The facts about alcohol
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the effects and risks of alcohol and explain why some people choose to drink alcohol.
Key learning points
- It is illegal to buy alcohol under the age of 18.
- Although many adults do drink alcohol responsibly, it can still be risky for their health.
- Dangers include loss of control, risk-taking, alcohol poisoning and addiction.
- There are a number of motivations for drinking alcohol.
- Peer pressure is a strong influlence for young people and it is important to have strong boundaries around alcohol.
Keywords
Alcohol - a special sort of liquid that can change how people feel and act; it is found in drinks like beer and wine
Poisoning - when someone eats, drinks or touches something that can harm their body, like a dangerous chemical or some plants or foods
Addiction - when someone cannot stop taking a substance
Dependency - in this context, a feeling of needing alcohol to carry out normal daily activities
Boundary - an imaginary line separating what a person will and won't allow
Common misconception
It's fine to drink alcohol because everybody does it.
Although many adults drink alcohol responsibly, there are also many issues that arise from people drinking too much, such as addiction, health problems and relationship difficulties.
Teacher tip
Do not glamourise or demonise alcohol use. Although drinking alcohol is normal for many adults, drinking culture is sometimes unhealthy. Also be sensitive to the fact that some children will have family members with dependency problems, and this may be a sensitive issue for them.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A drug is a substance that affects the way our and mind work.
Q2.Which of the following are drugs?
Q3.Can you match the following drugs to where they are are commonly found?
pain relief tablets
coffee, tea and energy drinks
cigarettes
Q4.Many drugs are addictive which means not being able to taking a substance.
Q5.To stay safe in tricky situations, it is helpful to have clear...
Q6.Put these statements in order from most assertive to least assertive when trying to refuse peer pressure.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Alcohol is a strong chemical that affects the and mind.
Q2.Alcohol is commonly found in:
Q3.Which of the following are short-term effects of alcohol?
Q4.In the UK, it is illegal for anyone under the age of years to drink or buy alcohol.
Q5.Being unable to stop drinking alcohol, even when it is causing harm, is an example of:
Q6.People might choose to drink alcohol because...
To help you plan your 6 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: The facts about alcohol, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: The facts about alcohol, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 RSHE (PSHE) lessons from the Risky substances: Why do people use alcohol and drugs? unit, dive into the full primary RSHE (PSHE) curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.