-NiE ,
Weaving words
ADVANCED Natural disasters
NiE Activity 1 ● Identify ● Reason
● Organise
Creative thinking ● Brainstorm ● Invent ● Connect
Communicating ● Oral
● Written
11
WHEN you scan the newspaper, you would quite likely look at the photographs on the pages. What makes you decide if it’s a story you’d like to read? Your eyes would veer towards the headline of the news article. An effective headline would: ● Grab your attention ● Deliver a complete message ● Draw you into the story
Here are some snippets of stories from The Star with regard to natural disasters that have occurred around the world. In groups of four, read these stories. Then, on your own, come up with suitable headlines for each snippet. Share your headlines in your group. As a group, pick the best headline for
each snippet (based on the requirements stated in the introduction above). Next, as a class, share your group’s best four headlines for each snippet by writing them on the board. Your teacher will moderate the session as the class must decide on the best headline for each snippet. Discuss what made the top four headlines shine.
A: ……………………………………………………
B: …………………………………………………………..
TOKYO: Japan’s weather agency told thousands of residents near a southern city to prepare for a possible evacuation as it upgraded a volcanic eruption warning. Officials raised their alert to its second-highest level after picking up increasing seismic activity around the volcano Sakurajima, which sits just off the coast of Kagoshima, a city of more than 600,000 people. The Star, Aug 15, 2016
MOCOA: People were caught off guard when a devastating flash flood surged through a small city in southern Colombia, but not everyone was surprised. Government agencies, land use experts and environmental organisations had said for years that Mocoa could face dangerous flooding. Many who lived in the most vulnerable areas were aware of the warnings, even if they didn’t heed them. And yet the city continued to spread into the flood plains west of downtown. The Star, Apr 6, 2017
C: ………………………………………………………
D: ……………………………………………………..
MARSEILLE: At least 10,000 people, including thousands of tourists, were evacuated overnight after a new wildfire broke out in southern France, which was already battling massive blazes, authorities said. The new fire yesterday broke out a day after France asked for Europe’s help to tackle the flames already raging in several spots on the tinder-dry south, including near the popular resort of Saint-Tropez. The Star, July 27, 2017
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is finalising a building code requiring all new structures, especially highrise buildings, to be earthquake proof. Such a requirement for buildings to be earthquake proof was crucial in tremor-prone areas such as Ranau and Kundasang at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, as well as Lahad Datu and other parts of Sabah’s east coast. The Star, Apr 10, 2017
A. 600,000 on alert for large-scale eruption C. 10,000 flee as wildfires rage in France
Critical thinking
20 SEPTEMBER 2017
B. No one heeded flood warnings D. All new Sabah buildings to be quake proof
Actual headlines from The Star:
Descriptive words help convey meaning or nuances to certain images we wish to conjure. Here are some examples to help with essay writing.
SYNONYMS FOR LARGE ● Big ● Enormous ● Huge ● Massive ● Substantial ● Colossal ● Gigantic ● Significant ● Tremendous
SYNONYMS FOR SAD ● Gloomy ● Miserable ● Depressed ● Dejected ● Blue ● Unhappy ● Wretched ● Heartbroken
SYNONYMS FOR BAD ● Awful ● Terrible ● Horrible ● Horrific ● Dreadful ● Outrageous ● Shameful ● Disgraceful
The Star, June 21, 2017
Rewritten caption: AFP Possible heading: .......................................................................
The Star, June 25, 2017 Original caption:
Creative thinking
Critical thinking
● Imagine ● Connect ● Brainstorm ● Invent
● Organise
Communicating ● Oral
● Written
The Star, July 20, 2017
ALBERTA: A photograph of a Canadian man mowing a lawn with a tornado swirling behind him has caused a bit of a storm on social media. Cecilia Wessels snapped the picture of her husband Thenis Wessels on Friday as the twister passed near their home in Alberta. She said cutting the grass was on her husband’s to-do list, and as he started the task, she went for a nap. Cecilia said she was woken by her daughter who was upset that there was something like a tornado in the sky, but her father would not come inside.
Problem solving ● Question ● Research
● Recreate ● Present
The devastation of a natural disaster was captured in the following photographs that appeared in The Star. In pairs, study the photographs and read the original captions to get the gist of the information. Then, write a suitable heading for each photograph, and provide a new caption. Try and use at least two new words from the synonym list in your caption. Add descriptive information if you like.
Picture EXAMPLE
Original caption:
A plane dropping water over a fire outside the village of Pedrogao Grande in central Portugal. More than 2,000 firefighters have been battling to contain major wildfires in the region, where a blaze killed dozens of people, while authorities face mounting criticism for not doing more to prevent the tragedy.
NiE Activity 2
● Reason
Caption
Picture
Caption
Rewritten caption: AP Possible heading: .......................................................................
The Star, Sept 11, 2017 Original caption:
Original caption:
High waves caused by Hurricane Irma crashing against the seafront boulevard, El Malecon, in Havana, Cuba. The eye of the Category 4 storm has already slammed into the lower Florida Keys.
A lone firefighter battling the Detwiler blaze as it rages on near the town of Mariposa, California. California has suffered widespread fires in recent days, with a lightning strike near Yosemite National Park sparking a blaze that destroyed more than 26 sq km of forest.
Rewritten caption:
Rewritten caption: Reuters
AFP
Possible heading:
Possible heading:
.......................................................................