Activity # 14
Examining geographic
phenomenon
The natural world is full of the unexpected -- phenonomen that
can be amazing and beautiful or wild and dangerous. These dramatic
situations can make for fascinating stories and images and writing
about them can help your students understand the complexities
of nature and its impact on the world we live in.
Extreme weather
When was the last time
your community or province was hit by a tornado, a hurricane,
a major blizzard, a flood or an avalanche? Visit the library
and check out old newspapers for accounts of the incident. What
impact did it have on the people and the land? Has the landscape
been changed forever by this weather phenomenon? What do the
experts say about the extreme weather? Is there a pattern or
was this a complete surprise? Interview people in your community
about what it was like to live through the last big weather event.
Rumbling earth
Imagine living in a place
where the earth can shift and tremble without warning, where
your home could be demolished and your life put at risk in a
matter of seconds. That's the reality for people who live in
earthquake zones around the world -- places like Southern California,
southeastern Hawaii, Turkey, Taiwan, Iceland and the India-China
border. But it's also a possibility that people in other parts
of the world must consider -- even here in Canada, where places
have been hit with small earthquakes.
Find out the story behind an earthquake. What causes the earth
to move in such dramatic ways? Pick a region in the world and
find out about its earthquake history. What are the scientists
saying about the potential for future quakes in that area? How
have the quakes shaped the land and its people? Try to find a
e-mail pen pal in the region to get some first-person accounts
of life in the earthquake zone.
Unearthing the past
What does the land we live
on today tell us about the past? That's what archaeologists are
trying to find out when they dig and sift through the soil. Archaeology
is the study of the artifacts that were left behind by previous
generations of people. By studying these ancient and more recent
items, scientists can piece together clues and figure out who
inhabited the land and how they used it. Meanwhile, scientists
have also discovered clues to our country's pre-history that
were left behind by nature -- in the form of fossils and dinosaur
bones. What has been dug up in your part of Canada? Your students
could visit a site and bring back their own eye-witness account
of the site, complete with interviews with the people who made
these discoveries.
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