Lesson 10.1: Alcohol Use

Overview

This lesson focuses on what alcohol is, different types of alcoholic beverages, drinking levels, and consequences of alcohol use.

Learning Targets

  • Describe what alcohol is.
  • Identify standard drink sizes of alcoholic beverages.
  • Differentiate the terms associated with drinking: moderate drinking, hangover, binge drinking, and heavy drinking.
  • Define blood alcohol content.
  • Explain the term minor in possession.

Preparation

Chapter Opener: Complete the What Do I Know About Alcohol? self-assessment to introduce the chapter before moving on to Lesson 10.1, or assign the worksheet as a homework task before starting this lesson.

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the journal question on the board, or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 10.1 PowerPoint slides, or make copies of the Lesson 10.1 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 10.1 Promoting an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on-task.

  • Self-Assessment: Have students complete the What Do I Know About Alcohol? self-assessment.
  • Journal Question: What do you know about the different types of alcoholic drinks? Do they all contain the same amount of alcohol?
    • Option: Write or project the question, and have students respond in their journals as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in partners, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 10.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 10.1 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quizzes, and use them alongside posttests to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

  • Option: Use the Lesson 10.1 PowerPoint slides to review the chapter content.
  • Option: Have students use the Lesson 10.1 Note-Taking Guide to review the chapter content. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Review the questions as a class if time permits.

Lesson Focus: Promoting an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 10.1 Promoting an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet. Have students in groups of your choice work together to complete the worksheet.
  2. Advocate for your school to set up its own chapter of SADD. If your school already has a SADD chapter, have students find a cause, under the Initiatives tab on the SADD website, or another topic appropriate to your school for students to find information on an advocacy project.
  3. Have the students use the four advocacy skill cues on the worksheet to advocate for starting their own chapter of SADD or another appropriate topic.

Challenge Activity

Have students who need an additional challenge work on the following critical-thinking task.

If your friend is intoxicated, how might you be affected if you are at a party with them? How might the family members of the intoxicated person be affected?

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets, and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you…

  • Describe what alcohol is?

    Alcohol is a depressant that slows down the functions of the central nervous system.

  • Identify standard drink sizes of alcoholic beverages?

    Each type of alcohol has a standard drink size: a 12-ounce can or glass of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and a 1.5-ounce shot of liquor (figure 10.2).

  • Differentiate the terms associated with drinking: moderate drinking, hangover, binge drinking, and heavy drinking?

    Moderate drinking is usually seen as having up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men. Intoxicated means alcohol has made it difficult for a person to do simple tasks, such as walking and talking. A hangover is a group of unpleasant symptoms. Someone who binge drinks consumes many drinks in a short amount of time, on a regular basis. Heavy drinking is when a male drinks more than 4 drinks a day or 15 drinks or more per week and a female drinks more than 3 drinks a day or 8 drinks or more per week.

  • Define blood alcohol content?

    Blood alcohol content, or BAC, is the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream.

  • Explain the term minor in possession (MIP)?

    An MIP means you are under 21 and are in possession of alcohol.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 10.1 Quiz.
  • Vocabulary Review: Collect the Lesson 10.1 Vocabulary Review Worksheets, and evaluate them for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 10.1 Note-Taking Guides, and spot check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 10.1 Promoting an Alcohol-Free Lifestyle Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet, and use the Advocacy Holistic Rubric to evaluate their skill development.
  • Journal Question: Ask students to respond to the journal question again, adding information they learned from today’s class. Require a one-paragraph response that uses proper grammar.

Take It Home

Talk to a trusted adult about what you should do if you find yourself at a party where there is alcohol. Regardless of whether you knew it was a party where alcohol was going to be or you had no idea alcohol would be available, how can you get out of the situation without getting in trouble? Have a conversation with the trusted adult about giving you a get-out-of-trouble-free card if you make the choice to call them and do the right thing by leaving.

Option: Assign the What Do I Know About Alcohol? self-assessment as a homework task if it was not used at the start of this lesson.