1. Drugs + Your Brain Warm-up: Write about what you did over break. What do you know about the different types of drugs? How do drugs affect your brain, body and your life?

2. Drugs + your Brain 1. Read the article. 2. Write comments in margins. NOT a SUMMARY. What you agree or disagree with; AHA thoughts. –Highlight these comments in yellow. 3. Highlight in PINK, lines/words from text that support your comments. 4. Green words – choose a word from the green word list, that highlights the “big idea/big picture” of what you took from article.

3. Drugs + your Brain Written Response/Thesis Statement: –Using your green word, write a topic or thesis statement that will provide a focus for you to write a paragraph in response to the article. –THESIS STATEMENT: In order to achieve your life goals it is prudent to stay away from illicit drugs due to their potential negative consequences to your health.

4. Drugs + Your Brain Go Ask Alice –Get in groups of 5 and number off. –Each person will have 1 minute and 30 seconds to share their project with their classmates. You will explain what you did, why you chose that specific project, and interpret the meaning to your classmates. –I will randomly choose one person from each group to present their project to the class.

5. Discussion Questions What did you think of the book? Did you like it? Not like it? Explain your reason. Do you believe this is a typical experience for someone who gets involved in drugs? What clues, if any, led you to believe that this diary was not truly written by a fifteen-year-old girl?

6. Discussion Questions (cont.) Do you believe this book was worth reading? Why or why not? If the author was your friend, think of a situation in the book and how would handle it? After reading this book, what are your thoughts on illicit drug use? Did any of your opinions change? Did any questions come up?

7. Drugs + Your Brain Discussion How are drugs addictive? –Drugs act on a region of the brain that causes feelings of pleasure. –Drugs alter the way the brain communicates and actually cause physical changes to brain wiring. –These changes can cause cravings and other problems controlling behavior that make it hard to stop using drugs despite harmful consequences.

8. Drugs + Your Brain Discussion How does abusing prescription pain medications interfere with a person’s ability to breathe? –Prescription pain killers act on the brain stem, which controls the lungs and heart. –Abuse of these drugs can decrease breathing and heart rate, leading to coma or even death.

9. Drugs + Your Brain Discussion Prescription stimulants can cause anxiety and hostility when abused. Which area of the brain do prescription stimulants affect? –Amygdala, which controls emotion

10. Drugs + Your Brain Discussion How does marijuana affect a person’s ability to drive or play sports? –Marijuana affects the cerebellum, which controls coordination. –It also affects attention and reaction time. –A person needs all of these faculties to drive or play sports safely.

11. Drugs + Your Brain Discussion How do drugs affect a person’s ability to think? –Drugs, such as marijuana, can affect the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus— areas of the brain involved in thinking, memory, and learning.