004 - At Risk?

Activity One - Research

As you now know some areas are much more prone to risks than others but does that automatically make them vulnerable? We are going to look at four examples of place which have been impacted by a plate tectonic event.

1. Make four copies of the Google Doc below.
2. Give them sensible titles - Year - Unit Title - Risk versus Vulnerability - Example 1/2/3 or 4
3. Place those documents into your Year 9 - Individuals and Societies - Hazards (Ms. Mart) folder.
4. Fill in the tables using the information in the 'Useful Resources' box.

Useful Resources

Activity Two - Create

Now you have completed a range of research about hazardous events in different areas of the world you will be using it to complete a more formal assignment. You will be exploring the impact that volcanoes and earthquakes have and whether that impact is always equal on people. To begin the process you will need to create a 'Research Question or Statement'. To do this try and use one of the MYP command terms that are displayed in the classroom. Then try and use the terms you have learnt concerning hazards (risk, vulnerability, plate tectonics, population) to create a research question or statement. For example:

How do hazards impact people in unequal ways?

How do geographic factors impact a populations vulnerability to plate tectonic events?

'Hazards always impact a population equally.' Discuss

The more complex the style of question the more in depth your discussion will be. Do not get confused with the notion that complex means you have to write long sentences with lots of fancy language. The best questions are often concise (short).

Activity Three - Write

Now comes the time to write! Using the research you completed in Activity One write an extended piece answering the question that you created.

Key Requirements

• 800 word limit
• 5 paragraph essay
  • Introduction - outline of the issue and a description of the structure of your essay.
  • Main Body - 3 paragraphs - 3 key arguments but these do not have to be from the same perspective e.g. you may have two paragraphs that argue that a potential loss to human life makes a community more vulnerable to a hazard than the economic cost.
  • Conclusion - Summarise your argument.
• Use examples and data to illustrate your points.
• Type in size 11 or 12 font.
• Create a header and within that write your name, the year and the unit title.
• Bibliography of all of the sources you have used.

How will I be marked?