Submitted by: Priya Mathur

Grade Levels: 6-8, 9-12

NOTE TO EDUCATORS: The movie featured in this lesson plan discusses alcohol and the effects of drinking, including its dangers. Consider previewing the movie before showing it to the class.

This lesson plan, adaptable for grades 6-12, invites students to explore BrainPOP resources to learn how drinking alcohol negatively affects the body  Then students will create an alcohol awareness campaign using facts they collected from the movie.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Share what they know about alcohol and alcohol use.
  2. Use Make-a-Map to identify what alcohol is and the dangers surrounding its use.
  3. Use Make-a-Movie to create alcohol awareness campaign.
  4. Share alcohol awareness campaign with peers.

Materials:

Vocabulary:

alcoholism, cirrhosis, depressant, drug, inhibited, sedative, tolerance,

Preparation:

  • Preview the movie Alcohol to plan for any adaptations.
  • If students will be working offline, make copies of the Web Graphic Organizer.
  • Prepare a KWL chart on the whiteboard or on chart paper.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Ask students to share what they know about alcohol, including what it is and its effects on the body. Jot their responses in the K column of the KWL chart. Then ask them what they would like to know about alcohol. Note these responses in the W column.
  2. Now tell students that today they will watch a movie about alcohol and its effects. Using what they learn, explain that they’ll work together to create awareness campaigns.
  3. Show the movie Alcohol on the whiteboard to the whole class. Turn on the closed caption option to aid in comprehension.
  4. Open the list of vocabulary words in a second window. Have students open the vocabulary list on their devices, too. Play the movie a second time, this time pausing as the key vocabulary is defined. Have students jot down the definitions.
  5. After watching the movie two times, ask students what are the dangers of drinking alcohol. Have a class discussion based on what they learned in the movie. Write their responses in the W column of the KWL chart.
  6. Ask students what they could do to raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol that could change public attitudes and behavior. Encourage them to take a look at existing alcohol awareness campaigns.
  7. Divide the class into small groups or pairs to create their own alcohol awareness campaigns. They are to use Make-a-Movie to create their campaigns. Explain that  first they are to select a theme, then storyboard using Make-a-Map, and finally produce their movies.
  8. Allow time for small groups or pairs to discuss what aspect of alcohol awareness they’d like to address in their campaign. For ideas, they may want to review the Quiz questions (e.g, What is one common effect of drinking too much for a long time?)
  9. Have students open Make-a-Map and select one of the storyboard templates to plan their alcohol awareness campaign. Encourage students to use at least 3 vocabulary words when writing the text of the storyboard.
  10. Once students complete their storyboard, they can create their awareness campaign using Make-a-Movie.
  11. Now have students present their alcohol awareness campaign to the rest of the class.
  12. Finally, bring the class back together and draw their attention to the KWL chart. Have students share what they learned about alcohol and its effects. Write their ideals in the L column of the chart.

Extension Activities:

Prompt students to read about Prohibition in the Laws and Customs Related Reading. Then have a class debate on whether a ban can be effective in eliminating unwanted behaviors. To help students to prepare for the debate have them use the Persuasive Essay graphic organizer to make notes of their arguments.