Content Area: Health and Physical Education

 

Index: 2.3B Grade 4 CPI 2

 

Standard: 2.3 - Drugs & Medicine

 

Strand: B - Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs

 

Cumulative Progress Indicator:  2 - The student will describe the short- and long-term physical effects of tobacco use.

 

Grade: 4

 

Sample Activities:

 

·        EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM - This activity helps students visualize the effects of tobacco products on the respiratory system. To demonstrate the effects of smoking, use a smoking machine (available from health materials supply companies) or create your own. Students record their observations during the presentation. Emphasize during the discussion that certain effects are clearly evident, such as yellow teeth or bad breath, but that some internal changes may go unnoticed until years later. To illustrate this, use an old broom and a new broom to represent the cilia. Sweep a pile of dirt with the new broom and then with a broom that is worn and broken. Discuss the students’ observations and relate them to the effects of smoking on the respiratory system. Introduce the concept of secondhand smoke by asking students how cigarette or cigar smoke affects others. Organize small groups to develop strategies to minimize exposure to cigarette or cigar smoke. Groups share their ideas and create a large poster outlining the best strategies.

 

·        WHAT DOES SMOKING COST? - Discuss the costs of various items that students treasure (e.g. games, CDs). Explain that you have discovered a great way to save money: Never become a smoker! Provide information on the cost of individual packs and cartons of cigarettes and cigars. Divide the class into small groups, and assign each group a “hypothetical smoker.” Each group calculates the amount of money its smoker spends on tobacco products in one week, one month, and one year, then places their calculations on the chalkboard and justifies their answers. Each student writes a journal entry explaining things the smoker could do with the money saved if he/she quit smoking.

 

·        WARNING LABELS - Show students warning labels on tobacco products and explain why the labels are required. Students read and analyze the warnings and create a new warning label for tobacco or alcohol products that more clearly describes the risks of use. Display the student-created labels and discuss why such labels are important. Pose the following questions: “Do people stop smoking or drinking after reading the labels? Why or why not? Are the labels effective in stopping the use of tobacco or alcohol products?” Require students to defend their answers.