Questions for discussion

Passing a bill 1. Discuss the Passing a bill story with another student. 2. Complete the following sentence: `If a bill is passed in parliament, it

becomes…’ 3. Describe what happens when a bill is introduced in the House of

Representatives. 4. If the bill is passed in the House of Reps, where does it go next? 5. Which political party has greater representation in the Senate than the

House of Representatives? 6. What part does the Governor-General play? 7. Draw a diagram that shows the journey of a bill through parliament. 8. Name three facts learnt in the BtN story. 9. The government is trying to push a huge number of bills through

parliament right now. Name two bills. 10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the story?

Post a message about this story on the BtN guestbook http://abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html

Vampire power

1. Before you watch the BtN story, make some predictions about what you think the story is about.

2. What is `vampire power’? 3. Experts say that the average home has around _____appliances plugged in using

electricity all day every day. 4. What is meant by the term `standby’? 5. Give examples of appliances in the home that use power all the time. 6. About how much a year does it cost to run entertainment equipment on standby? 7. Why is it a concern for the average household? 8. Apart from saving money, what might be some other reasons to turn appliances

off? 9. What changes could you make in your home to reduce energy consumption? 10. What was surprising about this story?

`Should kids have TV’s in the bedroom?’ Vote in the BtN online poll http://www.abc.net.au/btn/.

Radiation fears

EPISODE 23

23RD

AUGUST 2011

1. Retell the Radiation fears story. 2. What caused the radiation leak at a nuclear power plant in Japan? 3. How has the radiation leak affected playtime at a school near the power plant? 4. How have the teachers tried to make it safer for children? 5. What percentage of children tested have been exposed to radiation? 6. All radiation is deadly. True or false? 7. Give examples of things that contain radiation? 8. What affect can radiation in large doses have on the human body? 9. What impact has the radiation leaks had on food in Japan? 10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

Which forms of radiation are not harmful to life? Which are?

Taxidermy

1. Who was well known for preserving bodies believing it would lead to eternal life?

2. In your own words, describe what taxidermy is. 3. Describe the steps involved in the taxidermy process. 4. Why is it important to choose the eyes for the animals carefully? 5. From start to finish, it can take more than a __________to make a lion. 6. Where are the dead animals kept before the taxidermy process? 7. In the past, the museum used a drawer full of bugs to eat away animal flesh

to clean the bones. True or false? 8. How are the bones cleaned of flesh now? 9. What skills are needed to be a taxidermist? 10. Do you think it’s important to preserve animals? Why or why not?

Interview a taxidermist. Write four or five interesting questions to ask a taxidermist working in a museum.

X Games

1. Briefly summarise the X Games story. 2. Where are the X Games held? 3. In your own words, describe what extreme sports are. 4. Which sports are included in the Winter X Games? 5. Choose an extreme sport from the Summer X Games and describe it. 6. What are the risks involved in extreme sports? 7. Retell Cam Sinclair’s story. 8. How successful have the Aussie competitors been in the X Games? 9. In which country might the X Games be held one day? 10. Send a message of support on the BtN Guestbook

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html

Test your knowledge in the online X Games quiz. Go to the BtN website and follow the links.

Vampire power Focus Questions

1. Before you watch the BtN story, make some predictions about what you think the

story is about. 2. What is `vampire power’? 3. Experts say that the average home has around _____appliances plugged in using

electricity all day every day. 4. What is meant by the term `standby’? 5. Give examples of appliances in the home that use power all the time. 6. About how much a year does it cost to run entertainment equipment on standby? 7. Why is it a concern for the average household? 8. Apart from saving money, what might be some other reasons to turn appliances

off? 9. What changes could you make in your home to reduce energy consumption? 10. What was surprising about this story?

Energy saving

Negotiate with student s how many activities they will need to complete.

Remember and understand

Write a statement about why you believe it is important to reduce

household energy consumption.

Name 10 appliances in the home that use energy.

Illustrate what you think was the main idea of the BtN story.

Apply and Analyse

Conduct a household appliance survey. List the appliances in the

bedrooms, kitchen, laundry, lounge/family room, study and outside the

home (carport/shed). Which appliances operate on `standby mode’?

What does your school do to conserve energy? Use a mindmap to record

energy saving devices, appliances or practices in your school. Suggest

some ways your school could further reduce energy consumption.

What are the energy/water ratings on appliances? Do you have appliances

at home that show the ratings? Do you have any energy/water saving

devices installed in your home? These could include energy saving lights,

timers, water saving shower heads. What additional energy saving

appliances or devices could be installed?

EPISODE 22

23RD

AUGUST 2011

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will investigate and evaluate ways to reduce energy consumption in their home and school.

Evaluate and create

How can buildings be designed to minimise energy consumption? Take on

the role of architect and design an energy efficient house. List the main

energy efficiencies and sustainable features you would like to include in

your design. Students can create a hand-drawn or digital model (using

Google Sketchup) of their house.

How can I make a difference? Create an artwork that illustrates how

people can make a difference to the environment right now and in the

future. Consider factors such as making their home more energy efficient,

using alternative forms of transport (consider cycling or walking whenever

possible) and reducing waste.

Whose responsibility is it to protect and conserve the energy resources?

Present your thoughts and opinions to the class or small group of

students.

Related Research Links

NSW Department of Education and Training – Amy’s Energy Saving Website

http://www.amysenergysave.com.au/index.html

Energy Quest – Energy vampires

http://energyquest.ca.gov/vampires/dswmedia/index.html

Energy Quest – Energy vampires: What can you do?

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/vampires/dswmedia/elimination.html

PBS Kids – Energy vampires

http://meetthegreens.pbskids.org/episode5/energy-vampires.html

Taxidermy Focus Questions

1. Who was well known for preserving bodies, believing it would lead to eternal

life? 2. In your own words, describe what taxidermy is. 3. Describe the steps involved in the taxidermy process. 4. Why is it important to choose the eyes for the animals carefully? 5. From start to finish, it can take more than a __________to make a lion. 6. Where are the dead animals kept before the taxidermy process? 7. In the past, the museum used a drawer full of bugs to eat away animal flesh

to clean the bones. True or false? 8. How are the bones cleaned of flesh now? 9. What skills are needed to be a taxidermist? 10. Do you think it’s important to preserve animals? Why or why not?

Taxidermy Students will write an information report about taxidermy. The following may help guide students’ research:

What is taxidermy?

History of taxidermy

Process of preserving animals (how has it changed over time?)

How are specimens used for museum research?

Why preserve animals?

Structure and features of an information report Discuss with students what they already know about the purpose, structure and features of an information report. Use the following as a guide to use with students.

Purpose

An information report provides information to the reader by stating facts.

Structure

Introduction - the opening statement explains the subject of the report, and includes a definition or short description. Description – the body of the report is a series of paragraphs giving information. Conclusion – a summary of what has been said.

Language features

Present tense Technical or scientific words Written in the third person

EPISODE 23

23RD

AUGUST 2011

Learning Area

Science, Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop a deeper understanding of the history and process of taxidermy.

Discuss with students ways they can present their information reports to other

students.

About your research

Students will be reflecting on the research process by responding to the following

questions:

Briefly explain how you planned your research for this investigation.

How did you record your notes from each resource?

How could you improve or develop your information?

Further investigations

Interview a taxidermist. Write four or five interesting questions to ask a taxidermist working in a museum.

Design an advertisement to promote the animal exhibit at a museum. Include information about the animals that have been preserved and what can be learnt from studying them.

Make a model of an animal you might find in a museum exhibit.

Related Research Links

Queensland museum – Taxidermy

http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Behind+the+Scenes/Taxidermy

Taxidermy.net – What is taxidermy?

http://www.taxidermy.net/information/whatis.html

BtN: Episode 23 Transcript

23/08/11

On this week's Behind the News.

A day in the life of the Japanese kids living near a leaky nuclear

power plant.

We look at how you can save energy at home cutting out

something called vampire power.

And the amazing work that goes into making these life-like

museum animals.

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to Behind the News. Also on the show

today we head to the X-Games in California and find that Aussies are

leading the way when it comes to extreme sports. But first:

General Bill

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: Over the last few months we've brought you all the big

political stories like the carbon tax and the mining tax

announcements. We brought you all the arguments for and against

each and you got to have your say on each of them. But that was

pretty much the end of it, so where are those big announcements at

now? Well now is go time.

MILITARY RADIO: We're nearing the drop zone. Mission 'pass

legislation' is a go. Jump, jump, jump!

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: The mission to bring in a new law is

a deadly and dangerous one. Some bills don't make it along the way.

But for those that do make it through, they will go down in history as

an Australian law. Let's take a closer look at what it takes.

First off, let's meet General Bill. Bill is a proposal for a new law, in

this case, the Carbon tax. And his mission, should he choose to accept

it, is to fight his way through both houses of parliament and onto his

final goal - becoming Australian Law.

Mission 1 - Conquering the House of Representatives

The first mission objective is to parachute into this place, the House

of Representatives. And like any battleground, this place has allies,

fighting on the left side of the room.

JULIA GILLARD, PRIME MINISTER: We will present legislation to

put a price on carbon.

And enemies, fighting on the right hand side.

TONY ABBOTT: We will fight this every second, of every minute, of

every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month.

There are also a few rogue agents, independent soldiers that could

fight for any side. And a Green soldier who in the case of General

Carbon Bill, will fight probably for him. During the battle, General Bill

is read out and debated. Bits of Bill might take a hit and have to be

changed. Then finally a vote is taken and if General Bill wins, he

parachutes out onto his next battleground.

Mission 2 - Conquering the Senate

Here General Bill fights the same fight again, except the soldiers have

changed. Once again there are the soldiers fighting with him and

against him. But here, there are a lot more Green soldiers fighting and

luckily for Bill, once again they will fight on his side. Which will make

victory pretty likely here for Bill.

But the war still isn't over! From there, General Bill still has to

parachute back into the House of Representatives to seal the battle.

This takes the form of one final vote and if passed, Bill is on his way to

victory! Now that the battle is over, Bill gets the rewards. He travels

over to the Governor-General's place, where his hard work in battle is

recognised. And she decorates him as an Australian Law!

So that's how a bill fights its way into law. And right now, parliament

is set to become a war-zone of epic proportions. The government is

trying to push a huge number of bills through parliament right now,

including a clean energy bill, a mining tax bill, a cigarette plain

packaging bill, an illegal timber bill; a health insurance rebate cut bill

and the carbon tax bill. Phew! Sounds like it could be a long fight. And

we'll find out which bills make it through safely over the next few

weeks.

Presenter: Let's see what else is making the news. Here's Matt with

the Wire.

The Wire

A while back we told you about the fighting going on in Libya, a

country in North Africa. Rebels have been trying to overthrow the

country's ruler Colonel Gaddafi who had been using violence against

his own people. After months of fighting the rebels have now taken

over the country's capital Tripoli. It's seen as an important win for

them because some people reckon it could mean the end of Gaddafi's

reign so a new government can come in! But all of this hasn't come

without sacrifice. Thousands of people have been killed in the

fighting.

******

The extraordinary acts from these ordinary Aussies have been

honoured at this year's bravery awards. One at the front of the story,

Thomas Libreri is one of 33 people who have been recognised for

their help during the Victorian bushfires. Thomas rescued an elderly

man whose clothes were on fire by throwing him in the family pool.

I've been brought up with the belief to look after your neighbours and

they'll look after you. So that was a priority for my family. Other

heroic acts include helping a police officer who'd been shot and

getting out the Beaconsfield miners.

******

And finally to Poland where a special dog is on the mend after being

hit by a train! The train driver rescued the four month old puppy from

the tracks and took her to the vet. She was partially paralysed, so

couldn't use her back legs anymore. So to help her, a special

wheelchair was made, which allows her to move around freely with

the other animals. The next step is to find a family for this little dog

and her new set of wheels.

Quiz 1

We're going to be heading to Japan next but first how much do you

know about Japan? Let's have a quiz.

The question is:

How many people live in Japan's capital city Tokyo?

5 million

9 million

13 million

Answer: 13 million

Interestingly the number of people in the city rises to 15 million

during the day because of all the people who go there for work!

Radiation Fears

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: Well, Japan's still recovering from a series of disasters

earlier this year that led to a major leak at a nuclear power plant.

It's meant many people living near the plant have been exposed to

something called radiation. So what is this stuff? Kirsty takes a look.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Japan found that disaster

sometimes comes in threes. An earthquake, tsunami and finally

radiation leaks at a nuclear power plant. At the time, BtN got the

inside view from local boy Hiroshi.

HIROSHI, LOCAL: Here you could see cars are waiting for the

gasoline station to open.

REPORTER: Five months on and life for Hiroshi, and Tokyo, is more

or less back to normal.

HIROSHI: This is the gasoline station I filmed last March. Classes are

back to normal.

REPORTER: But the view from Tokyo is very different from those

living near the leaky nuclear power plant 300 k's away. Locals were

evacuated from their homes and many are unlikely to return. But in a

slightly wider zone some have chosen to move but many others have

stayed. And it's here where we find the Sakura Nursery school.

These kids used to spend a lot of time outside. Now playtime is spent

indoors because of the radiation leaks. It also means they're only

allowed to swim for a few minutes every day and then the water has to

be changed. The teachers have tried to make things safer by removing

a lot of the soil from the playground, which was contaminated.

And every day the Principal has to check for radiation levels and at

their playground it's higher than normal. Out of a thousand local kids

tested nearly half have been exposed to radiation. So what does it

mean for them?

When it comes to radiation we might think of these symbols or seeing

it in cartoons like the Simpsons.

WARNING VOICE: 15 seconds until core meltdown.

HOMER SIMPSON: Eenie meenie miney mo catch a tiger by the toe if

it hollers let him go eenie meenie miney mo!

REPORTER: But not all radiation is deadly - in fact it's all around us!

Radiation is a natural energy just like heat or light and it can be found

in rocks, soil, and stuff around the house like old clocks and smoke

detectors and get this radiation is even food including this banana!

So that's completely normal. But the radiation at the Japan nuclear

plant in a large dose could make someone sick. And that sort of

radiation can damage your body's cells and lead to cancer. The

radiation doesn't only affect Fukushima - the rest of Japan has made

some changes too. Their Government has banned the sale of beef and

mushrooms grown in the Fukushima area. And it's keeping an eye on

seafood because tests have found fish with high levels of radiation. So

some supermarkets are selling meat from Australia or the US and

seafood is being brought in from other parts of Asia. Hiroshi and his

family also have to watch what they drink too.

HIROSHI: This is the water purifier, it cleans the radiation.

REPORTER: So kids in different areas of Japan are experiencing the

disaster in different ways. But they've all been affected. And only time

will tell by how much.

Presenter: O.K. Let's move away from nuclear power to talk about a

different kind of energy.

Vampire Power

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

INTRO: For the first time since the 50's many Aussie homes are now

using less electricity. Power companies have said it's because

customers are taking big steps like switching to energy efficient hot

water systems and light-bulbs. But there are a whole lot of little

electricity-saving steps you can take at home that most people don't

even think about. And you'd be surprised what they all add up to on

your bill.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It's pretty commonly known that

vampires suck blood, right? Well not all of them.

NEWS REPORTER: Vampires are attacking at morning, noon and

even at night while you're sleeping. Every home in this street was

attacked by vampires and reports suggest your home could be next.

REPORTER: But before you shield your neck from attack, the

vampires we're talking about aren't teenage heart-throbs that live in a

big fancy house in a really dark town called Forks. These vampires

live all the way down here.

And their favourite food is electricity.

Vampire power is the name given to electricity that is chomped up by

appliances around the home just because they're plugged in. And

experts reckon the average home has around 40 appliances that are

sucking away electricity all day, every day.

REPORTER: It's sounds pretty unlikely there would be that many, so

I've come to Sasha and Olivia's house to go on the hunt.

First up was the study, where printers, monitors and speakers left on

standby suck power all the time. Then there are the systems that are

wired into the power 24/7, like alarms. Another example of that is an

automatic roller door that is plugged into the power all day, just

waiting for the few times a day it might open or close.

Then onto the lounge room where your game consoles, DVD player

and plasma TV can chew through huge amounts of power if left on

standby. And the kitchen isn't much better. Ovens and microwaves all

use power to run their displays and clocks even though they're not

cooking any food. And same goes for sound systems on standby as

well.

Upstairs the story is pretty much the same. Another study here and

more equipment on standby, as well as a second lounge room with

appliances galore. Even the power board is using power!

In the bedrooms, phone and laptop chargers are the power sucking

culprits. Even when they aren't plugged in, power is running through

them. That's why they're often warm to touch. And finally there is the

air con system, which is using power 24/7 to work its timer functions

and controls.

REPORTER: Wow, so there was easily 40 pretty amazing isn't it!

OLIVIA: Yeah I can't believe it there is so many around using power.

But you're probably sitting there going 'yeah, of course they all use

power. But it's probably such a small amount that it's not worth even

worrying about.' Well guess again.

The average TV costs about $22 a year if it's left on standby, while

DVD players cost $17.50. Add on your other entertainment gear and

all up, you're looking at around $76 a year to run this unit on standby.

So it all adds up pretty quickly!

Now the reason all of this matters to the average household is that

electricity prices have gone through the roof. So now, small changes

in your electricity usage can have a big effect to your yearly bill.

Which means it's worth hunting down the vampires in your house and

taking them out!

NEWS REPORTER: Reports are suggesting that power vampires have

been hunted to extinction in this neighbourhood so the street can

sleep soundly tonight. Back to you!

Online Poll

Well we saw that there are lots of electronic gadgets around our

houses there. And that's going to be the topic of this week's poll.

The question is:

Should kids have TV's in their bedrooms?

To vote just head to our website.

In last week's poll we asked if you brushed your teeth at least twice a

day.

73 per cent said you did.

But more than a quarter said you didn't. Maybe after watching our

story you might want to change your habits!

Quiz 2

We're going to visit the museum next to learn about how they stuff

some of the animals that you see on display. But what's that process

called? Let's have a quiz.

The question is:

The art of preserving and displaying dead animals is known as what?

Archaeology

Taxidermy

Anthropology

Answer: Taxidermy

Taxidermy comes from the Greek word which literally means

arranging skin.

Taxidermy

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: It can be a really tricky and delicate skill to take a dead

animal and turn it into a perfect museum display. So we thought

we'd send Tash into the back rooms of the museum to find out how

it's done.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Egyptians were known for

preserving bodies. They believed it would lead to eternal life and

because of what they did; we're always unravelling new things about a

mummy's past. And just like mummies, animals can be preserved too!

It might surprise you, but these animals aren't alive! They've been

preserved using a process called 'taxidermy'. It lets us get up close to

all sorts of animals, even ones that lived hundreds of years ago. It

sounds a little creepy, but taxidermy has always been about stuffing

dead animals.

REPORTER: If you rock up at the museum you'd probably see furry

animals like this, but if you had a chance to look inside you'd find that

the actual body is made out of a type of foam, the eyes are made out of

glass and there's a lot of wire that go through the legs and arms.

But what needs to happen before it looks like this? First, the insides

have to be taken out of the dead animal. The skin is then treated to

make it last for a long time. It's then carefully pinned into the right

place and then either glued or sewn together. And for the finishing

touches, well you wouldn't believe what's hidden in these drawers.

JO BAIN, TAXIDERMIST: One of the things people don't realise is

what they see in terms of eye is, is very small. The actual eye behind it

is much larger, so we have to choose our eyes very carefully so things

don't look bug-eyed.

From start to finish it can take more than a month to make a lion, but

for a small bird it can take just a day.

REPORTER: Well this is the freezer where a lot of the dead animals

are kept. There's a dingo over there, an eagle over here and how about

this, a really prickly echidna. I can say it's really freezing in here and

very stinky!

And from there it can become even more gross. This museum used to

use a drawer full of bugs to eat away animal flesh. The idea was to

leave a clean bone. They don't do it here anymore. Now they use these

big tanks of water and bacteria. Over time this whales flesh and skin

will dissolve away, leaving the bones ready to be displayed.

But not all of these impressive exhibits are made using dead animals.

Lots are convincing fakes, like this lizard which was made from a

mould. It means the artists and sculptors have to be really talented

and spend a lot of time painting it to look just like the real thing.

Taxidermy is a job that needs a lot of different skills. You need to

study animals closely, but also be good at painting and sculpture and

who knows, your works of art could be on display for many people to

see.

Presenter: OK, let's move on to the sport next here's all the best action

in the Score.

The Score

The big premier League match of the weekend saw Liverpool run out

comfortable winners against Arsenal. An own goal was followed

shortly after by a second strike from Luis Suarez. It was the first time

Liverpool had won AWAY to Arsenal for 11 years.

And Manchester City recorded its second win of the season beating

Bolton Wanderers 3-2. It leaves them top of the league. But with only

2 games played, it's early days.

******

To tennis and Britain's Andy Murray has won the Cincinnati Masters

for the second time in the US. His opponent world number one Novak

Djokovic had to give up because of injury while trailing 6-4, 3-0.

Djokovic's sore right shoulder was one of the factors for Murray's

strong start in the first set. Djokovic says he plans to be back and fully

fit in time for the US Open which starts next week.

X Games

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: As you just saw in the sports round-up pro athletes put their

bodies on the line every time they go into competition. Sometimes

their commitment can even lead to injury if they're not careful. But

there's one sports tournament which took place recently where the

risks are even greater. We're talking about extreme sports and as

Tash found out the Aussies are amongst the best.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: This is extreme with a capital X. It's

the summer X-Game! The X-Games is held a couple of times a year in

the US and tens of thousands of people come here to check them out!

There's also the winter games, where there are heaps of other sports

like skiing, snowboarding and snowmobile. And at these events,

professional thrill-seekers perform awesome stunts for money and

medals.

There are four extreme sports at the summer X-Games. There's Rally

Cross, where you get loads of dangerous pile-ups. You just need to

look at all the dust kicked up to imagine it would pretty hard for the

drivers to see and not only do the cars race each other at one point

they even jump over their opponents!

There are loads of Skateboarding and BMX events, including this one

called the 'big air'. The riders or skaters take off from here, which is

around 8 stories high. The result can be spectacular. But probably the

most dangerous event is the big Motocross jumps. The thing to

understand here is although it's glamorous and cool. These guys are

actually risking their lives with each jump.

A couple of years ago one of the Aussie riders nearly died after a

shocking fall. Cam Sinclair was in a coma for 7 days and had to learn

to walk again. Amazingly he's back on the bike again and this was his

jump. It's called a double back flip combo and this time he landed

himself a medal.

CAM SINCLAIR, MOTO X RIDER: I'm just so glad being here right

not, not laying in a hospital bed. It's such an awesome sport, we get to

travel the world and meet a lot of great people around the world.

Cam isn't the only Aussie making a name for himself. For some

reason we're really good at the X-Games. We took all the medals for

the best trick in Motocross and racked up a few in the BMX freestyle

vert. Aussie teenager Jackson Strong even made history as the first

person to land a front flip at the X-Games.

JACKSON STRONG, MOTO X RIDER: We know how good the yanks

are at this kind of stuff that it's just made us push harder over the last

couple of years and we're kind of catching up, if not overtaking now.

And our success has got the X-games organisers talking about holding

the event in Australia one day. For now, the Aussies will be patching

up their cuts and bruises, getting ready for the next X-Games where

they'll be hoping to reach even higher heights!

Presenter: You wouldn't catch me doing that!

Closer

Well, that's it for the show. You can jump onto our website if you want

to get more info on any of the stories. You can send us your comments

and don't forget to vote in this week's poll. And I'll see you next time.