Lesson 10.4: Saying No to Alcohol

Overview

This lesson focuses on deciding not to use alcohol, how to avoid difficult decisions involving alcohol, and using verbal and nonverbal communication as well as refusal skills to say no to alcohol.

Learning Targets

  • Identify circumstances that may encourage and discourage alcohol use.
  • Explain how to use effective communication skills to avoid alcohol use.
  • Discuss the benefits of being alcohol free.
  • Recognize alternatives to drinking alcohol.

Preparation

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 10.4 PowerPoint slides, or make copies of the Lesson 10.4 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 10.4 Practicing Your No When Offered Alcohol Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet.

Warm-Up Activity

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

  • Journal Question: People are asked questions every day, some big, some small. What do you think was the most important question you were asked in the past year? Was it hard to say yes? Was it hard to say no? Explain why.
    • 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 10.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 10.4 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 10.4 PowerPoint slides to review the chapter content.

Option: Have students use the Lesson 10.4 Note-Taking Guide to review chapter content. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in small groups. Review the questions as a class if time permits.

Lesson Focus: Practicing Your No When Offered Alcohol

  1. Provide each student a copy of the Lesson 10.4 Practicing Your No When Offered Alcohol Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  2. Ask students to pair up. Have students role-play by having each partner ask the other “Would you like a beer (or other alcoholic drink)?” Each student should then verbally and nonverbally practice their refusal skill responses they wrote on their worksheet with their partner.
  3. Ask for volunteers to share their refusal skill responses with the rest of the class.

Challenge Activity

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

Write a story about a teenager who is addicted to alcohol. Make the story realistic and include some of the consequences of drinking as part of the story.

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…

  • Identify circumstances that may encourage and discourage alcohol use?

    Situations that may encourage you to drink are you are able to get alcohol; you may have a job or get an allowance; you may spend a lot of time alone and don’t have a curfew; you may be around siblings, friends, or family members who began drinking at an early age; and the friends you hang out with may drink and you may feel peer pressure to drink also. Situations that may encourage you not to drink are you don’t have access to alcohol, you might lose your freedom to do things, you are involved in school activities or have a job that drinking could jeopardize, your family members don’t drink, and the friends you hang out with don’t drink so you wouldn’t fit in if you did drink.

  • Explain how to use effective communication skills to avoid alcohol use?

    You want to use verbal and nonverbal messages to clearly communicate and reinforce your choice to avoid alcohol.

  • Discuss the benefits of being alcohol free?

    Benefits include having more energy, higher self-esteem, better relationships with your friends and family, and higher grades than students who drink; you are better able to manage stressful situations; you eat healthier; and you have no hangovers.

  • Recognize alternatives to drinking alcohol?

    Alternatives include going to a movie, playing games (video, card, or board), volunteering, exercising, finding a new hobby, spending time with your family, advocating for something you believe in, trying out for a sports team, or getting a job.

Assessment

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

  • Quiz: Have students take the Lesson 10.4 Quiz.
  • Vocabulary Review: Collect the Lesson 10.4 Vocabulary Review Worksheets, and evaluate them for accuracy.
  • Note-Taking Guide: Collect the completed Lesson 10.4 Note-Taking Guides, and spot check one or more items for completion and accuracy.
  • Skill-Building Worksheet: Have students submit the Lesson 10.4 Practicing Your No When Offered Alcohol Skill-Building Challenge Worksheets, and use the Healthy Communication 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

Use the information in this lesson to talk with a younger sibling or classmate about the benefits of not drinking alcohol. Teach your sibling or friend how to use nonverbal cues to help get their point across when confronted with being offered alcohol.