Rationale
The students of Mt. Pleasant high school live on the east foothills of San Jose, CA. On average San Jose receives 257 days of sunny weather. During summer vacation, the temperature fluctuates between 57 ℉ to 82 ℉ throughout the day.2 With more than 8 months of sunshine many high school students seek jobs in the local water park. Students flock to Raging Waters where they can work to earn a wage to assist their parents with their own income or simply provide the necessities for themselves. With the ever-rising price of housing in San Jose, students eagerly seek to become the next lifeguard or water-slide operator in the dry heat of the summer months. At the opening of school, students return to school having toiled and baked for weeks, sporting their freshly tanned and taut skin. What my students do not realize as they earn a minimum wage is the cost they are paying each time they forget to wear or reapply sunblock. For many, radiation has already done its damage.
Over the course of three weeks, Anatomy and Physiology students will understand the impact of the sun’s energy on their skin and on their DNA. They will contrast the radiation from the sun to nuclear radiation. As the unit progresses, students will learn that radiation, for all its faults, benefits us all. By completing this unit, student will articulate why and how radiation is everywhere!
Comments: