Reach Out Now: Start Talking Before They Start Drinking
PDF version
Communication Tools for the
6th Grade
A skill-building, critical-thinking program to
prevent underage alcohol use
Welcome, Teachers:
Your 6th-grade students are on the brink of the complex world of adolescence.
As they begin to navigate through this world they will face challenges that will
require the strong foundation of critical-thinking skills, life skills, and communication skills if they are to succeed.
The Reach Out Now: Start Talking Before They Start Drinking program provides
strategies for teachers and families to build communication and critical-thinking
skills toward raising awareness and prevention of underage alcohol use.
Each day, more than 10,000 young people under the age of 21
take their first drink!1 That statement is more than just an alarming statistic. For
teachers like you across the nation, and the students, schools, and communities
you serve every day, it represents a very real problem.
This teaching program includes in-school lessons as well as take-home activities that students can do with their families. Teach this program to reach out now
and start talking to your students. It will make a difference in their lives and in
their learning.
Lessons Overviews
Below you’ll find three lesson overviews for teachers, which also incorporate the activity reproducibles on
pages 3 & 4.
Lesson 1
What Your Students
Know—and Don’t Know— About Alcohol
Standards for the English Language Arts 3, 5, 7, 12
Lesson Objectives: Students will learn:
- How alcohol affects the bodies and brains of
youths
- How research at reliable Web sites can help
answer their questions about alcohol and
other topics
Overview: A public service ad introduces
students to the topic of alcohol and underage
alcohol use. A quiz about the effects of alcohol
provides the spark for a discussion of facts
about underage alcohol use.
Key Talking Points: Because adolescents’ bodies
and brains are still developing, alcohol affects
them differently than it affects adults.2 Knowing
the facts about alcohol’s effects is a key factor in
the healthy decisions your students make.
Time Required: 40 minutes
Materials Needed: Copies of Reproducible 1,
pen and paper, Internet access
Directions:
1. To introduce the topic of alcohol, visit
www.stopalcoholabuse.gov and play the “Start
Talking About Drinking” public service ads (see
links on right side of the Web page). Discuss
with students what they know about alcohol.
Discuss any unfamiliar words or concepts in
the ads. What do students think are some of
the effects of alcohol on a person?
2. Distribute copies of the reproducible.
Review the
directions for Part 1. Define unfamiliar words.
Provide 10–15 minutes for students to complete
the quiz. Review students’ responses to Part 1.
Reveal that all answers are True. Divide the
class into groups of four or five students.
3. Ask each group to designate a “researcher” to
investigate the facts behind questions 6 and 7
on the Internet at www.family.samhsa.gov/stop/default.aspx. The researchers will then
share the facts with their groups.
4. Review the directions for Part 2. Have members
of each group respond to the discussion
questions among themselves and then share
their responses with the class. |
|
Lesson 2
What Students Can Say
(When Faced with
Choices)
Standards for the English Language Arts 3, 5, 12
Lesson Objectives: Students will learn:
- To interpret hypothetical situations requiring
choices
- To use facts to support choices
Overview: After reading scenarios about underage
alcohol use, students talk in small groups about
their responses to the questions. In their
responses they should draw on facts about
alcohol’s effects, and then share their responses
with the whole class.
Key Talking Points: Facts about alcohol’s effects
on young people should be a part of discussions
of underage alcohol use. (Review Reproducible
Activity 1.)
Time Required: 40 minutes
Materials Needed: Copies of Reproducible 1
and 2, pen and paper
Directions:
1. Divide the class into groups of four or five
students.
2. Distribute Reproducible Activity 2 and go over
the directions. Read the first scenario aloud.
3. Explain that in small groups students will
choose the best answer and then respond to
the Talk About It sections for each scenario.
Remind them to review the facts on the What
Do You Know About Alcohol? reproducible to
help them decide what to say.
4. After student groups have considered both
scenarios, have them share their responses
with the class.
5. Student volunteers can develop dialogue and
act out each scenario for the whole class.
Share this program! For printable copies,
please visit
www.teachin.samhsa.gov. |
|
Lesson 3
What Your Students
Can Do
Standards for the English Language Arts 3, 5, 12
Lesson Objectives: Students will learn:
- Strategies to identify positive actions they can
take as an alternative to alcohol
Overview: Students learn about positive actions
other young people are making and then discuss
their own actions.
Key Talking Points: By talking about and
considering the many positive things kids do,
students will understand that they have
positive alternatives to alcohol.
Time Required: 40 minutes
Materials Needed: Pen and paper
Directions:
1. Discuss with students: Can you think of
some examples of kinds of choices that
kids in your community are making to
create a positive difference in their lives
and in the lives of others? What kinds of
positive things are kids doing instead of
using alcohol? (Some examples might include
sports, community service, fund-raising, disaster
relief, creative arts, working with younger kids,
working with senior citizens.)
2. Ask students: How can using alcohol
impact your ability to achieve your goals?
3. Have students write down on paper or in their
journals: a) Positive Choices I’m Making Now;
b) Positive Actions I Plan to Take to Achieve My
Goals in the Future. |
What Do You Know About Alcohol?
Part 1:
Take the Quiz
Directions: Circle “T” if the statement is true. Circle “F” if the statement is false.
1. A single drink of alcohol can affect you.3 T F
2. Alcohol passes through the lining of the stomach into the
bloodstream within 5 to 10 minutes.4 T F
3. Alcohol moves through the bloodstream to every organ in the body.5 T F
4. Drinking alcohol impairs the memory and learning ability of young
people more than adults.6 T F
5. Alcohol can have lasting effects on the developing brains of young
people.7 T F
6. Alcohol can kill you.8 T F
7. Alcohol can hurt you even if you’re not the one drinking.9 T F
Part 2
Directions: Follow your teacher’s
directions and answer the following
questions. Write answers on the
lines below and then share them in
a discussion.
1. Which statements in the
quiz surprised you when you found out the answers? Why?
2. Does “knowing the facts” about something affect your decisions?
3. What would be a good way to present the facts about alcohol’s effects to kids—through
posters, songs, cartoons, TV ads, or…?
4. What do you think about the answers to questions 6 and 7 uncovered by your group’s
online research?
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
What Do You Say When You Have to Make a Decision About Underage Alcohol Use?
Directions: Read each scenario and decide on the best response (or add your own). On the lines
below each scenario, summarize the pluses and minuses of each response.
Senario 1:
You and Sean are best friends. Last Saturday when you were at
Sean’s house, his older brother Jay, an 8th grader, came home
drunk in the middle of the afternoon. Their parents were out.
Sean told you this happens a lot and that he’s scared of Jay
when he’s drunk. You decide
a. to say nothing to anyone.
b. to encourage Sean to talk to his parents about Jay’s drinking.
c. to ask your parents what you can do about the situation.
d. or… [your response].
What are the possible outcomes of each response?
a.___________________________________________________
b.___________________________________________________
c.___________________________________________________
d.___________________________________________________
My Decision:______, because__________________________________________
Talk About It: Discuss your response with other students in your class.
Senario 2:
Michala, a popular athlete in your school, invites you to a party at her house. When you get there,
she offers you a beer. You decide
a. to refuse it, saying, “Aren’t your parents home?”
b. to refuse it, saying, “No, thanks.”
c. to refuse it, saying, “Alcohol is really bad for you.”
d. or... [your response].
What are the possible outcomes of each response?
a.___________________________________________________
b.___________________________________________________
c.___________________________________________________
d.___________________________________________________
My Decision:______, because__________________________________________
Talk About It: Discuss your response with other students in your class.
1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006. 2. White, A.M., and Swartzwelder, H.S.,
“Age-related Effects of Alcohol on Memory and Memory-related Brain Function in Adolescents and Adults,” Recent Developments in Alcoholism, vol. 17: 161–176, 2005. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Alcohol: Frequently Asked Questions,” 2006.
4, 8. The National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health, “Alcohol Use,” Medline Plus, 2006. 5. Esper, A., Burnham, E.L., Moss, M., “The Effect of Alcohol Abuse on ARDS and Multiple Organ Dysfunction,” Minerva Anestesiologica,
72(6): 375–81, 2006. 6, 7. White, A.M., and Swartzwelder, H.S., “Age-related Effects of Alcohol on Memory and Memory-related Brain Function in Adolescents and Adults,”
Recent Developments in Alcoholism, vol. 17: 161–176, 2005. 9. National Highway Safety Traffic Administration, Traffic Safety Facts: 2005 Data, 2006.