Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 1: Expectation 3

Grade 1 Overview

Expectation 1

2

3

Specific Learning Expectation

Employ decision-making to identify when and how medicines should be used (e.g., seeking out adult assistance)

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1. Write steps for decision-making on a poster and display. Key words are: 

• Look 
• Think 
• Decide 
• Act

2. Review the steps of the decision-making model.(used wiith permission from the "Making Decisions Program" (1999), Alcohol-Drug Education Service, Vancouver, B.C.)

3. Present a situation and walk the students through the model while still in a large group, and role-play possible decisions. Discuss the safest decision.

4. Activity :

Divide students into small groups. Have students talk about the scenarios, practicing the decision-making model and deciding on the solution. Present solutions to the whole group and discuss. (Adapted with permission from Drug Abuse Prevention Project: An Educational Resource (1996), DAPPER Kindergarten, "What Should I Do?", Toronto District School Board, former Board of Education for the City of York.)

What Should I Do?

Kamal is playing hide and seek at his friend Jim's apartment. Kamal decides to hide in a clothes closet. Inside, he sees some little white balls on the floor that look like candy.

LOOK : Do you think he should taste one?
THINK: What could the white balls be?
DECIDE: What can Kamal do?
ACT: What is the safest choice?

Amy and Linda are playing in the basement. In one place, they find a few bottles that have different coloured liquids in them. The girls think they look good to drink. They don't see any danger symbols on the bottles so they wonder if they should take a sip to see what the liquids taste like.

LOOK: Should the girls sip the liquids?
THINK: What could the liquids be?
DECIDE: What can the girls do?
ACT: What is the safest choice?

Every day Elena's mother gives her a chewable vitamin. She really likes them because they are sweet and taste like candy. One day, Melissa and Suki are playing at Elena's house. Elena offers her friends some of the vitamins because her daddy has told her they will keep her healthy.

LOOK: Should the girls take the vitamins? Should Elena offer her vitamins to her friends?
THINK: What could happen if they took the vitamins?Why?
DECIDE: What can the girls do? What can Elena do?
ACT: What is the safest choice?

Jose and Donovan are playing in the school yard after school. Jose sees a hypodermic needle lying on the ground.

LOOK: Should the boys pick up the needle?
THINK: What could happen if they did?
DECIDE: What can the boys do?
ACT: What is the safest choice?

Assessments of Learning

1. Discussion regarding the decision-making model

2. Participation in the "walk-through" of the model

3. Observation of role-plays

4. Discussion of scenarios with whole group

Decision-making Rubric for Levels of Assessment
  

CRITERIA	LEVEL 1	LEVEL 2	LEVEL 3	LEVEL 4
Identifies & describes a problem	Needs help	Identifies a problem	Describes the problem	Analyzes the problem
Determines alternatives to solve the problem	Only identifies one possible alternative	Identifies some alternatives	Identifies many alternatives	Alternatives that aren't immediately obvious
Evaluates alternatives	Needs help to see pros and cons	Able to evaluate the most obvious alternatives	Evaluates all alternatives giving obvious consequences	Evaluates all alternatives and able to provide consequences not easily apparent
Actively participates in voting for "best"choice	Participates only with strong encouragement	Participates needing only mild encouragement	Participates actively	Participates actively and encourages others to do so as well
Actively participates in discussion of process & next steps	Participates only with strong encouragement	Participates needing only mild encouragement	Participates actively	Participates actively and encourages others to do so as well

 

Additional Resources

There are some additional resources listed at the end of this document. You may also check with your local school board, public health office or call the central information numbers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health:

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