Lesson Overviews for Teachers
Lessons and Worksheets to:
POSTER
Before hanging the poster, be sure to photocopy the lessons and worksheets on the
back of the poster. The poster can be used as a launch-off point to engage students
in a pre-lesson discussion about underage alcohol use, as well as a wrap-up to discuss
what they’ve learned after completing the lessons and worksheets. Questions you
might ask include: What pressures are there for students to use alcohol? What are
the consequences of abusing alcohol? Why is it helpful to know the facts about the
effects of alcohol?
PRE- AND POST-ASSESSMENT
What Do You Know About Alcohol?
Objective: To assess your students’ knowledge about the effects
of alcohol on the brain and the body
Materials: Assessment Quiz reproducible
Time Required: 10 minutes, with additional time for classroom discussion
Discussion: Before using the other worksheets in the teaching guide,
have students complete the quiz. Ask students: How much do you think you know about
how alcohol affects the body? After teaching the lessons, have them take
the quiz again. Ask students: What did you learn? What facts about alcohol most
surprised you?
LESSON 1
Alcohol and Your Brain
Objective: Students will learn about the functions of different
parts of the brain and how alcohol affects those functions.
Materials: Worksheet 1 reproducible
Time Required: 20 minutes, with additional time for classroom discussion
Skills Covered: Reading Comprehension/Critical Thinking/ Diagram-Reading
Key Concepts: Each part of the brain is responsible for different
functions, including coordination of movement, decision-making, and the five senses.
Alcohol has both stimulant and depressant effects on the brain. It may initially
make a person feel happy. Then the depressant effects take over, slowing brain processes.
Alcohol abuse can damage critical areas of the brain, and these effects may be long-lasting.
In extreme cases, drinking can shut down parts of the brain—leading to a coma. Research
shows that a teen’s brain may be particularly susceptible to damage from alcohol
because it is still developing. Recent research by the National Institutes of Health
and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that the brain
keeps developing well into a person’s twenties.1
Discussion: What are some processes in the body that are controlled
by the brain? What might happen if signals in a person’s brain get slowed down or
mixed up? Have you ever heard about changes to a person’s behavior or movements
that are the result of drinking alcohol? (slurred speech; difficulty walking straight;
erratic behavior) What do you think might cause those changes? Have students complete
the Student Worksheet individually or in small groups.
Critical Thinking: How does alcohol affect the signals in your
brain? How does alcohol affect your ability to make decisions? Could drinking alcohol
affect your relationships with your friends and family? How? Why might drinking
alcohol make it difficult to do other activities, such as drive a car or ride a
bike? Could drinking alcohol as a teenager affect your adult life? Why or why not?
LESSON 2
Alcohol and Your Body
Objective: Students will learn about the harmful effects of alcohol
on different parts of the body.
Materials: Worksheet 2 reproducible
Time Required: 20 minutes, with additional time for classroom discussion
Skills Covered: Reading Comprehension/Critical Thinking
Key Concepts: When a person drinks alcohol, it is absorbed into
the bloodstream and affects nearly every organ system in the body. Alcohol can have
short-term effects on the body, such as a stomachache. Long-term abuse can damage
vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, and stomach. This damage can lead
to potentially deadly diseases such as kidney failure or cirrhosis of the liver.
The effects of alcohol on an individual’s body depend on many factors, including
age, weight, gender, and genetics.
Discussion: What parts of the body other than the brain do you
think are affected by alcohol? Do you think alcohol can harm organs in your body?
Do you think underage drinking can be deadly? Have students complete the
Student Worksheet individually or in small groups.
Critical Thinking: What long-term effects does drinking alcohol
have on the body? How does drinking alcohol make you more susceptible to potentially
deadly conditions? How do you think abusing alcohol would affect your appearance
over time?
LESSON 3
Making Smart Choices
Objective: Students will consider why young people may be tempted
to use alcohol. They will use the facts they have learned about the effects of alcohol
on the brain and the body to determine healthy responses to scenarios in which alcohol
is involved.
Materials: Worksheet 3 reproducible
Time Required: 30 minutes, with additional time for classroom discussion
Skills Covered: Critical Thinking/Persuasive Writing/Art
Key Concepts: Many young students may face situations in which
a friend is drinking or asks them to drink. It is important for students to know
the facts about how alcohol affects the brain and the body when they make decisions
in these situations. Considering the situations before they arise may better prepare
the students to make smart and healthy decisions.
Discussion: Why do you think the drinking age in the United States
is 21? What are some reasons you think underage youth are tempted to use alcohol?
Do you think youth would make different decisions about drinking alcohol if they
knew the facts about how it can affect the body? Why or why not? Have students
complete the Student Worksheet individually or in small groups.
Critical Thinking: Why might it be difficult for you to say “No”
to drinking, if a peer offers alcohol to you? What are some things you can do to
remove yourself from a situation in which alcohol is involved? What would you say?
What would you do? What are some resources that you could turn to for support if
you are faced with situations that involve alcohol?
1 “Underage Drinking,” Alcohol Alert, no. 67, January 2006.
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm
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