Desert Landforms extras

Here's some online quizzes and activities to test your knowledge of arid and semi-arid landscapes. Some of the questions and concepts will undoubtedly be above and beyond what we covered in class, some are just silly.
Desert Landform Assemblages
Easy Desert quiz
desert vocab

Glaciation Webquest

1. http://www.physicalgeography.net/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier
3. http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/...
4. http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/landscapes/physio_e.php
5. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/...
6. http://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/lemke/alpine_glacial_glossary/glossary.html
7. http://geoscape.nrcan.gc.ca/calgary/topics/glacier_e.php

Feel free to comment... what did you learn from this webquest?

Romeo

I had a chance to hear Romeo Dallaire (UN leader during Rwandan genocide) speak to delegates at a Colleges Conference in PG. Wow... he had a few interesting loose ends that left me with some questions (military simplicity vs political ambiguity), but I came away with a renewed sense of the difference between management and leadership. He suggests we have too much of the former and a vacuum of the latter in Canada ("there is no one selecting and maintaining a vision for Canada"). He also suggested that Canada has stumbled onto world power status and thus needs to be more responsible on the world stage in preventing and addressing humanitarian issues (perhaps starting with keeping the Americans accountable for their human rights abuses in Gitmo). He figures the way forward is better cooperation between gov't, military, and NGOs.

Paris of the North

Saw this on the CBC News website story on the big plywood plant fire and subsequent fires in the BCR industrial site in Prince George. The interesting part comes in the comments, where PG's industrial zone is elegantly slandered and someone rebuts... a good case study in heartland/hinterland dynamics!

Punchinello's comment #1 "Yes, Prince George is the Paris of northern BC. This cultural icon, the industrial district is the Champs d'Elysée of the Cariboo with it's famous neo-baroque second empire poured concrete cinder block truck stop. I think it was about to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site too. What a loss."

kristahuot's response: "To Punchinello: I see a Vancouverite has seen fit to grace us all with their perspective on Prince George. Congratulations on knowing the main street in Paris, how extremely worldly and cultured of you. It is industrial cities like Prince George who provide BC's economy with most of its revenue, so this fire is actually more devastating than your comment implies. Many of those hardworking people will be out of jobs, and they are already suffering enough due to the pine beetle infestation and the softwood lumber crisis. I grew up in Prince George, and I lived in Vancouver for 5 years. I've also lived in Toronto and Montreal which are both 5 times the city Vancouver will ever be. Call Prince George whatever you like, but Vancouver as a city is nothing but a cultural black hole, with the artistic merit of a condo developer's sales model made out of used syringes. The beauty in that city is its natural surroundings, not the city itself. The poverty and addiction in Vancouver are an absolute disgrace, something that most Vancouverites turn a blind eye to, while they hang out in Yaletown sipping lattes and toting around tiny dogs. Maybe Main and Hastings can be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site too?"

Wow time flies... let's see: ECONOMY!

Pick one of the following "industries" in BC to investigate and learn about. Prepare a one-page summary of your findings (including references). This could take the form of an advertisement or a pamphlet, and should include facts, examples, and pictures. Choose from:

Forest harvesting (logging)
Forest manufacturing (wood products)
Pulp production
Big Agriculture (wheat farming)
Dairy Farming
Market farming (vegetables)
Mixed Agriculture (crops)
Wine-growing (vineyards)
Fruit-growing (orchards)
Cattle & Ranching
Copper mining
Coal mining
Gold mining (modern)
Tourism in the northern interior (e.g. Prince George)
Tourism in the southern interior (e.g. Kelowna)
Tourism on the South Coast (e.g. Victoria)
Tourism specific to Whistler/Olympics
Transportation and Shipping
Film & Television (Vancouver)
High Tech (e.g. game design)
Commercial fishing (wild species)
Fish farming (aquaculture)
Sports Fishing (recreational)
Artisans and craftwork in BC
Road & Bridge Construction
Construction homes
Smelting (e.g. Trail / Cominco)
Aluminum production (e.g. Kitimat)
Power production (e.g. hydro dams)

If you want one that's not on the list, see your teacher. Focus on things like: where is the industry located? What do they do/make? Where do they sell their products? How many people are employed in this industry? What are the jobs like? How does this industry impact the economy and environment? Make your research and product BC-specific! Reference your sources but steer way from Wikipedia as an end-source (good place to start looking, though).

Human RIghts & Activism

Investigate at least ONE human rights organization (see a list at Wikipedia, especially the international NGOs)) and at least ONE other organization that defends a value or works towards something you find important (e.g. Wildlife, Clean Air, Climate Change, Anti-globalization, Addressing HIV/AIDS).

Visit a couple of sites for each group to get an idea what they do, why & how and then leave a comment here about what you learned. Last step... record one of the sites you visited and be ready to show & share it with the class (explain the organization's purpose or maybe why you like the work the group does). Use a NON Wikipedia site... if you start there, scroll to the bottom of the article to see the external links.

Climate Change

What did you learn from Mr. Lear's climate change presentation? Any issues or questions you have? Learn more about his topic at the Council of Forest Industries site.

Witness to Evil

We have recently watched the documentary Shake Hands with the Devil chronicling Romeo Dallaire's experience in Rwanda as commander of U.N. Forces. Respond to the documentary considering the following questions.

Romeo discussed images, what images stood out for him? Which images stood out for you? Why did these images stand out? How can images be powerful? What emotions did Romeo experience? What events lead to these emotions? What emotions did you feel while watching this documentary? What events lead to your emotions? How can your emotions be translated into actions? Should Canada make its involvement in these types of conflict more of a priority and send more troops and resources?

Here's a link to the SAME post on another SS11 teacher's blog... feel free to copy and paste your coment there, too!: soc11eh.blogspot.com/witness-to-evil

Politics, Again !!!

As a follow-up to our class construction of "nations, " here are two online activities to get you thinking about your own political views:
Political Compass quiz
Nation States simulation
...what do you think?

Also, try adding the facebook application Nations to see how your ideas translate to nationhood

While your at it, try an interesting site on the Single Transfer Vote process

You can leave your comments here...

Climate Change in Canada

Speech topic: The Impact of Climate Change on Canada

Source material: Environment Canada's Climate Change Posters, and/or other web-based resources

Audience: Bali Conference or a similar international convention on environmental issues

How to make it better: in addtion to documenting current and future effects of CC on Canada, make compelling arguments about what can be done to cope with impacts or change the future. You may also wish to offer a critique of what Canada or other nations are doing about Climate Change and related environmental issues.

Length/Requirements: digital copy due Jan 18th, audio or video or live version recommended. It should be about 300-500 words (about a 3 minute speech).

Feel free to leave a comment... what did you learn from the poster activity or the speech assignment?

Links - Species/Habitat Issues

1. http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html
2. http://www.epa.gov/
3. http://www.greenpeace.ca/
4. http://www.wildernesscommittee.org/
5. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
6. http://www.globio.info/
7. http://www.unesco.org/mab/index.shtml
8. http://www.unesco.org/mab/index.shtml
9. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/

Pick 2 or more of these sites to visit
Find a threatened species or habitat that interests you
Describe the problem and record it here with a comment
Please leave your first name in the comment field if you are posting anonymously

Global Warming Simulation

Try this interactive game at http://www.globalwarminginteractive.com/. Let us know here (with a comment) what you think...

POLITICS

Two activities to get you thinking about political views which guide nations:
Political Compass quiz
Nation States simulation
...what do you think?

Ice Age question

What are you learning about glaciation learn from this webquest?

Red Sea Volcano

Canadians rescue Yemenis fleeing the eruption of a shield volcano in the Red Sea

Welcome September 2007

Ahh, a freshly made batch of Geography students!!! Please, feel free to leave a comment here on one of two topics:

1. What do you think of Lovelock's Gaia Hypothesis? Read about it HERE if you need to. Do you think the Earth is a living system capable of managing its own survival? Do we have a duty to protect, respect, or restore the earth?

2. Share your issues research here... of course, you may also submit it to the teacher's hand-in folder (written/audio/video formats).

Review Instructions

Use the Exam Review Checklist (handed out in class) to build case for what you've done to prepare for the final exam. As you do this, you will likely see where there are gaps in your studying. Use the attached names & dates lists to check your knowledge of course-related events, and go over your review sheets (especially the essay-question prep as this is where most students lose marks). When you are ready, choose to either

a) listen to review podcasts at Mr.Thielmann's SS11 page. These are also posted at Mr. Leitch's site. These will be most useful if you follow along with matching notes or text. Best yet is to read notes/text first and use the podcasts to see what you have retained. or...

b) try the SS11 sample exam posted at BC Provincial Exam page.

or both! You are welcome to leave feedback here on either of these activities.

Great Canadian Geography Challenge

Try a quiz or two at http://www.geochallenge.ca/geochallenge/default.asp. Let us know (in a comment) how you did, or what you thought of the quiz questions, or something intereting you learned.

Diamond's Top 12

From "Collapse," here is Jared Diamond's most serious environmental problems facing past and present societies:
1. Destruction of natural habitats
2. Loss of wild food sources (especially fish)
3. Loss of wild species and biodiversity
4. Soil loss and damage
5. Reliance on non-renewable energy sources
6. Threats to freshwater
7. Abuse of the photosynthetic ceiling (reducing growing capacity)
8. Chemical pollution and toxic overload
9. Introduction of alien species
10. Greenhouse gas emissions (global warming) & ozone depletion
11. Unchecked population growth
12. Resource consumption & per-capita impact

What would you add to the list?

Sydney Tar Ponds

One of Canada's worst environmental disasters... the result of poor planning in the secondary economic sector.
Wikipedia article on the problem
Gov't website on cleanup efforts

Economic Simulations

Try this simulation of a small-scale economy and let me know what you think of it. Specifically, what did you learn about budgeting and economy?

Badger Kingdom

If you have had enough with this one, you could visit and try one of these two simulations which might get you thinking about economy...
Qpawn
Nation States (most of you have tried this one already)

Leave a comment for feedback on this activity...

Sydney Tar Ponds

One of Canada's worst environmental disasters... the result of poor planning in the secondary economic sector.
Wikipedia article on the problem
Gov't website on cleanup efforts

Climate Webquest

This one is quite simple... take one of the vocab words from the lesson on climate and sift some searches for a solid link which explains your topic -- a webpage or a graphic, even a video. Webpages should be informative and offer direct learning about the topic. Graphics should be clear/high-res and match the topic directly. Videos should be very brief and not frivolous... if you find something that's just plain funny we can see it separately. Leave your results here as a comment and we'll composite them as a "webflow." Do it twice (get a second vocab word). Make your comments like this:

insolation
http://ithacasciencezone.com/earthzone/lessons/07meteor/insolation.htm
Enrico Studenti

Coastal Features Google Earth Quest

Using Google Earth, find 4 Coastal Landforms from our unit (e.g. tombolo, spit, arch, longshore drift, etc.). Use placemarks to locate, label, and describe them. Experiment with scale, tilt, and direction. Find 4 other landforms from our unit (e.g. barchand, cirque, meander, alluvial fan) and"placemark" them, too. Save your eight locations as a .kmz file (one of the menu options) and hand this in to Thielmann's Classwork folder. We'll play the best ones in class!

Found on YouTube

Calving glacier takes out unlucky tourists

The Action of Ice

The embedded video (from youtube) is playing tricks on the screen... here is the original link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U84BbIRDyOA

Cottonwood Island Field Trip feedback

What did you think? I haven't done that field trip before... what could I add next year to increase student involvement? Which of the unit vocab can be seen at Cottonwood Island Park?

Structure Links

As you complete your notes on the Earth's structure and study cards on tectonics, faults & folds, you might find some of these links useful. Surf a few of the links, see if it makes sense, and try the quiz on Plate Tectonics, and the quiz on Faults & Folds.

Let me know by leaving a comment of there are any broken links and which sites you found most useful. Reminder that leaving comments can be another way for you to contribute to class and work on "Social Responsibility."

Plate Tectonics
USGS site on Plate Tectonics
Private (business?) site with great resources
Animation of plate movement
Quia Plate Tectonics quizzes
Position of the continents over time
Diagram of Plate Tectonics
Seafloor spreading
Plate movement in our area
physicalgeography.net on Plate Tectonics

Faults & Folds
PhysGeog Online - Faults/Folds
Fault & Fold Quiz
Dictionary of geologic term
USGS database of faults & folds
PhysGeog Online - Glossary

Earthquakes and Seismic Activity
List of recent earthquakes in Canada
National Geographic earthquake simulator

Vulcanism and Volcanic Activity
National Geographic volcano simulator
Another volcano simulator

New class! Geog 12!

September 2006... welcome back for what will be (for most of you) your last year in high school! This blog is for extending what we do in class, providing a place for links and related ideas, and a chance to discuss or participate where we haven't had time to do so in class.

Field Trip Feedback

(picture coming!) Well... I had fun. Geomorphology & city history at MacMillan Creek, soil & surface analysis at the base of the cutbanks, and local history at Cottonwood Island. What did you think, find, learn or discover? What questions do you still have? Suggestions for next time?