Alcohol affects body systems

HPE Lesson Plans - Health - KHE, 1HE, 2HE, 3HE, 4HE, 5HE

Safety | Mental, Social & Emotional Health | Substance Abuse & Disease Prevention | Growing Up Healthy

5TH GRADE VIRTUAL HEALTH

L15: How Medicines Help the Body| L16: Medicine Use, Misuse & Abuse | L17: Tobacco Affects Body Systems | L18: Alcohol Affects Body Systems | L19: Refusing Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs | L20: The Causes of Disease| L21: Pathogens & Infectious Diseases | L22: Disease and the Immune System | EXTRA: When Someone Gets Ill | EXTRA: Noninfectious Disease | EXTRA: Choosing a Healthy Life

Substance Abuse & Disease Prevention

Alcohol Affects Body Systems

See below for the following:

Standard(s), Essential Question(s), Big Idea(s)

LEARNING TARGET / SUCCESS CRITERIA

I will know and be able to explain what blood alcohol level is and what it measures.

I will know and be able to describe the ways in which alcohol affects a person's health, abilities, and functioning.

I will know and be able to explain what an alcoholic is and who might become one.

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PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY

Vocabulary

blood alcohol level (BAL) - a measurement of the amount of alcohol in a person's blood / the more alcohol a person drinks, the higher the person's BAL / the higher a person's BAL, the more the person is affected by alcohol

intoxicated - being strongly affected by a drug

problem drinking - drinking (alcohol) that leads to physical, legal, and/or social problems

alcoholism - addiction to alcohol

alcoholics - people who suffer from an addiction to alcohol

withdrawal - the physical and emotional changes addicts go through after they quit using an addictive substance

OPENING (Engage)

Main Idea

Alcohol is a drug that can cause immediate and long-term effects.

Why Learn This?

Knowing the effects of alcohol will help you make good decisions about its use.

WORK PERIOD (Explore/Explain/Extend/Elaborate)

READ: Alcohol Affects Body Systems

You may see alcohol at family gatherings, parties, picnics, restaurants, and even in church. It is all around us. People drink alcohol to enjoy special foods, to relax, and to celebrate special occasions. Sometimes people use it in religious ceremonies. When used in moderation by adults, alcohol can even have positive effects on the circulatory system.

Young people often try alcohol because they're curious about how it will affect them. Others try it because their friends urge them to. Some young people drink just because they think drinking will make them look more grown-up. But drinking alcohol can cause many problems.

What are the short-term effects of using alcohol?

Alcohol is a drug. It is found in beer, wine, wine coolers, and liquor. Liquor includes drinks such as whiskey, rum, gin, and vodka. One serving of each of these drinks has about the same amount of alcohol — about half an ounce (15 mL).

12 oz. beer = 5 oz. wine = 1.5 oz. liquor

Alcohol changes the way a person feels, acts, and thinks. Alcohol also changes the way the body works. How much a person is affected by alcohol depends on the person's blood alcohol level. The blood alcohol level (BAL) is a measurement of the amount of alcohol in a person's blood. The more alcohol a person drinks, the higher the person's BAL will be. The higher a person's BAL, the more the person is affected by alcohol.

Unlike food or nutritious drinks, alcohol is not digested. It goes directly into the bloodstream from the stomach and small intestine. The blood carries it to the brain and other parts of the body very quickly. A minute or two after taking a drink of alcohol, the drinker will start to feel its effects.

Alcohol slows down the body. It affects the parts of the brain that control speech, balance, and coordination. People who drink a lot of alcohol sometimes have unclear speech. They sometimes also have trouble standing up and walking steadily. They may get dizzy. They will probably have trouble doing most things that require coordination.

Alcohol also affects the parts of the brain that control judgment, attention, and memory. After drinking a lot of alcohol, people may make bad decisions. They may do things they would never do if they hadn't been drinking. They may have a hard time thinking and remembering.

As alcohol collects in a person's body, the person becomes intoxicated. Being intoxicated (in TAHK•suh•kay-tuhd) means being strongly affected by a drug. Intoxication affects different people in different ways. A small or young person will become intoxicated faster than a large or adult person. Some people become loud, angry, or violent when intoxicated. Some become sleepy, sad, or silly. Others just get ill.

Alcohol slows down a person's breathing. If a person's BAL gets high enough, the person may fall asleep or become unconscious. Too much alcohol can slow the body down so much that the person dies.

What are the long-term effects of using alcohol?

Research indicates that drinking alcohol causes changes in some people's brains and bodies. These people can become addicted to alcohol. People addicted to alcohol feel ill when they can't get alcohol.

The liver cleans the blood. A healthy liver is a network of fine tissue. Over time, abusing alcohol can cause scar tissue to form in the liver.

People who start drinking alcohol at a young age become addicted more quickly than older drinkers. In fact, a young person can become addicted after drinking alcohol for only a few months. That's one reason it's against the law for people under the age of 21 to purchase alcohol.

Drinking a lot of alcohol over a long time can cause many health problems. Alcohol can damage nerve cells in the brain and other parts of the nervous system. This can cause people to be unable to remember things or to think clearly.

Long-term alcohol abuse can cause damage to the digestive system and the liver. The liver is an important organ that cleans the blood of certain body wastes. Liver damage due to alcohol or other drug abuse is called cirrhosis (suh ROH suhs). Cirrhosis can't be stopped unless a person stops drinking before too much damage has been done.

Alcohol keeps a person from feeling hungry, so a person who drinks a lot of alcohol may not eat much. As a result, the body may not get all the nutrients it needs. This makes the body less fit and less able to protect itself from disease.

Alcohol Affects Many Organs of the Body

Mouth - Alcohol numbs and irritates a drinker's mouth and esophagus.

Long-term abuse of alcohol can cause cancer of the mouth.

Brain - Alcohol numbs nerve centers that control speech, motor skills, judgment, think-ing, and memory. Alcohol makes the blood vessels in the brain expand, causing headaches. Long-term alcohol abuse can cause permanent brain damage.

Liver - The poisons in alcohol collect in the liver and form blisters. Over time these blisters form scar tissue that keeps the liver from cleaning the blood. Eventually, the liver stops working.

Heart - Alcohol makes the heart beat faster. This increased heart rate causes blood pressure to rise. Heavy drinking can cause constant high blood pressure.

Stomach - Alcohol causes the stomach to secrete juices for digestion. If there is no food in the stomach, these juices irritate the stomach, causing small holes, called ulcers, to form.

What other problems are caused by alcohol?

Health concerns are not the only problems connected to alcohol. Remember that alcohol affects judgment, coordination, vision, and personality. An intoxicated person may say hurtful things to others. Some people take foolish risks when they are intoxicated. They may damage property. They may injure or kill themselves or others.

One of the most dangerous things a person can do is drive after drinking alcohol. Getting into a car with a driver who has been drinking is just as dangerous. More than 40 percent of all fatal car crashes are alcohol-related. Many of the people who are injured or die in these crashes were not drinking alcohol.

People who have car crashes or get into trouble with the police after they have been drinking are called problem drinkers. So are drinkers who do things that hurt, anger, or sadden those around them. Problem drinking is drinking that leads to physical, legal, or social problems.

CAREER: Police Officer

What They Do

Police officers make sure people obey laws. They protect people and property and arrest people who break laws. They respond to emergency calls about car crashes, perform emergency first aid, and arrest drivers suspected of drunk driving. Officers test a driver to see if s/he is intoxicated.

Education and Training

People who want to be police officers must be at least 21 years old, have high school diplomas or equivalent, have good vision, and pass written tests, medical exams, physical abilities tests, and background investigations.

Once accepted for training, police recruits must attend city, county, or state police academies for periods of six weeks to twelve months.

People who can't stop drinking have a disease called alcoholism. Alcoholism (AL-kuh•haw-lih•zuhm) is addiction to alcohol. People who suffer from alcoholism are alcoholics (al-kuh-HAw-liks). A young person who drinks alcohol risks becoming an alcoholic.

You may think you know what an alcoholic looks like. You may think an alcoholic is a man who doesn't shave and wears ragged clothes. You might imagine an alcoholic living on the street or in a cheap room in a dangerous part of town.

The truth is most alcoholics look like normal people. Anyone can become an alcoholic. Alcoholics can be male or female. They can be any age, including teenagers. Many alcoholics have good jobs and families. Some alcoholics live in expensive homes. Some live in small apartments or on the street. But all alcoholics have one thing in common-they can't control the way they use alcohol.

Many alcoholics want to stop drinking alcohol. When they try to stop, though, they go through withdrawal. Withdrawal is the physical and emotional changes addicts go through after they quit using an addictive substance.

Withdrawal differs for different alcoholics. Some sweat heavily or become very confused. Some see or hear things that aren't there. Some get severe headaches or become nauseated. Others get very nervous and are unable to sleep. Nearly all alcoholics have a strong need for alcohol during withdrawal.

Trained health-care workers at a hospital or treatment center can help alcoholics going through withdrawal. They can offer counseling and medicine to lessen the effects of withdrawal.

After an alcoholic gets through withdrawal, he or she will probably still need help to keep away from alcohol. Most alcoholics can't stop drinking by themselves. They need help from a doctor or organization that understands alcoholism and knows how to treat it.

Support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Rational Recovery provide support for alcoholics who want to stop using alcohol. So do alcohol counselors, clinics, and hospitals.

Alcoholism doesn't just affect the alcoholic. Alcohol causes problems for the alcoholic's family and friends, too. Alcoholics may not pay attention to others. Their moods swing violently depending on how drunk or sober they are. They often don't fulfill their responsibilities. They buy alcohol with money that should be used for things the family needs. Family members get used to being treated poorly and adjusting their lives around the alcoholic's behavior. They forget their own worth. They need help too.

Al-Anon is a support group for family members or others who are close to an alcohol abuser. Alateen is a support group for teens and younger children who have an alcoholic parent, guardian, or friend.

REMEMBER...Alcohol is a drug that can cause immediate and long-term effects. Knowing the effects of alcohol will help you make good decisions about its use.

CLOSING (Evaluate)

• Complete Lesson Checkup

• Finished Early? (sign into BrainPOP using Clever)

  • Watch BrainPOP - Alcohol

  • Watch BrainPOP - Addiction

  • Watch BrainPOP - Peer Pressure

Standard(s)

HE5.1a - recognize the relationship between healthy behaviors and disease prevention

HE5.1b - describe and apply the basic personal health concepts of healthy eating and physical activity

HE5.1c - describe and apply the basic health concept of mental and emotional well-being

HE5.1d - describe and apply the basic health concept of personal hygiene and safety

HE5.1e - distinguish the short and long-term physical effects of use and/or misuse of substances

HE5.1f - identify trusted adults and when it might be important to seek health care or emergency help for themselves or others

HE5.1g - identify the changes that occur during puberty

HE5.1h - distinguish between tattling, reporting aggression, bullying, cyberbullying, and violence (physical and/or sexual) and how to report these instances

HE5.1i - identify strategies to avoid physical fighting and violence

HE5.2a - evaluate the influence of family and peers on personal health behaviors and decisions

HE5.2b - describe how the school and community can support personal health practices and behaviors

HE5.2c - explain how media/technology influences thoughts, feelings, and health behaviors

HE5.3a - identify characteristics of valid health information, products, and services

HE5.3b - access resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information

HE5.3c - assess the characteristics of valid health information, products, and services

HE5.4a - apply effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to enhance health

HE5.4b - model effective nonviolent strategies to manage or resolve conflicts

HE5.4c - demonstrate how to ask for assistance to enhance personal health and the health of others

HE5.5a - identify health-related situations that might require a thoughtful decision

HE5.5b - list healthy options and possible consequences to a health-related issue or problem

HE5.5c - predict the potential outcomes of each option when making a health-related decision

HE5.5d - analyze when assistance is needed in making a health-related decision

HE5.5e - choose a healthy option when making a decision

HE5.5f - describe the outcomes of a health-related decision

HE5.6a - set a personal health goal and track progress toward its achievement

HE5.6b - identify and utilize resources to assist in achieving a personal health goal

HE5.7a - practice responsible personal health choices

HE5.7b - demonstrate a variety of healthy practices and behaviors to preserve or enhance personal health

HE5.7c - model a variety of behaviors that prevent or decrease health risks to self and/or others

HE5.8a - review accurate information and develop an opinion about a health issue

HE5.8b - advocate for positive health choices

Essential Question(s)

1. What are the short-term effects of using alcohol?

2. What are the long-term effects of using alcohol?

3. What other problems are caused by alcohol?

Big Idea(s)

1. Short-term effects of using alcohol can include slurred speech, impaired balance and coordination; judgment, attention, and memory impairment; and slowing down of breathing.

2. Long-term effects of using alcohol can include addiction to alcohol; nerve cell damage in the brain and other parts of the nervous system; damage to the digestive system and liver; and malnutrition due to alcohol's effect on appetite.

3. Other problems caused by alcohol are poor judgment, drinking and driving, problem drinking, and alcoholism.

RESOURCES / INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

• see below

DCSD Board-Approved Instruction Materials

• Your Health: Teacher's Edition - Grade 5. Harcourt Brace & Company. 1999.

Technology

• Google Sites - HPE website

• Chromebook

• large video screens for whole-class viewing

• sound system for sharing of audio

• BrainPOP - Alcohol

• BrainPOP - Addiction

• BrainPOP - Peer Pressure