tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57972591718301519442012-02-17T04:25:42.699+13:00WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-73959016665871391202010-06-23T16:06:00.009+12:002010-06-23T17:26:48.763+12:00

Following on from yesterday's heads up on the Stats NZ interactive mapper resource, it is with great trepidation that I provide this link . I have often wondered if the study of global sporting events encourages more fragile understanding than deep knowledge.#Caveat aside, if you take a look at the list of competing countries in the FIFA world cup you'll notice that Australia and NZ have been

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-8757192920846822562010-06-22T14:37:00.002+12:002010-06-22T14:44:39.767+12:00

Statistics New Zealand have long provided valuable census data material for schools. Their interactive boundary maps are no exception. Using mesh block (the smallest unit of data available), area unit, Terrotorial Authority or Regional data you can find out information on number of dwellings, ethnicity, age/sex, education, work, income, family, transport, telecommunications data.

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-89521458423698286682010-05-06T11:10:00.003+12:002010-05-06T11:14:49.849+12:00

Inaugural Professorial Lecture to be given by Colin Wilson, Professor of Volcanology.Supereruptions are the biggest of all explosive volcanic eruptions, with thousands of cubic kilometres of material ejected in single events. This talk shows how these eruptions and the underground chambers that stored the molten rock before an eruption are being reconstructed using innovative forensic studies

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-83234139806285950792010-04-29T09:37:00.003+12:002010-04-29T09:43:46.287+12:00

Geocube is an attractive online resource about Geography. Geocube is based on the principle of the Rubik Cube with six faces and 54 topics. It is a virtual and easily accessible website which is available online for free. Move the Geocube around with your mouse and explore the faces and topics.Geocube provides an accessible way to read, see and watch what Geography is and geographers do. This is

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-59764929394011056492010-03-22T16:03:00.005+13:002010-04-30T11:07:30.101+12:00

The breaking news is that the Democratic drive to push wide-sweeping health reforms has narrowly squeaked through 219 votes to 212 in the House of Representatives. The reform is reported to cost a whopping $US940 Billion, which unsurprisingly is a tad unpalatable to those Republican objectors worried about a pretty shakey economy as it is.What might be seen as a reverse of economic

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-46334571618006085732010-03-11T14:36:00.003+13:002010-03-11T15:08:35.291+13:00

Wellington City has come in for some legal attention from the custodians of the 'HollyWood' letters. A tongue in cheek exercise that celebrates the 'creative capital' or a feeble attempt at self promotion? Whatever your thoughts, this would make a nice starting point for the idea of 'Identity' for a primary level social studies class. The readers of the Dom Post have been quick to exercise their

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-12426706501193131722010-03-11T14:27:00.001+13:002010-03-11T14:29:31.884+13:00

A big Kia Ora from the desk of Dr FiSorry for any cross posting but I need your help to get this survey out to NZ youth.Save the Children NZ and Global Focus Aotearoa are presenting a youth report to the United Nations in July this year on young people’s perspectives of their rights in NZ. We need you to pass on the link to the Article 12 website to all your networks of young people so that they

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-87417949480723183902009-12-15T20:42:00.004+13:002009-12-15T20:46:42.208+13:00

Phew, it's been a while but the festive season approaches and so much to do..A time to reflect on the first decade of the 21st century perhaps...but do these images do it justice?Had to LOL (I sent my first and only text in this decade) at sustainability sharing the same page as Google, iPod, Flat screen TVs et al

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-76840546463622246232009-11-20T14:03:00.005+13:002009-11-20T14:56:46.512+13:00

While WASSAs vocal cords are still a bit strained after the glorious qualification of the All Whites, it is the more recent qualifier between France and Ireland that has caught our eye.For the France vs Ireland game has become overshadowed by a blatant bit of cheating that has provoked discussion that brings the 'beautiful game' and the human condition a bit closer than is normally the case.The

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-7140722037769810912009-11-19T16:53:00.003+13:002009-11-19T17:14:03.293+13:00

Reports of huge reserves of oil are being made, which sounds great for a NZ economy in dire straights. But if the rush for black gold becomes too intensive what are the potential impacts on the environment? Apparantly there are 10 potential zones stretching the length of the country. New Zaaland moving towards a carbon light future? Not just yet....

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-24380243362503623832009-11-10T14:31:00.000+13:002009-11-10T14:33:07.590+13:00

Victoria and Massey Universities, together with their local social sciences subject associations and teaching communities have offered to host SocCon11, to be held at Te Papa, Wellington, 18-20 July, 2011. Social Sciences Conference 2011 is a biennial conference for teachers of Social Studies, Geography, History and Economics. We would like your input about the shape and direction of this

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-64021848843258048882009-10-23T10:12:00.015+13:002009-11-25T22:27:16.331+13:00

So said the Minister of Education of New Zealand's primary school teachers, shortly before extra Professional Development support was ring-fenced to help support schools implement the National Standards. Further, the Minister says there will be no extra support for teaching arts, science and physical education in primary schools.Yay! That means the other 'core' primary curriculum area of social

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-23930318079392069032009-10-21T09:35:00.003+13:002009-10-21T10:01:36.569+13:00

15 years after the introduction of the MMP electoral voting system, it seems NZ will be given the chance to reflect on whether it is doing the job it is meant to be doing. It certainly doesn't seem to be a call to return to the First Past the Post system of yesteryear (unless suspicion of a National Party 'secret agenda' proves to be founded), although the sticky question at this point is what

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-7395990653212219952009-10-19T21:39:00.006+13:002009-10-20T11:51:36.032+13:00

Some might say that the corporatisation of schools has been around for a long time (this blogger remembers in the distant past Gillette giving 'free' razors to boys in his school aged 15! I wonder how many of us are now on Mach Turbo 6.75?). And I am sure there are many, many more examples. So it might seem inevitable that today's generation of students are likely to be hooked in by 'new media',

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-77595211783238752032009-10-14T16:52:00.008+13:002009-10-14T17:03:36.240+13:00

Here's a nice little case study for students exploring peoples' participation in society in relation to the use of resources/consumerism: banning bottled water. Sounds like one step further than the 'Do you want a plastic bag to carry that, sir/madam?' which is now the norm in NZ supermarkets. Something as day-to-day as bottled water is the sort of topic that might help students make connections

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-16108889426804633692009-10-12T14:28:00.005+13:002009-10-12T14:43:34.329+13:00

Namaste,Big cultural events coming up in Auckland and Wellington this week with Diwali, festival of lights, showcasing the Indian community's customs and traditions. Asia:NZ are big sponsors of these events, which involve a lot of colour, music (traditional and contemporary) and food.As an annual visitor in Wellington, the change in venues from the MFC/Town Hall to the TSB arena means a little

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-50154266445911734102009-10-08T17:20:00.008+13:002009-10-12T15:29:43.655+13:00

Inspired by the brilliant use of the Face book/Twitter phenomenon some teachers in the UK have used the 'Face book / Twitter ' slides below, as a method of appealing to youngsters to present findings. Creativity is the name of the game here!In the Social Studies context this could be used for a person from history as well as a natural or cultural environment, which is what the examples below show

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-64391453141582078092009-10-07T21:14:00.003+13:002009-10-12T10:37:51.474+13:00

Whilst waiting for a chocolate eclair (or two) for afternoon tea at SocCon 09 WASSA met Matt Tippen from Core Education. A programme clash meant WASSA was not able to attend his presentation but he did give us the heads up on their Ed Talks videos. With much of the presentations drawing upon NZ educators it feels like there is a bit of glocalisation going on here!Thought this one on inquiry as

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-64866379032065721282009-10-07T15:46:00.002+13:002009-10-09T16:00:38.971+13:00

Heads up on the latest worldmapper releases, based around population densities. Click on NZ and see it mapped as never before :-)

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-49537122124811534712009-10-05T10:51:00.004+13:002009-11-25T22:25:22.491+13:00

At the conclusion of SocCon, the Hon. Anne Tolley was at pains to point out the difference between National Standards and National Testing for the forthcoming Literacy and Numeracy national standardsAfter the previous keynote, in which Syd Golston gave an insight to the 'collateral damage' of the testing regime of the United States' No Child Left Behind reforms, it was hardly surprising that the

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-87031712432986851952009-09-28T23:28:00.001+13:002009-10-09T16:02:34.179+13:00

WASSA has been having a chin wag with other social studies enthusiasts at the biannual social science conference in Chrischurch today. Stuck in the mind is the comment from one key note speaker who questioned policies that are driven by "the price of everything rather than the value of something"...Stop press (that's what a blog is about, right?)... rumblings afoot in the Social Studies

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-16371220325956740662009-09-23T12:44:00.002+12:002009-10-09T16:02:58.668+13:00

Perhaps one of the trickiest aspects of teaching about society, is that all societal issues are framed by the perspective/worldview that people have. For example, any of us teaching about the value of conservation to primary aged learners are likely to be coming from an 'Environmental' worldview. However, such a worldview has so many different threads shaped by different assumptions, that the

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-49010726428667303842009-09-18T12:18:00.002+12:002009-10-13T10:22:50.061+13:00

The Dom Post reports some early findings from the collaborative long term 'It's our Fault' Quake study in the Wellington Region today. Apparently, the new scientific evidence points to the quake risk along the Wellington Fault being halved, with the recurrence interval now thought to be closer to 900 years.Of course, the concept of recurrence intervals requires unpacking: some 'Black Hat'

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-48178747922726720462009-09-11T00:03:00.002+12:002009-10-09T16:03:50.437+13:00

A class of 30 eager faces turn to you as they await this thing called 'social studies'.What do you start with?How do you hook them in to the notion that learning about society might be beneficial?Do you give it 5 minutes, 1 hour or 1 week?This might be an odd time to be asking this question - but it is something that may be worth thinking about during the spring holiday, as Term 4 is often a time

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-25339644379251516642009-09-10T22:49:00.001+12:002009-10-09T16:04:15.368+13:00

Trawling through the TKI pages, WASSA noted that the Social Studies Online materials are being removed at the end of this month. This is both sad and good news. WASSA is sure that many teachers have scoured these pages in order to plan their own social studies units of work. Having something to start with is always a great springboard before modifying and adapting units of work to suit local

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5797259171830151944.post-48272648671044807562009-09-10T22:02:00.001+12:002009-10-09T16:04:51.329+13:00

This is your link to the Wellington Region's social studies network.WASSA appreciates that meeting face to face and having a good yarn about / exploration of the succeses and challenges of our social studies teaching is hard to beat. However, WASSA also recognises that the busy life of teachers does not necessarily make that a common event. So hopefully you can have a browse through these pages

WASSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09968470826458589974noreply@blogger.com0