Where Geography and History Meet: The Roman Empire and Physical Features.

As an end of term project, Form 1 brought together their knowledge of the Romans from History and physical features from Geography to create 3D maps of the Roman Empire.

These maps are now proudly on display in the classroom. As you will see from the images below there were some very creative touches. Well done to Sean, Andrew and Jimin who have won prizes for best presentation and Chow Wan Ting, Kiera and Hee Won who won prizes for best Geographical and Historical information.

Work in progress - step 1 - mapping out the Roman Empire and Physical features and making mountain ranges using paper-mache

Work in progress - step 2 - Panting and adding labels and special artistic features

Geography Fieldwork: The Do's and Don'ts

As last year's form 3 found out the hard way, fieldwork takes a lot of careful forethought. There should always be a clear and testable hypothesis, supported by a clear rationale. In addition the methodology should be sufficiently detailed so that someone else would be able to conduct the same study in the future by reading the written instructions. 

At IGCSE, Form 5 Geography students do not need to carry out their own fieldwork for their final grade. However, in paper 4 they are expected display a firm understanding of how to plan, conduct and review fieldwork and apply this knowledge to hypothetical situations.

Consequently this week Mr David's and Mr Wilkinson's classes joined together to conduct a practice piece of fieldwork about micro-climates at KTJ. After initial briefings on how to construct a hypothesis, safety and data collection the students were set loose. Most chose to investigate whether there was a positive relationship between distance from buildings and temperature.

As you will see from the videos below there were a number of issues that quickly cropped up and a number of mistakes were made. These mistakes were to be expected as Mr David and Mr Wilkinson deliberately threw the class in at the deep end. They were very useful mistakes as they provided an opportunity for reflection and a good starting point for next week's investigations. 

Below see a list of dos and don'ts that we managed to come up with as a class.

#1 Don't start before you have the right equipment

In the video below you will see that a number of students started to measure data without thinking about how they would actually ensure it was reliable.

Fieldwork ultimately aims to accept or reject a hypothesis. As a result it needs a good quantity of reliable data to analyse. Reliable data can only be collected with the right equipment at the right point. For example, as seen in this video, an investigation into temperature and distance from buildings will need a thermometer, which all students realised, but also an accurate way of measuring distance. Measuring distance could have been recorded using a number of apparatuses such as GPS on a phone, a trundle wheel or measuring tape. Nearly all students set out without any of these.

#2 Do imagine someone else will have to repeat the fieldwork

There are two issues that come up from the next video. The picture at the end shows one member of the class measuring humidity with his arm outstretched. The issue with this is that it is not particularly scientific and is open to lots of variables. For example, he is likely to be taller than others in his group so if they were take readings they would be at different heights, potentially influencing the results. On his next reading he may also have his hand at a slightly different angle or height. Better would be to follow the practice of locating Stevenson Screens and have a fixed distance from the floor where each reading is taken. For example students could take a one meter ruler and measure from the top of it. This would stop variations in height and minimise the influence of things like reflected radiation from the ground or variable amounts of wind. It would also make it easier for someone to carry out the same investigation again at a later point as they would have a clear point to measure from.

At the start of the video another member of the class is confused about which direction to face. The golden rule to remember here is that you want to remove the impact that human interference can have on the results. So in this case, this would mean ensuring that there was no shadow interfering with temperature readings. Geography investigations are different to science experiments because they operate in the real world, rather than in a controlled environment. Nonetheless, we should always try to reduce our impact on the results.

#3 Do make a results table

Even if you have followed the advice in points 1 and 2, your fieldwork will fall apart if you do not record the results properly.

In this clip the student should make sure he has made a results table to record his findings. Remember a good piece of fieldwork needs many readings. For example recordings at the same location at different times of the day. This will make the results more reliable as it will minimise the impact of freak results that could occur from faulty equipment, unusual weather conditions or human error. Eventually this student is going to run out of skin to record all of these results!

#4 Don't be afraid to read the instructions

Remember, after collecting results you need to present them in a series of graphs and charts. You also need to evaluate them, coming up with conclusions as to whether they confirm or deny your hypothesis and how you could improve the data recording if you were to do the experiment again. Consequently you need lots of results that you fully understand. 

In this clip the student was less familiar with Fahrenheit that Celsius. This means that he is less certain of what his results are actually showing him. As Mr David discusses, this problem could be easily overcome by reading the instructions on the apparatus. As in points 1,2 and 3 - fieldwork is easily improved by slowing down and thinking through problems logically.

#5 Do make a risk assessment

This video is based on photos taken by Mr Wilkinson following one group studying humidity and distance from water. Look at the images and see if you can spot anything wrong. 

Remember, as interesting as fieldwork might be, it is not worth dying for! There are risks in everything we do - even sitting in the classroom. Fieldwork is not usually dangerous, but it does involve more potential dangers than you would have in a normal lesson. For example, sun burn, animal bites, traffic and trip hazards. This does not mean we should not do it - but it does mean that we make a risk assessment before we go out so we can think about how we might minimise these risks. At KTJ this might mean students using sun-screen, wearing hats and having a teacher accompany them in places that are usually out of bounds. In paper 4 you will certainly need to mention risk management. 

Life in the Cotton Mills: Form 2 Story Project

Throughout this term Form 2 have been learning about the Industrial Revolution in History. As a final task they had to create a story about life in the cotton mills for child labourers. Their stories had to use real life information from historical sources that we had analysed earlier in the term. Students then got into groups and created a video for one of their stories.

The video was set and marked using a marking rubric. All students were given the rubric before they started the task allowing them to know what was expected of them. The outcome has been fantastic and the class have been very creative, using a number of techniques to convey the conditions of child labourers including animation, green screens and acting.

Have a look at their work below. I think you will agree, for a class of EAL learners, some of whom are studying in English for the first time this year, they have done a fantastic job.

Catherine, Ben and Yee Rou

Kai Xin, Johaier and Renee


Kah Wei, Juno and Nate

Ban, Kam Jun, Yun and Vanessa


Jason, Ray and Henry


Ting Ting, Army and Miki

The Battle of the Somme in raps and poems

On Saturday it will be 99 years since the end of WWI, arguably the most bloody conflict in human history. This term Form 3 have been studying the war's causes, conditions and consequences. 

One of the most horrific chapters of this conflict was the Battle of The Somme. A major offensive in 1916 by the British and French forces against the German army in northern France. The conditions and death-toll of this battle were horrifying and the first day of the battle remains the worst day in British military history.

Allow F3 to tell you more through the art of rap and poems...

Rattana, Zoe and Pionca


Benjy, Hong Sean, Eugene and Sonia

Melanie, Cheng Yet and Azim


Lewis, Clement et al.  


Azima and Que Bi


Well done class, some excellent work! For more information about the Somme click here.

How the KTJ campus is perfectly adapted

As part of their study on climate and ecosystems, Form 5 have been out and about looking at how the vegetation around the campus has adapted perfectly to an equatorial biome. Here are a selection of their best tweets. Congratulations to Patrick who won the award for most artistic tweet and Jonathan for the most informative (he combined many photos in one).

Students - use of social media. Remember a follower on social media is just a stranger. Do not accept direct messages and speak to the school's safeguarding officer if you have any concerns. Thank you for agreeing to have your tweets shared.

@KTJGeo These vine looking plants are commonly known as Lianas, they take advantage of the taller trees and grow to the canopy for sunlight. pic.twitter.com/jj2pjVfmHo

— Mr. Patty (@thekorex_13) November 5, 2017

@KTJGeo here we see an emergent which grew tall in competing for sunlight pic.twitter.com/KMnAenr9aB

— Sheikh Muktadir (@muktadir_mac) November 1, 2017

@KTJGeo the picture below shows drip tip leaves which help shed heavy rainfall and prevents bacteria and fungus from growing on them. pic.twitter.com/lr9CEAQFX5

— Leia (@LeiaInanna) November 4, 2017

@KTJGeo Epiphytes: They grow on top of the bark of trees at the canopy to gain access to more of sunlight and water from the surrounding air pic.twitter.com/gHp8i69Wxj

— Jonathan Yap (@20yapziqin) November 5, 2017

@KTJGeo

These large roots extend across the ground surface to give the tall trees better support. The roots are very shallow to gather the nutrients that are found in the top layer. pic.twitter.com/YFYvpVQUs7

— Daniel Syawal (@DanielSyawal) November 8, 2017

IGCSE Case Studies: Population and Migration

Form 4 have just finished studying population and migration. As part of their final assessment they have created a number of specific country case studies about the sub-topics that they have been looking at, for example population distribution, high dependency ratios and overpopulated and underpopulated countries. These case studies have helped to solidify their learning and will come-in handy for the 7 mark questions that are at the end of each paper one question in the IGCSE exam.

Below is a concise summary that will be useful for all Geographers studying at an IGCSE level. Well done class!