Tecchilaw - The School and its Immediate Surroundings

Children are the most important treasure in our society. The child receives his basic education to mould his life from his childhood, from his parents and elders in the family. As the child grows, the school becomes the formal institution that provides education. There is a large number of schools in Sri Lanka. They are located in rural, urban, hilly and coastal environments.

Identifying the Location of a School

It may be easy for you to answer if someone asks the name of the village or the town in which the school is located. However, it is not that easy to answer when someone asks the location of your school according to the administrative division.

The location of your school in the divisional administrative hierarchy

Observe figure 1.1. The Grama Niladhari Division is the smallest administrative unit in which the school is located. The Grama Niladhari Division is made up of one or more villages.

There can be several Grama Niladhari Divisions in a city. Every Grama Niladhari Division has a number and a name. There may be several Grama Niladhari Divisions in a Divisional Secretariat.

A district constitutes a collection of several Divisional Secretariat Divisions. Two or more districts make a province which is the largest administrative division in the country.

Observe Map 1.1. Letter ‘X’ indicates the location of the Dikwela National School. You too can get a similar map from the Grama Niladhari of the Grama Niladhari Division to which your school belongs.

Marking the Location of the School on a Map of Sri Lanka

Map 1.2 indicates the districts and the provinces in Sri Lanka

Normally, we use the name of the educational division, zone, district and the province along with the name of the school to indicate the identity of the school.

Shape of the Land of the School

Figure 1.2 shows a location of a school premises. The parapet wall and the fence indicate the boundaries of the land. We can identify the shape of the land with the help of the boundaries. The picture shows buildings in the school premises, a bank and roads located close to the school.

Figure 1.3 shows the plan of that school premises. Letter ‘X’ indicates the Grade six class in the plan. All the features shown in figure 1.2 are marked on the plan using different symbols. Compare the picture and the plan to identify the differences.

Identification of the Direction

Indication of the direction is important when drawing a plan. We use a compass to find the direction correctly. Use the compass at school and find out the direction of North of the classroom. You can identify other directions as well, when you identify the North.

You can identify the directions according to the direction of the sunrise in the morning, if a compass is not available. When you stand facing the rising sun, stretching your hands, your right hand points to the direction of the South. The opposite direction to which your left hand is pointed, is the North. Accordingly, you can identify the other directions. Here, you can see your shadow behind you. Look at figure 1.5.

Indicating the Directions of Some Selected Places from the School

Figure 1.6 shows two models that indicate directions.

Weather Conditions of the Immediate Surroundings of the School

Weather conditions found in various environments may vary from each other. Accordingly, there may be weather conditions such as warm, dry, rainy, windy and misty

The weather condition found in a particular place may differ from the weather condition of another place. Although we identify different weather conditions in various places, they may change during the day. The reason for this is, that the nature of weather is not always the same. You can understand that the nature of the morning environment gradually changes, by the diffrences that you feel as well as by your observations of the surroundings. See figure 1.7.

Change of weather conditions according to time and place is its nature. The weather report telecast daily after the news on television reveals information about weather changes in different places. Study the following weather report carefully.

During the last 24 hours ending at 9 a.m. today, the maximum rainfall of 200 mm was reported from Katunayaka, while the maximum temperature of 30o C was reported from Trincomalee. The minimum temperature of 12o C was reported from Nuwara Eliya. There will be heavy rains in the West, South and western slopes of the central hills during the next 24 hours due to South Western winds.

The Department of Meteorology is located at Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo and there are many regional meteorological centres throughout the island connected to it.

The Department of Meteorology prepares the weather report on the basis of data, collected daily about the weather elements from various centres. At present, there are advanced equipment to measure the weather elements. Find out whether there is such a centre located in the immediate surroundings of your school.

You too can make some equipment in the classroom to measure weather conditions. Using those equipment, observe the nature of the weather in the immediate surroundings of your school and understand the differences.

Temperature

Temperature is the main element of weather.
The sun provides temperature and heat.
Using a thermometer, we can measure temperature. Temperature is measured by units of Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees.
Dry weather conditions occur when there is extreme solar heat and temperature.

Rainfall (Precipitation)

Water that is in oceans, on land and in plants turn into vapour due to the heat of the sun.
This water vapour rises up in the atmosphere.Then it cools and condenses.
Clouds are formed with the condensation of water vapour. We receive rain through this process.
We can measure rain using a rain gauge. Rain is measured in millimetres.

Wind

When you observe the environment, you can see moving leaves and branches of trees.You can also feel the cold.
It happens as a result of the blowing wind.
The branches of trees bend in the direction of wind.
The wind that blows at a higher speed is called a storm. The wind that blows with a lesser speed is called a breeze.
The wind direction indicator shows the direction of the wind.
The anemometer is used to measure the speed of wind. ù² It is measured in kilometres per hour.

Clouds

When you observe the sky, you can see clouds of different shapes and colours. (figure 1.12)
You can see the nature of clouds when you observe them.
Before rain, you can see thick dark clouds in the sky.
When there are no clouds, the sky is clear and blue.

According to the above information, you can collect data related to weather in the immediate surroundings of your school using different types of equipment and observations.

The weather elements, the equipment and the units used to measure them are shown in table 1.1. Study them well.

With the knowledge about the weather,

You can plan your day to day activities properly.
Damages to life and property can be prevented as information about the areas with threats of cyclones, floods and land slides as well as periods of lightning and thunder are informed beforehand.
Fishermen and farmers will be able to engage in their activities successfully.

Landscape of the Immediate Surroundings of the School (Sketch Map)

The landscape of the immediate surroundings of the school constitutes various geographical features. They can be categorized as natural features and man made features.

The immediate surroundings of your school may be urban or rural. Schools are located in various environments such as mountainous, coastal, cultivated areas and areas close to rivers and tanks.

Figure 1.3 shows a landscape of the immediate surroundings of a school.

There is a clear difference between the picture and the sketch map.
Some features in the picture are shown three dimensionally.
Those features in the map are shown as plain figures.
Shape, distance and location of geographical features can be shown clearly in a map than in a picture.