Summary
In this lesson, students will evaluate and argue the benefits and drawbacks of the use of different types of radiations for technological advances. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to evaluate published works' validity on technology associated with human health. This is a multimodality lesson, which means it includes face-to-face, online, and hybrid versions of the lesson. The attachments also include a downloadable Common Cartridge file, which can be imported into a Learning Management System (LMS) such as Canvas or eKadence. The cartridge includes interactive student activities and teacher's notes.
Essential Question(s)
How dangerous are electromagnetic waves to humans? Should we be concerned with the new technological advances of today?
Snapshot
Engage
Students create a claim and argue opposing viewpoints.
Explore
Students read an article on gamma rays and create a superhero based on the advantages and disadvantages of a particular ray.
Explain
Students read an article about the electromagnetic spectrum and identify key components of electromagnetic radiation (EMR).
Extend
Students explore the job of a Director of Medical Imaging in relation to electromagnetic radiation.
Evaluate
Students assess their level of understanding and determine the validity of published work on electromagnetic radiation in association with human health.
Instructional Formats
The term "Multimodality" refers to the ability of a lesson to be offered in more than one modality (i.e. face-to-face, online, blended). This lesson has been designed to be offered in multiple formats, while still meeting the same standards and learning objectives. Though fundamentally the same lesson, you will notice that the different modalities may require the lesson to be approached differently. Select the modality that you are interested in to be taken to the section of the course designed for that form of instruction.
Materials
Common Cartridge (attached)
Choose Your Superhero (attached, one per class)
Electromagnetic Radiation Superheroes Instructions (attached, one per student)
Electromagnetic Radiation Notes (attached, one per student)
Engage
20 Minute(s)
Have students review the essential questions: How dangerous are electromagnetic waves to humans? Should we be concerned with the new technological advances of today? Next, invite students to participate in a discussion board (in an LMS or elsewhere) with the C.E.R.T.I.Fy Your Thinking strategy. Have students write their claim, provide three points of evidence, and give comprehensive reasoning to the following prompt:
"Do you believe the radiation emitted by cell phones can cause harm to the human body? "
After students have created their initial posts with their claim, evidence, and reasoning, have students respond to two peers’ discussion posts that oppose their point of view. After students have responded, have them return to their post, read the responses, and revise their reasoning to state whether they still agree or disagree with their claim, including the justification for why.
Explore
30 Minute(s)
Invite students to create superheroes based on the seven types of electromagnetic waves. Share your prepared Choose Your Superhero sign-up sheet with students, and have each student sign up for a superhero of their choice.
Communicate the following procedure with students. This information may be embedded in an LMS or may be shared in a virtual classroom such as Google Classroom. It is also included in the attached Electromagnetic Radiation Superheroes Instructions handout.
Overview:
Now that we have discussed the pros and cons of cell phones and the energy they emit, let’s dive into other rays that produce energy around us. Today, we will be creating superheroes based on the seven types of electromagnetic waves. These rays can be non-ionizing, where they are not likely to cause significant damage to human cells, or ionizing, where they do cause significant damage. Your job is to choose an ionizing or non-ionizing ray and determine that ray’s level of destruction by creating a superhero.
Procedure
Sign up for your superhero using the Choose Your Superhero [Instructor note: add your link here] sign-up document. There can only be three individuals per ray.
Create a superhero associated with your ray.
Define that ray’s superpower and how much energy the superpower produces.
Determine how that superpower can be harmful and helpful to living organisms (animals, plants, fungi, bacteria).
Save, upload, and submit your drawing and write-up to be reviewed for feedback.
The seven rays students can illustrate are:
Non-Ionizing: radio, microwave, infrared, visible light
Ionizing: UV, X-ray, gamma
Each student should submit their drawing and write-up for you to review and give feedback.
Explain
50 Minute(s)
After students’ drawings and write-ups have been approved, invite students to do a storytelling of their illustration using Screencastify. Screencastify is a Chrome browser extension that provides options to record the screen, video, and audio.
Each student’s screencast needs to be 1-2 minutes long. Each student should define their ray and discuss what represents the advantage and disadvantage of the ray in their drawing. Students should post their finished screencast into the discussion board.
Once all students have posted their screencasts into the discussion board, distribute the following link to students: Electromagnetic Radiation Notes. (This link provides a separate copy to each student.) Once students have made personal copies of the handout, ask students to do a Gallery Walk and collect data from their classmates’ screencasts, recording notes in the table on the top half of the handout.
Next, direct students to the CK-12 20.3 Electromagnetic Spectrum article to read. Ask students, as they read, to complete the questions at the end of their Electromagnetic Radiation Notes handout. Once finished, have students save and submit their notes.
Extend
20 Minute(s)
The following activity can be used to add a career exploration element to this lesson.
Communicate the following procedure with students. This information may be embedded in an LMS or may be shared in a virtual classroom such as Google Classroom.
Today, we are going to learn about a profession that involves electromagnetic radiation on a daily basis. We are going to meet Mrs. Ashley Benard, a Director of Medical Imaging and Radiology Teacher.
Provide the ICAP - Call Me…Maybe? video to students. video to students:
Ask students to consider, as they watch the interview, the advantages and disadvantages they may learn about electromagnetic radiation and the type of technology that they use in Mrs. Benard’s line of work. Additionally, alert students to be prepared to answer two questions posed at the end of the video.
Do you believe that we have become more dependent on the technology that surrounds us every day?
Is it adding value to our lives physically, mentally, and emotionally? If so, how?"
Have students answer these questions and turn in their responses via your LMS or similar.
Evaluate
25 Minute(s)
Invite learners to use a quiz page in your LMS (or a similar method) with the Fist to Five strategy to evaluate their own mastery of the objectives.
Share the following objective statements and have students rate themselves on a scale of 0-5 for each:
I can evaluate and defend claims regarding the impact of cell phones.
I can correctly identify the advantages and disadvantages of different types of radiations.
I understand that longer wavelengths are absorbed as heat.
I understand that different waves have different energies that can impact human health.
Using the quiz format in your LMS (or similar), invite students to read Electro Schematics’s Mobile Cell Phone Radiation article and watch Veritasium’s "Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?" video. Have students answer the following quiz questions with 1-2 paragraphs apiece:
Does the radiation emitted by cell phones cause harm to the human body? Why or why not, using evidence from the activities completed for this lesson?
Do you still believe the resources you found as evidence to support your claim about cell phone radiation at the beginning of this lesson? Were those sources reliable based on what you have learned? Why or why not?
Resources
C-K12 Foundation. (2012, December 14). Electromagnetic Spectrum. https://www.ck12.org/book/ck-12-physical-science-for-middle-school/r1/section/20.3/
Cottonbro. (2020, June 2). Photo Of Person Holding Smartphone. Pexel. https://images.pexels.com/photos/4631067/pexels-photo-4631067.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=3&h=750&w=1260.
K20 Center. (2021, May 10). ICAP - Call Me...Maybe?. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kW5Lb89nqU
K20 Center. (n.d.). Fist to Five. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/68
K20 Center. (n.d.). Gallery Walk. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/118
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mentimeter. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/645
K20 Center. (n.d.). Google Drawings. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/629
K20 Center. (n.d.). Screencastify. Tech Tools. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/670
Mohan Kumar, D. (2014, January 05). Mobile cell phone radiation. https://www.electroschematics.com/mobile-phone-radiation/
Veritasium. (2015, February 03). Do cell phones cause brain tumors? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5XkhUGzBs
