NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
Geography
Support for Global Issues
Advice for Practitioners
[NATIONAL 5]
This advice and guidance has been produced to support the profession with the delivery of
courses which are either new or which have aspects of significant change within the new
national qualifications (NQ) framework.
The advice and guidance provides suggestions on approaches to learning and teaching.
Practitioners are encouraged to draw on the materials for their own part of their continuing
professional development in introducing new national qualifications in ways that match the
needs of learners.
Practitioners should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes which
have been issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/34714.html
Acknowledgement
The publisher gratefully acknowledges permission to use the following sources: Heart attack
deaths map of the world from http://www.worldmapper.org/display_extra.php?selected-454,
Map of tourist destinations from www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=19 both © SASI
Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan); Map of National
Parks from www.nationalparks.gov.uk/map-nationalparks-names.gif ©
www.nationalparks.gov.uk;
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders but if any have been inadvertently
overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first
opportunity.
© Crown copyright 2012. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in
any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence,
visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or e-mail
psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain
permission from the copyright holders concerned.
Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at
enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk.
This document is also available from our website at www.educationscotland.gov.uk.
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Contents
Introduction
4
The issues
4
Collaborative and active learning ideas
5
How to develop skills
8
Reflective questions
9
Support
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Advice for practitioners
Introduction
When choosing the two global issues units centres should consider which
issues have been taught previously under their broad general curriculum and
also at National 4. Consideration should also be given to Higher Geography
topics. This allows depth, challenge and skills to be built upon and developed
throughout the National 5 Global Issues unit.
Each of the six issues has links with the physical and human environment
units. Careful consideration should be given to the two issues. For example, if
you work in or around a potential case study for the tourism issue then it may
make sense to choose that issue. Some practitioners will have particular
issues where they may have experience and this should and could encourage
choice.
The issues
Learners should study two global issues from the following:
 Climate change
- Features of climate change
- Causes – physical and human
- Effects – local and global
- Management – strategies to minimise impact/effects
 Impact of human activity on the natural environment
- Description of tundra and equatorial climates and their ecosystems
- Use and misuse
- Effects of degradation on people and the environment
- Management – strategies to minimise impact/effects
 Environmental hazards
- Describe the main features of earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical
storms
- Causes of each hazard
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- Impact on the landscape and population of each hazard
- Management – methods of prediction and planning
 Trade and globalisation
- Description of world trade patterns
- Cause of inequalities in trade
- Impact of world trade patterns on people and the environment
- Strategies to reduce inequalities – trade alliances, fair trade, sustainable
practices
 Tourism
- Features of mass tourism and eco-tourism
- Causes of/reasons for mass tourism and eco -tourism
- Impact of mass and eco-tourism on people and the environment
- Strategies adopted to manage tourism
 Health
- Describe the distribution of a range of world diseases
- Explain the causes, effects and strategies adopted to manage:
 AIDS in developed and developing countries
 one disease prevalent in a developed country (choose from heart
disease, cancer, asthma)
 one disease prevalent in a developing country (choose from malaria,
cholera, kwashiorkor, pneumonia)
Collaborative and active learning ideas
These ideas must be planned thoroughly and given appropriate time to allow
development and evaluation. The use of ICT should be considered and
creativity is encouraged. A worked example for each global issue is
illustrated below. Remember that you can change the ideas for issues to suit
your teaching and learning approach as these are only suggestions.
Envoying
Envoying is a useful strategy for collecting information without the need for
lengthy class feedback. This allows practitioners to work on pace and
challenge within the lesson. Learners are divided into groups. One member of
each group is designated the envoy. Collectively the groups are given a task
to perform, for example to come up with a list of physical and human causes
of climate change. Each group might be expected to come up with, say, ten
causes. At the end of the allocated time, the envoys will move to the next
group, where they will collect any words or phrases not on their own list.
Envoys will have the opportunity to move around every group before
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returning to their own to share. The envoys should not take too long
completing the task. Ultimately the groups should have depth to their notes.
Carouselling
This is a strategy for stimulating thought in a fast-paced group dynamic. It is
a great way to introduce or compound knowledge. An example could be
strategies to manage tourism. Five pieces of A2 paper could be shared
between the five groups. Categories could be:





local employment solutions
housing solutions
parking solutions
pollution
footpath erosion
or any others.
Groups will add solutions and be given a couple of minutes to write on the
sheet in one colour of pen. After the given time slot, groups will carousel to
the next sheet of paper, where they will continue brainstorming the new
subject. Groups should be careful to add only new details or ideas. To
identify how much a group is contributing, groups can be given different
coloured pens that will carousel with them. The element of competition helps
all learners to engage.
Modelling memory game
In modelling, learners have the opportunity to view examples of what they
might be expected to produce as their own final piece of work , for example a
picture showing the main features of a volcano. Learners will have
appropriate colours and resources to model their own version. Learners are
numbered 1 to 4. All the number 1s go the practitioner’s desk and are given
30 seconds to study the volcano and its features. They go back to the gr oup
and share the information and write/draw as much as they can remember.
Then the number 2s have a shot and so on. Finally the group are given a
couple of minutes to finish their diagrams. The practitioner can put the model
image and group efforts on a wall/board for the class to decide which is the
best. Timings can be altered but the activity works as an introduction really
well as it allows learners to come up with questions whilst integrated within
the task.
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Storyboards
These could be used to show knock-on effects on either people or the
environment for several of the global issues. An example would be the knockon effects for farmers of fairtrade. An A4 piece of paper could be separated
into six or eight sections and the positives to arise from fai rtrade could be
displayed as pictures. This is a visual technique that helps with memorising.
Highlighting
Newspaper articles on a health topic such as heart disease could be
highlighted individually with three different colours of highlighters or
pencils: one for cause, another for effects and the third for strategies for
managing the disease. Whilst the learners are working on this task the
practitioner could hand everyone a playing card, which would be seen as a
fair way to create groups. (The practitioner would have already made sure
he/she had enough cards, eg two suits, ace to king). Learners can then discuss
and share information to help develop evaluating skills with their partner.
Triads
In triads, each learner will have a role to play and therefore an input to the
exercise. Learners organise themselves into groups of three: one person takes
the role of interviewer, one the interviewee and one the reporter. The
interviewer asks the questions, the interviewee responds and the reporter
records the interviewee’s answers. For example, the interviewer could ask a
series of reflective questions about the use and misuse of the tundra. Then
swap roles and ask questions on effects of the degradation of the tundra on
the people and the environment. Finally, after swapping again, ask about the
management of strategies to reduce the impact and effects on the tundra.
Other collaborative and active ideas
Mnemonics
Learners can make up mnemonics to remember categories and lists of
information. The best examples can be shared.
Mind mapping
This can be done throughout a global issue but works particularly well at the
end of a unit. Connectives and arrows are really important as they link up
thinking throughout. A different colour can be added to make links for t he
human environment and similarly one for the physical environment.
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Peer assessment
Learners usually tend to be honest and peer assessment can be employed with
any piece of work.
Words into pictures
This is best carried out in pairs. Learners have been working on why the
rainforest is chopped down. In black and white they have to depict ten
reasons on one piece of A4 paper by drawing, without using any words. These
can be developed then reduced by 50% and stuck into jotters.
Discussion forums
The practitioner can post a reflective question on their chosen global issue.
This could be done on a GLOW site or a Wiki. Learners are challenged to
voice opinions.
Thinking skills
Other activities to help engage the learners will be geographical thinking
skills such as:







mysteries
taboo
most likely to...
odd one out
dominoes
living graphs
autograph hunter.
These are straightforward to use and once made and l aminated can be used
several times.
How to develop skills
To develop skills it is vital that issues are revisited and practised several
times so that confidence can be gained. Using collaborative and active
learning strategies will help learners to become confident, successful
learners.
Skills
The following skills will be sampled in the course assessment in contexts
drawn from across all the units of the course:
 Mapping skills, including the use of Ordnance Survey maps:
- grid references (4/6 figure)
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-
identification and location of physical and human features
measure distance using scale
interpret relief and contour patterns
using maps in association with photographs, field sketches, cross sections/transects.
Mapping skills are very important to National 5 Global Issues in the same
way that they are important to physical environments and human
environments. Mapping particularly lends itself to the Tourism Global Issues
unit. Maps of case study areas can be used to compound map knowledge and
help add place names and relevance to subject areas.
 Research skills, including fieldwork skills:
- gathering
- processing
- interpreting.
Research skills can be used in all of the global issues units.
Fieldwork should also be considered. As National 5 develops , fieldtrips could
be planned and linked in with other department s where applicable.
Individual fieldtrips might include a trip to a tourism site such as a local
abbey, waterfall, country park or national park.
 Extracting, interpreting and presenting numerical and graphical
information that may be:
- statistical
- graphical
- tabular.
Reflective questions
Below are lists of reflective questions to consider when pl anning your global
issue.
Climate change
Can
Can
Can
Can
Can
you
you
you
you
you
name the features of climate change?
differentiate between physical and human causes of climate change?
describe and explain the effects of climate change on a local scale?
describe and explain the effects of climate change on a global scale?
describe and explain a strategy used to manage climate change?
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Impact of human activity on the natural environment
Can you describe the tundra’s main features and its ecosystem?
Can you describe the main features of an equatorial climate and its
ecosystem?
Can you explain how the tundra is used and misused?
Can you explain how the equatorial climatic region is used and misused?
For the tundra, can you describe and explain the effects of degradation on the
people?
For the tundra, can you describe and explain the effects of degradation on the
environment?
For an equatorial climatic region, can you describe and explain the effects of
degradation on the people?
For an equatorial climatic region, can you describe and explain the effects of
degradation on the environment?
For the tundra and equatorial climatic regions can you describe management
strategies and their impacts?
Environmental hazards
Can you describe and draw the main features of a volcano, earthquake and
tropical storm?
Can you explain the causes of a volcano?
Can you explain the causes of an earthquake?
Can you explain the causes of a tropical storm?
Can you describe the impact of a volcanic eruption on the landscape and the
population?
For an earthquake, can you describe the impact on the landscape and the
population?
For a tropical storm, can you describe the impact on the landscape and the
population?
Can you describe and explain methods for predicting and planning for
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tropical storms?
Trade and globalisation
Can you describe
Can you describe
Can you describe
environment?
Can you describe
Can you describe
inequalities?
Can you describe
inequalities?
10
and identify on a map the major world trade patterns?
and explain inequalities of trade?
and explain the impact world trade patterns have on the
and explain the impact world trade patterns have on people?
and explain how trade alliances help to reduce trade
and explain how fairtrade helps to reduce trade
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Can you describe and explain how sustainable practices help to reduce trade
inequalities?
Tourism
Can you describe why tourists are attracted to places such as a national park
or similar tourist feature?
Can you explain the main causes of tourism?
Can you explain the main causes of eco-tourism?
Can you differentiate between the impacts of tourism on the environment and
on people?
Can you name examples of strategies adopted to manage tourism and d escribe
how they work?
Health
Can you identify world disease distribution on a world map?
Can you differentiate between the causes of AIDS in L ess Economically
Developed Countries compared to More Economically Developed Countries?
Can you differentiate between the effects of AIDS in LEDCs compared to
MEDCs?
Can you differentiate between the strategies adopted to manage AIDS in
LEDCs compared to MEDCs?
Can you name causes, effects and strategies adopted to manage one disease
prevalent in an MEDC?
Can you name causes, effects and strategies adopted to manage one disease
prevalent in an LEDC?
Support
Also included within this global issues support are some exemplifications.
Each issue has an extensive list of sources and websites to help provide case
studies, ideas, images, video clips and general information and ideas. In some
cases you need to sign up but all are free. In some cases there are also links to
send off for resources such as the DVD from the British Heart Foundation if
you have chosen heart disease as one of your case studies within the health
topic.
The support to accompany the websites/sources includes PowerPoints,
activities and thinking skills. These are itemised below for each topic.
Remember that they are just a glimpse of what is poss ible and do not have to
be used. They should also be adapted for your own use.
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Climate change
Climate change overview PowerPoint
Thinking skills card sort
Climate change websites/sources list
Impact of human activity on the natural environment
Climate graph for the tundra PowerPoint
Deforestation activity
Natural environment websites sources list
Environmental hazards
Odd one out earthquakes thinking skill
Environmental hazards websites/sources list
Trade and globalisation
Mapping skills challenge for Fairtrade
Trade and globalisation websites/sources list
Tourism
Tourism introduction and causes PowerPoint
Impact of tourism PowerPoint
National parks conflict activity
Tourism websites/sources list
Health
Heart disease PowerPoint
Health websites/sources list
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