Questions for Discussion s3

Questions for discussion

East Coast floods EPISODE 13 1. The recent floods are the region’s worst since… 2. What areas have been affected by the floods? 26TH MAY 2009 3. In your own words, describe the damage floods can cause. 4. How have residents been affected? 5. Why are floods potentially dangerous? 6. Why won’t the flood waters help the Murray-Darling Basin? 7. What do the floods mean for the south-east Queensland drought? 8. Write three adjectives to describe a flood. 9. What do you think some of the problems might be associated with the clean up after a flood? 10. Investigate ways people can prepare themselves for floods to help minimise the damage.

Send a message or write a comment on the story page.

Overseas laws 1. What was the main point of the story? 2. Why is it important to research the place that you are travelling to? 3. Why did a Melbourne woman get into trouble in Thailand recently? 4. How did this make her family feel? 5. What is the maximum penalty for stealing in Thailand? 6. Describe some customs or laws from other countries. 7. What customs or laws do people travelling to Australia need to abide by? 8. What do you think it means to be respectful when travelling to another country? 9. How does the Australian Government support people who travel overseas? 10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story?

Create a plus, minus and interesting chart about travelling overseas.

Dr Drill 1. Explain to another student what the BtN story was about. 2. How did Nicholas Rossi injure himself? 3. What happened to Nicholas’s brain? 4. Describe what happens when the brain bleeds. 5. What emergency procedure did Dr Carlson do to relieve the pressure in Nicholas’s brain? 6. Why did he use an electric drill? 7. Why was the advice Dr Carlson received during the procedure on Nicholas important? 8. Why is wearing a helmet important when riding a bike? 9. Name three facts about the brain that you learnt in the BtN story. 10. How did this story make you feel?

Test your knowledge in the online brain quiz.

© ABC 2009 Swine flu 1. Briefly summarise the BtN story. 2. What does `quarantined’ mean? 3. How are the people with Swine flu being treated? 4. Why were some schools closed? 5. How long are people returning from affected countries, being asked to stay home for?

`Should schools shut down if a student catches swine flu? ’ Vote in the online poll.

Lake Eyre 1. Why is Lake Eyre filling with water? 2. How far has some of the water travelled? 3. Describe the transformation of Lake Eyre. 4. Why does so much water end up in Lake Eyre? 5. How often does the lake fill with water? 6. In your own words, describe what a salt lake is. 7. What was Lake Eyre used for in the 1960s? 8. What impact have the floods had on plants and wildlife? 9. What does water in Lake Eyre mean for farmers in the area? 10. What was surprising about this story?

Create a song, soundscape or poem about Lake Eyre. Students can use images of the lake to accompany their song.

BMX Champs 1. Retell the BtN BMX story. 2. In your own words, describe BMX racing. 3. Where do the BMX riders spend a lot of time competing? 4. Why does Sam spend a lot of time in the United States? 5. Describe Sam’s achievements in BMX racing. 6. What happened to the sport of BMX last year? 7. How has the sport changed over the years? 8. What character traits do you think a BMX rider needs? 9. Describe the risks of BMX racing. 10. What do you now know about BMX racing that you didn’t know before watching the BtN story?

Create a quiz or word puzzle about BMX racing using facts from the BtN story.

Focus Questions EPISODE 13

1. What was the main point of the story? 26TH MAY 2009 2. Why is it important to research the place that you are travelling to? 3. Why did a Melbourne woman get into trouble in Thailand recently? Learning Area 4. How did this make her family feel? Society and 5. What is the maximum penalty for stealing in Thailand? Environment 6. Describe some customs or laws from other countries. 7. What customs or laws do people travelling to Australia need to abide by? 8. What do you think it means to be respectful when travelling to another Key learning country? 9. How does the Australian Government support people who travel overseas? Students will 10. How has your thinking changed since watching the BtN story? develop an understanding of the customs and Customs and laws local laws of Students will explore the concept of cultural customs and laws differing around the another country. world. They will research the culture of another country and find out about the customs and local laws, as if they were travelling there. They will then write a letter or email about their holiday experiences to family or friends back home. Their piece of writing will need to describe their experiences of customs and local laws. Students begin by choosing a country they’d like to visit. Ask students to brainstorm what they already know about the country and what they want to find out. Students will need to get a good sense of the country to write their descriptions. There are some useful web links at the end of this activity. The following structure will help students gather information for their inquiry: Define: What do I want to know? Develop some key questions. Locate: Where do I find the information? What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print) Select: What information is important for the investigation? Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information . Organise: How do I make sense of the information? Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.

Present: The information for this inquiry can be presented as letter or email. These can be published or presented orally to small groups or the class.

Further investigations

Students can use the information gathered about the customs and local laws of a country and create a travel advice brochure for other people travelling there.

Create a crossword or word puzzle based on the customs of the country you investigated. Give it to another student to solve.

8 Related Research Links

ABC News – Mum faces Thai jail over alleged theft of bar mat http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/19/2574423.htm

ABC News – Bar mat mum arrives home http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/21/2577187.htm

ABC News – Rudd toasts work to free bar mat mum http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/21/2577643.htm

DFAT Smartraveller – Travel advisories http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/

Kwintessential – Country profiles: Global guide to culture and customs http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-profiles.html

Focus Questions

11. Why is Lake Eyre filling with water? EPISODE 13 12. How far has some of the water travelled? TH 13. Describe the transformation of Lake Eyre. 26 MAY 2009 14. Why does so much water end up in Lake Eyre? 15. How often does the lake fill with water? Learning Area 16. In your own words, describe what a salt lake is. Society and 17. What was Lake Eyre used for in the 1960s? Environment 18. What impact have the floods had on plants and wildlife? 19. What does water in Lake Eyre mean for farmers in the area? 20. What was surprising about this story? Key learning Students will deepen their Just add water understanding of Students will learn more about Lake Eyre through the following activities. Lake Eyre and its Negotiate with students how many activities they will need to complete. significance.

Remember and understand  Create a timeline showing significant events associated with Lake Eyre.  On a map of Australia, show Lake Eyre, the Lake Eyre Basin and where the water from the Queensland floods has travelled to reach the lake.

Apply and Analyse

 Lake Eyre is considered to be environmentally significant because of the rare and endangered species in the area. Create a fact sheet or brochure about the biodiversity of Lake Eyre.  Explore the history of Indigenous settlement and use in the Lake Eyre Basin. Present your research findings in an oral presentation.

 Lake Eyre is a salt lake – the water evaporates to leave a flat plain of salt on the ground. Conduct an experiment to investigate the evaporation process. Make a solution of salt and water. Pour it into a shallow saucer and leave it to stand for 2-3 days. What causes the water to evaporate? Record your . observations and findings.

Evaluate and create

© ABC 2009  View the images of Lake Eyre on the ABC website http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/#id=2571603&num=19 Create an artwork that shows the transformation of Lake Eyre since the flooding.  Create an online newsletter for other students about the recent flooding of Lake Eyre. Include information about the history of the lake flooding and the impact on plants, wildlife and farming in the area.  Create a song, soundscape or poem about the Lake Eyre. Students can use images of the lake to accompany their song.

Reflection What do you understand more clearly now? What things you would do the same and what might you do differently next time?

8 Related Research Links

ABC 730 Report – Lake Eyre region blossoms after decade long drought http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2574064.htm

ABC News – Wildlife returns to transformed Lake Eyre http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/18/2573037.htm

ABC News – Just Add Water: Lake Eyre comes to life http://www.rage.net.au/news/events/lake-eyre/default.htm#id=2571603&num=0

ABC News – Photo gallery: Paul Lockyer’s outback journey http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/#id=2571603&num=1

Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts – Lake Eyre Basin http://www.environment.gov.au/water/environmental/rivers/leb.html

Department for Environment and Heritage – Lake Eyre National Park http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/sanpr/lakeeyre/index.html

Lake Eyre Basin Agreement – Information for students http://www.lebmf.gov.au/students.html

Lake Eyre Basin http://www.lakeeyrebasin.org.au/

On this week's Behind the News:

 Floods create chaos in Queensland and New South Wales  Why an overseas holiday became a drama for this family  And how a handyman’s drill was used to save this boy’s life.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley welcome to Behind the News.

Also on the show today, we’ll meet the Aussie kid who is the World Junior BMX Champion.

We’ll get to those items later, but first to our stop story.

East Coast Floods Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: Tens of thousands of people have been cut off by floodwaters after wild storms in Queensland and New South Wales.

Towns were inundated by water after hundreds of millimetres of rain fell.

The areas affected have been the South East of Queensland around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and the North East of New South Wales.

Two people have died during the weather and the areas have been declared disaster zones. Here's Catherine to explain what's happening.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: It all began in south east Queensland.

After years of being crippled by drought and tough water restrictions, suddenly it was underwater - it was the region’s worst flood since 1974.

Areas from the Sunshine Coast, through Brisbane, to the Gold Coast were affected.

Streets were transformed into waterways and winds of up to 130 k’s an hour ripped trees from their roots and brought down power lines.

Huge waves pounded the coastline - beaches were closed and a car was washed into the ocean!

This driver became stranded on his way to work and had to be rescued - it was one of dozens of rescues by emergency crews.

DRIVER: I tried to drive the car but it stalled and the water just kept rising. We actually got marooned on the netball courts and got floated out on a rubber ducky a bit later on.

A man in Surfers Paradise was killed when flying debris smashed through his office window as he talked on the phone.

Cars were tossed around like bath toys and there were landslides.

RESIDENT: I heard a big roar which I thought was a plane. I ran out and could see all the mud sliding and boulders and trees being washed down the road and down the hill.

Residents like Mel found just about everything they owned underwater.

MEL, RESIDENT: Just devastated because this is our home and everything's gone.

Many towns were declared natural disaster areas and became cut off by flood waters.

In some towns thousands of residents had to be evacuated as rivers threatened to burst their banks.

SES: We need to evacuate your house immediately.

Many people moved their stuff to higher ground, packed essentials into their cars, and moved to evacuation centres.

So much water in such a short time! But where has it all gone? Will it make any difference to other parts of the country affected by drought?

CATHERINE: Some people were hoping the water would help fill up the thirsty Murray Darling Basin but unfortunately that won't happen because there's this big mountain range called the Great Dividing Range and the rain would need to have fallen on this side to flow into the river system, but most of it fell on the other side.

There was some good news though;

ANNA BLIGH, QLD PREMIER: South east Queensland's worst drought in history is over.

Hundreds of thousands of megalitres of rain filled dams across the region.

But it's little comfort right now to those who've suffered devastating losses and have a huge, expensive clean up ahead of them.

Presenter: And we'll keep you up to date with the cleanup there.

INTRO: You would have seen in Catherine's story that the floods won't flow in to the Murray Darling system, but four months ago there was some rain up there that is now having a big effect in another part of the country.

Water has begun filling up Lake Eyre in South Australia and transforming the dry outback into an inland oasis. It's an extremely rare event and one of the most spectacular sights in Australia.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: This water has been on a journey four months in the making.

It's travelled thousands of kilometres, across some of the driest land in Australia to get here.

And now it's here, at Lake Eyre in South Australia, it will trigger an extraordinary transformation.

DON ROWLANDS, PARK RANGER, SIMPSON DESERT NATIONAL PARK: And we wait and we wait and all of a sudden the water starts rising and it just seems to take on another look altogether.

You might be wondering, though, where all this water could possibly have come from!

Well it's actually from places as far away as north Queensland.

You might remember we told you earlier this year about floods there. Well it's taken about 4 months for that water to wind its way down the length of the state, through Birdsville to Lake Eyre.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: One of the reasons so much water ends up here is that Lake Eyre is actually the lowest point in all of Australia - 15m below sea level.

But for water to make it through the hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of dry, parched land, there needs to be huge amounts of rain.

That's why the event is so rare. This amazing part-time lake only fills completely around four times every hundred years.

This was one of the biggest floods in 1984.

But what happens the rest of the time?

Well most of the time it looks like this.

That's called a salt lake, which is when the water evaporates away to leave a very flat plain of salt on the ground, and that comes in useful for this!

PRESENTER (archival footage): The Blue bird raced across the salt flat at an amazing 648 kilometres an hour. Briefly, Lake Eyre was world news.

Yep, it was a racetrack!

Back in the 1960s, a land speed record was set on this lake, which was used because of its flat and dry salt crust.

But most of the time it has laid here empty like a desert wasteland.

Well that was until the water arrived!

One of them is Professor Richard Kingsford and he's been studying the effect the drought had on water birds across Australia.

PROFESSOR RICHARD KINGSFORD: A flood like this is just so important for actually building up the numbers.

He's found this massive colony of 40 to 60 thousand pelicans and this colony of ten thousand whistling ducks, all flying from different parts of Australia, following the water further west towards Lake Eyre.

But the wildlife and plants aren't the only ones thriving out here because of this amazingly rare event.

Farmers will use the next few seasons to take advantage of the abundance of food and water for their livestock.

And tourists have been flocking to the area to get a glimpse of this awesome natural display, which has turned from this, to this, all they had to do was just add water.

What a sight. Let's stay in the outback and do a quiz about monoliths, which is the name given to large outcrops of stone.

What is the largest monolith in Australia?

1. Uluru 2. Mt Kosciuszko 3. Mt Augustus

Answer: Mt Augustus

Swine Flu

Now to an update on a story we told you about a while ago - swine flu.

Quite a few cases have now been diagnosed in Australia and some of them are kids. That's meant schools are having to close down to stop the virus spreading.

One place where kids have a few days off is Clifton Hills Primary in Victoria.

Two brothers there caught the flu on a trip to Disneyland, another student caught if off them as well.

Their families are now quarantined in their homes. They have food delivered and aren't allowed to leave.

So are some of their mates.

XANDER: “It's annoying because I've got a lot on and now I've missed it.”

The schoolkids were given special medicine for the flu.

“IT’S SOUR”

A few other schools in Victoria and South Australia have also closed, including Thornbury High School, Eynesbury College and Blackfriars Priory School.

Any students coming home from a trip to the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan and Panama are also being asked to stay in their homes for seven days, just to make sure.

Presenter: And there's a story explaining all about swine flu on our website. If you want to avoid it - the advice is - Wash, wipe, cover - don't infect another.

Online Poll

Now while everyone wants to stop swine flu spreading, some people aren't happy with the policy to shut schools if a case is discovered.

They say kids are missing out on important work and sport, so we'll make that this week's poll.

The question is: Should schools shut down if a student catches swine flu?

If you want to vote just hit up our website.

Poll Results

And in last week's poll 81 percent of you said jumps racing should be banned.

Overseas Laws Reporter: Sarah Larsen

But different cultures often see things differently and something that's acceptable in one place might get you into trouble in another.

Here's Sarah to explain.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: So, you're going on an overseas holiday, which is really exciting, but there's heaps to think about. What's the weather going to be like, hot or cold? Do they speak another language? Got your phrase book?

KID: I've got my ticket, my passport, toothbrush, all set!

Hang on, haven't you forgotten something?

KID: No? what?

REPORTER: Research! You really should find out about the laws and customs of the country you're going to, otherwise your holiday could turn into a nightmare!

That's what a Melbourne woman found out last week. She was in Thailand on holidays and was out having fun at this hotel. As a joke, her friends say they put a mat belonging to the hotel in her bag. But the Thai police didn't think it was funny; they arrested her.

REPORTER: Even though stealing is illegal in Australia, if you stole something like this you probably wouldn't go to jail. But in Thailand it was a bit different. The mum was locked up for a while.

Then she was made to stay in the country while the court decided her punishment. That could have been up to five years in prison and her four kids were really scared.

In the end the Thai court let her go home but her case shows how easy it can be to get into a lot of trouble overseas. There are almost 200 different countries in the world and each one has its own laws and customs. Things that are totally acceptable in one place might be against the law in another and just like we expect foreign visitors to respect Australian laws, when we travel we have to obey overseas laws.

In some countries there are laws about what you wear. You might not be allowed to wear shorts or singlets and women might have to wear head scarves like these. In Singapore you can be arrested for chewing gum on the street. In Florence, Italy, you're not allowed to sit, eat or drink on steps near churches. In some countries you can get arrested for taking a photo of a government building and overstaying your visa in the US, even by a day, can land you in jail.

A few years ago this Aussie was thrown in jail in Thailand just for something he wrote. He was accused of insulting a member of the Thai royal family and over there insulting royalty is illegal. Penalties can also be much tougher overseas. If someone is caught with illegal drugs in Australia it generally means a few years in jail. In other places it can mean life in prison or the death penalty. That's why the Australian government runs ads like this warning Aussies to be careful. It says it does try to help people when they're in trouble but in the end it’s up to everyone to do their own research and be careful.

PRESENTER: And the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a website with information on laws and customs in each country.

Dr. Drill Reporter: Catherine Ellis

INTRO: If you've ever checked out your family's tool shed, it's unlikely you would have spotted something that looked like it could

It sounds crazy but a Doctor in country Victoria actually did that.

He drilled into the skull of a teenage boy and saved his life. Here's Catherine.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Nicholas Rossi is one very lucky boy. He's on his way to making a full recovery after doctors saved his life last week.

The teenager from Maryborough in country Victoria - about two hours from Melbourne - had been riding in the street with his friend. It was wet, his foot slipped and he fell and hit his head.

His mum took him to hospital and later doctors noticed he was drifting in and out of consciousness - they decided he must have a brain bleed.

CATHERINE: Now when you get a brain bleed you might not see any blood because it's bleeding on the inside - and that makes it a very serious problem.

The blood builds up inside the skull and has nowhere to go. It puts pressure on the brain and pushes it towards the hole at the bottom of the skull which can kill you - the pressure also stops new blood flowing into your brain and it dies.

CATHERINE: So to stop all this and relieve the pressure, doctors make a hole in the skull to allow the blood to drain away.

The trouble was, the hospital didn't have the right equipment.

Usually only big city hospitals have the specialised gadgets and specially trained surgeons to run them - brain surgery is a big deal!

He had to improvise to solve the problem so he grabbed a hand drill - like this one - from the maintenance room.

KAREN ROSSI, MUM: He said I’m going to have to do a burr hole I'm going to have one go only and I just said alright do it.

Dr Carson hadn't ever used a hand drill, let alone performed an operation like this, but with help over the phone from a brain surgeon in Melbourne, he drilled a one centimetre hole near the wound, drained the blood and relieved the pressure on Nicholas' brain.

DR ROB CARSON: Coming to the spot where I wanted to stop, I had to then ask David how to put the drill into reverse.

Nicholas was then airlifted to a bigger hospital in Melbourne where he made an amazing recovery and days later celebrated his 13th birthday.

DR DAVID WALLACE: I think it was a miraculous effort by the boys in Maryborough, and I think without it he probably would have died.

It's common for specialists like Dr Wallace to give advice over the phone or the internet from interstate or even from the other side of the world!

CATHERINE: Now there is one big lesson to come out of this story - it might never have happened if Nicholas was wearing his helmet.

While some kids see the protective gear as a hassle, the brain is very precious - and the simple act of putting on a helmet can save your life.

PRESENTER: I struggled making a bookshelf in shop class at school, let alone brain surgery.

The Score

That's exactly what cricketers do, and we see what they're up to first in the score.

Andrew Symonds's test cricket career may be over after he was dropped from the Ashes squad to tour England in July.

Symonds is now 34, leading some commentators to suggest the side is looking to younger players for the future.

******

Staying with cricket, and in the Indian Premier League Adam Gilchrist has showed he's still got it by firing the fastest fifty in IPL history - off just 17 balls, to send his side through to the final.

The Deccan Chargers went on to take out the title...

******

In League, check out this length of the field try from Penrith centre Michael Jennings!

All up he ran in three tries in the Panthers’ 48 - 6 pounding of the Roosters.

******

They include sneaking them in from the sideline, flicking the ball up with his heel and scoring soccer style - and even shooting from the stands!

And in case you're wondering, no - none of them were set up!

******

Those tricks are definitely going to become a You Tube hit

Quiz 2

Let's stick with sport for our last quiz

Right let's move onto wheels for our last quiz.

What does BMX stand for?

Answer: Bicycle motocross

Because the sport was a pedal-powered variation of the motorbike based sport it was named after that.

BMX Champs Reporter: Sarah Larsen

Sam Willoughby conquered the world last year and is getting ready to defend his title when the World Championships come here in July.

Sarah thought she'd check out how Sam and some of Australia's best riders are preparing.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: What has two wheels, no wings, and flies - well, almost. Welcome to the daring and dangerous world of BMX. Where speed is king and gravity occasionally gets you down. But there are no falls today. I'm getting a show from three of Australia's best riders. There's 18 year old Anthony, Michael who's 23 and the current junior world champion, Sam who's 17. Catching them here on their old home track is pretty rare these days. These guys spend a lot of time overseas competing.

SAM: Yeah, it’s been different at a young age trying to manage travelling and racing each weekend in a different country but I'm not going to sit here and complain about it yeah it’s probably been the best experience in my life.

Tomorrow Sam's off again to the United States, where he lives for some of the year.

SAM: Basically that's where the pinnacle of BMX and most action sports are. If you want to be racing against the best in the world that's where they are at the moment.

Sam has raced the best and won. This is him taking out the junior section of last year's World BMX championship in China. This year the race is in Adelaide and Sam's looking forward to defending his title at home.

SAM: I can't wait. It’s gonna be awesome.

© ABC 2009 BMX has come a long way since the 70s when kids would race their bikes on dirt tracks trying to copy their motocross heroes. It took off as an extreme sport, then last year it made the Olympics.

SAM: That was probably the best thing that's ever happened to the sport - people were riding beyond what they've ever ridden - it was just crash after crash after crash which I think the public enjoyed

Yeah, about those crashes:

MICHAEL: Some of the tracks it’s just continuous jumps it’s just jump after jump and if you do land a little bit short you sort of go over the handlebars and then it’s pretty much the next jump waiting for you just there. You can hurt yourself pretty bad, put it that way but we try to stop that happening we try to avoid that at all costs.

That doesn't mean they always play nice - these guys might be best mates but on the track they're ruthless

MICHAEL: Yeah Anthony almost took me out in one of the races we did together recently and he a cost me a spot in the finals - thanks buddy! But that's the way the new generation races - they're pretty full on and they're not afraid.

Still looks pretty scary to me! But I didn't want to look like a total wuss and believe me, whoever coined the phrase "It's as easy as riding a bike" never tried BMX.

This is me going very slowly, this is me almost falling off, and this is me totally exhausted. OK, so I'll need a bit more practice to pull off moves like these but until then I'll enjoy watching the pros.

Closer