Health Question

Mobile Phone Health Question

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Hazards

A hazard is something that may be dangerous or harmful (cause damage).
Synonyms for the word hazard are; risk, or threat. In the table fill in the possible health hazards associated with each activity.

Activity	Hazards
Smoking
Drinking alcohol
Taking drugs
Eating too much fast food
Not exercising
Using a mobile phone

B: Graphs

1. As a class, make a column graph that shows how many people in your class have mobile phones and how many people do not. Discuss what the graph shows you.

2. As a class now try to make a column graph showing the length of time each person in your class has had a mobile phone. (Count from the first day you got your first mobile phone.)Write down at least two facts the graph tells you.

3. Make a graph showing the length of time each person in your class uses a mobile phone over a week. Write down at least two facts the graph tells you.

Reading Activities

A: Headline Prediction

In pairs, read the headline of today's article and decide what type of text the article might be. What are the reasons for your answer?

Mobile Phones May Do Harm by Speeding Up Brain

I think this article will probably be...(choose the best answer)

1. ...an argument.
2. ...a report that gives information.
3. ...an explanation.
4. ...a narrative or story about an event.
5. ...a report that gives a problem and a solution.
6. ...a report that gives instructions.

B: Comprehension and Vocabulary

Today's article has been divided into sections. Read each section of the article and answer the sets of questions. (There is a short glossary of words at the end of each part. Only use the glossary if you cannot work out the meaning of a sentence.)

Questions for Part One:

1. Where was the conference held?
2. What research question do you think the six studies were trying to answer?
3. What did the studies find out?
4. Are scientists certain that people will become ill if they use their cellphones over a long period of time? (Give reasons for your answer.)

5. True or False: Attitudes among British scientists towards mobile phones are changing.
6. Choose the correct answer: Cellphones radiate...

a. light waves.
b. magnetic waves.
c. sound.
d. radio frequency signals.
e. none of the above.

7. What type of health hazards do consumers think may be caused by using cellphones over a long period of time?
8. What have studies from other European countries shown?

Part One

Mobile Phones May Do Harm by Speeding Up Brain
By Lucas van Grinsven

LONDON Friday September 21 (Reuters) - Mobile phones may cause damage to health by speeding up the brain's response times, a British scientist told a conference on Friday.

As consumer concerns mount that prolonged mobile phone use could lead to problems ranging from headaches to tumors, a recent study showing an alarming rate of brain cancer in some cellphone users is helping swing scientific opinion in Britain.

Dr. Alan Preece, head of Biophysics at Bristol Oncology Center, is among a group of scientists becoming increasingly convinced that radiation from cellphones triggers chemical processes in the body that may be harmful.

Six separate studies now indicate that response times speed up when people are exposed to radio frequency signals from mobiles phones.

“Perhaps we now have to accept there is an effect on the brain,'' Preece told a London conference on the health risks of mobile phones. `` The chronic exposure to radio frequency signals might well have a detrimental (health) effect.''

Other research from Sweden and Switzerland has indicated that radiation from mobile phone calls disturbs sleep.

(Continued.../)

Glossary:
mount - grow
swing - change/turn around
chronic - continual
detrimental - damaging

Questions for Part Two:

1. One study showed that 26 percent of analog phone users developed brain cancer. True or False?
2. In the study, the group that used cellphones and the control group both had a risk of getting brain cancer. True or False?
3. Analogue mobile phones are the most up-to-date kind of mobile phone. True or False?
4. The most modern digital phones do not give out radio frequency signals all the time. True or False?
5. James Lin thinks that mobile phone use is hazardous but he wants to find out how serious the risk is. True or False?
6. "The study has unsettled many scientists." How do you think the Swedish study has unsettled scientists?
7.What is one problem with the Swedish study?
8. What does Preece think this shows?

Part Two

(Continued.../) In a study not yet published in scientific literature, Swedish professors Lennart Hardell and Kjell Hansson Mild found that people who had used analog mobile phones for up to 10 years had a 26 percent higher risk of brain cancer than a control sample.

The study has unsettled many scientists -- even though it is based largely on a previous generation of mobile phones, many of which were installed in cars with aerials on the roof, and which emitted signals continuously, unlike the latest, digital phones.

``One can no longer go around saying there is no link (between cellphone use and health effects),'' Preece said.

``Without question there is a biological threat,'' agreed James Lin, Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering at the U.S. University of Illinois. ``The question is how hazardous mobile phone use is.''

But Lin said there were almost as many studies purporting to show a biological impact from mobile phone use as studies that indicated the opposite: ``Our understanding is still evolving. We need to have a much
larger database.''

He noted that it takes nearly a decade for most brain cancers to develop--longer than the period of use covered by most studies.

(Continued.../)

Glossary:
control sample - a group of people who had not used mobile phones over the same period of time.
emitted - gave out
purporting - claiming

Questions for Part Three:

Check your understanding of Part Three of the article by completing the following sentences. Use your own words.

1. The WHO believes that more research is needed to …(you continue)
2. Elizabeth Cardis believes that there is only a small chance …(you continue)
3. The British government supported a scientific investigation. The final result showed that even though mobile phones did not appear to be a health hazard …(you continue)

Part Three

(Continued.../) The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that more research was needed before damage to health could be ruled out.

However, Elisabeth Cardis, Chief of Radiation and Cancer at the WHO's International Agency for Research in Cancer, told a conference in Finland that any possible risk was small.

Last year, a British government-sponsored scientific inquiry concluded that while there was no evidence of a danger to health, it would be wise to discourage children from using mobile phones, because they were more susceptible to radiation.

Glossary:
ruled out - not considered any longer
susceptible - likely to be affected by

C: Check Your Guess

Go back to Reading Activity A and check your guess. Was it correct? If you need to change your answer, give reasons why.

D: Vocabulary

The words below are from today's article. Look at the words in context and decide which is the closest meaning; a, b or c. Do not use a dictionary!

E: Language

In this article, the words may or might are used to say that something is a possibility either now or in the future.
e.g. It may be true. It might be true.

The negative forms are may not and might not (mightn’t). For the past you can use may have or might have + past participle.

Part One: Complete the sentences using might / might not + one of the following verbs: be, do, make, change, develop or lead,

1.Don’t use your mobile phone too much. It ____________ you sick.
2. Be careful using your cell phone. You ____________ brain cancer.
3. After studying the Swedish research, some scientists __________ their beliefs about the hazards of mobile phones.
4. Cell phones are a health hazard. It ____________ the best idea to buy one for your grandchild as a birthday present.
5. Prolonged mobile phone use ____________ to serious health problems.
6. The study conducted by professors Lennart Hardell and Kjell Hansson Mild ____________ in Sweden.

Part Two: Write sentence using may / might or may not / might not. (Be careful with past tense forms.)
Example: Perhaps cell phones are harmful.
Answer: Cell phones might be harmful.

1. Perhaps Dr. Preece is a speaker at the conference.
2. Perhaps Dr. Preece is too busy to answer your questions.
3. “Perhaps we now have to accept there is an effect on the brain,” Preece said.
4. Perhaps the chronic exposure to radio frequency signals is not good for your health.
5. Perhaps Elizabeth Cardis isn’t right when she says that any possible risk was small.
6. Perhaps Dr. Preece spoke at the conference yesterday.

Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.

A: Summarizing and Speaking Fluency

1. Work in pairs. Read through the article once more.

2. Without looking at the article take it in turns to tell your partner in your own words what the article is about. Try and remember as much as possible. You can take as long as you need. As you speak, your partner times you and then tells you how long you spoke for. Your partner may not interrupt until you have finished speaking.

3. Now read the article again and choose another partner who has a watch. This time you must speak for a minute less. (For example, if you took 3 minutes the first time, you can only take 2 minutes this time.) Be careful not to leave out important information.

4. Repeat the process with a different partner.

B: Role play and Listening and Note-taking

Part 1: Work with a partner and prepare a role-play using the instructions below. When you are ready, present your role-play to the rest of the class.

Student A: Imagine you are the thirteen-year-old daughter / son of Dr Alan Preece. It is your birthday soon and the only thing you want is your own mobile phone. Student B is Dr Preece. You need to convince your dad to get you a cell phone for your birthday.

Student B: Imagine you are Dr Alan Preece. You have just completed a study that shows that cellphones may damage a person’s brain. Student A is your thirteen-year-old daughter / son. You know that your child really wants a cellphone for his/her birthday. What advantages are there (for both you and your child) if your child has his/her own cellphone? What is more important-the health hazards or the advantages? What will you give your child? Talk to your child about what you have decided.

Part 2: Watch all the roleplays. As you watch, make notes listing all the arguments used by the other students to support their points of view. (However, only write down new information. Do not repeat information as you take notes.)

Then compare your notes with other students.

C: Short Essay

Use the list of notes you made in Post-Reading Activity B to help you write a short essay of no more than one page.

The topic of the essay is...
" Discuss the arguments for and against children under the age of 17 using and owning cellphones.”

Conclude your essay with a paragraph that outlines your own opinion on this issue.

D: Health Brochure - (Reading and Writing)

Work in groups of three or four. Prepare a health brochure for people your age or teenagers.
The health brochure needs to warn people about the health hazards of one of the following activities:

- Smoking
- Drinking alcohol
- Taking drugs
- Eating too much fast food
- Not exercising
- Using a mobile phone

Each person should choose a different hazard related to the activity you choose. Put all your information onto a folded A4 sized piece of paper. Use pictures from magazines to illustrate your brochure, or draw your own if you wish.

Don’t forget to include on the back of the brochure the imaginary (or real) contact details of an organization that could help e.g. name of organization, phone number and e-mail address or web site.

Distribute your brochures around the class for other students to read. Which brochure appears to be the most popular? Have a quick class vote and find out why. (i.e. What is it about the brochure that appeals to the other students in your class?)

TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY

Pre-Reading Activities

A: Hazards - Notes

Give students a chance to share answers. You could offer some suggestions from the list below, if necessary.

A: Hazards - Suggested Answers

Activity Hazards
Smoking - heart disease, heart attack, early death, difficulties with breathing, difficulties with exercising, lung cancer, mouth cancer.
Drinking alcohol - heart disease, loss of memory, accidents, risk-taking behavior, unsafe sexual behavior, heart attacks, early death.
Taking drugs - brain damage, accidents, depression, addiction.
Eating too much fast food - obesity, heart attack, stroke, difficulties with breathing, heart problems.
Using a mobile phone - brain cancers, disturbed sleep, changes in the way the brain functions.

B: Graphs - Notes

Students could do all or some of these graphs.
If students in your class do not have mobile phones, just find out how long students spend using ordinary phones over a week instead.
If you are in a one to one or homeschooling situation, you could ask the student to survey people the day before you plan to do this lesson together (e.g. the student could interview family members, etc) and then prepare the graphs and answer the questions in class. (Compiling the graphs with your assistance, is a useful activity in itself.)

Reading Activities

A: Headline Prediction - Notes

(You do not need to tell students what the correct answer is at this stage.) They should be able to tell you why they chose one of the answers. They will have an opportunity to focus on their answer again in Reading Activity D.

A: Headline Prediction - Sample Answer

I think this article will probably be...a report that gives information because the heading sounds like the conclusion from a scientific experiment.

B: Comprehension and Vocabulary - Answers

Part One:
1. In London.
2. They were trying to find out whether the response times of the brain speed up when people are exposed to radio frequency signals from mobile phones.
3. There was an effect on the brain as the response times did speed up.
4. No. Scientists think that people have an increased chance of become ill. They cannot say for certain. (The article uses the words “could”, and “increasingly convinced” and “might well have” which shows that the results are not conclusive.)
5. True: Evidence from the article says “a recent study showing an alarming rate of brain cancer in some cellphone users is helping swing scientific opinion in Britain.” In addition, Dr Preece also states that “Perhaps we now have to accept there is an effect on the brain”.
6. d
7. Headaches and tumors - illnesses affecting the brain.
8. That RF signals from mobile phones interrupt sleep.

Part Two:
1. False-They has a 26% higher risk of brain cancer.
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. True
6. It has made scientists rethink their opinions about the health hazards of cellphones.
7. It was based on old analogue mobile phones, which are different from the newer mobile phones. The problem was that the old phones gave out RF signals all the time whereas the newer phones do not.
8. There is a clear connection between cellphone use and its effects on health.

Part Three: (Sample Answers)
1.The WHO believes that more research is needed before it can be said that cellphones do not damage your health.
2. Elizabeth Cardis believes that there is only a small chance that cellphones may damage your health.
3. The British government supported a scientific investigation. The final result showed that even though mobile phones did not appear to be a health hazard, children should not be using mobile phones because they are more likely to be affected by the radiation given off by phones.

C: Check Your Guess - Notes

At the end of the reading activities you may like to talk about what a report is (as opposed to an argument, explanation or narrative.)

C: Check Your Guess - Answer

2. a report that gives information

D: Vocabulary - Answers

1.response-b; 2.concerns-b; 3.scientific opinions-c; 4.indicate-c; 5.exposed to-c; 6.unsettled-a; 7.link-c.

E: Language - Notes

Could can be used in a similar way to say that something is possible now or in the future.

Some students will have difficulty with question 6 of Part One. They may not realize that the verb form needs to be passive.

E:Language - Answers

Part One:
1. Don’t use your mobile phone too much. It might make you sick.
2. Be careful using your cell phone. You might develop brain cancer.
3. After studying the Swedish research, some scientists might change their beliefs about the hazards of mobile phones.
4. Cell phones are a health hazard. It might not be the best idea to buy one for your grandchild as a birthday present.
5. Prolonged mobile phone use might lead to serious health problems.
6. The study conducted by professors Lennart Hardell and Kjell Hansson Mild might have been done in Sweden.

Part Two:
1. Dr. Preece may / might be a speaker at the conference.
2. Dr. Preece may / might be too busy to answer your questions.
3. “We may / might now have to accept there is an effect on the brain,” Preece said.
4. The chronic exposure to radio frequency signals may / might not be good for your health.
5. Elizabeth Cardis may / might not be right when she says that any possible risk was small.
6. Dr. Preece may / might have spoken at the conference yesterday.

Post-Reading Activities

A: Summarizing and Speaking Fluency - Notes

This is a noisy activity but helpful for encouraging fluency. Students in a one to one situation can still do this with you acting as timekeeper.

B: Role Play and Listening and Notetaking - Notes

Encourage students to prepare for the roleplay by rereading the article and listing the ideas they can use to argue their point of view.

In a one to one or homeschooling situation you can take one of the two roles. Leave out the listening / notetaking part of the activity and instead do, if you wish, Post-Reading Activity C.

C: Short Essay - Notes

Students should try to present an evenly balanced argument in the body of their essay. They should give attention to writing an introduction that outlines what they propose to write about, and a conclusion which summarizes their essay AND indicates their own opinion.

Tell your students you are going to pass the completed essays around the class to give them the opportunity to read and comment on each other's work, as students are usually more motivated to give careful attention to their writing if they know there is going to be a real audience at the end of the process.

D: Health Brochure - (Reading and Writing) - Notes

Once the students have finished their brochures, display them somewhere. You could possibly group brochures together that have the same theme. You may like to find out which brochure appears to be the most popular by having a quick class vote. Also get students to discuss why this brochure is the most popular. (i.e. what it is about the brochure that appeals to the other students.)

A student in a one-to-one or homeschooling situation could still produce a brochure. Work with the student to define what the specific aims will be.

010921hlte

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