N-Squad Episode Three: Mission Debrief

Transcription

1 TEACHER VERSION These short answer response questions can be used as a review, as a fi nal assessment, or both. Review Arrange your students in groups of four to six. Have them choose a recorder who will fi rst guide the group in brainstorming all the key points they felt they learned in the episode they just played. Then, hand them the questions from that episode. They may choose one of the questions or you may have them draw for one. If time permits, you could have the group respond to both. Provide each student with a copy of the question since it includes the terms they are trying to use. As a group, they should submit a written response to the question. The discussion of the terms and the explanation of defi nitions and concepts by the students will be an excellent review. The group can receive credit for both their brainstorming list and the fi nal written response. Assessment To use as a fi nal assessment, have students choose one of the questions and write their response. Encourage them to use the terms that are included. Question 1 (Location: Sunrise Treatment Center) A teenager s brain is wired by repeating actions (such as dancing). Explain how wiring occurs and how alcohol affects this process. Use these terms in your answer: neuron, plasticity, hippocampus, memory, pattern, wiring, prefrontal cortex, teen, learning, and brain. Answer When a task is performed repeatedly, the neurons communicate in a certain pattern. This is what is called wiring the brain. The ability of the brain to be wired is called plasticity. In a teen, two brain parts undergo extensive wiring: the prefrontal cortex, which is required for learning, and the hippocampus, which is required for memory. Alcohol reduces the size of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus by killing neurons, which interrupts the wiring of the brain. Thus, alcohol can damage learning and memory.

2 Question 2 (Location: Sunrise Treatment Center) Neurons transmit or carry signals to the brain. Repeated use of alcohol can change this process. Using at least five of the following words, show your understanding of the neurotransmission process. Use the following terms in your answer: sending neuron, synapse, electrical signals, chemical signals, axon, dendrite, receiving neuron, neurotransmitters. Answer Neurons use electrical and chemical signals for the neurotransmission process. When an electrical signal arrives at the axon terminal of the sending neuron, it releases chemicals into the synapse, which is a gap between the sending neuron and the receiving neuron. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. The neurotransmitters can cross the synapse and bind to the dendrite of the receiving neuron, which may cause the receiving cell to generate an electrical signal. After binding, neurotransmitters come off the receptors and are either broken down or they return to the sending neuron where they are stored for future use. Question 3 (Location: Chateau Q) Alcohol use is infl uenced by several factors. Choose one of the following categories and share your thoughts on how it affects a teen s outlook and alcohol use: genes, peers, family, and community. (Optional terms you may want to use: parents use of alcohol, alcohol metabolism, friends infl uences, alcohol related advertising, and laws regarding alcohol in our community) Answer Genes: People s genetic background can influence alcohol use. For example, many Asian people flush and their rate of heartbeat increases after drinking alcohol, because they have faulty alcohol metabolizing proteins. Peers: Sometimes friends can influence alcohol use by urging somebody to drink alcohol. For example, they could insist that it would be cool to drink. Family: When family members use alcohol, they sometimes are more willing to allow their children to drink. Community: The community can influence alcohol use by increasing the legal age at which people are allowed to drink, or by creating laws that regulate drinking and driving. Also, the community can prohibit alcohol advertising.

3 Question 4 (Location: Dragon s Lair) Explain some of the facts you learned in the quiz that followed the driving game. Use at least two of these concepts in your answer: teens and drunk driving, car steering ability and BAC levels, brain function and alcohol, number of people killed in alcohol related crashes. Answer: In 2005, about 17,000 people in the U.S. died in alcohol-related vehicle crashes. Teens who drink and drive are more likely than adults to kill someone. The BAC level at which steering a car becomes difficult is 0.02%, which is below the legal limit of 0.08%. Alcohol interferes with the brain s ability to process information and focus on more than one task at a time. That s why drinking makes it more difficult to pay attention to other cars and steer at the same time.

4 Name Class Date Answer the question below. Use the provided terms in your answer. Question 1 (Location: Sunrise Treatment Center) A teenager s brain is wired by repeating actions (such as dancing). Explain how wiring occurs and how alcohol affects this process. Use these terms in your answer: neuron, plasticity, hippocampus, memory, pattern, wiring, prefrontal cortex, teen, learning, and brain.

5 Name Class Date Answer the question below. Use the provided terms in your answer. Question 2 (Location: Sunrise Treatment Center) Neurons transmit or carry signals to the brain. Repeated use of alcohol can change this process. Using at least five of the following words, show your understanding of the neurotransmission process. Use the following terms in your answer: sending neuron, synapse, electrical signals, chemical signals, axon, dendrite, receiving neuron, neurotransmitters.

6 Name Class Date Answer the question below. You are not required to use any special terms in your answer, but you may fi nd the provided words useful. Question 3 (Chateau Q) Alcohol use is infl uenced by several factors. Choose one of the following categories and share your thoughts on how it affects a teen s outlook and alcohol use: genes, peers, family, and community. (Optional terms you may want to use: parents use of alcohol, alcohol metabolism, friends infl uences, alcohol related advertising, and laws regarding alcohol in our community)

7 Name Class Date Answer the question below. Use the provided terms in your answer. Question 4 (Dragon s Lair) Explain some of the facts you learned in the quiz that followed the driving game. Use at least two of these concepts in your answer: teens and drunk driving, car steering ability and BAC levels, brain function and alcohol, number of people killed in alcohol related crashes.