Dessert 2-1 / BEHIND THE SCENES / Day 1 of 1
GENERAL AIMS
- Video about possible risks of radiation people might be exposed to from cellphones
- Students learn vocabulary, watch video, answer questions and follow up with a discussion
STEP SUMMARY
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A |
Setting The Scene |
Introduction / Pre-teach vocabulary |
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B |
Watch Video |
Students watch video and answer questions |
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C |
Discuss |
Discussion in groups |
RECOMMENDED LEVELS
Upper intermediate +
ACTIVITY TIME
30+ minutes
MATERIALS
- Board, screen or flip chart
- Handouts for class:
HO1 vocabulary, comprehension Qs & discussion themes
SPECIAL NOTES
– Note 1
– Note 2
Quickpage
Class Plan
PART A: SETTING IT UP
| A | STEP 1 | SETTING IT UP INVOLVING THE STUDENTS CELLPHONE RADIATION | |
| a) | Ask the students how far from the body they hold or carry their cellphone. (Ask the class as a whole or take a quick survey.) |
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| b) | Ask them if they think it’s dangerous to carry or use the cellphone close to their body. | ||
| A | STEP 2 | SETTING IT UP INTRODUCE THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |
| a) | Tell the students that they are going to watch a video about cellphones. The extracts they will be watching are from a programme informing people about the possibly cancer-causing radiation they can receive if they don’t take precautions. In the video the presenter asks people in the street if they can find the health warnings that are supposed to be in all cellphones. Then some of the current ways of testing for radiation and its effects are shown & followed up with some ideas of what could be done to reduce the risks & informing the people better. | ||
| A | STEP 3 | SETTING IT UP PRETEACH VOCABULARY CELLPHONE RADIATION | |
| a) | Give the students the handout. | ||
| b) | Go over the vocabulary in the top vocabulary box (eliciting &/or providing explanations and examples). | ||
| A | STEP 4 | SETTING IT UP CONSIDER THE QUESTION CANCER CAREFREE | |
| a) | Have the students look at the first question Q1 – How far away do you think you should carry your cellphone? |
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| b) | Elicit possible answers from the class. (ex: “in my back pocket is ok say” or “I always keep it in my purse/bag”) |
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| NOTE: There are 9 question sets to answer on the worksheet. Feel free to skip some if you think there are too many. | |||
PART B: THE VIDEO
The video is over 20 minutes long and if you wish to play the entire video that’s fine. To save some time the following questions focus on particular sections only, allowing you to skip various parts. The ‘Replay’ times below refer to the sections which contain the answers to the questions. If you wish to cut down on time (saving some 15 minutes), you can follow the suggested ‘Play’ sections which focus more directly on the questions and the related themes around them and repeat the ‘Replay’ part to confirm the answers.
| B | STEP 1 | QUESTION 1 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q1 | Play | 0’00 – 1’38 | Play until you see the journalist dressed in a white top when she was 20 years younger. | ||
| Pause | 1’38 | Ask the students to answer the first question.
Q1—How far should you carry the phone away from your body? |
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| Replay | 0’52 – 1’12 | Repeat this part so students can check their answers. | |||
| Pause | 1’12 | After they have read what is written you could also ask them if that is the distance they usually carry their phones. | |||
| Answer to Q1:
5-15 millimetres (at least 5 mm) is the official guideline set by governmen |
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| B | STEP 2 | QUESTION 2 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q2 | Pause | 5’41 | 3 top brands are going to be tested. Ask the class if they know what they are before seeing this part of the video. Q2—What are the top 3 brands that you think will be tested? |
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| Play | 5’41 – 6’25 | Students listen for the information. | |||
| Pause | 6’25 | Students try to say all three products. | |||
| Replay | 6’10 – 6’25 | If it was a little difficult for them, you can repeat this part to help them. | |||
| Answer to Q2:
Samsung Galaxy LG 5 iPhone 7 |
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| B | STEP 3 | QUESTION 3 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q3 | Pause | 6’38 | Students look at the two gap-fill sentences before watching this section about some preparations being made to test cellphones for their radioactive levels. Q3—Check out the Answers section below to see the two sentences. |
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| Play | 6’38 – 7’23 | Students watch video and try to fill in the 4 gaps. | |||
| Replay | 6’38 – 7’16 | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary.
Note: If it’s difficult for the students, play one more time after they know the answer, so it can be reinforced. (Students are then in a better position to recognize the answer being spoken.) You can follow this procedure for all ‘Replays’. |
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| Answers:
● (6’38 – 6’50) The wand is looking for the highest amount of electric field coming into the tissue, which is supposed to represent what happens inside the brain. |
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| B | STEP 4 | QUESTION 4 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q4 | Pause | 7’48 | Wendy interviews an expert. Q4—How is a child’s brain affected differently than an adult’s when using a cellphone? |
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| Play | 7’48 – 8’19 | Students watch video and try to answer the question. | |||
| Replay | 8’05 – 8’19 | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. | |||
| Answer:
A much bigger area of radiation is absorbed in the brain of a 5-year-old child. |
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| B | STEP 5 | QUESTION 5 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q5 | Pause | 8’59 | Students read the 4 questions below, then watch this section about a study done on rats exposed to low levels of radiation, similar to what is emitted by cellphones. #1- How much did it (the study) cost? #2- How big was it compared to other research? #3- What year were the results released? #4- The scientists expected that there would be no risk to health from the cellphones. Were they right? |
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| Play | 8’59 – 9’40 | Students watch video and try to answer the 4 questions. | |||
| Replay | 8’59 – 9’40 | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. Before watching it the second time, students could compare their answers with the person next to them. | |||
| Answers:
1- $25 million 2- the largest the US had ever done 3- 2016 (last year) 4- No, they were astonished to find such an increase in highly malignant aggressive tumours of the brain and heart. |
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| B | STEP 6 | QUESTION 6 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q6 | Pause | 12’19 | Students look at the three gap-fill sentences before watching this section about some recent discoveries about cellphone radiation. Q6—Check out the Answers section below to see the three sentences. |
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| Play | 12’19 – 12’35 | Students watch video and try to fill in the 4 gaps. | |||
| Replay | 12’19 – 12’35 | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. | |||
| Answers:
●Many doctors and scientists are concerned about cellphone use because they are constantly |
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| B | STEP 7 | QUESTION 7 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q7 | Pause | 12’35 | Students look at a chart and predict by circling Q7—What distance the 3 companies use when testing for radiation of their own products and whether or not the results are within the acceptable safety limits when tested independently. |
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| Play | 12’35 – 13’52 | Students watch video to check how accurate their predictions were. | |||
| Replay | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. | ||||
| 12’57 – 13’17 | (the distances for the 3 companies) | ||||
| 13’46 – 13’52 | (if the results were acceptable) | ||||
| Answers:
(12’57 – 13’17) Apple – 5 mm LG – 10 mm Samsung – 15 mm |
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| B | STEP 8 | QUESTION 8 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q8 | Pause | 14’11 | This part is about the (possible) consequences of wearing the cell phone too close to the body. Q8—What can happen to men who keep it in their pants pocket? (2 things) AND —What happened to a young woman who kept it in her bra? |
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| Play | 14’11 – 15’20 | Students watch video and try to answer the questions. | |||
| Replay | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. | ||||
| 14’34 – 14’40 | (men) | ||||
| 15’03 – 15’20 | (young woman) | ||||
| Answers:
(14’34 – 14’40) 1-lowered sperm count 2-poorer sperm quality |
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| B | STEP 9 | QUESTION 9 USING THE VIDEO CELLPHONE RADIATION | |||
| Q9 | Pause | 15’40 | A new experiment was carried out to find out how much radiation is detected if the cellphones are worn the way the normally are, and not how it is recommended. (Remember from Question #7 that all 3 brands were within the safety limits of radiation when placed 5 or more mm away from the body.) Q9—What were the results if phones were tested like how people use them? |
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| Play | 15’40 – 16’12 | Students watch video for the results. | |||
| Replay | 15’40 – 16’01 | Repeat this part once or twice if necessary. | |||
| Answers:
All products exceeded the safety limits. The radiation increased 3 to 4 times. |
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DST 2-1 Cellphone Radiation
PART C: DISCUSSION
| C | STEP 1 | DISCUSSION STUDENTS DISCUSS THE 3 THEMES CELLPHONE RADIATION | |
| a) | Place the students into new groups of 3 or 4 and have them discuss the three questions. Encourage them to give reasons for their points of view, to respond to the other people’s comments, and to explore the themes. | ||
| C | STEP 2 | DISCUSSION OPTIONAL (DIFFERENT) FOLLOW-UPS CELLPHONE RADIATION | |
| a) | ∙Monitor the various groups, taking note of grammatical, lexical and pronunciation difficulties. Write them on the board and go over them with the students after the discussion.
∙After a set time limit of 10 minutes (for example) or after the speaking has reached its peak, elicit different comments and perspectives from the class. ∙Monitor the groups and if you find that there are a number who agree with the statement and a number who don’t, organize them into two teams for a debate. |
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