Improve Geographical Skills with Skills Plus
Feedback from the recent AQA GCSE Geography examiner’s report suggests that geographical skills are an area for development. Given that geographical skills are worth 10% of the GCSE, across three papers, we’ve been thinking about how Internet Geography Plus can support you in improving students’ geographical skills. Considering so many skills are covered in the AQA GCSE specification, we felt a quick fix wouldn’t be enough. Therefore, this year, we are developing several sets of resources to support you, including:
- Skills Plus
- Skills Plus Baseline Assessments
What is Skills Plus?
Skills Plus is a collection of activities that focus on applying geographical skills in the context of the units covered by the specification. Each Skills Plus sheet focuses on one or two skills, and questions are based on a particular unit. They are short, focused activities that can be used as starter or plenary activities. They can also be issued to individual students if there is a particular area for development identified from assessments or intervention sessions etc. Each Skills Plus resource is editable and includes a mark scheme to reduce your workload.
Subscribers can access the first of these resources in the new Skills Plus area of Internet Geography Plus. We’ll be adding new Skills Plus resources regularly over the coming year. If you have a specific request, please get in touch. Not got access to Internet Geography Plus? Please purchase a low-cost annual subscription to access these and over a thousand other resources.
Skills Plus Baseline Assessments
As well as Skills Plus, we are developing a comprehensive, planned approach to developing geographical skills through our new Skills Plus Baseline Assessments. The approach involves:
- Students complete a baseline assessment covering various geographical skills.
- Students assess their performance (a mark scheme is provided, including a PowerPoint that can be used to take the students through the answers).
- Students complete a review sheet to RAG rate their performance across the different skills (a PowerPoint is also available for you to deliver this)
- Students use QR codes/web links to access resources on Internet Geography to support improving their identified areas for development.
- The assessment can be repeated later to review progress.
We’ll be adding a number of Skills Plus Baseline assessments to Internet Geography Plus over the coming year, which review the range of geographical skills identified in the specification (and a few relevant extras). As there are so many skills to cover, we have decided to divide the skills and produce a series of baseline assessments this academic year.
The first Skills Plus Baseline Assessment (see image below) is now available to Internet Geography Plus subscribers.
The first Skills Plus Assessment addresses relatively basic geographical skills students should know. However, we have included a couple of more challenging elements so that most students will have areas for development!
Each Skills Plus Baseline will cover a range of atlas, OS maps, graphical, and statistical skills.
An introduction PowerPoint is available to download to support you in launching the Skills Plus Baseline.
Once the students have completed the Skills Plus Assessment, they will self-assess using the provided mark scheme, which includes a PowerPoint presentation that you can use to take the students through the processes.
Students then review their performance using the Skills Plus Baseline Review (see below). There is a PowerPoint to guide students through this process on Internet Geography Plus.
The completed review sheet will help students identify their priorities for skills development. The review sheets include a QR code/link to free-to-access online resources on Internet Geography that students will use to improve their geographical skills. These pages are now available to access.
We’re working on a spreadsheet to identify which geographical skills are covered in this and future assessments. Hopefully, it will be a helpful tracking tool that provides a clear overview of the skills that have been/will be covered. It can also be shared with those delightful OFSTED people, if you are lucky enough to have a visit, to illustrate how you are taking a systematic approach to skills development.
Subscribers can now access the new Skills Plus Baseline and Baseline Review in the new Skills Plus area of Internet Geography Plus. Mark schemes and presentations will be added later today.
We’ll be adding further baseline assessments over the coming year. If you have a specific request, please get in touch. Not got access to Internet Geography Plus? Please purchase a low-cost annual subscription to access these and over a thousand other resources.
AQA GCSE Geography Interactive Revision Resources
Did you know? Students can access a growing collection of free interactive resources on Internet Geography to support revision and retrieval.
We’ve compiled a PDF file you can share with students containing QR codes and short URLs so they can get straight to the area they want to revise. Just click the image below to download.
The 2023 Turkey Syria Earthquake
We’re collating resources to support teachers covering the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey. First and foremost, we’ve shared links to anyone who can support NGOs working to help those affected. Additionally, there are links to support teachers in sensitively delivering events such as the earthquake, including advice on supporting the young people affected.
Earthquake Relief
There are many aid agencies providing support to those affected by the recent earthquake that has affected tens of thousands of people in Turkey and Syria, including:
- DEC Turkey Syria Earthquake Appeal
- Save the Children Turkey Syria Earthquake Appeal
- British Red Cross Earthquake Appeal
Please email us if you are aware of other aid agencies providing support or can provide a link for donations to aid agencies.
Support
Teachers
Below we have included links to websites that support teaching events such as this in a considered way. After all, many children from Turkey and Siria are being educated in schools outside of the country and may be in one of your classes.
Supporting young people during the initial response to a disaster
Media
Warning – Some of these videos contain footage you may find distressing.
Sky News – Devastation from Above – An aerial view of the Turkey-Syria earthquake
News Links
BBC
BBC News Turkey – Syria Earthquake Home
Turkey earthquake: Screaming, shaking… how it felt when the quake hit
Turkey earthquake: Where did it hit and why was it so deadly?
Turkey earthquake: Why did so many buildings collapse?
Turkey-Syria earthquake: Fire at Iskenderun port extinguished
Syria: Rescuers search for earthquake survivors in Harem
Turkey earthquake fault lines mapped from space – BBC News
Turkey-Syria earthquake: UK aid appeal raises more than £50m
Turkey quake: President Erdogan accepts some problems with response
Turkey earthquake rescue efforts disrupted by security concerns
Turkey earthquake: Roman-era castle destroyed by quake
Turkey earthquake: Hope as foreign help arrives in quake-ravaged Antakya
US pledges $85m for Turkey-Syria earthquake relief
The Economist (requires a free account)
What made the earthquake in Turkey and Syria so deadly?
The Guardian
The Guardian – Turkey – Syria Earthquake Home
Turkey and Syria earthquake devastation – in pictures
Tuesday briefing: Why the Turkey and Syria earthquake was a catastrophe
Before and after satellite images show scale of earthquake destruction in Turkey
Turkey earthquake death toll prompts questions over building standards
Istanbul stock market shuts to prevent selloff after earthquake
Sky News
Sky News Turkey – Syria Earthquake Home
Turkey-Syria earthquake: Which countries have offered to help and what aid are they providing?
Podcasts
BBC Science in Action – Turkey-Syria Earthquake
Newly available Maxar satellite imagery shows several hundred meters long surface rupture with horizontal displacements up to 4m near Nurdağı, Gaziantep province, Turkey. pic.twitter.com/3JVZTTHrk1
— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) February 9, 2023
The M7.8 earthquake in Türkiye occurred on a strike-slip fault. During this type of faulting event one side of the fault slides horizontally past the other. Things that cross the fault like fences, roads or train tracks are good markers for showing the way the fault moved. https://t.co/uAxHsDnf59 pic.twitter.com/XreVABZnl1
— Wendy Bohon, PhD 🌏 (@DrWendyRocks) February 8, 2023
Why did the earthquakes in Turkey happen? pic.twitter.com/eA91LNZpM0
— Wendy Bohon, PhD 🌏 (@DrWendyRocks) February 7, 2023
An unfolding thread helping us understand the nature of the devastating earthquake affecting Turkey and Syria.
— Alistair Hamill MCCT (@lcgeography) February 6, 2023
What is The Final Countdown?
The Final Countdown is a comprehensive set of resources to support students in the run-up to exams. The work of JB GeogTeacher inspired the initiative.
The Final Countdown has been created to provide students with weekly revision activities in the run-up to the AQA GCSE Geography exams in May and June 2023. Each set contains a six-week revision plan to support students in organising their revision. In addition, each week has a QR code to online resources, guides, quizzes and exam questions (including example answers and mark schemes) for students to use to prepare for their final exams.
The image below illustrates how The Final Coundown works.
Internet Geography Plus subscribers can access the six-weekly revision sheets when they are published (week 1-6 is available now!).
Each week, revision is divided into three sections, revise, quiz and exam questions.
Revise
Students revise an area of the specification, and the QR code will take them to a menu of pages on Internet Geography to support this. In addition, we’ve provided A3 templates for the students to use to structure their revision. These include knowledge organisers and mind maps. The image below shows examples.
Internet Geography Plus subscribers can download the first batch of knowledge organisers and mind maps for lessons 1-3. More are coming this week!
Review
Review is an opportunity for students to revisit their learning by completing online multiple-choice quizzes to test their knowledge. These are all available on Internet Geography for free. Alternatively, Plus subscribers could direct their students to the Internet Geography Plus MS/Google forms quizzes to monitor progress (and completion!).
Exam Questions
Finally, students complete exam questions based on the area they revised the previous week. To support students, we’re putting together a guide to completing each question and an example answer.
We’ve published the first couple of student pages if you want to see an example here.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll add many resources to support The Final Countdown. Internet Geography Plus subscribers can access the resources here. However, if you’re not a subscriber, why not join to access this and hundreds of other resources? Please take a look at our subscription options.
If you have any questions, drop us an email.
Internet Geography Primary Plus
We’re excited to announce that we’ll soon be launching Internet Geography Primary Plus. As you might have guessed, we’re extending our Plus family to include resources specifically developed for the primary school curriculum. Our team of writers are currently developing editable resources for use in your classroom!
We want to make sure Internet Geography Primary Plus works for you! So, we’d love to hear your views about the types of resources you’d like to see made available on Internet Geography Primary Plus. As a thank you for taking the time to share your views, we’ll make sure you’re the first to know about the launch of Internet Geography Primary Plus and will throw in a discount on your first annual subscription!
Afghanistan Earthquake 2022
Introduction
At least 1,036 people have died, and another 2,949 were injured in an earthquake that struck Afghanistan’s Paktika province on the morning of Wednesday 22nd June 2022. The earthquake struck about 44km (27 miles) from the south-eastern city of Khost shortly after 01:30 local time (21:00 Tuesday GMT), when many people were asleep at home.
What caused the Afghanistan earthquake?
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan’s mountainous province of Khost — nearly 50 have been recorded over the past five years, according to the US Geological Survey.
Afghanistan is earthquake-prone because it is located on the Alpide belt, the second most seismically active region in the world after the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The Alpide belt runs about 15,000 kilometres, from the southern part of Eurasia through the Himalayas and into the Atlantic. Along with the Hindu Kush, it includes a number of fold mountain ranges, such as the Alps, Atlas Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains. It has been formed by the collision of a number of tectonic plates.
The Arabian, Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet In Afghanistan and create earthquakes when they shift against each other at their borders. The boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates exists near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.
The earthquake in Afghanistan formed when the Indian plate crashed violently with the Eurasian plate. Collisions like this shake and squeeze the ground upwards. Along with causing earthquakes, this movement creates mountains like the Himalayas or the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges in northeast Afghanistan.
What were the effects of the Afghanistan earthquake?
The most recent figures put the death toll at 1,150 people with at least 1,600 injuries. The number of dead and injured is expected to rise as remote areas are reached and rescue workers are able to search collapsed buildings.
The earthquake destroyed critical infrastructure — including homes, health facilities, schools and water networks.
In the areas that have been accessed so far, as many as 1,900 homes have been destroyed including 1,028 in Giyan, 450 in Barmal and 416 in Spera. Many homes had large families of seven or more people, so the number of people affected is significant. This is well over half of Giyan’s housing stock.
As many as 10,000 more homes have been damaged extensively and risk imminent collapse. Many of the homes were comprised of mud bricks, making them very susceptible to damage and destruction. Ongoing assessments of the conditions of the housing are continuing.
At least 65 children have been orphaned or are unaccompanied in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Of the deaths, at least 155 were children, including 134 in the Giyan district, and 250 were injured. Seven schools in Khost and Paktika provinces were damaged by the earthquake (5,135 students) with additional damage reported in Gani Khil and Dor Baba districts.
The risk of communicable diseases, such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera, and malaria increased due to the fragile living conditions in the affected communities and high temperatures in summer. There was an upward trend of AWD cases following the earthquake (Between 3 to 10 July, a total of 464 AWD cases were reported).
What were the responses to the Afghanistan earthquake?
Since the take over of government by the Taliban in 2021, Afghanistan has experienced a humanitarian crisis, especially since many countries cut diplomatic ties with the country. The new regime has struggled to get to grips with food shortages and a flailing economy. More than a third of people cannot meet their basic needs, women’s rights have been restricted and foreign aid has evaporated.
Dr Orzala Nemat, an Afghan researcher and human rights activist based in the UK, fears that the response could quickly become chaotic without “systematic governance” structures in place since the Taliban takeover.
In a rare move, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzadah, who almost never appears in public, pleaded with the international community and humanitarian organisations “to help the Afghan people affected by this great tragedy and to spare no effort”.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers pledged not to interfere with international efforts to distribute aid to tens of thousands of people affected by the earthquake.
Humanitarian aid has continued, with international agencies, such as the United Nations, operating.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Afghanistan had asked humanitarian agencies to help with rescue efforts, and teams were being sent to the quake-hit area.
Afghanistan military provided support in search and rescue operations.
International Aid
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates all offered to send aid. Supplies from neighbouring Pakistan crossed the border.
On July 12, the Government of Japan decided to extend Emergency Grant Aid of 3 million US dollars to Afghanistan in response to the damages caused by the earthquake that had occurred in eastern Afghanistan on June 22. The Government of Japan offered to provide assistance in areas such as health and medical care, shelter, and water and sanitation through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to the Afghan people affected by the devastating earthquake.
Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
The World Health Organisation’s polio team was on the ground joining forces with UN agencies and NGOs to ensure an effective and coordinated relief effort. The team’s invaluable experience and local knowledge gained from more than 2 decades working among local communities in both Paktika and Khost provided the foundations of an assessment tool to map communities (the Open Street Map Humanitarian team issued a request from arm-chair mappers to use satellite images to create and update maps in the area) and assess the number and extent of casualties as well as the destruction to homes and buildings. This ensured accurate data guided a focused response in the immediate aftermath, including the rapid construction of tents for shelter, as well as housing ad hoc health camps.
Polio teams turned a helping hand wherever needed including digging for survivors, building tents, unpacking trucks and distributing shipments of WHO emergency and surgical kits, medical supplies and equipment, and the heartbreaking task of preparing and assisting in transporting the dead for burial.
The WHO requested US$ 6 million for three months for health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions including medical supplies, rehabilitation and renovation, and essential healthcare service.
A new EU Humanitarian Air Bridge flight delivered 36 tonnes of life-saving cargo consisting of medical equipment, medication, and relief items to support WHO, UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières delivering earthquake response and other humanitarian needs in Afghanistan.
Below is the start of a collection of resources to support educating students about the earthquake in Afghanistan. Please let us know about other resources in the comments below.
Afghanistan Earthquake Relief
While many relief agencies are currently not providing support to Afghanistan there are a number of organisations providing support. These include:
- Islamic Relief emergency appeal
- The Afghan Red Crescent Society
- The Italian medical aid group Emergency
If you are aware of other aid agencies providing support or are able to provide a link for donations to aid agencies please send us an email.
Support
Teachers
Below we have included links to websites that provide support in teaching events such as this in a considered way, after all, there are a number of children from Afghanistan being educated in schools outside of the country and may be in one of your classes.
Supporting young people during the initial response to a disaster
Young people
Coming soon
Videos
BBC
The Guardian
The Independent
News Articles
Sky News – Afghanistan: At least 1,000 killed and 1,500 injured after 6.1 magnitude earthquake
BBC – Afghan earthquake: 1,000 people killed and 1,500 wounded, official says
The Guardian – At least 920 dead after 6.1-magnitude quake hits Afghanistan
The Independent – Afghanistan earthquake: Death toll rises to 1,000 after tremor with 6.1 magnitude
AQA GCSE Pre-release 2022 Cambridge Waste Incinerator
Welcome! We are developing a range of resources to support students and teachers in preparing for the AQA GCSE Geography pre-release. This page will be regularly updated over the next few days.
Internet Geography Plus subscribers have access to our growing bank of pre-release support resources. Login or take out a low-cost subscription.
Found a resource or want to see something added? Please let us know in the comments below.
Interactive Flashcards
Short Answer Questions
Pre-release Teachmeet
The recent teachmeet organised by @mr_perez5 is full of great advice!
Why are we burning our recycling?
A great video to introduce waste incineration.
Geography Hawks Pre-release Overview
Map
Timeline
Support Resource
A resource developed by Alan Parkinson (@geoblogs):
Links
Cambridge Without Incineration Campaign website
Views
Residents’ fury as plans for incinerator blasted as a ‘dark cloud’ may still go-ahead – Cambridge News (2019)