Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 7: Expectations 3-4

Grade 7 Overview

Expectation 1

2

3

4

Specific Learning Expectations

Expectation 3: Apply a decision-making process to make informed choices regarding drug use.

Expectation 4: Demonstrate strategies that can be used to counter pressures to smoke, drink and take drugs, and identify healthy alternatives to drug use.

Background Information

As students develop their analytical ability, they will be able to identify more alternatives which they will need to take into account when making a choice, and when following the “IDEAL” decision-making model. (Used with permission from the "Smoke-Free Class of 2000, Grade 7 Kit", Council for Tobacco-Free Ontario (1994).)

Some of these alternatives may not be what we as teachers hope students would choose.

The model is meant to indicate to students the pros and cons of all alternatives. Some students might choose to use drugs because they decide that is their best choice. It is helpful for teachers to facilitate a discussion of what "best" means for each student.

If students decide that they would use a substance (e.g., drink a beer with a friend at the cottage), the class could then look at what people can do to make sure they are safe (e.g., don't go in swimming if drinking alcohol).

Teaching/Learning Strategies

1.  Initial assessment of prior knowledge. Define peer pressure and other influences (personal, internal, external).

2.  Review previous lessons on decision-making model and refusal techniques.

Activity:

In small groups, have the students use the “IDEAL” (Identify the problem; Determine/Discuss alternatives; Evaluate alternatives; Act and Learn) decision-making model using the following scenarios (or ask students to come up with their own scenarios):

• Anu and Amit, both in Grade 8, are invited to Mark's party on Saturday night. They know Mark's parents will not be home and that Mark is planning to have beer at the party. Decide as a group what Anu and Amit should do and role-play the decision.
• Marco is babysitting for friends of his parents. When they arrive home, it is clear they have been drinking. The father insists on driving Marco home. Decide as a group what Marco can do and role-play the situation.
• Parnish wants to try out for the football team but worries that he is too small. His older brother has recently gotten much more muscular and is working out a lot at the gym. Parnish asks his brother to help him get bigger. His brother has some pills that he says he will give to Parnish if he really wants to bulk up. Decide as a group what Parnish should do and role-play this situation.
• Twelve-year-old Mei is offered a low-alcohol beer by her friend. Her friend says, "Don't worry. This isn't really alcohol." Decide as a group what Mei should do and then role-play the situation.
• Best friends, Julio and Christine, were just leaving school, when another friend pulled out a joint of marijuana and offered to meet them behind the library later, where they could smoke the joint. Julio wants to go, but Christine doesn't and they start to argue. Decide what their final decision is and role-play the situation.

The IDEAL Decision-making Worksheet:

Identify the Problem

Determine/Discuss the Alternatives

Evaluate the Consequences of Each of the Alternatives

Act (Vote as a group your "best" choice)

Learn

Discuss what "best" means and see if this differs in your group. (Teacher's note: In most cases, the "learn" step is a post-action step and helps the students evaluate the effectiveness of their decision. For the purposes of this exercise, this step is defineddifferently to indicate to students that one decision may not work for all people and in all situations.)

Play the peer pressure game "Take a Stand". (Reprinted with permission from Toronto Public Health, developed by the former North York Public Health Department.)

Take a Stand (a peer pressure exercise):

1. Draw an imaginary line to divide the class into two groups.

2. Tell the students that this is a decision-making line and some of them will have the chance to "take a stand" on this line as they try to make a decision about a situation you will pose.

3. The remaining students have the chance to try to pressure them to change their minds.

4. Ask a volunteer to stand on the line.

5. Read out the following scenario:

You are the star pitcher on your baseball team. Your team made the playoffs and you are scheduled to pitch in the final game. Your best friend calls to say he has tickets to the last game of the season with your favorite team. The tickets are for the same day as your team's final game. The group of students on one side of the line will represent team members and try to persuade the volunteer to play for the team. The other group will represent the best friend and will try to persuade the person to go to the game. Students from each side take turns trying to change the student's mind. The students can decide any time to go with their team or their friend. Debrief, with the students asking:

• What was the main reason for their decision?
• What did it feel like to be pressured?
• What did it feel like to be the ones giving the pressure lines?
• Did anyone feel she would have liked to support her friend in her decision rather than change her mind? Was the group pressure too strong to let this happen?
• Was the student able to make a decision and stay with it, or was he or she swayed by pressure lines?

Discuss assertiveness and how this was shown or not shown in the exercise. Ask volunteer students to model additional assertive responses in this situation.

Additional scenarios which involve drug use:

• You are going to stay overnight at your married sister's house. Your brother-in-law offers you a cigarette because, he says, "You are growing up." You don't want to smoke. Take a stand, with each half of the class trying to change your mind. Demonstrate refusal skills and assertiveness skills.

• There is a group of kids at the community centre who are sniffing glue. Some of these kids are your close friends. They want you to join them but you want to play soccer. Take a stand, with each half of the class trying to change your mind. Demonstrate refusal skills and assertiveness skills.

Assessments of Learning

1. Discussion of review of the “IDEAL” decision-making model using correct terminology

2. Active participation in developing new refusal techniques or practicing learned skills

3. Observation of participation in role-play, development of scenarios

4. Participation in "Take a Stand"

5. Observation of identification of assertiveness

6. Completion of the “IDEAL” worksheet

Decision-Making Rubric for Levels of Assessment
 

 

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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