BiWeekly Article #3
Name______________________
WSI ELA 9 Period___Date______
Directions for each Article assignment:
1. Using a highlighter, read the article through one time, highlighting anything that you think is important or that
you want to think or ask about later. We will read in class, so you must have a highlighter with you every day
(no, underlining is not an acceptable substitute).
2. Trade your marker (not your paper) with another student. Use his/her marker to highlight things he/she noticed,
and share yours with him or her. If you are absent, you can do this with any friend or a parent. I need to see two
different colors of highlighting throughout the paper.
3. Using a pen or pencil, read the article again, this time circling words that you do not know the meaning of, and
underlining key opinions stated by the author.
4. Use the margin area to write your thoughts about the topic, definitions of the words you circled, and your
opinions about how the writer is presenting his or her ideas. You should have two or three comments per page
of the article.
5. On a sheet of notebook paper or on a computer, write a three-paragraph response to the article that includes
correct citations, at least two quotes from the article, and your opinions on the topic being discussed. There are
excellent examples of how to do this posted on the moodle site if you want to see how to do this. Use the
bibliographic citation in the footer of the article as a works cited notation either at the beginning or the ending
of your response.
Your Annotation:
OPINION COLUMN
How Drugs and Alcohol Affect Kids' Brains
by Melodie Davis
It may be only early February, but lots of college and even high
school kids are getting through bleak winter days by looking
forward to spring break where the booze will flow freely on a
beach somewhere.
Write at least two comments, questions, or
opinions on each page.
Write definitions for the words that you circles
as important or unknown vocabulary.
I have put some idea questions on each page as
ways to get you thinking, but I want you to
come up with opinions and connections of your
own!
The truth is, kids don't really wait for spring break or
graduation-or even a weekend, to party. And adolescence is
when many kids get started using serious drugs and alcohol.
I interviewed Dr. Brian Kelley, chair of the psychology
department at Bridgewater College, Va. for our Shaping
Families radio program (airing Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, see
www.ShapingFamilies.com ). He is the author of dozens of
papers and articles in scholarly journals on how the brain is
affected by alcohol and drugs, especially when an adolescent
Who is the “expert” interviewed for this
column? Is he/she trustworthy?
is still growing. The studies have titles like "Nicotine exposure
in adolescence impairs learning of adult rats" and "Prenatal
cocaine exposure can increase alcohol consumption levels."
Dr. Kelley said that how this affects the brain is at "the
microscopic level, altering chemicals in the brain." So you can't
really see the damage just by looking. But because
adolescence is a time of such rapid growth (second only to the
time a child is growing in the womb), drugs and alcohol have a
particularly big impact on brain development at this time. In
addition to making poor (or stupid) decisions, he says this
impact is also seen in lost future potential.
We usually see this most keenly in behavior changes, such as
he observed in his own friends. Growing up in a tough
neighborhood in Maryland, Dr. Kelley said, "We'd play sports
growing up, soccer, wrestling, baseball and then we hit middle
school and a couple of them started using pot or other drugs
and their personalities changed." He said his friends' goals,
objectives, and relationship to the church and the community
changed, all for the worse. "It just really surprised me that a
drug could so profoundly impact the essence of who they
were," he said. This is what propelled Dr. Kelley to specialize in
this field of research.
Does the personal story of how his friends were
affected by drug use make this argument
stronger or weaker for you?
He continues to conduct research and also works to ensure
that the information doesn't just stay in the laboratory. He has
helped produce a film in cooperation with a local coalition
called "Strong Families/Great Youth Coalition" warning parents
that many kids start abusing substances by using alcohol or
prescription drugs they find at home. He feels that too many
parents either pretend they don't know what's going on, or
encourage kids to drink at home to keep them off roads (which
doesn't work either), or say "all kids drink, it's a phase."
"One of the messages in the film is for parents to talk to their
kids and to be the prevention resource," said Kelley, "Another
is to say 'no' to all drug use, particularly in the home. Kids
whose parents allow them to drink at home - thinking it is better
to have them safe at home than out in a car while drinking drink twice as much when not at home than kids whose parents
forbid the use of it altogether."
But there is a role for the community as well. Dr. Kelley pointed
out how merchandise displays (such as now near Superbowl
weekend) encourage excessive drinking. He mentioned how
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Do you notice how many ads are for alcohol
when you watch sports, or when you go
shopping? Why do you think this is done?
Davis, Melodie. "How Drugs and Alcohol Affect Kids' Brains | Column | Opinion | Pembina Group."
Pembina Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://www.pembinatoday.ca/2011/02/01/howdrugs-and-alcohol-affect-kids-brains>.
during the key back-to-college shopping season each fall, he
has observed binge drinking merchandise displays near the
front of large "home" stores. He called one such home store
manager to task for this kind of display of tubes and clamps
and funnels. "I got the manager and said, 'What exactly are you
selling here? What is the point of this material being placed
together so front and center?' He just looked at me like he
didn't even know what to say. I said 'These are all of the
products necessary to make beer bongs and basically
paraphernalia for really rapid binge drinking. You are selling
binge drinking products to the youth of our community, and
you're making it as easy as possible. This is the kind of drinking
where people end up in the ER, sometimes dead. You're
contributing to alcohol poisoning. Is that really what you want to
do?'"
I wonder what some of our stores would say/do if more of us
asked the same questions It's something to think about.
For a free pamphlet, "Breaking the Student Drinking Culture,"
write to Another Way, Box 22, Harrisonburg, Va., 22803 or email me at melodied@thirdwaymedia.org (Please include this
paper's name in your response.)
You can also visit Another Way on the Web at
www.thirdway.com.
Melodie Davis is the author of nine books and has written
Another Way since 1987. She is also the producer and co-host
of Shaping Families radio program (shapingfamilies.com) airing
nationally.
What do you think about the fact that Davis is a
writer and producer who is affiliated with a
church? Does it change how you view her
opinions?
Another Way is sponsored by the Winkler Bergthaler
Mennonite Church.
3

Davis, Melodie. "How Drugs and Alcohol Affect Kids' Brains | Column | Opinion | Pembina Group."
Pembina Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://www.pembinatoday.ca/2011/02/01/howdrugs-and-alcohol-affect-kids-brains>.
Include in your three-paragraph response:
1. The genre, author and title (usually in the first or second sentence)
Example: In the ABCNews.com article titled "Bullied Teen Who Got Facial Plastic Surgery Ready to
Forgive Tormentors, But Won't Forget” writers Meredith Frost and Bianna Golodryga report on a
teenage girl who underwent plastic surgery in order to change her facial features and stop other
students from bullying her.
2. A brief (two or three sentences; this is not a summary assignment!) explanation of the main points of the
article or column. Tell the facts that are mentioned and the writer’s opinions stated about the facts.
3. At least two quotations (a quotation is anything written in the article – it is not always someone being
quoted in the article) from the article that shows a fact or opinion that you will comment on. For each
quotation you use, you will write two or three sentence discussing what it means to you and your opinions
about it.
Example: The suffering that Nadia faced daily in school is especially notable in that she states, "[The
bullies] are the ones who pressured me into getting the surgery,"(ABCNews.com). It is sad that any
person could be treated so badly that she felt she had to change herself so much. Surgeries are not
always safe, and she should not have had to make a life-changing decision based on how others were
treating her.
3. Some examples from things you have observed in your life, in the lives of people you know, or in the news
that relate to this topic. Give your opinions about the problems discussed in the article, solutions that might
have been suggested by the author, or solutions that you think would work.
Example: This story really struck me as unfair. While I am glad that Nadia was able to make herself
look better, I think it is terrible that she had to make such an important health decision based on bad
treatment by other kids. I have seen girls and boys who are bullied because of how they look or dress or act,
and I have also been bullied myself. I would probably have done the same thing as Nadia did if I was in her
position, but I still wish she didn’t have to do it. We should all think more about the effect of mean words and
be more careful of what we say to others.
4

Davis, Melodie. "How Drugs and Alcohol Affect Kids' Brains | Column | Opinion | Pembina Group."
Pembina Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://www.pembinatoday.ca/2011/02/01/howdrugs-and-alcohol-affect-kids-brains>.