The ball of the century

• Ask students to collect information about the cricketing achievements of Shane Warne. Record this information on date/event fact cards and use them to develop a timeline of 'Warnie's' career in cricket.
• Ask students to find out about the 'Magnus effect' in spin bowling, and practise trying to achieve it. Look at 'Why a Cricket Ball Swings' on The Creek, http://www.wccc.org.au/xtracover/whyballswings.htm

• Ask students to create a diorama about Shane Warne. Use images, models of cricket gear, and written facts to make a tribute to this famous cricketer. Have students develop a chant that they would have used if they were present at a game in the 1993 Ashes series.
• Ask students to select an Australian sporting legend from a different sport. Students can create a short biography of the sportsperson and present their research as poster with images and text. Combine the posters in a 'Hall of fame' to be displayed in the classroom.

Student Activity Sheet H2.6: 'Hall of fame' poster

• Ask students to investigate the development of electronic technology that captures moving image and sound. For example, students could look at the evolution of technology that captures images from the camera to be stored on film video cassettes, DVDs, compact discs or other digital files. Use a timeline to plot significant developments so that students can assess the rate of change in more recent times. Discuss how technology impacts on the way we live. Ask students to consider the environmental effects of technological advances.

• Ask students to investigate technologies that were available to households in 1898, 1948 and 1998. They are to compare how available technology would have affected the lives of children in each of these years. Ensure students include the invention of the VCR in their research. The information can be presented electronically or on a poster.

Student Activity Sheet H2.7: Technology through time

• Sport is a universal activity that crosses age, race and religion. Mohammed and his grandmother have much in common as they use the video recorder to replay Warnie's 'ball of the century' at Old Trafford in Manchester.
• Survey the class to find out who understands what Mohammed and his grandmother are talking about when they discuss the finer points of cricket.
• Discuss how Mohammed and his grandmother (who is not Muslim) share an interest. Ask if any students in the class share a strong interest with someone in their family or circle of friends. Discuss why this might be important. Ask students to think about an interest they could share with someone else, and what they could do to find someone to share it with.
• List the specialised cricket terminology used in this clip such as leg break, thrusting left pad, dislodging bales, straight down the pitch, Old Trafford. Ask an expert from the class or the school to explain the finer points of cricket and its scoring rules to the class.

• Have students work in small groups to research a sport or hobby they are passionately interested in and then make a presentation to the class about the activity and their achievements in it. They should include specialist language and terms, information about favourite or well-known players or participants, titles of books on the subject, statistics on who is interested in the activity, and reasons why such an activity appeals to people.

Student Activity Sheet E2.6: Research a sport or hobby