Synopsis

Middle school opens doors for students.  It also provides an environment where many kids are exposed to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs for the first time.  The “Science Behind Drugs and Prevention” program helps kids make healthy choices when faced with the decision whether or not to try drugs.  The program addresses three primary goals which include increasing student knowledge about the effect of drugs on the body including the causes of addiction, understanding that most teens do NOT use drugs, and finally developing refusal skills to make healthy choices if offered a drug.

The newly designed program uses research-proven effective, interactive teaching methods.  Students learn about the dangers of alcohol and binge drinking by manipulation of touch-screen software.  By changing a hypothetical drinker’s weight, number of drinks, and time between drinks, students learn how blood alcohol levels rise, and the consequences of different blood alcohol levels.  Students also discover the effects of smoking on the lungs by comparing healthy pig lungs to ones that are treated with the chemicals found in tobacco smoke.  Students also manipulate audience response systems to compare their perceived drug use among teens to actual usage statistics.  Finally, students discuss refusal skills and learn different strategies to avoid drug use.

Program Goals:

Goal #1: Increase knowledge about drugs and their affects on total wellness (physical, mental social, emotional)

Goal #2: Empower students to take personal responsibility for increasing their total wellness and increase disapproval of alcohol and other drug use
Goal #3: Help students develop strategies/tools to make healthy decisions and explore alternatives to ATOD use/abuse

State learning standards addressed:

Social/Emotional Goals:

1B.2a. Describe personal skills and interests that one wants to develop. (Goal setting)

1B.2b. Explain how family members, peers, school personnel, and community members can support school success and responsible behavior.

1B.3b.  Analyze how making use of school and community supports and opportunities can contribute to school and life success.

1C.2a. Describe the steps in setting and working toward goal achievement

2C.2a. Describe approaches for making and keeping friends. (Resistance skills)

3A.2b. Demonstrate knowledge of how social norms affect decision making and behavior.

3B.2a. Identify and apply the steps of systematic decision making.

3B.2b. Generate alternative solutions and evaluate their consequences for a range of academic and social situations

3B.3b. Evaluate strategies for resisting pressures to engage in unsafe or unethical activities.

Physical Education/Health goals:

22.A.3a   Identify and describe ways to reduce health risks common to adolescents (e.g., exercise, diet, refusal of harmful substances).

 22.B.2   Describe how individuals and groups influence the health of individuals (e.g., peer pressure, media and advertising).

23.A.2    Identify basic body systems and their functions (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, nervous).

23.B.2    Differentiate between positive and negative effects of health-related actions on body systems (e.g., drug use, exercise, diet).

23.C.2a   Identify physical, mental, social and cultural factors affecting growth and develop­ment of children (e.g., nutrition, self-esteem, family and illness).

24.A.2a   Identify causes and consequences of conflict among youth

24.A.2b   Demonstrate positive verbal and nonverbal communication skills (e.g., polite conversation, attentive listening, and body language).

24.A.2b   Demonstrate positive verbal and nonverbal communication skills (e.g., polite conversation, attentive listening, body language).

24.B.3    Apply a decision-making process to an individual health concern.

24.C.2    Describe situations where refusal skills are necessary (e.g., pressure to smoke, use alcohol and other drugs

Mathematics goals:

10.A.2a  Organize and display data using pictures, tallies, tables, charts, bar graphs, line graphs, line plots and stem-and-leaf graphs

10.A.3a   Construct, read and interpret tables, graphs (including circle graphs) and charts to organize and represent data.

10.A.3c   Test the reasonableness of an argu­ment based on data and communicate their findings.

10.B.2b  Collect, organize and display data using tables, charts, bar graphs

Science goals:

11.A.2c  Construct charts and visualizations to display data.

11.A.2d  Use data to produce reasonable explanations.

13.A.2b  Explain why similar investigations may not produce similar results.