Learning Goals By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: demonstrate an understanding of the abuse of different types of legal and illegal substances demonstrate an understanding of the impact on themselves and others of abusing legal and illegal substances use critical and creative thinking skills to demonstrate the ability to make connections that relate to health and well-being how their choices and behaviours affect their own and others health and well-being. Facility Classroom Equipment List Pens or pencils Teacher Resource 2: Understanding Concepts Checklist Student Resource 3: Student Resource 4: Substance Exit Card Page 1 of 6
Minds On Share and clarify the lesson Learning Goals using student-friendly language. Teacher prompt: Drugs are chemicals that change the way a person s body works. If you ve ever been sick and had to take medicine, you already know about legal drugs. In a large-group discussion, ask students to do the following: Name a medicine that is found in their home (e.g., cough syrup, pain medication, decongestant, asthma inhalers, insulin injectors). Record the names on the board in a brainstorming web. Share a fact or an idea about these medicines (e.g., you can buy them with or without a prescription [ over the counter ], they help people who have certain health conditions like asthma or diabetes). Record the ideas or facts on the brainstorming web. Explain to the class that these medicines are called legal substances because we can buy them in a store. But it s not legal or safe for people to use these medicines any way they want or to buy them from people who are selling them illegally. Write the word legal on the board. Ask students if they can name any other legal substances. Student response: Cough syrup, throat lozenges, nose drops, eye drops, pain reliever, epinephrine autoinjector. Teacher prompt: There are certain foods that contain substances that are considered legal; for example, caffeine. Coffee, tea, energy drinks and some pop contain caffeine in different amounts. Coffee and tea contain caffeine naturally, but energy drinks and some pop have caffeine added to them. Do you know how caffeine affects the body? Student response: Caffeine can make people feel awake and some people may feel jumpy. Teacher prompt: Caffeine is a substance that people should consume in small amounts because higher amounts of it can be harmful to people s health. Energy drinks contain such high amounts of caffeine that they are not safe for children to drink. Ask students to self-assess their understanding of legal substances and the fact that they can be found in different forms (e.g., medicine, foods, drinks) by using the Thumbs-Up Strategy (see Appendix). Page 2 of 6
A&E - Minds On Teacher observation of students demonstrated knowledge of legal substances, and of students self-assessment Action Teacher prompt: Sometimes people use substances that are illegal (write the word on the board). People can t buy them in stores because it is against the law for stores to sell these substances. Illegal drugs can damage the brain, heart and other important organs. Illegal drugs are particularly bad for children, whose bodies are still growing. While using illegal drugs, people are also less able to do well in school, sports and other activities. It s often harder to think clearly and make good decisions. People can do dangerous things that could hurt them or other people when they use these illegal drugs. Someone may use illegal drugs for many reasons, but often because they help the person escape from reality for a while. A drug might temporarily make someone who is sad or upset feel better or forget about problems. But this escape lasts only until the drug wears off. Drugs don t solve problems, of course. And using drugs often causes other problems on top of the problems the person had in the first place. Somebody who uses drugs can become dependent on them, or addicted. This means that the person s body becomes so accustomed to having this drug that he or she can t function well without it. When people are addicted, they may do anything to get more of the drug, including spending all their money, their family s money and even stealing to get it. Once someone is addicted, it s very hard to stop taking drugs. Stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms, such as vomiting (throwing up), sweating and tremors (shaking). These sick feelings continue until the person s body gets adjusted to being drug-free again. Ask students if they know the names of any illegal substances (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy). Ask them to share a fact or an idea about these illegal substances (e.g., they are dangerous they can make people really sick or even kill them, people buy them on the street ). Record student responses on the brainstorming web. Page 3 of 6
Teacher prompt: Some substances, such as alcohol, are legal for adults, but can still be very dangerous depending on how they are used. Cigarettes are also legal for adults, but they contain a substance called nicotine. Nicotine and many other substances in cigarettes are very bad for people s health. Review responses with students to ensure that they are able to identify a variety of legal and illegal substances. Ask students to use the Thumbs-Up Self-Assessment Strategy (see Appendix) to indicate their understanding of the terms legal and illegal substances, and whether they understand the difference between the two terms. Hand out Student Resource 3: to each student. Ask students to use the Think Pair Share Strategy (see Appendix) to complete the resource individually and to discuss their answers with their partners. After students have completed Student Resource 3:, ask them to share their responses with the class in a large-group discussion. Clarify student responses to ensure their ideas are accurate by recording them on the board on a large version of Student Resource 3: Legal and Illegal Substances. A&E - Action Teacher observation of students ability to identify various legal and illegal substances and their impact on themselves and others, using Teacher Resource 2: Understanding Concepts Checklist Consolidation Ask students to complete Student Resource 4: Substance Exit Card, answering the following questions: What can a person do to make sure he or she takes medicines safely? What are healthier drinks to have instead of energy drinks and pop? What can you say if someone asks you to try an illegal drug? Page 4 of 6
A&E - Consolidation Teacher observation of students ability to explain the safe use of medicine, their ability to identify healthy alternatives to drinking energy drinks and soft drinks that contain high amounts of caffeine and their knowledge of strategies to avoid illegal drug use Ideas for Extension Students can look at examples of non-prescription or prescription medicines at home and read the labels with their parents to identify the instructions for safe use. Next Steps Students will look up the amount of caffeine found in different foods and beverages and compare it to what the maximum recommended amount of caffeine is for their age. See Health Canada s website for a fact sheet on Caffeine in Foods: http://www.hcsc. gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/caf/food-caf-aliments-eng.php. Notes to Teacher Please refer to http://www.camh.net/education/resources_teachers_schools/index.html for background information on substance use and abuse and mental health. Energy Drinks In Canada, energy drinks are regulated as natural health products because of the added caffeine. Energy drinks contain the following: large amounts of caffeine herbal supplements Page 5 of 6
combinations of other substances such as taurine (an amino acid) and glucuronolactone (a carbohydrate) sugar. Some energy drinks contain over 250 mg of caffeine. That is more than six times the amount in a can of cola. This is a concern because many young people are drinking energy drinks frequently. Caffeine can lead to difficulty sleeping, headaches, irritability and nervousness. Health Canada recommends a maximum of 62.5 mg of caffeine per day for children aged 7 9 years and 85 mg per day for children aged 10 12 years. One can of energy drink often contains much more caffeine than the entire recommended daily total. Additional Resources Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Resource for Teachers and Schools http://www.camh.net/education/resources_teachers_schools/index.html Page 6 of 6