GRADE 7: LESSON PLAN 1

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Lesson 7.1: Substance Use and Smart Choices

Students will explore different types of substances and their potential effects, while building critical thinking skills to support safer and more informed decision-making.

The Lesson Plan teacher guide contains necessary background information, learning activities, scenarios, and discussion guides. All activities and resources needed to support the delivery of the lesson plan are provided below.

This lesson is aligned with the following learning outcomes from the NL Grade 7 Health Curriculum:

Emotional and Social Well Being

To understand the meaning of self-concept and the factors that influence its formation.
To understand how self-concept influences thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Explain how one event can illicit multiple perspectives.
Identify and demonstrate communication skills during group activities.

Relationships

Safety and Environmental Health

To recognize the importance of a healthy attitude towards safety.
To be aware of unsafe practices that endanger the lives of young people and understand why these practices occur.
To be aware of individual responsibility with regard to safety and accident prevention.
To develop knowledge and skills necessary to participate safely in activities with potential risk.

Alcohol and Other Drugs

To identify reasons why people choose to smoke or not to smoke.
To be aware of the immediate and long-term effects of cigarette smoking, both physical, social, and psychological.
To understand the influence of advertising on smoking behaviour.
To use the decision-making model with regard to tobacco use.
To identify and practice refusal skills with regard to smoking.
To realize that alcohol is a drug that affects the body.
To consider the influence of the media on drinking.

Learning Activities

The following activities are designed to support the delivery of this lesson and help reinforce key concepts. Some activities are available in multiple formats to offer flexibility and accommodate teacher or student preferences.

This activity helps teachers assess students’ prior knowledge about substances. Students will respond to a series of statements by indicating whether they agree or disagree with the statements presented.

Students will record their learnings and reflections here throughout the learning activities. Students may complete the activities in the Passport electronically or using a print copy of the booklet.

Provides guidance for discussion for each scenario in this activity.

Students may find it helpful to refer to the Factors Influencing Decision-Making infographic as they work through this activity.

Teachers can present this activity using Canva or Google Slides to explore students’ views on fact vs. fiction about overconsumption.

Students may find it helpful to refer to the Overconsumption infographic as they work through this learning activity.

Provides teacher guidance for this activity.

These resources may help support the delivery of the lesson plan and learning activities:

Educational Materials

The relevant Educational Materials for this lesson are referenced throughout the lesson plan; additional ones are available here.

Substance Snapshots

Relevant Substance Snapshots are noted in the lesson plan; more may be accessed here.