Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 8: Overview

Grade 8 Overview

Expectation 1

2

3

4

Step 1: Identify the learning expectations:

Overall expectation:

• Identify local support groups and community organizations (e.g., public health offices) that provide information or services related to health and well-being.
• Apply living skills (e.g., decision-making, problem-solving, and refusal skills) to respond to matters related to sexuality, drug use, and healthy eating habits.

Specific Learning Expectations:

• Outline the possible negative consequences of substance use and abuse (e.g., fetal alcohol syndrome, effects of steroid use, collisions when drinking and driving). 
• Identify school and community resources that are involved in education about substance use and abuse, and those involved in preventing and treating substance abuse.
• Describe causes and symptoms of stress and positive ways (as opposed to substance use) to relieve stress. 
• Apply the steps of the decision-making process to address age-specific situations related to personal health and well-being in which substance use or abuse is one of the factors.

Step 2: Connect the Achievement Level category to the learning expectations:
 

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• show understanding of the negative consequences of some drug use issues (e.g., fetal alcohol syndrome, addiction, effects of steroid use, drinking and driving).
• understand the concept of agencies that are involved with drug education, drug prevention and drug treatment, and can tell of or show, with few errors, several such agencies in their community.
• understand and communicate the causes and symptoms of stress and positive ways to relieve or reduce stress.
• use terminology correctly.
• understand and communicate information about a decision-making process for age-specific drug use issues.
• actively participate in applying this process to situations discussed in class.
• use appropriate terminology.

Step 3: Evidence of student learning will be identified and assessed by the student's ability to:

• identify negative consequences of drug use for specific issues.
• tell friends the risks of being at parties where alcohol is served.
• identify helping and education agencies in their community.
• identify and communicate a decision-making model.
• identify and discuss causes of stress and ways to relieve or reduce stress without drug use.
• identify age-specific situations related to sexuality, healthy eating and drug use.
• practice a decision-making process to deal with these.
• identify healthy and safe alternatives.

Step 4: Develop/Determine the assessment strategy/tool:

1. What will students do to demonstrate their learning?

• Write a position paper
• Make a trial of a drug
• Complete a resource sheet
• Take part in decision-making role-plays

2. What will you use to collect evidence of the student's learning?

• Charts
• Resource sheet
• Decision-making checklist

Step 5: Outline the teaching/learning strategies:

Follow the links for the two lesson plans for Grade 8.

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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