Lesson 1 : Making Sense of Substances: Understanding Drugs and Their Effects
Students will learn about the different categories of drugs including medical, non-medical, legal and illegal, and learn about their effects on the body and how to make smart decisions regarding use.
This lesson is aligned with the following learning outcomes from the NL Grade 6 Health Curriculum:
Identify different categories of drugs (medical, non-medical, legal, and illegal) and their effects on health and well-being.
- Discuss the personal and societal cost of smoking, drinking and other drug use.
- Recognize the potential for addiction to tobacco and alcoholic beverages.
- Practice problem-solving and decision-making skills for preventing substance use.
- Recognize that criminal activity is sometimes related to drug use.
- Outline the steps to follow in dealing appropriately with a personal problem.
- Demonstrate some appropriate techniques in response to stressful situations.
- Identify responsibilities of family members.
- Identify ways of developing positive relationships with peers.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills.
Lesson Plan
Activities
Learning Activity 1: Investigating the Types of Drugs
Introductory Activity: K-W-L Chart
Students will have the chance to express what they already know about drugs and what they are curious about.
Exploration Activity: Detective on Duty
Students will continue to learn about the four different categories of drugs—medical, non-medical, legal, and illegal—by working in groups to solve “mysteries” related to each category.
Infographic: Drug Categories
Students may find it helpful to refer to the Drug Categories infographic as they work through this Learning Activity.
Sharing and Reflection: Detective Findings
Students will discuss their findings from the previous Detective on Duty activity.
Learning Activity 2: Get to Know Drugs: Effects on the Body
Introductory Activity: Jeopardy
Teachers will facilitate the game for the students using the following Google Slides Presentation. The questions focus on the different categories of drugs and include questions on the effects of different drugs on the body.
Exploration Activity: Comic Strip
Students will create a comic strip to illustrate and understand the effects of different types of drugs (medical, non-medical, legal, and illegal) on the body.
Sharing and Reflection Activity
Students will reflect on what they learned in this section by answering questions with illustrations or short sentences.
Activity 3: Making Smart Choices: Case Study and Role Play
Introductory Activity: Myth/Fact
This activity will review what students have learned so far of the effects of various medical, nonmedical, legal, and illegal drugs.
Exploration Activity: Case Study and Role Playing (Jordan and Taylor)
Students will have the opportunity to explore how the information they have learned so far can help them make safe choices and decisions through this interactive activity. Students will use the FACE Decision Making model to explore this scenario.
Infographics: FACE Decision-Making Model
Students may find it helpful to refer to the following infographic as they work through this Learning Activity.
Sharing and Reflection Activity
Students will pick a substance and reflect on a potential scenario where they might need to make a decision about that substance.
Substance Snapshots
Substance Snapshots aim to provide educators with knowledge surrounding specific substances, classes of substances, and methods of consumption. These documents are intended to support educators in their delivery of drug education. They are not for direct use by elementary students.