Links to other blogs

Probably the best blog relevant to you is that of another Scottish geography department. Follow the links below to fantastic information, links and articles all of which are relevant to you and will help you this year.

http://www.highergeogblog.blogspot.com/

The current post gives detail of lots of information relating to limestone, wonderful pictures which will help aid your understanding. The photo above is of Gordale Scar, near Malham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Lost posts

Unfortuntately we seem to have lost the postings relating to soils and rivers. If you use the index at the right hand side you will be able to follow information from last year. I will endeavour to repost the information when I have chance. The photo above is of meander scrolls in Glen Derry.

Meanwhile keep making those notes !!

Welcome to Geography 2008 -9

Well here we are - welcome to your Higher and Advanced Higher course this year.

Well done on your results and I look forward to working hard with you all this school year.

The photograph above is a Geograph photos taken by Mike Peacock of the waterfall on the Afon Berthen in Nant Ffrancon in North Wales. We will be studying waterfalls as part of the Hydrosphere section of the HIgher course.

For the HIgher class the links for the soil work we were doing today are on the Macaluay Institute web site - click on the picture below. ( These arms could be yours when we do our fieldwork later in the week !!)



For Advanced Higher we will be concentrating on fieldwork methods and trying to get decisions made relating to your Geographical Study and Critical Evaluation Issues essay - lots to do so we need to get cracking !

See you tomorrow.

Last few hints

Keep calm tonight - don't do too much and get an early night ! Have a proper breakfast and bring a healthy snack and water to have between the papers. Remember your 6 deep breaths. I will see you all in the morning and before you know it it will be lunch time ! You have worked hard this year and everyone has made progress - you know so much more than you did in August ! Read the questions really well and don't forget those examples throughout but particularly on Paper 2. Mrs Ch & I wish you all the best. I'll send all those good vibes down from Room G !

Last few days

I know a lot of you are very busy with Maths tomorrow and then French. At this stage remind yourself of your case studies so that you can use named examples - the examiners are looking out for them - used correctly of course. Look back at the posts from this time last year which link to revision ideas and sites. I am out doing fieldwork tomorrow but will check school email and the hotmail account if you have any worries.

Plan your revision over this last day or so - remember to make it effective and meaningful - facts retained not just lots of vague reading. Practise your diagrams - particularly the ones you don't like and have a last look at those psammosere plant names ! I will include a psammosere photo tonight.

Revision

Today we have been talking about focus in your revision. Plan what you are going to revise / have a purpose / revise those things you find hard ( not the ones you like!) and make sure that you can recall what it is you have learnt ! You are better spending 30 mins and remembering 6 important points from it than 3 hours and only having a vague recollection of what you have just read.

Short & Snappy & focussed. Just how we revised YDNP in class today - key points / don't repeat the question get straight into your answer and use your examples - you know them so include them.

I have seen all of the E group individually now and will see the rest of you in the B group on Monday. Please be encouraged by what I have said to you and try to follow my suggestions and it will all help you to do the best you can which is what we are all working towards :)

More on the landslip

Glad to know that some of you had already heard about the land slip. Thanks to a virtual geography colleague for all the links below.

Landslip at Black Ven, Lyme Regis
Links to pdf article below and guide to landslide watch status http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=329889
Residential guide to landslips and their impact -http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/pdf/s/f/Landslipping_Lyme_05.pdf http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1934737/Biggest-landslip-in-100-years-hits-Jurassic-coast.html
excellent useable study of instability east (Stonebarrow) and west (Black Ven) of Charmouth http://userweb.port.ac.uk/~gilesd/pdf/Project%20Presentations/Martine%20Mildon%20242001.pdf
pictures and links http://www.bbc.co.uk/dorset/nature/jurassic_coast/
How a news story evolves! http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/articles/120946/diff/8/9
Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/07/endangeredhabitats.conservation?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
And Guardian on fossils http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/jan/17/fossils.uknews
I have a few photos from Lyme Regis in September 2007 http://www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/PURBECK/LymeRegisSep2007/LymeRegisSep2007.htm
And finally …. The word http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/lymchar.htm
Ian West’s superlative site on all things geological on the Wessex coast

Mass movement - biggest land slip for 100 years

A bit spooky this as we have been working on mass movement today. I have just heard on the 6.00 o'clock news about a major landslip on the Jurassic coast. There may be other reports but start with these links to find out more from the BBC web site. They include video footage and interviews with local people.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7388310.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7386923.stm

Wet fieldwork

Hope you have dried out now and can remember some of the features of the psammosere we managed to see through the rain drops ! The "E" section have already played the flashcard game and psammosere word search remember it is SO important to know those plant names really well indeed. You wil not get full marks unless you do - you have been warned. The "B" section can look forward to playing the games on Wednesday as well as seeing the powerpoint of photos ! Whilst watching the presentation see if you can spot which are this years and which last - I don't think it will be too difficult ! Can you name the different stages of the psammosere shown in the photos above ?

Geography in the news

Unfortunately there have been two natural disasters in recent days and although they do not appear on the Higher syllabus as a world citizen you should be aware of such major events.

The first is the cyclone in Myanmar ( formerly known as Burma) which this evenign is being reported as having caused the death of over 10,000 people. Follow the up to date information on the BBC website



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7384041.stm



The second is the eruption of the Chaiten volcano in Chile which has been dormant for approx 450 years - follow the link below for video clip of the results of the eruption

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7383466.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7381652.stm

Soil links

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wessexarchaeology/322086299/

Photograph used under common creative license from flickr uploaded by wessex archaeology
A photo taken in July 2006 to link current events and soil.

Terminal 5, Heathrow, has been one of the biggest construction projects in the world. Excavations by Framework Archaeology, in advance of the construction works, have uncovered almost 9,000 years of history.Archaeologists took soil samples from the excavated features. The environmental evidence is then analysed to give a picture of how the landscape developed over time

Hope you are all managing to get some revision completed despite the excitement of the snow !

Today I am posting a link to the Learning Teaching Scotland ( LTS) site to an excellent powerpoint about soils - you have seen some of it before. The other powerpoints we have spoken about in class will become available over the next few weeks so keep checking the site or ask me for the relevant links.

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/resources/g/nqresource_tcm4465917.asp


Don't forget the Wycombe School site too with some animations.

http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=38264

If you have any queries you can email me using the usual address if you need help or advice. Keep a record of the revision you are doing and then you can kep track of what needs to be done ! Organisation is the key - but then I would say that wouldn't I ?

NABs

Only one more to go. Well done to you all for wanting to do it sooner rather than later !Remember all the things we have spoken of in relation to how to improve your performance. Precise case study examples for RLR & Development and Health are absolutely essential and will gain you extra marks so are well worth learning. In my lessons between now and the end of term we will be concentrating on exam style and how to make your good answers even better. You will be working on Population with Mrs Ch. After Easter we will complete the course by looking at the rest of the Biosphere unit on sand dunes.

Exams over ( for the moment)

Well after Art tomorrow (for a few of you) - that is it until the real thing !

You will get your estimate results tomorrow or on Friday. The Friday class may come to see me tomorrow to get your marks if you would like them. There are some good answers and we have positive comments we can make as well as some helpful hints which will help you to improve you responses. We will go over the papers fairly quickly in class. You will then have the opportunity to speak to myself and Mrs Ch individually about your answers, you will complete your exam analysis and we will speak of your target grades. We are in the process of writing your reports which contain comments regarding areas for development. As always you can come and ask for help and advice at any time.

A glaciation photo for you tonight.
.

Margerie Glacier, Glacier Bay Alaska

Photo taken by flickr user ThijsFr - click on photo to link to the page

Estimate exam

I will just run through the format of the paper once more so that you are sure about it although we have covered it in class.

Paper 1 Physical and Human Environments 1hour 30 mins 100 marks

4 compulsory questions ( 2 physical and 2 human) worth 18 marks each

then 2 other questions each worth 14 marks - one physical question 5 OR 6 AND one human question 7 OR 8

Paper 2 Environmental Interactions 1 hour 15 mins 100 marks

Answer Question 1 AND Question 6 ONLY ( You can not do Q2,3,4,5)

Don't forget you can email or ring if you are stuck / worried / need help.

I will be there at the start of the exam on Monday. Keep calm, 6 deep breaths read the question properly and watch your time carefully - especially two of you ( you know who you are !!)

The photo is from flickr of Lac du Crozet near Grenoble taken by ..k2..- a calming view. Click on the photograph to be taken to the flickr page

All the best Mrs C & Mrs Ch

Rural photos

I have just found these great pictures to illustrate rice growing whilst trying to get to grips with flickr the online photo sharing site so I thought I would post now as they may help with your revision. They are part of the collection from IRRI - can you remember what IRRI is and how it is relevant ? There are 83 more if you follow the link below.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=rice++fields+IRRI+landscape&m=text

World cycle ride

Fantastic news ! Mark has made it round the world and it looks like the Guinness Book of Records wil be verifying it as a new world record. He arrived back at 15.30 today (local time) at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris where he started back on August 5th. There will be lots of press coverage and TV reports this evening. There has already been an interview with my colleague on BBC Scotland at lunch time.



The link behind the photos will take you to the Newsround web site. Our IS event raised £245 for the 5 charities Mark is supporting. For more details and photos follow the link to the Artemis site and the web diary.
http://www.artemisworldcycle.com/

Don't foget to look at the Geoblogging site too - look for those fantastic meanders and ox bow lakes.http://www.geobloggingwithmark.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your weekend

In - Service

A post today especially for your teachers! Whilst you are at home revising we have an In - Service day. We are using our geography blog as an example. This is a post to show how easy it is to use one .

Development and Health revision

Here are two links to interesting sustainable projects which have been highlighted on the blog of a fellow Geography teacher. They are worth following up as examples to use in Question 6 on

Paper 2.

The first refers to a bicycle made from bamboo. The second is a scheme whereby children's play equipment is used to pump water - follow the links for the complete story

http://www.bamboobike.org/Home.html

http://www.playpumps.org/site/c.hqLNIXOEKrF/b.2559311/k.BCFF/Home.html

Royal Geographical Society web site about Dorset

I have just read about this new link in the last few minutes. It is a series of documents relating to a fieldwork weekend for Geography teachers which took place last Autumn in Dorset. There are lots of photographs and information about the coastline we have been studying and how it is being managed.

Spend some time looking at the photographs and take some notes to help you add more examples into your RLR answers.

http://www.geographyteachingtoday.org.uk/fieldwork/resource/jurassic-coast-fieldwork-weekend/

I am going on the next weekend to the Lake District so should be able to bring back some good glaciation photographs to use with you in time for the exam in May.

World Heritage Coast

We have been studying this coast as part of our work for Paper 2 the Rural Land Resources section of work. If you click on the photograph above of our favourite example of a natural arch it will take you to a page containing many useful links. The links look at specific factors e.g. coastal managment plan, transport strategy and the marketing strategy for the area. All of these wil help you to include specific extra detail in your answers.

One way of helping you to revise this section is to study your marked homework questions and with a different colour pen add any specific extra place names and detail you can.

World cycle ride

I S have been following the progress of Mark Beaumont as he cycles 18,000 miles around the world. The details of his exploits are on the wall outside Room G and you can follow the last leg by reading his cycle diary at http://www.artemisworldcycle.com/.

The Geography of the areas he has been visiting have been blogged about by my colleague at this site . It too is a fantastic site - see if you can find the wonderful posts about ox bow lake formation and about pivot irrigation

http://www.geobloggingwithmark.blogspot.com/

Mark is now back in Europe and it looks as if he will beat the previous world record by over 60 days by finishing in Paris on Friday 15th February. This has been an unsupported ride - he has carried his food, tent, and equipment himself in panniers on the bike.

It is a phenomenal achievement and we are supporting his charity fundraising next week by holding a Bake Sale and IS / Geography Department charity event. It is in the Hall at lunch time on Wednesday. There will be some cycle related games, a tombola, book & DVD stall so come along and bring your money. You will hear more about Marks' chosen charities in assembly on Tuesday.

Ways to improve

Well done - there were some excellent answers in the Physical NAB and some of you have taken heed of advice offered to you from homework questions - good to know our suggestions are not in vain.

As we have discussed in class there are hints you can take note of to help you do even better in your written answers not just for NABs and exam answers but for homework questions to. What type of things have we discussed ?Can you think of 4 or 5 of them now - can you hear me saying them ?? Both Mrs Ch and I are making similar comments. For most of you these ideas will make the difference between grades rather than whether you pass or fail but every mark is vital !!

Enjoy your weekend but keep working as the estimates are not far away now. Obviously you can come and see us for help or advice at any stage in Room G.

Physical NAB

I am sure you don't need reminding that tomorrow is your Physical NAB. Keep calm and above all read the questions very carefully. I will recap the details we have discussed in class below.

• There will be 2 questions based on 2 of the 4 sections in the Physical Interactions work each worth 20 marks and a 10 mark GMT question.


• You have 45 minutes to complete the NAB.


• It is marked out of 50 marks and you have to achieve 25 to pass.


• Look at the marks available for each question and ensure you have written enough.


• If the question contains O.S. mapwork you must include grid references to support what you are saying.


• Learn your diagrams well - they are an excellent way of showing lots of information quite quickly.


• Do not panic - 6 deep breaths and keep calm !

The photographs are from Flamborough Head in Yorkshire, Grindelwald in Switzerland and the NE coast of Scotland. I will leave you to work out which is which !

Yorkshire Dales National Park

If you have not done so already you must visit the web site for the Yorkshire Dales National Park. There is a lot of information there for you to use. Remember to include lots of specific examples and place names into your responses in order to gain all the marks available.

http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/

There is an interactive map too

http://gis.nationalparks.gov.uk/Map/map.asp?Geoset=YDNPA

A reminder also of the BBC site about limestone

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/int/geog/limestone/index.shtml

Rural Land Resources

We are now starting work on the Paper 2 Environmental Interactions section of work. This links very closely with the LIthosphere work we have already covered for Paper 1. As our upland Case Study we will be using the Yorkshire Dales National Park - an area we have already studied for Limestone.

Click on the photo above to find information specifically about the special qualities of the Yorkshire Dales.

Happy New Year

All the best for 2008 and may it bring you good health, happiness and sucess !

I hope you have all enjoyed your Christmas break and have managed to fit in some work too ! Just to show you Geography teachers never stop thinking about Geography a couple of photos I took on Christmas Day in North Wales. See you next week !