Role Playing
The goal of this exercise is to understand the strong
influence of peer-to-peer interactions, the social norms of their peer
group, and the importance of good decision-making skills.
- Begin by leading your students in a discussion about
where they have been or may be pressured to use alcohol, tobacco, or
other drugs. Use probing questions that ask for details to get the discussion
going; avoid yes-no questions. Let your students lead the conversation
so you get a picture of reality.
- Write your students' responses up on the board. Have
your students choose a few (4-6) situations from the list on the board
that they think they are most likely to encounter and circle them.
- Ask your students to give all the details that go
to each situation:
- How many people are involved? Who's there? Who
makes the offer? Who exerts pressure? Who are the bystanders? What
are each of the people like? What do each of the people look like?
What are their relationships to each other? how does each person react
to the situation? What time is it? What
is the setting?
- Have your students create a list of refusal lines
and techniques to go with each situation they discuss. Be sure to write
them on the board and have everyone copy down the list!
- Hanging out with peers who feel the same way you
do about alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
- Saying "No, thanks."
- Walking away.
- Keeping your hands full of something healthier
like a soft drink or snacks.
- Pass it back or on to someone else. Just keep
the conversation going as if it's all no big deal.
- Give an excuse, such as "My parents would
kill me."
- Divide your students up into groups and have them
act out the senarios and demonstrate their refusal techniques. The senarios
should only take 30 seconds to one minute. Have your class discuss the
effectiveness of the responses.
|
|
|
