Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Geographical Investigation

On the Way to School

Every day, around the world, children embark on incredible journeys just to get
to school. For them there is no easy stroll to a school bus stop - or an air-
conditioned ride in a parent's car. Some walk for miles. Others scale mountain
paths or cross dangerous bridges. Many take boats or ride animals to reach their
classrooms. These daily journeys were the inspiration for a documentary film,
which is about to be released in the United States. On The Way To School tells the
stories of four children who know that education is the pathway to a brighter
future.

 Samuel, 11, from India, who is pushed in a makeshift wheelchair for more
than two miles a day by his brothers. He hopes to become a doctor.
 Zahira, 12, from Morocco, who walks and hitchhikes almost 14 miles
through mountains. She also wants to be a doctor.
 Jackson, 10, from Kenya, who dodges armed gangs and elephants as he
runs nine miles to school with his six-year-old sister; he dreams of
becoming a pilot.
 Carlito, 11, from Argentina, who rides a horse 11 miles each morning. He
wants to become a vet.

Source: http://www.aworldatschool.org/news/entry/childrens-amazing-
journeys-to-school-featured-in-film-1547,

1
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 1 Locating selected countries

An absolute location pinpoints a place on the Google Earth using its latitude
and longitude coordinates, e.g. Uluru is located at latitude 25° 20’ 24” South,
longitude 131° 3’ 36” East.

A relative location describes the location of a place in relation to another point

or place, e.g. Uluru is southwest of Alice Springs.

Task 1
Take the four countries: India, Morocco, Kenya and Argentina
a) Add the capital city of each country in the first column.
b) Record the absolute location of each capital city. Use Google Earth or
Google Maps to help you. If you cannot find it there, search it on Google.
c) Record the relative location of each country to Hong Kong.

Capital city of Absolute location of capital Relative location

country to Hong Kong

Latitude Longitude

2
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 2 Collecting and recording data

Task 2: Access the following website to help you complete the table below:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ar.html

Click on the link “Please select a country to view”, select a country you want to
search then click “Geography” for the following information.

Characteristics Argentina India Kenya Morocco

Geographic
coordinates
Total Land area

Climate

Three natural
resources

Two countries
that border it

3
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 3: Climate

Task 4: Access the following website for information about the climate in Nakuru
in Kenya

https://www.safaribookings.com/kenya/climate

Plot the information for Temperature (average min and average max) on the
following grid. Make sure that you have two axes: Celsius (C°) and Fahrenheit
(F°)

4
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Below you will find the average rainfall figures and Temperature in °C for Nakuru
in Kenya

Task 5: Comment on the relationship you see between the temperature and
average rainfall in Nakuru during the period January to June

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

5
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 4: Population
Task 6: Population Map of Morocco

From the map above, you can see that most coastal areas have a high population
per square kilometer than the more inland areas.

Question: Explain two reasons as to why this is the case

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

6
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 5: Economic Resources

Task 7: Resource map of Argentina

To extract these shale resources (oil and gas) the developers will need to pump
water at high presssure into the earth to break the underlying rock which allows
the shale resources to escape. However, water is also needed for human
consumption and agriculture.

7
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

The following is a graphic about water resource availability in Argentina (the

higher the water stress, the less water available for different uses)

Question: Will any of the four areas (Chaco-Parana; Vaca Muerta; San Jorge and
Australian Magallanes) suffer from high water stress if shale resource
development goes ahead?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

8
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

Section 6: Economic and Social Statistics

Task 8: Read the information in the table below:

Nations Income per Government Average Average

person in the expenditure years of years of
country on education schooling schooling
(US$) (as a % of (males) (females)
total country
income)
Argentina 17297 5.8% 9.6 years 10 years
India 5150 3.3.% 5.6 years 3.2 years
Kenya 2158 6.7% 7.1 years 5.4 years
Morocco 6905 5.4% 5.6 years 3.2 years
Hong Kong 52383 3.4% 10.3 years 9.8 years

Questions

1. Rank the five nations in terms of income per person in decending order i.e
the nation with the highest income per person to the lowest income per
person

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2. Give two reasons to explain the following: despite the government of Kenya
spending 6.7% of the country’s income on education, income per person is only
US$2158

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

9
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

3. Give two reasons to explain the fact that in both India and Morocco, males
attend school on average for 5.6 years whereas females only attend school,
on average, for 3.2 years.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

4. In the documentary, On the Way to School, Samuel, Zahira, Jackson and

Carlito had a lot of difficulty getting to school in the morning. However,
they all have dreams of becoming either a doctor, pilot or vet. What could
people in rich nations like Hong Kong do to help children in these countries
fulfill their dreams?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

10
Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Class______________________

5. Write a reflection on what you have learned in this investigation

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

11