Stayin’ Clean: Alcohol-, Drugs- and Tobacco-Free
Hanin Bearat
LESSON OVERVIEW
This lesson is designed to educate youth on the effects of various substances of abuse on their
bodies. It specifically covers the effect of alcohol on the liver (as well as other parts of the
body), the effect of drugs on the brain and the effect of tobacco on the lungs. The first part of
the lesson is intended to be completely inquiry-based, with little information given to the
students aside for a few directions and relying on their notes and observations. In this lesson,
students rotate through different stations (3 lab stations and 3 reading stations) to do hands-on
activities relating to the different organs and the substances which affect them, as well as read
articles about each organ, its function and what the substance of abuse does to that organ.
Students then match the reading and lab scenarios and explain their reasoning. The second part
of the lesson aims at providing facts, statistics, images and videos on each of the categories.
The lesson concludes with analysis of various advertisements for alcohol, drugs and tobacco,
and the students designing their own “anti” ad to discourage others from using these
substances.
KEY WORDS: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, liver, lungs, brain, substance abuse.
GRADE LEVEL: This lesson is designed for 8th grade science students.
DURATION: 2 (70min) class periods.
OBJECTIVES
The lesson is designed for students to learn the following:
 Experiment with lab activities relating to substance abuse and their effects on various
organs
 Read articles on the organs, their functions and the effect of substances on them
 Use inquiry and problem-based learning to analyze and determine the correct matches
of the lab activities to the readings
 Gain knowledge on the effects of alcohol, drugs and tobacco on their bodies
 Use propaganda techniques to analyze tobacco, alcohol and drug industry
advertisements and their underlying messages
 Design an advertisement discouraging others from abusing substances
VOCABULARY
Liver: Largest organ in the body which produces bile, filters the blood and detoxifies alcohol
Lungs: Organs that distribute oxygen to the rest of the body and rids the body of carbon dioxide
Brain: Control center of the body, communicates with all body parts and responsible for
thinking and feelings
Receptors: Found on nerve endings, serve as mediators between messenger chemicals and
physiological response
Axon: Part of neuron (nerve cell) that sends message
Dendrite: Part of neuron (nerve cell) that receives message
Synapse: Location where axon and dendrite meet to exchange messages through chemicals
Dopamine: Brain chemical associated with the feeling of pleasure
Drugs: Substance used as a narcotic, producing numbness
Tobacco: Leaves prepared for use in cigarettes
Tar: Dark heavy substance obtained as a residue from smoking
Alcohol: A depressant, substance that diminishes functional activity and slows nervous system
Addiction: Physical or mental dependence on a behavior or substance
STANDARDS
The Arizona and National standards for this lesson are the following:
 STRAND 1: Inquiry Process
o Concept 2 (Scientific Testing)
 PO1: demonstrate safe behavior and appropriate procedures
 PO3: conduct a controlled investigation to support or reject a hypothesis
 PO4: perform measurements using appropriate scientific tools
 PO5: keep a record of observations, notes, sketches, questions, and ideas
using written and/or computer logs
o Concept 3 (Analysis and Conclusions)
 PO1: analyze data obtained in a scientific investigation to identify trends
 PO2: form a logical argument about a correlation between variables or
sequence of events
 PO5: explain how evidence supports the viability and reliability of a
conclusion
o Concept 4 (Communication)
 PO1: communicate the results of an investigation
 STRAND 3: Science in Personal & Social Perspective,
o Concept 2 (Science & Technology in Society)
 PO1: propose viable methods of responding to an identified need or
problem
 PO3: design and construct a solution to an identified need or problem
using simple classroom materials
The Arizona Comprehensive Health Education Standards for this lesson are:
 STANDARD 1: Students comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention

o Concept 1CH-E1, PO2: Illustrate the harmful effects of use of tobacco, alcohol
and other drugs
o Concept 1CH-E5, PO1: Compare healthy environments and healthy people with
unhealthy environments and unhealthy people
STANDARD 3: Students demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors
and reduce health risks
o Concept 3CH-E3, PO1: Identify responsible and risky behaviors
SAFETY
All students should use precaution when at lab stations, but no hazards are present.
PROCEDURE
Warm-up question: What external or environmental factors can cause diseases and health
problems?
Day 1: Station Rotations
 Warm-up and discussion (10min)
 Directions for the station activities (5min)
 Set up 6 stations in the classroom: 3 reading and 3 lab
o At the reading stations, provide 4-6 articles at each station on one of the topics
(drugs and brain, alcohol and liver, or tobacco and lungs)
o At the lab stations:
 Lab station #1: 2 sponges, 2 cups, bottle of honey, cup of water, paper
towels
 Lab station #2: 2 coffee filters, 2 empty cups, 1 cup with water, 1 cup with
sandy water, bowl, paper towels
 Lab station #3: tube and valve structure at faucet (see Note section for
how to make the tube/valve structure)
 In groups of 3-5, students will rotate through all 6 stations (7-9 min per station, )
o At reading stations, students will choose an article, read and take notes on:
 Organ
 Function of organ
 External factor present (either alcohol, drugs or tobacco)
 Effect of factor on organ
o At lab stations, students will perform the following tasks:
 Lab station #1: pour honey on one sponge over cup and pour water on
other sponge over cup
 Lab station #2: pour water in filter in cup and pour sandy water in other
filter in cup
 Lab station #3: Run water through tubes with valves open and run water
through tubes with valves closed
o At lab stations, students will write down:
 Materials
 2 scenarios/tasks (ex: water in filter vs. sandy water in filter)
 Observations of before/after and of both scenarios

After rotating through all stations, students will discuss in their groups which reading
station (organ and substance) matched up with which lab station and their reasons and
justifications for their matches (10min)
Day 2: Station review, presentations & videos, ads
Warm-up question: Discuss different drug, alcohol and tobacco advertisements you have seen.
What were they showing? Should there be more regulation?
 Warm-up and discussion (10min)
 Review of Day 1 stations and matches (5-10min)
o Ask what they matched with the sponges and honey/water  lungs & smoking
and why  honey sticky, doesn’t get absorbed and sponge not able to function
as well as with water, similar to tar on the lungs from smoking
o Ask what they matched with filters and water/sandy water  liver & alcohol and
why  filter takes out bad things in water (sand) and gets clogged up when too
much sand, similar to the liver filtering the blood and removing alcohol and too
much alcohol causes the liver to not function as well
o Ask what they matched with the tubes/valves and water  brain & drugs and
why  when all valves are open, water flow should be unaffected, but when 3
valves are closed and only one tube open, flow is reduced, similar to drugs
blocking off receptors in the brain and not letting communication/signals go
through as normal
o Explain that the lab stations are abstract ways of looking at the body and could
be interpreted in different ways, but mainly from key words in articles (tar, filter,
block receptors), these were matched accordingly
 Presentations & Videos (30-40min)
o Go through the powerpoint presentation on alcohol, smoking and drugs and
their effects on the body
o At the end of each section (alcohol, smoking and drugs), show short video clips
about each (2-3min each)
o While going through presentation, ask students to take notes on:
 Facts and statistics related to each topic
 Key words and vocabulary in each section
 Diseases caused by each
 After presentations, go back to warm-up and show slides with advertisements found for
each topic (alcohol, smoking and drugs) and discuss messages in ads and propaganda
techniques used (5min)
 Ask students to design their own “anti” ad (individually) on construction paper to
discourage others from using these substances of abuse (Remaining time). Each ad
should include:
o One of the topics (alcohol, drugs or tobacco)
o 1 fact
o 1 statistic
o A slogan
o A picture or drawing
o Creativity
ASSESSMENT
Various methods for assessment will be utilized and they include:
 Formative assessment (self-reflective, how student is involved in asking/answering
questions, working with other students, participating in activities, etc.)
 Students creating notes involving questions, observations, sketches/notes
 Collaboration with other students in their groups to determine lab and reading matches
 Reporting their results/matches and justifications orally to the class
 Designing an “anti” ad with all requirements
 Participation, effort, use of intelligence, behavior, notes taken on the lab activities and
presentations, and their “anti” ad will be collected
NOTE
All materials needed for this lesson are simple and low-cost. Plastic cups, honey, coffee filters,
sponges can be purchased anywhere. Sand or any other substances (soil, rocks, etc.) can be
used for the “sandy water”.
Lab station #3 requires a little more work. At Home Depot or Ace Hardware, purchase clear
vinyl tubes of 2 different sizes (preferably one big and one small); a coil of 10ft is more than
enough. Purchase plastic valves which can fit into the small tubes and purchase Tee connectors
to connect the tubes together (I used clips to tighten the different size tubes together but
converters can also be used to go from a large sized tube to a smaller one). With the materials,
make a structure which goes from a large tube (inflow) splitting into smaller tubes (with some
of the smaller tubes having valves inserted in them). Connect the smaller tubes back to a large
tube for the outflow. I had 4 smaller tubes and 3 of the 4 tubes had valves inserted on them
(see picture below). The main idea is to have a large flow of water split into smaller flow and
connect back into a large flow. Once the 3 valves are closed and only 1 tube is left, the outflow
should be diminished. Different designs and materials can be used, of course.