Educating Students about Drug Use and Mental Health - Grade 9: Expectation 5 Teaching Learning Strategy 2

Gr 9  Over

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5 T/L S 1

5 T/L S 2

5 T/L S 3

5 T/L S 4

5 T/L S 5

Demonstrate and use decision-making and assertion skills with respect to media influences and peer pressure related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Bold Text between the orange lines are excerpts from Grade 9 Healthy Active Living Education Course Profile, Unit 3, Activities 4 & 5.

Activity 5: Using Strategies to Manage Substance Use and Abuse

Teaching/Learning Strategy 2:

Review the concept of assertion and refusal skills. Have the students create a list of strategies that teenagers would use to refuse drugs. Ask them to describe the technique and its suitability in various situations. Refusal techniques that should be included are: no thanks, making an excuse, walking away, avoidance and changing the subject.

Teacher Background Information

From experience in elementary school, students should be familiar with assertion and refusal skills, and techniques for dealing with influences. Ongoing practice and application to relevant and typical situations is needed.

Assertiveness

Characteristics of assertive communication:

1. Strong and steady voice
2. Direct and to the point
3. "I" statements
4. Confident
5. Honest
6. Aware of people's feelings
7. Eye-to-eye contact
8. Open to resolution of problem
   

Comparison of assertive, aggressive and non-assertive communication:
 

Assertive	Aggressive	Non-Assertive
Strong and steady voice	Loud and explosive voice	Soft, uncertain voice
Good eye contact *	Intimidating looks	Downcast eyes
Strong body language	Intimidating body language	Shifting weight back and forth
Aware of other feelings (sensitive)	Insensitive (what you want isn't important)	Doesn't feel comfortable talking about how he or she feels
Confident	Demanding	Nervous
In control	Cannot control temper	Uncertain
This is what I think	This is what I want	My thoughts aren't important
"I" statements	"You'd better", "If you don't, then look out"	"I guess, maybe"
I would like to hear what you think	This is what I want	Is everyone else doing it?

  *Teachers are reminded to be sensitive to cultural variations.

 Hot Tips for Teachers for Skills/Techniques to Deal with Influences /Pressures

Include:

1. Delay Techniques

Don't make any decisions until you have had time to think it over. Includes statements such as:

• Please, not now, I'm not ready.
• Sorry, my friend's waiting. We'll decide later.
• I'm busy right now. Let's find a better time to talk about this.
• Let's wait and make a decision in a week or two.
• I need to talk to someone else first.
  

2. Negotiation Skills

Try to find a decision you think is acceptable to both parties. Includes statements such as:

• Let's try this instead.
• Do you think we can find something to do that will make us both happy?
• How about we try to do this instead?

3. Refusal Techniques/Skills

Note to teachers: If students have encountered this activity in previous grades and meet the desired expectations, you may have them develop/share their own techniques that they currently use.

There are many different ways to say "No" to peer pressure. Some of these techniques are:

 

"No thanks" technique	"Would you like a smoke?" "No thanks."
Give a reason or excuse	"Do you want a drink?" "No thanks, I have basketball practice."
Broken record	"Just try this joint." "No way." "Come on, just one puff!" "No way." "Come on." "No way." "Don't worry. You won't get caught, wimp." "I said, No Way!"
Walk away	"Are you coming outside for a smoke?" Say "No" and walk away while saying it.
Avoid the situation	If you know or see places where people  often cause trouble, stay away from those places or go another way.
Cold shoulder	"Hey, are you coming to the party on Saturday   There will be lots of beer!"  Just ignore the person.
Change the subject.	Start talking about something else "Do you want some beer?" "Hey! I'm not into this music at all. I'm going to go request something else."
Strength in numbers	Hang around with people you trust, especially in problem situations.
Humour - make a joke of the situation	"Want a beer?" "No thanks, too much work with my button fly."
State a health problem	"Do you want to smoke?" "No thanks, I'm allergic to smoke."
Reverse the pressure	" I saw beer in your fridge. You should get it." "You get it if you want it so badly."

  

Refusal Techniques/Skills - Student Worksheet:

Under each of the headings, describe how you can use this technique to avoid substance use.

1. "No thanks" technique:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

2. Give a reason or excuse:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

3. Broken record:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

4.Walk away:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

5. Avoiding the situation:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

6. Cold shoulder:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

7. Change the subject:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

8. Reverse the pressure:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

9. Strength in numbers:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

10. Humour:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

11. State a health problem:

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

(Adapted with permission from “Drug Abuse Prevention Program Educational Resources (DAPPER)”, Toronto District School Board, 1996.)

Refusal Techniques/Skills - Additional Activities:

1. Refusal Role-Play:

Students work in small groups of four or five. Each student selects one of the following activities to explain or role-play for the small group.

• Choose a couple of your favourite refusal skills and explain why.
• Choose two refusal skills that are most difficult for you and explain why.
• Choose two refusal skills that you would recommend to a younger sibling. Why would you recommend these?
• Choose a refusal skill to role-play for the group. The group identifies the refusal skill and discusses ways to make it more effective.

2. Refusal Skills Charades:

Students work in groups of four or six. Cut refusal techniques/skills worksheet into slips of paper. One pair of students selects a refusal skill and, using charades, acts out the skill to the rest of the group. The group tries to determine what skill is being portrayed and discusses in which situations this technique would be most effective.

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