Drug+and+Alcohol+use+in+High+Schools+Fall+2011

 Lets Explore: Drug and Alcohol Use in High Schools Across the US Created by: Hallie Reardon, Madeline Kelly, Heather Charron, and Jennie Flannery



 The Problem: Drug and Alcohol Use Topic Question: How do drugs and alcohol effect a high school students life? A. What types of drug and alcohol usage are most common in high schools today? What role does the media play in this? B. How do drugs and alcohol effect a students ability to succeed academically? C. What are the laws and regulations regarding drugs and alcohol in high schools? D. What is being done to prevent drug and alcohol use in high schools?

<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Research Summary:

<span style="color: #44c026; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Maddie's Research <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">My research will focus on exposing and explaining the intensity of drug and alcohol use today in high schools across our country. I will also include information on the media's influence on teens to drink alcohol or use drugs. After reading through much of my research, I was exposed to a lot of information we may have learned about drugs and alcohol in high school but I also came across new and interesting facts. I will get into detail about the rise of prescription drugs and opinions from adolescents themselves about the media's portrayal of drinking, smoking, and other types of illicit drug use.

<span style="color: #44c026; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Hallie's Research =<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%; font-weight: normal;">My research will focus on how drugs and alcohol effect the brain and school work. I will talk about the correlation between drug use and student involvement. Also, I will explain the negative aspects of drug use on the brain and academic knowledge. =

<span style="color: #44c026; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Heather's Research <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">My research will focus on any laws and regulations regarding alcohol and drugs. I will be focusing on the laws that pertain to teens and high school students. I will be talking about what teens do and what the consequences are of using drugs and alcohol. I will also be informing the audience of little facts about drug and alcohol laws.

<span style="color: #44c026; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Jennie's Research <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">My research will focus on what is already being done in high schools across the country to prevent the use of drugs and alcohol. Along wit what is already being done, I will bring up some new ideas that have been proposed for prevention programs and drug education. Something I found interesting in my research was that before anything can be done to prevent teenagers from using drugs, we must first find the reason they have for turning to drugs. If we are able to understand why a teenager is using drugs, we have a better chance of preventing further usage. The usage of drugs and alcohol has become more and more common in high schools despite the schools efforts with drug education. More can definitely be done to prevent drug and alcohol use and that will be my main focus.

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Group Project Overview:
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">For our presentation our group will be educating the class with a PowerPoint presentation about drug use in American high schools. We will cover the medias influence upon illicit substance abuse among high school students, the physical and mental side effects, the laws and regulations regarding drugs and alcohol and how to prevent the usage of drugs and alcohol in schools.
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">One person will introduce the group and our topic. Each group member will present their individual topic information.
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">After our presentation we will ask for four volunteers to come up and participate in a skit. Each participant will review a copy of the skit specific to their character and our group will have copies to follow along and aid the discussion (just like a teacher copy). After the skit we will ask whether or not the situation of Peer Pressure was realistic? Has anyone ever been put into a similar situation or seen one like this in high school...
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 30px;">Here, you can access a printable version of the skit presented in class! [[file:Peer Pressure Skit.docx]]
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Following the skit, we will quickly review 2 different field sobriety tests that the state of Rhode Island administers if someone is pulled over for suspicion or definite reason to believe that someone is under the influence. This activity will bring awareness to the consequences associated with drinking and driving which correlates with the larger issue of how people act UNDER THE INFLUENCE! This is a fun and interesting activity to raise awareness!
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">Here, you may access a reliable site that explains RI's field sobriety tests for a DUI
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">http://www.sjoshuamacktaz.com/rhode_island_dui_field_sobriety_test.html
 * <span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 155%;">The 2 tests focused on in this presentation can be found here in a printable document version: [[file:Tests.docx]]

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left; vertical-align: sub;">Visual Representation:

<span style="color: #44c026; display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;">Links to Annotated Bibliographies <span style="display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;">A. Media Influence Upon Illicit Substance Abuse Among High School Students - Maddie Kelly <span style="display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;">B. Physical and Mental Side Effects - Hallie Reardon <span style="display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;">C. Laws and Regulations - Heather Charron <span style="display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%; text-align: left;">D. Drug and Alcohol Prevention - Jennie Flannery