TITLE OF LESSON PLAN:
Smoke Signals
LENGTH OF LESSON:
Three to four class periods
GRADE LEVEL:
6-8
SUBJECT AREA:
Health
OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the physical effects of smoking and methods to
avoid the temptation to smoke.
2. List behaviors and resources to maintain good physical and emotional health in
order to avoid smoking.
3. Conduct research, analyze information gathered, and outline the results and
conclusions.
4. Apply basic skills of logic and reasoning.
MATERIALS:
For this lesson, you will need:
Paper, pens, markers
The Smoker handout (See you disk file to print this page)
Build a Better Body “The Smoker” Worksheet (page 8 of this packet)
PROCEDURE:
Discovery of how smoking effects body, mind and others
1. Introduce the body of "The Smoker". Use "The Smoker" handout for this activity.
2. The Smoker's body can be placed on the board, overhead or cut out of
construction paper. Students should also have their own handout of “The
Smokers” body to follow along and make notes on.
To help students identify with The Smoker, have them give him/her a name and
create a character. How old is The Smoker? Who are his/her friends? What kind of
student is The Smoker? These comments can be written on the board and the
students can create their own version of The Smoker on their handout.
3. Next, ask the students why they think “The Smoker” smokes. Answers might
include: it's cool, gives a better image, makes you popular, attractive, reduces
stress, controls weight, TV, movie and music personalities do it, etc.
Share studies that show real reasons kids smoke:
Low self-esteem
Low self image
Lack of confidence in ones self to say "no" when someone wants them to try
smoking.
Also, studies show that students that smoke are also more likely to get lower
grades in school.
4. “The Smoker” has developed inner body health problems from smoking. These
problems include shortness of breath, coughing, nausea and dizziness. With “The
Smoker's” body being shown to the class and students with handout, shade in
areas of the body that are affected by his/her smoking.
Look at those areas that could be affected later in life if “The Smoker” continues to
smoke. These areas include cancer of the lungs and other areas of the body, heart
disease, and damage to the respiratory system, added strain on the heart,
narrowing of blood vessels and stroke. Talk about these health issues.
5. The Smoker has also developed some outer body health problems from smoking.
These problems include bad breath, discolored teeth, stinky hair and clothes,
cracking lips and mouth sores. The Smoker is also having problems in sports –
running slower and weak muscles. With The Smoker's body being shown to the
class and students with handout, shade in areas of the body that are affected by
smoking.
6. Next, introduce the problem of how “addicting" smoking is. Nicotine is as
addictive as alcohol, heroin or cocaine. How hard is it to quit smoking? What does
your body go through when you are addicted to smoking? These comments can be
written on the board and students should be encouraged to make their own notes
on their handout.
7. Finally, present how The Smoker affects others when he/she smokes.
Secondhand smoke is the name for the smoke given off by a burning cigarette,
cigar or pipe.
Have students comment on their views about secondhand smoke. Write their
responses on the board.
Share the following facts with the class (Source: The Center of Disease
Control and Prevention).
Secondhand smoke causes 30 times as many lung cancer deaths as all
regulated pollutants combined.
Secondhand smoke makes others hair and clothes stink as well as
interfering with the smell and taste of food.
Secondhand smoke causes wheezing, coughing, colds, headaches,
earaches and asthma attacks in others as well as reddening, itching, and
watering of the eyes.
Secondhand smoke causes up to 300,000 lung infections in infants and
young children each year.
8. Worksheet for Smoker Graphic: Build A Better Body (1-2 class periods and
can be partially assigned as homework) Distribute the second handout: Build a
Better Body.
9. The Smoker needs help to stop smoking. Introduce the questions to the class and
have them research and work individually to answer them (students may also work
in groups if appropriate). The answers to the handout questions will help to
“remove” The Smoker's inner and outer health problems.
10. Once students have completed the questions, take a look at The Smoker again.
Have students give their answers out loud in class and as discussion of each
question develops, address how the answers might affect The Smoker.
Example: The Smoker doesn't want to get cancer so once the facts are given on
what types of cancers are associated with smoking, remove those shaded area
from his body. Go over each area addressed and help The Smoker build a better
body with the facts given from the students.
11. Finally, students should hand in their answers to Build a Better Body for
evaluation and assessment of their comprehension of the facts regarding the
dangers of smoking.
ADAPTATIONS:
As an alternative to completing the full research handout (Build a Better Body), students
can interview a smoker, a nonsmoker and an ex-smoker. They should ask questions like:
Why do you smoke/not smoke?
What do you think of other people who do smoke?
Do you know what smoking does to your body?
Are you ever affected by secondhand smoke?
Have students write a summary of the interviews and then give their impressions on
smoking and others who smoke.
The students should research and report on the ongoing issues involving congress and
the tobacco companies. They can also review some of the anti-smoking campaign
advertisements that were introduced by the Clinton/Gore Administration.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Legal age being 18, how easy is it to buy cigarettes where you live?
2. What types of kids at your school smoke? (no names – give a “type” of student or
social group)
3. Is there an anti-smoking campaign currently in place at your school?
4. How many adults do you know that smoke?
5. Do you think smoking is attractive? Why or why not?
6. What would you tell a friend who has just started smoking?
EXTENSION:
Our World: Who is Smoking?
Have students research smoking trends in other parts of the world. What are other
countries doing to educate citizens about the hazards of smoking? What population is
smoking in other countries and how are health concerns being portrayed.
VOCABULARY:
nicotine
Definition: a poisonous substance derived from tobacco
Context: Nicotine is responsible for the dependence of regular smokers on cigarettes. In
small doses, Nicotine has a stimulating effect on the nervous system, causing raised
blood pressure and pulse rate and impaired appetite in regular smokers. Large doses can
cause different types of paralysis.
addiction
Definition: a state of dependence produced by the habitual taking of any of certain drugs.
Context: The term addiction implies the state of physical dependence induced by a drug
(such drugs as morphine, heroin, alcohol and cigarettes). Treatment is aimed at gradual
withdrawal from the drug and eventual non-use.
tobacco
Definition: the dried leaves of the plant Nicotiana tabacum or related species.
Context: Tobacco is used in smoking and as snuff. It contains the stimulant and
poisonous substance, nicotine, which enters the bloodstream during smoking. The
materials released during smoking contain chemicals that can cause cancer.
cancer
Definition: any malignant tumor
Context: There are many factors that cause cancer, but one clearly known link is
smoking. Cancer arises from the abnormal and uncontrolled division of cells that then
invade and destroy the surrounding tissue. Treatment of cancer depends on the type of
tumor, the site of the tumor, and the extent of which it has spread.
smokeless tobacco
Definition: leaf or powdered tobacco that is placed between the cheek or lower lip and
gum.
Context: There are two forms of smokeless tobacco: chewing tobacco and snuff.
Chewing tobacco (leaf tobacco) is usually sold packaged in a pouch. Snuff (powdered
form) is usually sold in cans. It is the nicotine contained in smokeless tobacco that gives
you a “high” and also what makes using smokeless tobacco very hard to quit. The
chemicals in smokeless tobacco are extremely harmful to your health.
emphysema
Definition: air in the tissues
Context: Emphysema is when the air sacs of the lungs are enlarged and damaged. It can
cause breathlessness, which can become worse with infection. There is no specific
treatment, and the patient may become dependent on oxygen treatments. Why
emphysema develops is not understood, although it is known to be related to smoking.
cigarettes
Definition: Finely cut tobacco and rolled in paper for smoking
Context: A cigarette is a finely cut tobacco for smoking, enclosed in a wrapper of thin
paper. It can also be a similar roll of another substance, such as a tobacco substitute or
marijuana.
attractive
Definition: very pleasing in appearance or sound, or causing interest or pleasure
Context: Being attractive is having the power to arouse interest. It can mean being
pleasing to the eye or mind through beauty or charm. Cigarettes arouse interest in young
people but smoking them is highly addictive.
attitude
Definition: a state of mind or a feeling one has; a disposition. It can also be a position of
the body or manner of carrying oneself.
Context: A positive attitude is a one of good feeling and confidence. A negative attitude is
one of doubt, skepticism, and lack of confidence.
DiscoverySchool.com
http://www.discoveryschool.com
Copyright 2001 Discovery.com.
Teachers may reproduce copies of these materials for classroom use only.
THE SMOKER WORKSHEET
This worksheet provides the student with on line resources that may or may not be helpful due to the
constant updates and changes of Internet resources. We are hopeful most of the resources will remain
helpful to the student. There are certainly text resources that can assist them with this worksheet.
INNER BODY
How many deaths caused by smoking related diseases occur in the U.S. each year?
www.lungusa.org/tobacco
List three different types of cancer caused by smoking.
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/ptuaaag.htm
What are some of the “ingredients” in smokeless tobacco?
www.aap.org/advocacy/chmsmles.htm
OUTER BODY
What are some symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr4kids/realdeal.htm
List three other health compromising behaviors that are associated with adolescent tobacco use.
www.lungusa.org/tobacco/teenager_factsheet99.html
How many nonsmokers die of lung cancer each year from the exposure to secondhand smoke?
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/facts.htm
How much does smoking cost the U.S. in health-care cost and lost productivity each year?
www.lungusa.org/tobacco
What percentage of teens across the U.S. would rather not date someone who smokes?
www.cdc.gov/tobacco/facts.htm
From you research:
What are some other things THE SMOKER can do to improve his health and help build a better body?
What are some interesting facts about tobacco that you learned?