Lesson Plan 7

Title: Alcohol and Advertising

Grade: Third

Time: 50 minutes

Objectives:

• Students will identify the reasons alcohol is harmful to your body.
• Students will recognize that advertisers are trying to sell their products.
• Students will list ways that advertisers are trying to make their products desirable.
• Students will identify ways to demonstrate the negative effects of alcohol.

Methods:

• Review with students that alcohol is a drug and it changes the way the body works. It goes quickly into the blood, and then travels to all parts of the body. It causes people to feel dizzy, and makes them unable to see clearly. They may have trouble walking straight or remembering things. People can even become unconscious and can even die. Over a long period of time, drinking alcohol can damage the brain, liver, and heart. When taken with other drugs or medicines, alcohol is very dangerous. Children cannot buy beer, wine, or liquor. If a person has been drinking alcohol, it is against the law for a person to drive. Even though alcohol is widely used, it is very harmful to a person’s health. Discuss and answer any questions.

 
• Show the class advertisements for alcohol. Discuss the reasons for advertisements. Emphasize that advertisements try to make you believe that a product will make your life better, and ads do not tell you all the ways a product is harmful.

 
• Divide the class into groups of four. Give each group an alcohol advertisement. As a group, have them list ways that advertisers are trying to make alcohol seem desirable. They might list: alcohol is fun, people are always laughing and having a good time; pretty, fun-loving people drink beer and wine; very elegant, rich and glamorous people drink liquor.

 
• Afterwards, have one reporter from each group report to the whole class their findings. Discuss and summarize the negative influences advertising has on the public.

 
• Give each student a 9x12 or 12x18 sheet of construction paper. Using crayons, markers, or colored pencils, have the students design a poster illustrating the negative effects of alcohol on the body. Posters may also be done showing things to do instead of using alcohol. When completed, the posters may be displayed in the school’s hallways.

Materials:

Alcohol advertisements from magazines showing beautiful scenery, people having fun, etc.

9x12 or 12x18 construction paper or poster paper

crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

Evaluation: The teacher will evaluate how well the groups have made the lists that advertisers are trying to make alcohol seem desirable. The teacher will also evaluate the posters to see if the students recognize the harmful effects of alcohol on the body.

Internet Resources:

• Institute of Alcohol Studies http://www.ias.org.uk
• Alcohol and Advertising ( IAS Fact Sheet) http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/factsheets/advertising.pdf
• Alcohol and Advertising http://www.journeyworks.com/prodinfo.asp?number=5126&top