final of the Rugby League world cup. They will meet New Zealand who they have already beaten earlier in the tournament. ************************************************************* And moving to the water a British teenager is attempting to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. 16 year old Michael Perham will be at sea for over four months and will snatch sleep for just 20 minutes at a time. Michael Perham, YACHTSMAN "the first week is hell, but you get used to it If he makes it he'll take the title from Aussie Jesse Martin who was 18 when he set the record. That's one courageous kid. Quiz 2 Alright time for another quiz. What is the largest musical instrument? Answer: Pipe Organ 15

16 Rocking Harpist Reporter, Sarah Larsen INTRO: Of course Pipe organs are found in churches, some old cinemas and theatres. Some can have more than 20 thousand pipes. Now do you play a musical instrument? Have you ever thought of making one yourself? This week Sarah found out about a 17-year-old girl who's doing both but her choice of instrument is a bit unusual. I'll let Sarah tell you more. SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Learning an instrument is awesome but choosing one can be difficult. You can rock out on a guitar and wake up the neighbours with some drums. How about becoming a famous violinist? REPORTER: But there's one instrument that you won't find in many music stores. SYLVIA WALKER, HARP PLAYER/MAKER: I generally have a hard time even convincing people that I play harp. They have to see to it believe it. When 17-year old Sylvia walker first took up the harp it was a way of beating her sister. They were both learning the violin but Sylvia wasn't as good at that so she found a new instrument to master. SYLVIA WALKER: She later took up harp so I ended up better at that. What began as sibling rivalry has become a passion for Sylvia. SYLVIA WALKER: It is a challenge. It sounds nice. It can be quite hard on your fingers. Like if I leave it for a few days, pick it back up it will end up quite painful at times. It might not be easy, but these babies have been around for a long time. People have plucked harps of some kind or another for more than 4 and a half thousand years and it's not all about angels and orchestras. SYLVIA WALKER: I would actually rather play harp in a rock band than play classical music in a concert. The classical music just does not appeal to me so much. I would rather connect with people my age rather than older generations. Sylvia wouldn't be the first to make popular music with classical instruments. These guys did it with violins and harps and they ve been used by all sorts of performers, even this famous comedian called Harpo Marx. REPORTER: But Sylvia found out that finding a harp can be difficult. 16

17 SYLVIA WALKER: There was a waiting list to get second hand harps which we were on and we were almost at the top of the list when the local harp maker died and the price of second hand harps jumped to more than the ones he had been selling new. Sylvia's dad solved the problem by making one himself with pieces bought from the old harp maker. So Sylvia had her instrument and it gave her an idea. This is a TAFE instrument making course where students have made everything from violins to guitars and cellos and now harps. Sylvia's working on one as part of her year twelve studies. Once it's finished, Sylvia's hoping to rent it out so other students will have a chance to rock like an angel. Closer That's amazing. All I managed to make in woodwork was a spoon! Just before we go a new world record for the number of dominoes toppled in one go has been set in the Netherlands. According to organisers, 4 million, 3 hundred and 45 thousand and 27 dominoes fell during a two-hour TV show. More than 85 people from 13 countries took part in the challenge, which took eight weeks to set up and was a year in the planning. You wouldn't want to sneeze. That's it for another show. Don't forget you can tune in every Monday to Friday at 5 to 6 for an update of kids' news in BTN Daily. Catch ya later. 17