LESSON 2:

SYNOPSIS

1. The students create a collage of pictures of substances that are healthy.

2. This lesson is designed to assess the level of each student’s knowledge about healthy lifestyles through the use of photographs from magazines and flyers. The photographs are pasted onto a large round green page cut to resemble a green traffic light. Although the course is substantially concerned about Drug Awareness, we also designed it to show the student healthy and alternative choices in order to avoid unhealthy ones. The “Green Means Go” lesson will always include anything that is healthy, for example, physical activity and exercise, not just substances taken internally.

OBJECTIVES

1. Determine the level of each student’s knowledge about healthy choices.

2. Use the answers gleaned from the more informed or experienced student to educate those with a lower awareness of healthy foods, activities, etc.

3. Add you own direction to the discussion in order to move the student through the curriculum. Ask leading questions about the effects of drugs/alcohol/inhalants on the body, and be prepared to answer them if no answers are forthcoming.

MATERIALS &
PREPARATION

1. Green Bristol board (poster paper) for every two students. It is usually available in 28"x22" sheets and from each sheet precut two circles approximately 15” in diameter.

2. Pictures of a variety of substances such as food, drugs, cigarettes, household products and other substances, including various chemical products, as many as is necessary to provide each student between ten and twenty samples. Use old magazines and flyers from grocery and drug stores. You will find more healthy “green” choices in the grocery flyers, but hardware store flyers can provide both “green” and “red” choices. Magazines with a lot of recipes in them are helpful for this lesson. Catalogues also provide a wide range of items that can be cut out. Be sure to precut some pictures and seed the collection with predetermined choices. The student can become easily distracted by reading the magazines or cutting out the pictures and lose focus on the actual lesson. This is known as the “Cleaning Out The Attic Syndrome” and is the main factor in the messiness found in most attics across North America.

3. Safety scissors, one per student.

4. Glue stick, one per student.

RESOURCES

1. One adult for every two to three students.

2. You may want to ask a neighbourhood grocery, drug or hardware store for old flyers to use in this class. Try to do this well in advance. If you are dealing with a drug store, or a grocery store with an affiliated pharmacy, asking for the flyers and explaining why you need them may provide you with an opportunity to involve the pharmacist in the curriculum. Ask if they would be interested in taking your class on a tour of the pharmacy (Lesson 14: Field Trips)

3. Ask colleagues and friends to collect pictures for you. Interested parents or caregivers could be recruited to help as well. Never be afraid to ask.

LESSON
PLAN

1. This lesson may take anywhere from one to three sessions, depending upon the amount of information the students in the class have already absorbed.

2. Have the students sort through the pictures and look through the magazines to find pictures of things that are healthy.

3. Intersperse adults and staff between the students. It may be necessary for the adults to model the expected behaviour by creating their own collages. Helping the students attach their own pictures to their own green sign and discussing the choices will probably absorb most of the adult attention.

4. Cut and glue the pictures on the "green light". Do this in small groups, each with at least one adult involved. Ask why a particular picture was chosen.

5. Try to avoid pasting on "yellow" pictures at this time. These are substances such as aspirin, Advil or Tylenol, which in moderate amounts are "healthy", and in excessive amounts "harmful". Again, do not correct the student if they paste aspirin on the green paper. Always acknowledge their choice. For example, you could say, "That's right, one or two aspirins are healthy if you have a headache." There will be time during the "Yellow Means Caution" lesson to address substances that should be used with caution.

6. Though excessive amounts of substances will kill anyone who ingests them, do not place too much emphasis on this aspect, as the student will carry this as an absolute into the home environment. In homes where alcohol or drugs are used, this may create resistance to the curriculum. A student may see "one beer" as deadly for anyone at home who drinks it.

ASSESSMENT

1. This lesson determines the level of the student's awareness of healthy choices and lifestyles. Remember that your questions can lead you to subjects you may not expect.

2. You will find that some students will seemingly mis-label substances as good. Avoid correcting the student at this point, and ask the student what led to the labelling. You will find that there may be a reason for the mis-labelling that you may not have considered. Remember, at this point, you are assessing the student's awareness of the issues surrounding these substances. For example, some students believe that many drugs are "good" because they "make you feel good". Using the words "healthy" and "harmful" can avoid many of these misconceptions.

4. Accept the student's answer to your question. There is no right or wrong answer in this discussion. Ask for clarification if you do not understand the student's reasoning. The initial lesson determines the level of the student's understanding at the beginning so that you can compare the student's answers as you progress through the curriculum.

5. You have the entire series of lessons to direct the student in dealing with substance abuse. There is no need to "correct" a misconception. Use the word "Sometimes..." in order to interpose an alternative or opposing view.

6. Repeat the Lessons 2 through to 4 at the end of the curriculum. This will allow you to assess the effectiveness of the course. You should see more appropriate categorization of objects on the "Green Light", "Red Stop Sign" and "Yellow Caution Sign" the second time around.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ISBN 0-8239-2327-4
Author Beatrice R. Grabish
Publisher: Hazelden
PO Box 176, Center City, MN, USA, 55012-0176
Publication Date: 1997
Topics: The healthy brain. The brain on drugs. Addiction and the brain. Getting help; where to go for help.
Review: Uses language geared for adolescents. Gives a good overview of drugs and their effects from alcohol and depressents to psychotropics and stimulants. Lists resources for drug education in the back of the book. Though it has many pictures, it is appropriate for more developmentally advanced students. Can be used as a teacher's resource.
Lessons 1,2,3,4,5