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Dear Friends

During this year we will be discovering many interesting topics from Maltese Geography. We will be talking about our islands, the city of Valletta and the Three Cities of the Cottonera and our national symbols. We will also learn about the weather, some countries in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea and outer space. We hope that you will like this adventure in the wonderful world of Geography. To the Parents:

This booklet aims at helping your children to acquire some important skills in the study

of Geography and to think critically about the material presented.

Only A VERY SMALL fraction of the material has to be memorised (this will be pointed

out by the class teachers). DO NOT make the children memorise any passages or

answers to given questions.

Our main aim at this stage is to build the foundations which later on will help the children

to acquire a love for the subject and to develop a critical mind set. Your children may

need some help in some tasks presented in this booklet, however do not let them become

too dependent on your input – in some cases adequate supervision/ monitoring may be

enough.

Make sure that you take all the safety precautions if your children are surfing the net to

help them with any of the tasks. It is important that students use the internet under the

supervision of an adult. Should you have any queries or feedback, please do not hesitate

to contact the class teacher.

The Year 4 Teachers

© De La Salle College Junior Section 2013

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Meet Karl – he is German and he lives in the city of Frankfurt. Malta is an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. An archipelago is a group of islands. The Maltese archipelago consists of three main islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino. The Maltese islands have a population of around 410,000 people. Malta has a Mediterranean type of climate. This means that Malta has hot, dry summers and short mild winters. The average temperature for summer (May to

October) is 32° C while in winter (November to April), it is 12°C. Winds are strong and frequent and the most common is the Northwesterly (Majjistral). The capital city of Malta is Valletta and the main seaport is the Grand Harbour. This lies between Valletta and the Three Cities – Senglea (L-Isla), Cospicua (Bormla) and Vittoriosa (Birgu). The Freeport in Birżebbuġa is very busy too. Throughout its history, Malta was governed by many different nations. The most important of these were the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Knights of the Order of St. John, the French and the British. Malta gained its independence from Britain on the 21st of September 1964 and became a Republic with a Maltese President as head of state on the 13th of December 1974.

I have chosen my holiday destination for this year! Malta seems to be a fantastic place. I want to find some information about this island so that I will know about the places and the things I will be seeing.

http://www.mta.com.mt/

File Edit View Favourites Tools Help Spaces

GOOGLE IMAGE RESULT MALTA

That sounds like an interesting place. I’m ready and set to go.

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1. My country is _______________________________________________.

2. My home town is _____________________________________________.

3. My school is in _______________________________________________.

4. Colour in the Maltese Flag:

Mark these important landmarks on the map of Malta which is found on the next page.

a. Valletta - the Capital City

b. Mdina - the old Capital City

c. Gudja - the airport

d. Birżebbuġa - the Freeport

e. Gozo

f. Victoria - the Capital City of Gozo

g. Comino

h. Tarxien Temples

i. Għar Dalam

j. Mellieħa - Għadira Bay

k. Your home town _________________________________

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Pictures and Research Work

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Valletta is the capital city of Malta. It lies on a tongue of land jutting out between two beautiful harbours – Marsamxett Harbour and the Grand Harbour. Valletta was built by the Knights of the Order of St. John in 1566. It was named after their grandmaster – Jean de La Vallette. There are many beautiful and interesting buildings in Valletta, many of which were built by the knights when they made it their capital city. One of these buildings is St. John’s Co-Cathedral, which was designed by the Maltese architect – Girolamo Cassar. To protect and strengthen Valletta against the enemies, the Knights built strong walls and bastions all around the city. They also built a fort on its tip. This is called Fort St. Elmo.

I am really enjoying my holiday. The best place I have visited is Valletta. I’m impressed!!!

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Mark these important landmarks on the map above:

Colour Valletta in red

Colour Fort St. Elmo in brown

Colour the Grand Harbour in yellow

Colour Marsamxett Harbour in purple

Colour the Three Cities in green

Colour the sea in blue

Karl wants to visit the armoury in Valletta. This is a museum where you can see weapons and suits of armour from the time of the Knights of St. John. Help him to find his way through the maze till he finds the place.

START

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Cospicua (Bormla), Vittoriosa (Birgu) and Senglea (L-Isla) are known as THE THREE CITIES. When the Knights of St. John first arrived in Malta in 1530, they chose to settle in Birgu. It was after the Great Siege of 1565 that Grandmaster La Vallette gave Birgu the new name Vittoriosa which means ‘the Victorious’ – after the Victory in the Great Siege. The Knights built some huge walls all around the towns of the Cottonera. These walls were meant to protect the harbour from enemy attack. The stone vedette – known as il-GARDJOLA can be found on the bastions of Senglea. It is one of the most famous views of the harbour. It served as a shelter for the soldiers who were standing guard over the harbour.

Grandmaster L’Isle Adam was the leader of the Knights when they arrived in Malta in 1530.

The Grandmaser is given the keys to the city. This shows that the knights are the masters of the place.

The town’s officials kneel down to kiss the Grandmaster’s hand as a sign of respect.

Before the Knights arrived in Malta, the capital city of our island was Mdina. The government of our island met there. The Knights decided that Birgu was going to be their capital city as they needed to be close to the harbour.

This picture shows the arrival of the first Grandmaster in Mdina. It was painted by a French artist – Favray.

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You can find this excellent map of the Cottonera area online at http://www.discovermalta.org/cottonera/pages/gb/p2malteseislands.asp It’s worth a visit and you can learn many interesting things about this historic area.

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Malta, Valletta, Cottonera

Across 2. An archipelago is a group of __________ 6. Malta became a _________________ on the 13th of December 1974 8. The main sea port is the ____________________________ 9. The knights built fort St. __________ at the tip of Valletta 10. Valletta is named after the Grandmaster __________ de la Vallette 11. The Capital City of Malta is ___________________ Down 1. The word Vittoriosa comes from the word _________________ 3. Malta became independent on the 21st of ________________ 1964 4. The Knights of the Order of St John chose to settle in __________ when they arrived in Malta in 1530. 5. Gerolamo Cassar designed St._________'s Cathedral 7. What is the name given to the Three Cities? _____________

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Every country has a number of symbols which stand for it. Amongst the symbols of our country we have a bird. The National Bird of Malta is IL-MERILL. Il-Merill (known in English as the Blue Rock Thrush) is a beautiful bird which lives in our islands and in some other places in the Mediterranean. It grows to about 20cm in length. The male bird is blue in colour and the female is brown with shades of grey. Some years ago, this bird used to be common in Malta however now it has become very rare. Il-Merill makes its nest in cracks in the cliffs or in valleys. Its nest is made of dried grass and twigs. It sings beautifully and feeds on snails, lizards, insects and fruit. The female bird lays its eggs twice in a year – in March and May. The eggs are pale blue with little brown spots and there are six or seven of them at a time. The eggs hatch after 2 weeks. This bird was declared the National Bird of Malta in 1971 and a law was passed which states that nobody can trap or keep this bird in cages. Answer the following questions.

1. Which is the National Bird of Malta? _____________________________________________________________________ 2. In which year was this bird declared to be the National Bird of Malta? _____________________________________________________________________

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3. What is the colour of the male bird?

_____________________________________________________________________

4. What is the colour of the female bird? _____________________________________________________________________ 5. What does the Merill feed on? _____________________________________________________________________ 6. What is its nest made of? _____________________________________________________________________ 7. How many eggs does the female bird lay? _____________________________________________________________________ 8. What is the colour of the eggs? _____________________________________________________________________

Colour in this nest of Merill eggs (use the correct colours as described in the passage)

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Now help the Merill to find its way to its nest.

Draw lines to show which food would this Merill eat.

START

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Another symbol of our country is the plant which is known as Widnet il-Baħar (known in English as the Maltese Rock Centaury). This plant is endemic to our islands – that is when growing in the wild, it is only found in Malta and Gozo. It can be found growing in the wild on the cliffs at Wied iż-Żurrieq and Ħad-Dingli in Malta and Ta’ Ċenċ in Gozo. This plant grows to a height of around 60 centimetres and the leaves grow in a bunch at ground level. The leaves are long, thick and spoon shaped. The flower which grows at the top of the long stem is purple in colour. Widnet il-Baħar is protected by law too and it was declared as the National Plant in 1971.

The greatest threat to this plant is man. The places where it grows in the wild are threatened by humans – either by too much building or dumping. Be careful NOT to pick any wild flowers when you are out in the countryside – you may be killing out some rare endemic species.

Answer the following questions: 1. What is the name of the National Plant of Malta? ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Where does this plant grow? ________________________________________________________________________

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3. How tall does this plant grow? ________________________________________________________________________ 4. What is the colour of the flower which grows from this plant? ________________________________________________________________________ 5. What is the shape of the leaves of this plant? ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Where do the leaves grow? ________________________________________________________________________ 7. In which year was this plant declared the National Plant of Malta? ________________________________________________________________________

Create a design on this t-shirt to encourage your friends to respect nature.

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The National Tree of Malta is known as is-Siġra tal-Għargħar. This is a very old indigenous tree – this means that it originated in Malta and then spread to some other countries in the Mediterranean. This tree used to be more common in Malta, but then, with so many new villages and houses being built, the natural habitat where it grew was destroyed and so the number of Għargħar trees became rare. The number of Għargħar trees which grows in the wild today is very small – though some have been planted in places such as public gardens and parks. There are some places in Malta which got their name from this tree – San Ġwann tal-Għargħar (most commonly known as San Ġwann) and Ħal-Għargħur. The Għargħar tree was declared the National Tree of Malta in 1992. Fill in the blanks in these sentences and then find the words in the word search.

1. The National Tree of Malta is the _________________ tree.

2. The word ____________________ means that this tree originated in Malta.

3. This tree has become ______________ in the wild. This means that we do not find many of it.

4. Some trees have been planted in ______________ and public ______________.

5. The villages of San _________________ tal-Għargħar and __________________ are named after this tree.

A good place to find some more information and some beautiful pictures of this tree can be found at: http://www.maltawildplants.com/CUPR/Tetraclinis_articulata.php

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THE NATIONAL TREE

C Y L A N A R G P N K O G Y X

I Y M E R L A N M U I L H J M

N K F D G R E B T E D U A T Y

B X B H D H I G X F M D R J Z

B E E E Y G A W T M B B G I I

X U N S U A I R V P L O H U X

E S O G I N D I G E N O U S J

N P K W P Z E Z A H M M R V R

I N U O M B N A Q H A E W G M

N G A S D K A M D A Z R R L L

T K M W X X P Y P S K A Z K W

Q S G M G O X E Q W X R I S C

Y N N W K T Z Z S F W D E F A

L F U M R V G K H H C H I D D

X Q S K R A P F X R M L F C G

Design a sticker to encourage your friends to care for the trees

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Dun Karm is one of the best poets who were ever born in Malta. He is known as ‘il-Poeta Nazzjonali’. Dun Karm was born in Ħaż-Żebbuġ in 1871. He wrote many poems about Malta and the Maltese. His most famous poem is called ‘Il-Jien u lil Hinn Minnu’. Dun Karm has remained famous for writing the words of our National Anthem (L-Innu Malti) and hymns such as L-Innu ta’ Filgħodu, L-Innu ta’ Filgħaxija and Fil-Ħlewwa ta’ Mejju. He also wrote a dictionary of Maltese. Dun Karm died in 1961. There are various monuments around Malta which remind us of this great poet. There is a monument in Floriana and another one in the National Library in Valletta – where Dun Karm worked for many years. Answer the following questions about Dun Karm.

1. What title (in Maltese) is Dun Karm given? ____________________________________________________________________

Dun Karm’s bust in the National Library

Dun Karm’s monument in Floriana

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2. In which year was he born? ____________________________________________________________________ 3. In which town was he born? ____________________________________________________________________ 4. What were the main subjects of his poems? ____________________________________________________________________ 5. Write the name of two hymns which he wrote. ____________________________________________________________________ 6. Where can we find monuments in Dun Karm’s memory? ____________________________________________________________________ 7. In which year did Dun Karm die? ____________________________________________________________________ In this box, design your own monument in honour of Dun Karm.

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Our National Anthem is called L-INNU MALTI. Its words were written by Dun Karm Psaila and the music was written by Robert Samut. In 1922, Robert Samut wrote a piece of music to be played in schools. Dun Karm was asked to write the words of a song to go with the music. We wrote the words of the hymn in the form of a prayer to God. The anthem was played for the first time in December 1922. The Maltese government declared this work as the official anthem of Malta in 1941. When the National Anthem is played or sung, we should stand to attention and SING to the music. This way we show the respect which is due to our country.

L-INNU MALTI

Lil din l-art ħelwa, l-omm li tatna isimha Ħares Mulej, kif dejjem Int Ħarist, Ftakar li lilha bl-oħla dawl libbist

Agħti, kbir Alla, id-dehen lil min jaħkimha, Rodd il-ħniena lis-sid, saħħa ‘l-ħaddiem;

Seddaq il-għaqda fil-Maltin u s-sliem.

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Design a poster in which you encourage your friends to respect the National Anthem. Colour in the boy who is standing to attention and write some suitable messages.

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The colours of the Maltese flag are white and red with the George Cross in the white part. Colour in the flag with the correct colours. The George Cross should have an outline in red all around it. King George VI The George Cross medal

The George Cross is a medal which is given to people who have done an act of great bravery. This medal was awarded to the Maltese people by King George VI of Great Britain in April 1942 for their bravery and courage during the Second World War.

Design your own medal for bravery in this space

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The present form of our National Flag was adopted officially in 1964. Pictures and Research Work

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Look at the pictures and talk about the weather. Write the numbers next to the correct description of the weather. It’s warm ______ It’s cold ______ It’s raining ______ It’s hot and sunny ______ It’s windy ______ It’s cloudy ______ My favourite type of weather is ____________________________________________ Because _______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

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Look at this SEASONS’ CALENDAR

My favourite season is ___________

I love the long hot days and the long

holiday. I go to the beach regularly

and sometimes we go on a trip abroad

or spend a couple of days in Gozo.


The days start getting longer and

though at times it rains or it’s windy,

the weather is fine. Easter falls in

this season and flowers are in bloom.


The days are really short and it gets

really cold. We have to wear thick,

warm clothing. It rains a lot, though

sometimes we have fine weather too.


The days start getting shorter. We

go back to school after a long holiday.

Sometimes it is hot and humid but

occasionally we get some rain too.

SPRING (IR-REBBIEGĦA)

21st March – 20th of June

SUMMER (IS-SAJF)

21st June – 20th of September

AUTUMN (ll-ĦARIFA)

21st September – 20th of December

WINTER (IX-XITWA)

21st December – 20th of March

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People need to know about the weather. Some jobs depend a lot on the type of weather. Look at these pictures of different occupations and discuss how the weather may affect different jobs.

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Weather is important to everyone’s life. It affects the games you play, the clothes you wear, how you feel, what you eat, drink and many other things. Choose two of the pictures and describe how the weather would affect your feelings. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

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People have been trying to predict the weather for many years. Meteorologists (people who study the weather) make use of instruments which help us to measure weather conditions or to make predictions of what the weather will be like. Match the instrument with the correct description.

The WIND VANE shows us the direction the wind is blowing from. The arrow can turn and its point will show you the direction the wind is coming from. So, if the wind is coming from the West, the point on the arrow will point to the W (West).

The ANEMOMETER measures the speed of the wind. The cups at the top catch the wind and the anemometer spins. The speed is then shown on a clock-like gauge at the bottom of the instrument.

A BAROMETER measures air pressure. Though air is invisible, it still has weight. This weight changes all the time with the movement of air currents. A change in air pressure can bring about a change in weather. Traditional barometers are round and they tell you if the air pressure is high or low.

A THERMOMETER measures the temperature of the air around us. This instrument is usually a thin glass tube which contains mercury or alcohol. During the night, the temperature is always less because the sun keeps the earth warmer during the day.

The RAIN GAUGE measures the amount of rainfall. It has a funnel which collects water into a narrow glass tube. The amount of rainfall is measured in millimetres. The amount of rainfall varies from place to place, so there are various rain gauges around Malta and Gozo.

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Today it is a bit easier to predict the weather because with the help of weather satellites flying up in space and computers measuring weather conditions and making predictions has become much more accurate.

In a weather report, meteorologists use a lot of symbols – here are some of them:

Use the words in this text box to label all the symbols

Now, write a weather report on the next page. You can find the information required either on the internet, or in a daily newspaper or else from the weather report which is shown on T.V stations after the news.

Check out this website for information about the weather for the coming days.

www.maltaweather.com

High temperature Low temperature

Stormy Windy Sunny

Cloudy Rainy

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Today’s Date: __________________________________________ Meteorologist: __________________________________________ (write your name)

General Weather Description: (tick in the box below the symbols)

Write a general description of the weather on the day here: _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Lowest temperature Highest temperature Wind direction

General Weather Description (draw symbol in the box)

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We wear different clothes to protect us from the sun, the rain and the cold. Draw lines to link the type of weather with the appropriate clothing.

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Ultra Violet (UV) rays come from the sun. We cannot see them and too much of them can be very harmful.

Too much of these rays can cause skin cancer. In the weather forecast, you will be warned about the UV INDEX. The index will measure the UV rays on a scale from 1 – 11 where 1 is the least dangerous and 11 is the most dangerous.

UV INDEX

DESCRIPTION PROTECTION

0 -2 No danger Wear sunglasses on bright sunny days

3 – 5 Little risk Wear sunglasses, wear a hat and wear clothing – do not go out without a t-shirt

6 – 7 High risk of harm Wear sunglasses and use sun block cream (SPF 30+). Wear a hat. Try to stay inside between 11 am and 4 pm.

8 – 10 Very high risk of harm Wear SPF 30+ sunscreen, a shirt, sunglasses, and a hat. Do not stay out in the sun for too long.

11+ Extreme risk Take all precautions and stay inside as much as possible.

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Design a poster in which you encourage your friends to take all the necessary precautions against sunburn and UV radiation.

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On the compass rose above, only North (N) is filled in. Fill in the rest of the directions on the compass rose, using the standard abbreviations:

N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West, NE=Northeast, NW=Northwest, SE=Southeast, SW=Southwest.

Fill in the words from the text box to complete the Wind Rose with the names of the winds in Maltese.

To remember the directions – learn this sentence: Toni Gerger Li Xtara Nofs Landa Patata Mħassra

N

M

X

L

T

G

P

L

Tramuntana Grigal Lvant Xlokk

Nofsinhar Lbiċ Punent Majjistral

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Across 2. An instrument which measures the speed of wind is called an ___________________ 4. This season starts on the 21st of June and ends on the 20th of September ____________________ 6. This instrument is used to measure the temperature ______________________ 8. A _____________________ is used to show the direction the wind is blowing from 10. This is Grigal in English __________________ 11. This is North in Maltese ____________________ 12. This season starts on the 21st of March _________________________ Down 1. During this season the day is rather short ______________________ 3. A person who studies the weather is known as a M______________________ 5. A Barometer is used to measure Air ___________________ 7. This is used to measure the amount of harmful rays from the sun ____________________ 9. During this season we go back to school __________________________

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Malta lies roughly in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea is the sea which separates Europe from Africa. If you look at the map on the next page, you will notice that the Mediterranean sea is almost completely surrounded by land. The name Mediterranean comes from two words – MEDI and TERRA. Medi means THE MIDDLE and TERRA means land – therefore the name MEDITERRANEAN means simply the sea in the middle of the land. Many great people came from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Jesus Christ was born in Palestine – on the shores of the Mediterranean. There were also great writers like Plato and Homer who came from Greece. Some great generals like Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon were born in countries bordering on the Mediterranean too. Great explorers like Christopher Columbus and Marco Polo – who were born in Italy and many great artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo came also from the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea was also the place were great civilizations flourished and grew – one can mention ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.

An interesting site about the ancient Egyptians can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worldhistory/ramesses/

The Romans managed to bring the whole Mediterranean under their control. They called the sea – MARE NOSTRUM – our sea. This is a great website about the Romans: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/

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Look at the maps on pages 47 and 48 and fill in the blanks in these statements. Then find the missing words in the wordsearch puzzle.

THE MEDITERRANEAN

Q E H T Z W F E N E S B E C W

V B E C N A R F T E L A Q Y U

D E R H I H H E L U E L F P G

M T W K F T R L U E K E Y R F

M O H B O C E J C O L A P U S

V P N U W N U Y I L R R N S B

F I T T A Z T G X B J I J B L

S S U D E D L R V J V C G D W

G L R E V N J M K M T O Z U W

F A Y I H C E G Q V Y P P K L

D A U O Y T X G D V L H N N G

V W W K B N P C R F I K G Y Z

M H J K K J Z Y D O C K S X O

C O R S I C A V G M I R P G D

G I B R A L T A R E S M Z R K

This group of islands belongs to Spain: The ________________islands.

This island belongs to France: ______________________

This island is part of Greece: _____________________

The Straits of the _____________________ connect the Mediterranean with the Black Sea.

This North African country faces on the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea too __________________________.

This country has a coast line between Spain and Italy: __________________

The Straits of _____________________ connect the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean.

This country has a coast between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania: ______________________

The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean with the _________ sea.

___________________ is a large island to the North of Malta. It is part of Italy.

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These last years, the type of food which was traditionally eaten in the Mediterranean has become very popular. It is considered to be very healthy. Doctors and dieticians will recommend a Mediterranean diet if they want somebody to improve on his health. Look at the following foods. Unscramble the name of each food. Which of them are part of the Mediterranean diet?

k e a t s

__________________

e s h f r s h i f

__________________

s t o m a e o t

__________________

g h m a e u b r r

_______________

h i c p s

__________________

a d r e b

__________________

O v i l e l i o

__________________

E d r i f s e g g

__________________

e o a n g r s

__________________

s t a p a

__________________

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Use a map of Europe or an Atlas to fill in the names of the missing countries in the boxes.

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Europe is sometimes called the ‘old continent’. Europe has a very interesting and colourful history. Some European countries are very famous for their historical landmarks or buildings. With the help of your teacher, match these landmarks with the country they are found in. Use the names of the countries in the text box to label each picture.

Italy Germany Bosnia-Herzegovina

Malta United Kingdom France

The Silent City of Mdina

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria

The Colosseum in Rome

The Eiffel Tower in Paris

The Bridge of Mostar

Westminster Bridge in London

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Dear Mum and Dad, Today I visited the Colosseum. Sports was always liked by the Romans and so they built this arena which could hold around 45,000 people. Gladiator fights were held here. Sometimes Gladiator fights ended with the death of one or more of the gladiators. I’m really enjoying my holiday. Love Timmy

Mr & Ms C. Borg

38, Triq il-Makkarell

Marsaxlokk

Malta

Dear Mum and Dad, Today I visited the Acropolis. It is an area above the city of Athens. The most famous building in the acropolis is the Parthenon – a temple which is dedicated to Athena – Athena was a god from ancient mythology. She was the protector of the city which was called after her. It is very hot here. Love you. Mark

Mr & Ms F. Galea

Blk L, Flat 4,

Triq il-Malvizz,

Birkirkara

Malta

Sometimes, when people go abroad, they send postcards home. Read the descriptions on the postcard and guess which country the writer is visiting.

Timmy is visiting: ____________________________

Mark is visiting: ____________________________

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Dear Uncle John,

Today we visited the Eiffel Tower. This steel tower was built in 1889 and it has become the symbol of the city of Paris. You can climb up one of the lifts inside the tower to one of the higher levels and enjoy fantastic views of the city. It was designed by an engineer called Gustave Eiffel. Tomorrow we are going to travel to Eurodisney. I am really looking forward to it.

Mum and Dad send their love. Yours Karl

Mr J. Micallef

‘Our Nest’,

Triq il-Ferrovija,

Naxxar

Malta

Dear Auntie Carmen, Today we visited the Houses of Parliament at Westminster. We saw the famous clock tower and heard Big Ben striking the hour. Big Ben is the bell in the clock tower. It weighs 13 tons! We even climbed on a red double decker bus. Tomorrow we are going to visit Buckingham Palace and the Museum of Natural History . Mum and Dad send their love. Yours Martina

Ms C. Azzopardi

66, Triq il-Barumbara,

Qrendi

Malta

Karl is visiting: _______________________________

Martina is visiting _______________________________

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Here is a fact file of different European Countries. Fill in the missing information for some of the countries.

Capital City: London

Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II

Official Language: English

Capital City:

Head of State:

Official Language: Portuguese

Capital City:

Head of State: President Miloš Zeman

Official Language: Czech

Capital City:

Head of State: President S. Niinisto

Official Language: Finnish and Swedish

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58

In the month of November, some countries in Europe hold Christmas markets. There are special stalls which sell anything connected with Christmas – including decorations and food. This is a scene from a Christmas market in Germany. Colour it in.

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Europe is a land of many legends. Here are some famous ones with the country of origin.

ARACHNE THE SPINNER

Arachne was a very talented spinner

and weaver but also so arrogant. She

was so arrogant that she challenged

the goddess Athena to a contest. Find

out what happened to Arachne.

HOW THE TROLL WAS TRICKED

When a big fierce troll arrives

spreading fear and terror on his

father’s farm, all flee in fear until only

Boots is left. How could he possibly

defeat the troll when his older and

stronger brothers have failed?

THE SNOW MAIDEN

Can wishes come true? Sometimes they

can. However the consequences may

not be what we expect!

ĠAĦAN U L-ĠGANT GULIJA

Ġaħan challenges Gulija to a number of

challenges. What happens?

Visit this website for information about these legends

http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/

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Here are some fairy tales. Maybe you can remember them from your younger days. They started off as legends in European countries. Can you guess their names? You can colour in the pictures as well.

Sometimes these stories started off with some points from real life and then in time, a lot of imagination was used

to add on a lot fantastic facts and magic. Sometimes these legends were used to teach young children a lesson.

Original name: Le Petit Chaperon Rouge

Country of Origin: France

Name of the Story:

Original name: Hänsel und Gretel

Country of Origin:

Modern name of the story: Hansel and Gretel

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In space there is no air, it is roasting hot in the sun and freezing cold in the dark. To live in space humans have to take their own warm atmosphere with them. They must also take all the food and drink they will need.

Inside a space craft in orbit around the earth, astronauts float about as if they weigh nothing. Outside a spacecraft, there is no heat in the shadows. So astronauts must wear spacesuits that provide warmth, air to breathe and a radio to talk to other people. In 1969, the crew of the US Apollo 10 spacecraft travelled at 39,897 kilometres an hour to reach the moon.

In March 1995, there were 13 people in space at the same time. This was a record of the most people ever in outer space!

Out in space, astronauts wear backpacks that let them fly around. Puffs of gas push the backpacks along.

A spacesuit weighs approximately 150 kg! (you weigh around 35 kg)

An astronaut is allowed around 2kg of food every day when he is in space.

Astronauts are like explorers who once discovered unknown lands on Earth. But people cannot yet travel to other planets, so space probes explore for us instead.

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An astronaut is a person who travels in space. The astronauts’ job is very difficult and they have to go through years of training before travelling in space. Astronauts must study hard for many years. Most astronauts study to become scientists, engineers or doctors before becoming astronauts. All astronauts must be able to take care of the spacecraft during a space mission. They also conduct experiments, launch satellites and take space walks outside the spacecraft. Some astronauts also pilot, or drive the spacecraft. The astronauts who become spacecraft pilots are usually pilots of aeroplanes before taking to space travel. Astronauts work very hard to help us learn about important subjects. They have provided us with much of the information we know about our solar system. Some countries have their own space agencies in charge of the exploration of space and the launching of space craft. The most famous of these agencies is surely that of the United States of America. This space agency is called NASA which stands for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

1. What is the purpose of this passage?

To persuade

To inform

To entertain

None of these 2. Which of the following IS true?

All astronauts study to become engineers

Most astronauts are afraid of flying

The job of an astronaut is a difficult one

All astronauts are pilots

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3. What does NASA mean?

National Astronauts Space Association

National American Space Astronauts

National Association Spacecraft Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

4. Which of the following would be a good title for this passage?

Adam the Astronaut Travels in Space

All About the Solar System

Learning to be an Astronaut is Fun

All about Astronauts

5. Astronauts are able to do all of the following EXCEPT ____.

Take space walks outside the spacecraft

Conduct experiments

Build a spacecraft

Launch satellites

6. Would you like to become an astronaut? _______________________ Why? ______________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Design a space vehicle which would take you to space.

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The Solar System is the Sun, the Earth, the other planets, their moons and all the other objects that move through space with the Sun. About five billion years ago, clumps of matter started to come together inside a vast spinning disc of gas, dust and ice. The clumps grew as more gas, dust and ice stuck to them. Millions of years later, the biggest clump in the middle became the Sun. Others became the nine planets of the Solar System.

If you want to explore the solar system go to: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/

This diagram shows the planets and their moons. Some planets have one moon, others have more than one while others have no moons at all.

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Our Solar System has eight planets. The planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The planets are round like balls. The planets all orbit around the sun. They orbit the sun in elliptical circles, shaped like little eggs. Mercury is close to the sun. It is very hot on Mercury. The planets that are a long way from the sun are very cold. Venus is between Mercury and Earth. It is sometimes called Earth’s sister planet because it is almost the same shape and size. Earth is the planet where we live. From space, Earth looks blue because it has so much water. Mars is sometimes called the ‘red planet’ because of the iron oxide (rust) on its surface makes it look red. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are gas giants made mostly of gas instead of rock like the other planets. Saturn is known for having rings around it. Uranus was the first planet which was discovered by using technology. All the other planets can be seen with our eyes, but to see Uranus you need a telescope. Neptune is the planet in our solar system that is farthest from the sun. All the planets are named after gods from Roman mythology.

Jupiter was the king of the gods

Neptune was the Roman god of the sea

Mercury was the messenger of the gods

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Answer the following questions about the Planets.

1. How many planets are there in our Solar System?

a. Nine planets b. Billions and billions c. Twelve planets d. Eight planets

2. What orbits around the sun?

a. Monsters b. Space ships c. Planets d. Stars

3. How are the planets alike?

a. They are all gas giants b. They are all ball-shaped c. They all have perfectly round orbits d. They are all a specific distance from Earth

4. What does the word elliptical mean?

a. Shaped like a soccer ball b. Shaped like an oval c. Shaped like a planet d. Shaped like a football

5. Planets that are a long way from the sun are:

a. Very cold b. Very hot c. Very small d. None of these

Venus was the Roman goddess of beauty.

Saturn was the Roman god of farming and agriculture. Saturn is usually shown with rings around it. There are other planets which have rings, but those of Saturn are the only ones which can be seen from Earth.

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Show what you know about the planets Write the correct name of the planet next to the description.

1. ________________________ is called the ‘Red Planet’. 2. ________________________ is closest to the Sun.

3. ________________________ was the first one discovered with a

telescope.

4. ________________________ is the largest one in our solar system.

5. ________________________ is the furthest from the sun.

6. ________________________ is Earth’s sister.

7. ________________________ is nearly covered in water.

8. ________________________ has rings.

Earth Jupiter

Mars Mercury Neptune

Saturn Uranus Venus

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Read the riddles and guess which planet they are referring to.

1. I’m the planet that everyone calls ‘Red,’ But really my soil is rust coloured instead. Look up and you may spot me in the sky, I’m the orange coloured do, way up high. Which planet am I? ______________________________

2. With over 63 moons, you might say I have a lot.

Look with a telescope to see my big red spot. The spot is a wind storm, swirling round. High in the night sky is where I can be found. Which planet am I? ______________________________

3. I’m blue and green and a little brown I’m a small planet with life all around. They call me the third rock from the sun. I don’t have many moons, just one! Which planet am I? ___________________

4. No matter how hard you look, you’ll never find me, Unless you have a telescope to help you see. I was once called a planet, but not any more. Now I’m just a dwarf-planet, but too important to ignore! Which planet am I? _________________________ 5. Look very close to the sun and you’ll spot, A tiny cratered planet that’s very hot.

I have no moons but I orbit the sun very fast Can you guess my name at last? Which planet am I? ____________________________

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6. I’m yellow and cloudy and super hot. Look low in the sky, I’m easy to spot. People call me the ‘Evening Star’ From planet Earth, I’m not very far. Which planet am I? _____________________________

7. Named for the Roman god of the sea Look past Saturn and Uranus for me. I had a black spot that was a huge storm. Now it’s all gone, but I’ll still never be warm. Which planet am I? _______________________________

8. I’m a giant gas planet out in space, There are bands or stripes all over my face. When it comes to size, I’m number two I have bright rings. That’s an easy clue.

Which planet am I? _____________________

9. A gas planet that’s off in the distance,

Only recently they found my rings in existence. I’m blue and cold and far away, People say I’m funny because I spin sideways.

Which planet am I? _____________________

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Poor, poor Pluto. Scientists now say it’s not a true planet. Since 2006, they have called Pluto a DWARF planet. They believe Pluto is too small and its orbit too irregular to be the ninth planet in the solar system! Pluto is so far away from Earth that it can’t be seen without a telescope. It was only formally discovered in 1930. That’s when powerful telescopes took the first photographs of Pluto. The news made huge headlines throughout the world. Scientists received hundreds of suggestions of what to name the new planet. An eleven year old girl from England had the winning idea – she suggested PLUTO, the name of the Roman god of the underworld. She thought the name made sense because Pluto is such a dark and icy place. The girl won five British pounds for her idea. Even today, scientists don’t know much about Pluto because it’s so far away from us. They do know that it has it least three small moons, and they think it’s about one fifth the size of Earth. Pluto is a brownish colour and is covered with a thin layer of frozen methane gas. Even if we could build a rocket that could travel to Pluto, we wouldn’t want to stay for long. Because Pluto is so far away from the sun, its surface is one of the coldest in our entire solar system. The

temperature on Pluto is -190° Celsius. On the coldest day in Malta, the temperature

can get down to only +10°C. Answer the following questions about Pluto.

1. Tell whether each fact is true or false.

____________ Pluto is a brownish colour

You can watch Pluto’s story on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VQuuWb874s

The Moons of Pluto So far, astronomers have found three moons that orbit Pluto. Charon, the largest moon was discovered in 1978. Two smaller moons were discovered in 2005. They were named Nix and Hydra. Do you think that astronomers will find any more?

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____________ Pluto’s temperatures reach up to +190° C

2. What are the names of Pluto’s three moons?

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. How long ago was Pluto discovered?

a. About 110 years ago b. About 80 years ago c. About 30 years ago d. About 5 years ago

4. Pluto was named after ...

a. An 11 year old girl b. The Roman god of the underworld c. A famous scientist d. A cartoon dog

5. Mark told his teacher that he was lying on the grass looking up at the stars

last night when he saw Pluto in the sky. His teacher didn’t believe him. Why?

________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

6. Which of these instruments would a scientist use to look at Pluto?

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The Sun is the nearest star to the Earth. It is made mostly of a gas called Hydrogen. The Sun burns all the time and shines because it is so hot. The temperature at its centre is about 15,000,000° Celsius! All of the planets in our Solar System go around the sun. The Sun is very important for all life on Earth. The heat and the light coming from the Sun is very helpful for people, plants and animals. The Sun gives us light to see and warmth. It also helps the plants to grow. Without the light of the Sun, plants cannot make the food which they need. Earth would be a very dark, cold place without the sun.

WARNING!

Never look directly at the Sun. It is so

bright that it can damage your eyes very

seriously.

Solar Eclipses About once a year, the Earth’s moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, and blots out the Sun’s light. This is called a Solar Eclipse. If you want to see what happens during an eclipse of the sun go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-X4QmWpjBM&feature=related

Sun Warning The Sun is gradually burning away!!!

However, there’s no need to worry just yet! It will carry on shining for about another five billion years – that is 5,000,000,000 years more!

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THE SUN

1. The name of the planet we live on. 2. The sun is mostly made up of _____________ 3. The sun gives us h ________________ 4. The sun gives us l_______________ 5. These cannot live without the sun p____________e 6. These need sunlight to grow in the ground p_______________s 7. You won’t _____________ well if you look directly at the sun 8. The __________________system is the sun and the planets going round it 9. The _________________ is a burning ball of Hydrogen 10. There are 8 planets in our solar __________________

Unscramble each of the clue words.

Take the letters that appear in boxes and unscramble them for the final message.

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The Earth looks like a blue jewel hanging in the blackness of space. It is the only planet with running water on its surface, an atmosphere with plenty of oxygen gas for breathing and the right amount of heat and light for life.

Night and Day The Earth spins round once every day, always moving towards the East. As it spins, places facing the Sun slowly turn away from it so that day becomes night. At the same time, places that were in the dark, slowly turn towards the Sun, and night becomes day. The blue oceans, green forests and brown deserts make Earth one of the most colourful planets in our Solar System

The Atmosphere An atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds a planet. The Earth has a thick atmosphere. Our atmosphere contains gases such as Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. It contains also water vapour. This water rises from the oceans when the Sun warms them.

The Seasons The Earth orbits the Sun once a year. For six months, the top half of the planet leans towards the Sun, making it spring, then summer there. For the other six months, it leans away, making it autumn, then winter. The opposite happens in the Earth’s bottom half, so it has opposite seasons.

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Many pieces of rock were left over when the Solar System formed. Thousands of them – from tiny grains to big lumps nearly 1000 kilometres wide (keep in mind that Malta – from end to end is only about 30 km long). These rocks orbit the Sun. Together they form the Asteroid Belt – a broad band of rocks which can be found between Mars and Jupiter.

EARTH ALERT Some asteroids may one day head for Earth. Scientists are now planning how to keep them away. They may fire missiles or lasers to break them up or push them off course. About 65 million years ago, a large asteroid hit the Earth near

Mexico. The dust it threw up into the air blocked out the Sun’s light for many months. This may have killed the dinosaurs.

BELT OF STONE The asteroid belt is about 165 kilometres across. That is wider than the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Asteroids in the belt take three to six years to go round the sun once. They all move from west to east like the planets.

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The moon is Earth’s closest neighbour. Astronauts from the United States of America were the first to land on the moon on the 20th of July 1969. Three astronauts travelled on the Apollo 11 rocket to the moon. The first man to walk on the moon was Neil Armstrong.

The surface of the moon is not flat and smooth but rocky with lots of big holes called CRATERS. From Earth, they look like hundreds of small, dark patches all over the moon’s surface.

CHANGING SHAPES The Moon orbits the Earth once a month. As it does so, it seems to change shape. This is because people on the Earth can see only the part of the Moon that is lit by the Sun. The sunlit part changes as the Moon circles our planet.

Neil Armstrong, Micaheal Collins and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin were the first men on the moon

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Gravity is a force which holds things to the Earth’s surface and prevents them from flying. Isaac Newton, an English scientist was one of the first to study and write about this force. The story goes that Newton was sitting under an apple tree in his garden when an apple fell down on his head. “Why didn’t it float up into the sky?” he thought. Isaac Newton realised that there is a strong force, which pulls things towards the Earth. This force is called gravity and it is measured in NEWTONS – in honour of Isaac Newton. When you jump up into the air, the force of gravity pulls you back down again. Gravity pulls you down to earth and allows you to walk instead of floating away in space. The force of Gravity is found throughout the universe. The Sun’s gravity pulls the Earth and the Earth’s pulls on the moon. The moon orbits around the earth and the earth orbits around the Sun. Gravity is that force of nature that pulls things like planets and human beings together instead of floating around.

This is a nice place in the shade.

Ouch! I wonder! Why should things fall in a straight line down to earth or in this case on my head?!

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As you might have learnt already, the planets in our solar system have their specific colours which make them recognizable. Colour in the planets with the correct colours, then cut along the dotted lines and create your own chart of the solar system.

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