SMOKE and CHOKE

A WebQuest for 8th Grade General Science

Introduction:

You've seen it before. A smoker who coughs uncontrollably but never stops smoking. You've asked yourself a thousand times, "Why not stop smoking?" As a whiz kid scientist, you have just taken on an investigative assignment to identify the negative effects that smoking has on the respiratory system. Once you complete "Smoke and Choke" training session, you will rid the world of all smokers forever. No, seriously you will use your new powers to inform smokers of the harmful effects smoking has on the lungs.

The Tasks:

As you are engaged in your training on the negative effects of smoking on the lungs, there are certain goals and objectives you must be meet. In order to receive your certification, the following tasks must be met with 80% efficiency:

mastery of quizzes,
mastery of vocabulary by way of defining and usage,
efficiency in writing essays on the respiratory system,
designing of two puzzles with respiratory graphic,
write a persuasive newspaper article using facts and informative information about the negative effects of smoking, and
able to define and spell terms related to the respiratory system.

The Process:

To accomplish your mission, the following sites must be accessed and clearly mastered. In order to satisfy your mission you should read the following information completely before venturing into the unfamiliar.

1. The site, Brain Pop Respiratory Movie, will allow you to see the day to day functions of the lungs. You will be able to ask questions about the lungs and get immediate feedback. There will be a quiz and a lab experiment that follows the presentation. You will have to answer the questions before advancing to the next step.
2. The Life Science Adventures is a journey into the world of the inner workings of the respiratory system. The student will be able to learn more about the hazardous effects that smoking has on the lungs. The students will be responsible for navigating through the site. Then type a one page summary and reflection paper. The next step will be to submit a drawing of the respiratory system with the parts label. After completing the aforementioned the students will then submit ten lung and smoking questions to the session labeled Laura and Paula.
3. Innerbody Quest allows you to look at the lungs from a surgeons point of view. This is a very powerful site that allows the student to operate on the lungs and tells them if their hands are sturdy enough to be a future surgeon. This quest has several vocabulary words that the student must know how to spell, define and adequately use in sentences.
4. Then the student will be able to create their own respiratory system puzzle on Discover Our Lungs Puzzle. They will be able to see and create different types of puzzles. They can also insert their on graphics into the grid. Students must use their vocabulary words from the previous site to create two different types of puzzle and one of the puzzles has to have some type of graphic designs that pertains to the respiratory system.
5.This site will allow you to read articles that doctors have reseached and found valuable information on diseases associated with smoking. You will have to go to My WebMD and read "What are the risks of smoking?"

The Evaluation:
Your grade will be evaluated by a rubric, which is a point valued grading scale listed below. Remember this is an individual assignment and you will be working at your own pace.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Recognize and label the respiratory system	Able to identify the respiratory system by drawing and labeling the system with 65% mastery.	Able to identify the respiratory system by drawing and labeling the system with 75% mastery.	Able to identify the respiratory system by drawing and labeling the system with 85% mastery.	Able to identify the respiratory system by drawing and labeling the system with 95% mastery.
Creating a puzzle with the vocabulary terms and graphics of the respiratory track	Use of half of the vocabulary words no graphics and one puzzle.	Use of half of the vocabulary words and graphics of system in one puzzle.	Use of the majority of the vocabulary words and graphics of system in two different types of puzzles.	Use of all vocabulary words and graphics of system in two different types of puzzles.
Clearly summarizing the information on the respiratory system	Completely summarizing the information on the respiratory system with 60 % efficiency.	Completely summarizing the information on the respiratory system with 70 % efficiency.	Completely summarizing the information on the respiratory system with 80 % efficiency.	Completely summarizing the information on the respiratory system with 90% efficiency.
Comprehension of the effects that smoking has on the lungs.	Quiz score of 69 or less.	Quiz score of 79 to 70 percent.	Quiz score of 89 to 80 percent.	Quiz score of 90 or above.
Submission of the persuasive newspaper article	An incomplete article at 60% efficiency	The actual article at 70% efficiency	The actual article at 80% efficiency	The actual article at 90% efficiency

Conclusion:.

The webquest has enable us to touch the surface of the harmful effects of smoking on the lungs. People are constantly smoking regardless of the warning signs posted everywhere. There are thousands of people lives being affected by tobacco products and we must make more people aware. You are now armed with more knowledge on the subject matter and you are prepared and ready to fight in the battle of a smoke free America.

Credits & References:

I would like to thank Bells and Whistles for the use of their graphics, and all of the search engines. A very special thanks to Q. Lewis and Dr. Lewis for their assist.

Teacher Advice:

Learning about the respiratory system can be a very fascinating experience. However, when a person learns that smoking can be a very hazardous to your health reality can be ugly. This assignment was just the beginning of your life long learning mission. The Smoke and Choke mission was to inform you of the negative effects smoking has on the respiratory system. Hopefully this webquest motivates you to go out and inform others of the very harmful effects. This webquest is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding out information on smoking and the lungs. Just making people aware of some of the health defects that smoking can cause is a rewarding experience. You must continue to seek and find information that will enlighten you and in return help others to become aware. Hence, when presenting your topic make sure you are very persuasive and creative. Remember that the ultimate decision lies with the individuals when it comes to change.

This lesson is designed for 7 - 8 grade General Science students.

The students should have a general knowledge of computer.

This is only a 30 minute lesson for a week.

The instructor has to have working knowledge of computers and the subject matter.

Created by Vernon Foster for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Dr. Bruce Lewis on November 10, 2001.