Class discussion takes place on
"what we did to solve the mystery" (this may need teacher prompting or
leading). Students record this on paper. This is metacognition; encouraging
reflection and awareness of the students' own thinking so that they can take
greater control of it. Allow enough lesson time for this vital process.
CLUES
1 This year's World Cup will be the ultimate test
of Fifa's commitment to spreading the football gospel to every corner of the
globe. (The Guardian, 2.1.02)
2 It was always controversial to award the game's
most glittering prize to anyone outside the major football playing nations. (The
Guardian, 2.1.02)
3 Sharing the World Cup between two neighbouring
countries united only in a hatred for each other.
(The Guardian, 2.1.02)
4 There is the threat of monsoons in May and June.
(The Guardian, 2.1.02)
5 We already know that the stadiums will be the
most modern for any World Cup. (The Guardian, 2.1.02)
6 A long way from anywhere Awaji Island, chosen
for England's home away from home. No nightclubs, no karaoke clubs, no press
hotels, just one pleasant resort and a couple of football pitches.
(Daily Telegraph, 17.10.01)
7 South Korea sees the World Cup as a launch pad
for a new image of their country. 1.75 million people will visit during the
World Cup.
(TES Korea Special, 2.11.01)
8 No 'man bites dog' for the World Cup. Fifa
expressed concerns over animal welfare/abuse with canine consumption. South
Korea has promised action.
(The Guardian, 7.11.01)
9 Breakfast in the boozer to watch World Cup
games. Pubs can apply for a licence to open at 6 a.m.
(The Guardian, 3.11.01)
10 Japanese organisers expect 365,000 people to
visit the country during the World Cup and 2.3 million people are expected to
travel between South Korea and Japan. (The Guardian, 10.1.02)
11 Japanese organisers expect the tournament to
generate £17.5 billion if their team makes it to the last eight and £17 billion
if it does not.
(The Guardian, 10.1.02)
12 Dr. Stefan Szymanski, an economics professor,
said most tournaments do not make a profit and the benefits are mainly cultural
and social. It is mainly private companies who benefit, not governments. (The
Guardian, 10.1.02)
13 We'll all be up for the cup at 7.30 a.m. Kick
off madness morning matches spark sickie alert over fans. (The Sun, 7.9.01)
14 Uneasy bedfellows offer Eastern promise at a
price (only for those with the odd £400 to spare). (The Times, 8.10.01)
15 The World Cup could be scrapped over fears of a
terror attack. Insurance giants AXA want £1.2 billion to cover the event. (Daily
Star, 13.10.01)
16 The Nisshin Fire and Insurance Company is to
sell hooligan insurance to shop owners in Yokohama.
(The Japan Times, 10.6.01)
17 South Korea's secret weapon against football
hooligans - a specially trained command unit trained in the art of Tae-kwando.
(The Observer, 17.6.01)
18 Japan's World Cup organisers have been battered
by recession, exchange rates and the co-hosting with South Korea which receives
half the revenue and many extra costs. Japan's finances have been stretched by a
£3 million hike in security budget since September 11th. (The Guardian, 12.1.02)
19 There are no J-League teams to fill three of
the stadium when the greatest show folds up and moves on. (The Guardian, 2.1.02)
20 £4 billion White Elephants. Host cities have no
use for the stadia after 2002. (The Daily Mail, 12.10.01)
21 Tokyo international airport is having an
interim runway built. Flights between Japan and South Korea are being increased.
Infrastructure is being upgraded e.g. a new station at Shizuoka stadium
(Japan in Focus, Autumn / Winter 01)
22 The influx of people will impact on the
environment e.g. litter and waste disposal.
(Japan in Focus, Autumn / Winter 01)
23 Accommodation should not be a problem in the
larger venues but in the smaller cities like Oita, people may need to seek
accommodation in nearby Beppu city and Yufuin, a mountain resort.
(Japan in Focus, Autumn / Winter 01)
24 Japan and South Korea are used to referring to
each other as the nearest but most distant country.
(Japan Times, 13.6.01)
25 Japan and South Korea seek a tourist boom,
looking to capitalise on the World Cup. Central to the plan is an Asian Big Bang
especially from China.
(Japan Times, 17.5.01)
26 Tokyo and Seoul strive to revive relations
before the World Cup. (Japan Times, 13.6.01)
27 Has Fifa chosen to ignore the lesson of 1994
when it awarded the competition to the USA, another heathen where football is
concerned?
(The Guardian, 2.1.01)
28 World Cups are enriched by over achieving
underdogs, and it would be lovely to believe South Korea could emulate the feat
of their North Korean cousins in 1966. (The Guardian, 2.1.01)
29 Fifa's agenda was to give automatic places to 2
smaller footballing nations who otherwise might not have qualified to extend the
footballing family, to make it a real World Cup.
(The Guardian, 2.1.01)
30 When B. Douglas knocked out M. Tyson in Japan
in 1990, the audience maintained complete silence, as if in a piano recital.
Their football supporters are equally quiet, meeting together to practice
chanting and singing. They are likely to tell a side thrashed 6 - 0, "thank you
very much, you tried your hardest". (The Guardian, 2.1.01)
In the past my students have found such a mystery to have been motivating and
enjoyable. In discussing what they had done, they identified the elements of
good co-operative work; listening with an open mind, discussing and sharing
ideas and writing and recording the group's ideas and work. They became aware
that such a mystery can have many answers and, like so much in geography, the
answers are multicausal, and usually neither black or white.
Such conclusions give us as educators an insight
into how students think and learn, and provide the students with scaffolding for
their future thinking and learning processes. Our students learn that they know
more than they think, and that they can think more than they know.
Stephen Schwab. Head of Humanities and Geography, Neston High School,
Cheshire.