ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Needs Assessment/Rational

According to the 2003 North Dakota Youth Risk Behavior Survey 37% of those who have ever used cigarettes in grades 9-12 smoked their first cigarette before the age of 13. The survey also shows that 7% of 7th graders and 12 % of 8th graders had smoked in the last 30 days. It has also been proven that the younger one is when they begin smoking the quicker they become addicted and that girls become addicted even more quickly than boys. The Youth Behavior Survey also reports that cigarette use for teens in grades 9-12 in North Dakota ranks among the highest in the nation. Because of these alarming facts I feel that it is important that 7th and 8th graders are aware of the huge burdens of smoking. The purpose of this unit is to give the students an opportunity to gain knowledge through classroom instruction, research and practical experience using a smoking simulation. It is hoped that the information gained will then be used as they are confronted with the decision to use tobacco.

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: I want the students to understand that they will always have to take responsibility for every decision that they make. I want them to be aware that they will make a decision about using tobacco “some time” and that decision will directly affect their life and health in many ways. Goal(s): Students will learn the steps in decision- making and that they are responsible for their decisions. Students will be able to identify the impact of smoking on one’s life, physically and financially.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: What are the steps in decision-making? What influences the decision to smoke? What are the financial aspects of smoking? What are the immediate and long-term effects of smoking? What is it like to be addicted to cigarettes? Objectives: Students will list the steps of decision-making with 100% accuracy. Students will calculate the monetary burden of smoking and then poll at least three people to identify how that money could be spent wisely. Students will identify three immediate and five long-term effects of smoking on the body. Students will employ the use of the NICOteen simulation for three days to appraise how demanding an addiction can be.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? The unit will begin with a pre-unit survey about their own experience with smoking and some true and false statements regarding smoking in general. Confidentiality will be maintained by having students draw a number and writing that number at the top of their paper. They will then remember that number and write it at the top of the post-unit survey. By comparing the two surveys it will be determined if an understanding of the unit has taken place. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? “How Smoking Affects the Body” is the project in which each student will be assigned a “part” of the body to research using the internet and give a report to the class. Students will be involved in designing two assessments. One that will be used to evaluate the presentation given by each student and a second will be used to evaluate if the presentations together did show “How Smoking Affects the Body”. What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding? The use of the NICOteen simulator for a weekend will give the student an understanding of the demands of cigarette addiction. They will keep a “log” of their smoking “activities” and then prepare a report of their “smoking addiction” experience. What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect? During the unit the students will be doing surveys, interviews, and analyzing advertising and movies in relation to smoking. The students will be required to evaluate orally or in writing what they learned from participating in these activities.

Instructional Strategies

An inquiry-based strategy will be used by the students when they interview a smoker. Questions will be included such as when and why they began smoking, how long they smoked, cost of cigarettes then and now, and the most important question-are they glad that they smoke? The student will then evaluate what they learned from the interview. A problem-based strategy will be used to determine the financial cost of smoking (one week, one month, one year). They will complete this activity with a partner. The use of both these activities should provide the students with resources to make informed decisions regarding smoking.