In The News (Y4)
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Approach:  One to one
ACCESS
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Thinking critically about news items; asking questions  
Resources:
Video on laptop computer
135Kb
Questions/instructions:  

This activity uses the computer.
In this activity you will be watching an item from the television news. As you watch, think about why it was shown on the news.
Click the In The News button.
[Television news item.]
 
 
voice-over:
News Reader: The search is on for another elephant for Auckland Zoo. After the death of 40-year old Kashin, the zoo’s one remaining elephant, Burma, is said to be missing her companion. Today, the Auckland Zoo was closed and people left tributes by the gate as a mark of respect for the elephant loved by zoo staff and the public.
Zoo Director: The impact of this has been really quite devastating. A number of the staff have worked for such a long time with Kashin.
Zoo Vet: She’s part of the family and this is like losing a family member.
News Reader: Kashin and her mate, Burma , have been a star attraction at the Auckland Zoo for nearly 40 years. The elephants spent all their time together and zoo staff are now very worried about how Burma will cope without a companion. The zoo wants to import another elephant as soon as possible but rules about bringing animals to New Zealand from overseas will make this very difficult. Another option is to give Burma to another zoo, possibly in Australia, where she would be able to be with other elephants quite soon.
   
 
% responses
2009 ('05)
y4
y8
1. Why do you think this was shown on the news?    
people are sad about the loss of Kashin 27
major event for Auckland Zoo 28
Kashin has been popular and well known for a lot of New Zealanders 37
happened in New Zealand (Auckland) 4
2. If you were a reporter, who would you want to interview to get different views about what happened?  
zoo director 26
zoo vet 19
other zoo staff 64
people who have visited Auckland Zoo 13
3. What questions would you ask?  
Questions would invite responses
that would tell about:
what happened 44
effects on people 15
effects on other animals (particularly Burma) 8
plans for Auckland Zoo elephants 11
4. If you were still a reporter in a year’s time, what questions might you ask in a follow-up story on elephants at Auckland Zoo?  
Questions would invite responses
that would tell about:		 what has happened to Burma 14
replacing Kashin 16
commemorating Kashin 5
how the zoo staff feel now, a year after Kashin’s death 10

Total score:
 8–10
4  
6–7
14
4–5
29
2–3
 31
0–1 22
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Commentary:
This task required students to answer why they thought the news story was interesting and to generate questions they would ask. Performance was quite widely spread on this task, with some students doing well and others struggling.