Properly preparing ourselves
Marjorie Henry, Contributor

It is back to school again after a long (or maybe for some a short) summer holiday. At the outset, let me wish for you a productive year, particularly in your academic pursuits. Many of you may be students of geography in the 11th grade (5th form) and, therefore, will be writing external examinations at the end of the academic year. May I encourage you to be serious about your work and remain focus.

You all will agree that the performance of our athletes at the recently held IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin was outstanding. They realised that they could achieve great things and they went out and did just that. May you be inspired by this and in turn realise that you have the potential to achieve high standards academically and then set out to do it. Like, with our athletes, this will take some amount of sacrifice, commitment and dedication on your part, but, in the end, there is sweet reward.

In order to do well in geography, and ensure that you enjoy the sweet rewards, it is advisable to have in your possession:

• At least ONE good textbook. It is absolutely important to read your textbook and any other available material relevant to the topic you are doing. Reading not only informs you, but also makes you become aware of geographical terms and idioms. You are encouraged to use these terms and idioms when answering questions. Reading your geography textbooks also helps you in doing a proper analysis when you are doing your school-based assessment. Here are some recommended textbooks:
  (i) CSEC - New Integrated Geography by Sheldon G. Bleasdell et al
  (ii) Geography for CSEC by Jeanette Ottley et al
  (iii) The Caribbean Environment for CXC Geography by Mark Wilson
• A good geography dictionary. You are required to do definitions and these must be crisp, sharp and accurate. Your dictionary will certainly be useful here.
• A copy of the current geography syllabus. This you must read thoroughly and follow closely. Take it to classes at all times, along with your textbook.
• A geometry set which is useful for measurements when doing different skills, for example, those in map reading.
• A set of crayons and/or markers is also recommended since you are required to do diagrams especially for practical skills.

Since this is the first geography lesson in this study guide series, I would like to begin a discussion on the school-based assessment (SBA). Although the information is in the syllabus, I will still refer to it since it is unlikely that you will all have access to one. The SBA is a field study report that must be done by all students offering the subject at the general proficiency level. It constitutes 20 per cent of the total examination marks. If you follow the guidelines as stated in the geography syllabus for this field study, undoubtedly, you will realise the 40 marks that are allotted to the study. This is how the marks are distributed across the three profile dimensions:

Practical skills (P1) 10 marks

Knowledge and comprehension (P2) 10 marks

Use of knowledge (P3) 20 marks

For those of you who are in grade 11, you should have already done some preparatory work in the last school year, or at least be sensitised to the SBA and informed about the guidelines governing the successful completion of it. Here is a checklist of things that you should have done already:

1. Selected a topic

2. Decided on the aim or purpose of the study

3. Completed the strategy sheet

4. Carried out field trip(s) to study area to collect data

5. Constructed location maps

6. Conducted interviews

7. Administered questionnaires

I will discuss each of these in the lessons to come.

Chrishauna Christie, a sixth-form student at St George's College, assists a visually impaired man along his way on North Street in Kingston on Monday, September 7. Christie was heading to school after the summer break. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer