Geography is a great subject to get hands on and practical in, and investigating rivers provided the perfect opportunity for our Kinder (Year 9) students this week.
Building from the theory learned in the classroom, the group worked cooperatively and accurately to take measures at different points on the River Derwent and its tributaries, to test out how channel shape and form change down stream and whether the velocity slowed or increased and how the river’s sediment changed.
The class were split into two groups so all the students could take a turn measuring, scribing, organising and investigating.
Back at school the data collected will be analysed in both the Geography and Mathematics classroom. The ability to have input from both subjects has furthered the exploration of trends and includes the trapezium method to calculate cross sectional area and this is in turn used to work out discharge rates when combined with the velocity information. The students are also introduced to the relative merits of different sampling methods, as well as raising awareness about whether the data is quantitative or qualitative.
