South Powys Inter-Schools

Literacy Olympiads

GOLD CHALLENGE BOOKLET – YEAR 9

THE SOUTH POWYS INTER-SCHOOLS

LITERACY OLYMPIADS

The Literacy Olympiads was launched in the academic year 2014-2015. It is an initiative which invites South Powys pupils across Key Stage Three to become Bronze, Silver or Gold Literacy Olympians by completing cross-curricular challenges that focus on reading, writing or speaking.

As a rough guide to KS3 Levels:

· The Bronze Award equates to Level 5/6

· The Silver Award equates to Level 6/7

· The Gold Award equates to Level 7/8.

HOW TO BECOME A LITERACY OLYMPIAN

1. See the MATco in your respective school to sign up and receive an information pack.

2. Read through the challenges – and get excited about your plan of action!

3. To qualify as a Literacy Olympian for your school you must fully complete at least ONE challenge assigned to your year group.

4. You can complete as many challenges as you like. If you decide to complete more than one challenge, keep them together in a folder – if a piece is too big to be put in a folder, submit a photograph of it and keep the real thing in a safe place.

5. You may want to discuss them with your respective subject teachers, MAT tutors (where applicable) or form tutors for advice.

6. Take pride in your work – it may well be displayed on your school website or around the school for others to see. Make it eye-catching and as ACCURATE as possible in terms of spelling, punctuation, grammar and expression.

7. When you are ready, hand in your work to the MATco. You then have to wait for the awards ceremony at the end of the year.

8. Remember, there is a competition between pupils both within your school and in the other five South Powys schools but you may wish to complete a challenge because you love the subject or just want to learn more.

If you need to borrow technology such as a data recorder or camera/video recorder, visit the respective IT/subject department. If you would like any further details about the Literacy Olympiads, do not hesitate to contact your respective MATco:

Natalie Armitti(Crickhowell)

Rebecca Carpenter(Brecon)

Elin Ennis(Builth Wells)

Matthew Morris (Llandod)

Joe Taffurelli (Maes y Dderwen)

Beth Walker (Gwernyfed)

Year 9 – Gold Challenge

Mathematics

Data Handling Project: Identify, plan and carry out a data handling research project on a topic area of your choice - It might be worth discussing with your subject teacher or MATco to see if it is suitable. Present your findings graphically; analyse your findings; discuss your conclusions and evaluate your project. See help sheet attached.

English

Poetry Production: Write a poem based on one of the following themes. Consider FARMTAILS: Form, Alliteration; Rhythm; Meaning; Tone; Assonance (rhyme); Imagery; Language; Symbolism (and metaphors). Make sure there are no spelling, punctuation or grammar mistakes.

· War

· Peace

· Vampires

· Safe

· Space

· Emotions

Science

Reaction Research: To find out which type of mobile phone usage (talking or texting) has the most impact on reaction time.

You need to consider:

How does talking on a mobile phone influence reaction time?

How does texting affect reaction time?

Texting and talking on mobile phones distract users and can lead to injuries while walking and driving.

This experiment will evaluate how these two types of mobile phone usage influence reaction time.

Is texting more dangerous?

http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/texting-talking-effects-cell-phone-reaction-time/

Mamiaeth

Script and film: to write a script in welsh detailing the story of either Llyn Y Fan Fach or Bed Gellert. This must be performed and filmed. Props allowed.

Welsh

Pupil Voice: Decide on a change you would like to see made in school. Write a letter to the School Council, persuading them to take the issue up with the Headteacher.

You should:

· Plan and structure your work appropriately to text purpose.

· Use appropriate persuading connectives to link your points, and also to link to evidence that supports your ideas.

· Use superlatives as well as other strong adjectives.

· Use persuader words (‘does bosib bod, yn eglur, yn amlwg).

· Emphasise your points with a mixture of long and short sentences.

· Spell and punctuate correctly.

· Use Welsh a variety of Welsh sentence patterns consistently and correctly.

Minimum 1 side of A4.

Geography

Sustainable Scenarios: Answer the question “What will life be like in 2050?”. You need to consider the following:

Describe and explain how the following might change by 2050.

Population explosion; Water; Food; Energy; Land availability;

Climate; Health and Disease; Housing; Resource exploitation

Poverty; Transport; Waste management

· Why they might become issues (if they are not already)?

· What can be done to prevent these potential issues?

· How successful might they be?

· Which will be most significant and why?

This can be produced as a project; an essay; a PPT presentation; a documentary with narration.

History

Project Production: Research any topic of History that captures your attention. Produce a short project on this topic area. Include:

· A timeline of events including key dates

· Information on key people

· A summary of what happened during the period

· Images

· An explanation of what interests you about this period

Suggested topic areas: The Spanish Armada; Henry V111; The execution of Charles 1; Bloody Mary; Prohibition; The Gangster era; Hiroshima; Pearl Harbour; Vietnam War…..

RE

10 Commandments: Write an updated set of 10 Commandments for the 21st Century. Alongside the commandments, explain your reasons for choosing these new, updated commandments.

MFL

Big Bang Theory Script: Read the attached script taken from the Big Bang Theory; Write a script for the next scene entitled ‘The following morning’.

Music

Original Composition: Compose a song with original lyrics that reflect a particular mood/theme that is important to you. You will need to listen to a selection of songs to help you with ideas on structure and how to make your song interesting and engaging.

DT

Research Essay: Pick one of the following designers/chefs:-

· James Dyson (Dyson)

· Ross Lovegrove (Renault)

· Ross James Brawn (Brawn F1)

· Johnathan Ive (Apple)

· Rick Stein

· Jamie Oliver

· Nigella Lawson

· Raymond Blanc

You need to research their work and write a detailed description of their work and influences on other designers/ chef’s.

You can use the internet to help you and also include pictures of their work.

The task needs to be completed as a continuous piece of writing of minimum 2 sides of A4.

PE

Essay: Many countries want to hold major sporting events. Answer the question: ”To what extent is hosting a major sporting event such as the Olympics or World Cup a good thing?”. To do this correctly, you need to:

· describe and explain the advantages of hosting an event

· describe and explain the disadvantages of hosting an event

· reach a conclusion where you discuss your opinion on whether or not it is a good thing

Art

Find a book aimed at young children of approximately 20 pages e.g. Not Now Bernard or The Very Hungry Caterpillar and illustrate the book appropriately.

ICT

Use digital recording equipment to produce, record and edit a video of one of the following (as per the appropriate gold challenge):

· A report on the issues you would like to see addressed within your school

· A documentary on Sustainability

· A documentary on your chosen Historical period

· The Big Bang Theory scripts

· A news report on your chosen designer/chef

· A news report on the effects of a major sporting event

· A video of your book

South Powys Inter-Schools Literacy Olympiads

Please use the following proforma to track your progress

Subject Task

Yr 7 Bronze

Challenge

Yr 8 Silver Challenge

Yr 9 Gold

Challenge

MATco Signature

Date

Maths

English

Science

Mamiaeth

Welsh

Geography

History

RE

MFL

Art

Music

DT

PE

ICT

Pupil Name………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

School …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Date of Award Submission ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Science Gold:

Texting vs. Talking: The Effects of Cell Phones on Reaction Time

Source: http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/texting-talking-effects-cell-phone-reaction-time/

Objective: This experiment will evaluate which type of cell phone usage has the most impact on reaction time.

Research Questions:

· How does talking on a cell phone influence reaction time?

· How does texting affect reaction time?

Texting and talking on cell phones distract users and can lead to injuries while walking and driving. This experiment will evaluate how these two types of cell phone usage influence reaction time. Is texting more dangerous?

Materials:

· Calculator

· Meter stick

· Blindfold

· Test subjects with cell phones (approximately 10 males and 10 females)

· Notebook for recording results

Experimental Procedure:

1. Place your thumb and index finger above the 100 centimetre mark on the meter stick. For each test subject, perform the following steps:

2. Ask the test subject to place his or her thumb and forefinger on either side of the meter stick at the 0 centimetre mark. When you drop the stick, the test subject will attempt to catch it by closing his or her thumb and forefinger.

3. Test baseline reaction time first. Drop the meter stick and record the distance (in centimetres) that the stick falls before the test subject is able to stop it.

4. Perform five trials and calculate the average score.

5. Repeat the test. This time, ask the test subject to speak to someone on a cell phone while you conduct the experiment.

6. Perform five trials and calculate the average score.

7. Repeat the test. This time ask the test subject to send a text message (with one hand) while you conduct the experiment.

8. Perform five trials and calculate the average score.

9. Repeat steps 2-8 for many male and female test subjects.

10. Evaluate your data and calculate each participant’s average reaction time for each experiment. Use the formula: d=0.5a*t2

11. Solve for t when d equals distance travelled by the meter stick and a equals the acceleration due to gravity constant (9.8 meters per second squared).

12. Evaluate your results. Which type of cell phone usage affects reaction time most? How much is reaction time changed by texting? By talking?

MFL: Gold - Big Bang Theory

À quelle heure tu te couches?

Penny:

À quelle heure tu te couches, Sheldon?

Sheldon:

Alors ... Je me réveille à six heures cinquante-cinq précisément et je me lève à sept heures précisément. Je me douche de sept heures dix à sept heures vingt précisément. Je ...

Penny:

Oui, oui, oui. Mais à quelle heure tu te couches, Sheldon?

Leonard:

Il se couche vers dix heures.

Sheldon:

Vers dix heures? Non. Je me couche à dix heures précisement.

Penny:

Et Amy se couche à quelle heure, Sheldon?

Leonard:

Elle se couche vers dix heures.

Sheldon:

Non, non. Elle ne se couche pas vers dix heures. Elle se couche à dix heures précisement.

Leonard:

Elle se couche à dix heures précisement.

Penny:

Howard, Bernadette et toi, vous vous couchez à quelle heure?

Howard:

Nous nous couchons très, très tard. Oui, très, très tard.

Leonard:

Ils se couchent vers neuf heures et demie.

Sheldon:

Vers neuf heures et demie? Vers neuf heures et demie?

Leonard:

Bien. Ils se couchent à neuf heures et demie.

Sheldon:

Précisement.

Leonard:

Ou un peu plus tard. Ou un peu plus tôt.

Penny:

Sheldon, va te coucher.

Sheldon:

Mais il n’est pas dix heures précisement.

Penny:

Sheldon. Va te coucher. Va faire dodo.

Sheldon:

Écoutez! ... Je me réveille à six heures cinquante-cinq précisément et je me lève à sept heures précisément. Je me douche de sept heures dix à sept heures vingt précisément. Je m’habille...

(deux heures quatorze minutes plus tard)

Penny :

Sheldon, il est dix heures précisement.

Sheldon :

Ah, merci Penny. Bonne nuit tout le monde.

Tous 

Bonne nuit Sheldon.

A Lis le dialogue et complete les verbes.

se coucher – to go to bed

je

me

couche

· I go to bed

tu

t.........

couches

· you go to bed

il / elle

s.........

couche

· he / she goes to bed

nous

n.........

couchons

· we go to bed

vous

v.........

couchez

· you go to bed

ils / elles

s.........

couchent

· they go to bed

se réveiller – to wake up

je

m.........

réveille

· I wake up

tu

t.........

réveilles

· you wake up

il / elle

s.........

réveille

· he / she wakes up

nous

n.........

réveillons

· we wake up

vous

v.........

réveillez

· you wake up

ils / elles

s.........

réveillent

· they wake up

se laver – to get washed

je

m.........

l.........

· I get washed

tu

t.........

l.........

· you get washed

il / elle

s.........

l.........

· he / she gets washed

nous

n.........

l.........

· we get washed

vous

v.........

l.........

· you get washed

ils / elles

s.........

l.........

· they get washed

se doucher – to have a shower

je

· I have a shower

tu

· you have a shower

il / elle

· he / she has a shower

nous

· we have a shower

vous

· you have a shower

ils / elles

· they have a shower

B Trouve dans le texte

1 about ten o’clock ..................................................................................................

2 at ten o’clock ........................................................................................................

3 at six fifty five precisely ...........................................................................................

4 or a bit earlier .......................................................................................................

5 or a bit later .........................................................................................................

6 very, very late .....................................................................................................

7 What time do you go to bed, Sheldon? ................................................................................................................................

C Adapte les phrases ...

1 about eleven o’clock ...........................................................................................

2 at twelve o’clock...........................................................................................

3 at nine o’clock precisely...........................................................................................

4 or earlier...........................................................................................

5 or later...........................................................................................

6 very, very early...........................................................................................

7 What time do you have a shower, Sheldon? ................................................................................................................................

Mathematics: Gold - Data Handling Project Suggestions...

You have to complete a data handling investigation on a topic area of your choice. Suggested topics include:

1. Whether Arsenal (or a team of your choosing) win more games at home than they lose/draw (i.e. Don’t win) - Think here about how you would collect your data, how many years’ worth of data you would need to choose, would you include data from seasons where they played at Highbury? The Emirates? Both? Then analyse your findings and suggest reasons for your findings.

2. You could investigate the length of words in two different books, for example ‘Twilight’ by Stephenie Meyer and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown (the author, not our very own Dan Brown) - You’d need to consider how many pages you’d count the letters in each word from. How many words would you count? How would you choose the page numbers? How would you then compare your data? How would you represent your findings?

3. You could investigate the numbers that have come up in the National Lottery during 2013 – You’d need to look up the various combinations that have come up during 2013 and tally the data. Are there any common combinations that stand out?

4. You could investigate the number of singles sold compared to albums? You could take this a step further and compare CD sales to that of MP3 digital downloads.

5. Any other suitable project of your choosing.

Planning

· What is the aim of your project?

· What is your hypothesis/prediction e.g. Arsenal win more home games

· How you are going to collect your data?

· How you will represent your data?

· Are there any limitations to your project?

Lastly, you should write the introduction for your project. This should include: some background information as to why you have chosen it; what you aim to do throughout the project; and a prediction on what you think you will find and why.

Methodology

· Where you are going to get your data from?

· Will you need to design your own Survey/Questionnaire/Test?

· How many people are you going to survey, does it matter?

· How will you sample?

· How will you keep your data accurate?

You will need to include all your data collection sheets in your project, so any surveys or websites you use to collect your data will need to be referred to and mentioned/printed out.

Remember – if collecting data from the general public as a questionnaire, be polite – you are representing your school!

Graphical Presentation

You then need to represent the data you have collected. Think carefully about the techniques available to you:

A bar chart, line graph, pie chart, frequency table, pictograph, stem and leaf diagram, tally chart, frequency polygon, box plot, cumulative frequency diagram?

Remember to SALT your graph – Scale, Axis, Label and Title.

Think about:

· What each diagram/chart/graph will show you

· Your axes, are they labelled correctly with a consistent scale?

· Is your data discrete or continuous? How will this affect the type of graph/diagram you use?

You should spend a good amount of time drawing your chosen diagram/s accurately and ensuring everything is labelled/titled

Analysis

You then need to analyse the data you have previously collected and represented. You’ll need to do some calculations, whether it be working out the averages from the raw data or estimating the averages from your frequency tables/diagrams.

Think about:

· What information are you analysing?

· What do your results show you?

· Have you made comparisons between your sets of data?

· What can you interpret from your results?

· Are there any trends or anomalies? Why might this be?

Conclusion

You then need to write a conclusion (where you discuss what you found out), making sure you refer back to your hypothesis – have you answered this? Did you predict correctly/incorrectly?

Evaluation

You then need to write an evaluation (what you would do differently next time/areas of limitation);

Appendix

Finally you need to include an appendix where you make sure you have included details of any websites/books etc you have used in your project as well as any surveys/questionnaires or tests that you created for your project