INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Story
SHADOW VILLAGE SUN PROTECTION SCHOOL PROGRAM
“We’re going to Shadow Village!” Thomas, Sarah and Helen shouted as they jumped with joy on the bed. Their parents had let them choose where to spend the holidays. At first, they didn’t agree. Thomas wanted to go to a place where he could play different sports, Sarah dreamt of swimming in the sea and Helen imagined an enchanted corner.
In the end, they decided to leave it up to fate. Thomas spread out a large map over the bed and blindfolded Helen. He asked Helen to move her finger over the map while he and Sarah counted to ten. On ten, Helen’s finger landed on: Shadow Village.
Helen was happy because Shadow Village sounded like a magical place. Sarah and Thomas were also pleased: there were beaches, fields and forests around it.
They arrived in Shadow Village at noon after a long journey. The village was just like a postcard and the people living there were very friendly and welcoming. But there was something very odd... They all had umbrellas. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky that day. The children also carried colourful umbrellas, with pictures, stripes, polka-dots, etc.
“Hi, I’m Peter. What are your names?” asked a very blonde, fair-skinned boy.
Thomas, Sarah and Helen introduced themselves.
“Do you want to play with us?”
Thomas, Sarah and Helen said yes, happy to have made friends right away.
P
First they played football, but the umbrellas were a problem: they changed the direction of the ball, made the children crash into each other, the goalkeeper could not stop the ball with both hands, and so on. Then they played basketball. The umbrella was even more of a hindrance! Shooting the basketball and passing it with only one hand was extremely difficult, and you can imagine what happened when they tried to play volleyball or tennis. Sarah suggested a race. It seemed like a good alternative because you didn’t have to use any balls, just your legs. But Nicholas and Olivia, who were in the lead, got their umbrellas tangled and they all ended up on the ground.
At first, Thomas, Sarah and Helen had found it very amusing that all the children played holding umbrellas, but they didn’t find it funny anymore.
“What if you play without the umbrellas?” asked Helen.
“No!” they all answered at once.
Thomas, Sarah and Helen looked at each other in surprise. All the children in the village were surprised too. How could they have asked that?
“The sun’s rays would burn us again!” said Paul, scared.
“Do you hold umbrellas all day to protect yourselves from the sun?” exclaimed Thomas. Now everything was clear to them.
A
Thomas, Sarah and Helen asked their friends to round up children and adults in the town square. Everyone was waiting anxiously.
The three siblings began to explain what they had learnt at school.
Helen told them that the sun is very important for life because it gives us energy in the form of light and heat and because it helps plants to grow and produce oxygen. It is also very beneficial for our health because it makes us happier and strengthens our bones and teeth. Their new friends didn’t seem too convinced. They knew that the sun could also be very dangerous. They had searched the internet for information and discovered that some of its rays, called ultraviolet (UVA and UVB), could damage the skin.
“You are absolutely right,” said Thomas, “but there is a solution: sunscreen.”
“Sunscreen?” some asked.
“Sunscreen prevents the harmful effects of UVA and UVB rays and therefore protects the skin,” Thomas said..
“I put on sunscreen and got burnt anyway,” said Peter.
“What sun protection factor did you use?” asked Sarah.
“If skin is fair, like yours, and you are blonde, ginger or have light-coloured eyes and freckles, your skin is more sensitive and that is why you have to use a high sun protection factor.”
A smile appeared on Alberto’s face because he thought that, being very dark skinned, he didn’t have to worry about the sun’s rays, but he soon realised he was wrong.
“On the other hand,” continued Sarah, “if your skin is darker, it is less sensitive but, be careful! You can also get burnt if you’re in the sun too long.”
“I used sun protection factor 50, which is very high, and I got burnt,” said Tina.
“How many times did you apply the sunscreen?” asked Helen, “One application doesn’t protect you all day. You have to apply it several times.”
Tina had only put it on once, like Peter, George, Ava...
“My nose got burnt once when I was in the snow,” said Irene.
“The nose, lips and feet are very sensitive areas so you need a lot of protection,” recalled Thomas. “We must be especially careful when we are in snow, water, sand or grass because the sun’s rays bounce off these surfaces and they can be even more harmful.”
“And in the mountains,” added Helen, “where the sun’s rays are most intense.”
The next morning the children of Shadow Village were met with a surprise. Thomas, Sarah and Helen had prepared a very unique version of the Olympics, the Sunshine Village Olympics. There were just two very important things you had to do in order to take part: put on sunscreen half an hour before leaving home and, above all, re-apply it several times without neglecting the essential equipment: hat and sunglasses. Oh! And don’t forget to take care of the planet too! Once empty, the container must go to the recycling bin.
SUNSHINE VILLAGE OLYMPICS
They spent the day competing, except between 12 noon and 4 pm when the sun’s rays were most intense.
7 3
In the afternoon it got cloudy and someone said that they didn’t need to put on sunscreen again. Luckily, Thomas overheard this and explained that on cloudy days it is also necessary to protect yourself from the sun. Helen had told them that skin has a memory and that, if they didn’t use sunscreen, when they grew up they would have aged skin, with wrinkles and blemishes.
A
Her skin sure wouldn’t remember that day because it had been protected so well but the children of Sunshine Village (because they decided to change the name of the village) would certainly remember it. It was a great day!