REEP - Water: Rivers Activities

THE GANGES

Find out more about the River Ganges and its role in Hindu thought.
Useful sites for pictures and information include:

http://www.cs.albany.edu/~amit/ganges.html
http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/asst001/spring98/ganges.htm
http://www.indiantemples.com/Ganga/ganga.html
This latter is part of a fascinating site on Indian temples.

Draw a map of the river from its origins in the Himalayas to its dissolution in the Bay of Bengal. Add information about:

- the cities along its routes
- sacred sites
- the ecosystems through which it flows
- some of the species that depend on it

(e.g. the Ganges River Dolphin - for information on this endangered freshwater dolphin visit http://www.cetacea.org/ganges.htm )

THE THREE GORGES DAM (For Older Students)

One of the most controversial current river damming schemes is that of the Three Gorges Dam in China.

- How much can pupils find out about this scheme?
- What benefits is it supposed to generate?
- What problems do its critics say it will create?
- How far can the answers to these questions be extended to other similar schemes?

To start your investigations, try the International Rivers Network site http://www.irn.org/

Listen to Smetana's tone poem 'Ma Vlast' ('My Country'). It explores the life of a river as it travels through the countryside of Bohemia (now known as Slovakia) countryside.

What sort of music would you choose to represent:
- a river you know?
- the Ganga?

Think of things like the tempo, the style of music, the dynamics - all adding up to the pictures you would like to create in people's minds.

THE LIFE OF A RIVER

Find out about the life of rivers in general - their 'Youth'; 'Middle Age' and 'Old Age'

- What characterises each stage of a river's life?

- Once you understand about how the 'ideal' river develops, investigate the life history of your own local river - the Tyne, the Avon, the Thames, the Tweed… How far does it fit the pattern?

- Draw a map of your own local river and annotate it as you did with the Ganges:
· what towns does it flow through?
· Are any of these places sacred sites (e.g. of pilgrimage?)
· Are any folk stories associated with particular places?
· Are there any special wild-life sites?

POEMS

The stages of a river's life parallel those of an individual human life. Explore this analogy.

Pupils could write a poem in three sections, in the voice of the river: "When I was young…", "When I was middle aged…", "Now I am old…"

Older pupils might also appreciate W.H Auden's 'River Profile' and use it as the basis for their work.

Rivers Stories

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