Kate had many questions about India.
Here are some of her questions and the answers we found by practicing Kate's research skills.
We spoke about the importance of asking the right question to get the right answer when we are researching something.
Where is India?
India is in South Asia. The countries next to it are China, Bangladesh, Burma and Pakistan.
How far is India from Australia?
India is 7,809 kilometres from Australia.
From Melbourne it takes 12 hours and 23 minutes to fly to India (That’s about half of a day)
How many people live in India?
1.38 billion people.
What is the weather like in India?/What is the climate?
India can be classified as a hot tropical country. Except the north, which is cooler.
In most of India, summer is very hot. Summer begins in April and continues till the beginning of October, when the monsoon rains start to fall. Monsoons are heavy rains. It rains a lot. So, India has a wet season and a dry season, not four seasons like we have in Australia.
What are the important festivals celebrated in India?
Holi Festival – usually in March is the festival of colour where people throw powder on each other in all colours.
Ganesha Festival – 11 day festival in late August or early September that celebrates the God Lord Ganesha who has the head of an elephant and the body of a human. People decorate huge statues of Ganesha and parade them through the streets with lots of singing and dancing.
Onam – the biggest festival of the year in Kerala in South India and is held in late August. It is a harvest festival that marks the homecoming of the mythical King Mahabali. People decorate the ground in front of their houses with flowers in beautiful patterns to welcome the King.
Through questioning and finding the answers to Kate's questions Kate learnt a lot of things:
research skills and writing skills
language skills by having to describe things
numeracy skills through having to understand the time and distance to India
geography through understanding locations and populations in India
storytelling and understanding of religions
developing cultural awareness and appreciation
self-awareness and confidence through exploring a project that is of great interest to her.
When working with children questioning and investigating the answers could have very similar learning outcomes, especially if the project explores something that is interesting to the children.
TASK: What other questions do you have about India? What do you want to know about? Do some research on your iPhone or laptop (remember to ask the right question to get the right answer) and see what else you can find out.
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