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Module 6
Drugs in the News
Activity 1: Brain Messages
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45 minutes
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One large piece of butcher-block paper per group
Markers/crayons/pencils
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| Handouts: |
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Neurotransmission Fact Sheet
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After presenting the information on the fact sheet, announce the sixth and final activity of the competition. Remind students which groups they are in. Have students sit with their groups.
In this activity, students will earn points for their groups by monitoring the media—newspapers, TV, and magazines—for information about legal and illegal drugs that have been covered by the Brain Power! curriculum. Encourage students to bring in information they find about drugs in the news to share with the rest of the class. Award points for both the amount and the quality of the information the groups find. Develop your own plan for awarding points, or use this one:
- One point per article (or description of TV commercial or show) that discusses drug abuse.
- Two points if the article discusses the impact of the drug on the brain and body.
- Three points per article if the student can identify an imbalance in the presentation of the information, as in a media piece that lacks scientific background or presents false or sensational information.
Use the Media Chart provided to track the teams’ progress as they gather this information and present it to their classmates. Run the competition for a few days or a week. Encourage conversation about the topics that the students present to support the integration of all the information covered in the Brain Power! curriculum. Do students realize that accurate information can support healthy decision-making? Are they aware of the role of the media in disseminating this information?
Record group points on the Group Scorecard.
Activity 2: Scavenger Hunt
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45 minutes
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Computer for research
Pen or pencil
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| Handouts: |
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Ripple Effects handout
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Methamphetamine abuse, like the abuse of other drugs, impacts both individuals and society. For this final activity, students will explore how methamphetamine abuse has a ripple effect throughout society.
Using the Web sites provided as a starting point, have students research the prevalence of methamphetamine and the consequences of its production, distribution, and use. Have students complete the diagram on the Ripple Effects handout, listing ways in which methamphetamine affects multiple layers of society—from individuals to families to communities. Students should use information from the Web sites below and others to justify their responses. Then, have students brainstorm ways to prevent or improve the problems on each tier. The image below represents the Ripple Effect.
Prior to the activity, add these sites to the classroom computer’s “Favorites” drop-down menu. If need be, the activity can be spread across a few day’s time by having one group at a time access the computer for research time while the rest of the class completes other work.
• http://teens.drugabuse.gov/mom/mom_meth1.asp
• www.intheknowzone.com/meth/community.htm
Example: for the individual, responses may include addiction, health problems, loss of job, and jail time; for the family, responses could include violence, poverty, child abuse, and neglect; for the community, responses might be crime and pollution.
CD-ROM: Room 6 (Online Version)*
The CD-ROM includes games and materials to supplement the information presented in the module. The room labeled “6” contains the following activities and specific information pertaining to this module:
- Learning Objectives: these are presented at the beginning of each CD-ROM module
- Brain Scan Files: in this activity, students view brain scan images to see the damaging effects of various drugs on the brain
- Methamphetamine and Sports News Daily Article: inspired by news headlines, the articles discuss the broad impact of methamphetamine and steroid abuse
- Memory Game: students match vocabulary words from the module in this memory-based game
- Beat the Clock: in this game, students race to select the terms that correctly relate to the drugs discussed in the module
- Module Quiz: this quiz is the final part of the module, intended to assess students’ learning
*Adobe Flash player required to view.
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