One of my favorite ways to begin the conversation about cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol and drugs is to talk about the science of the brain. Once kids understand their own brain controls (that would be everything) it makes it easier to talk about making choices to protect their brain from harmful substances.
This year, I introduced the topic of brain science with the following fantastic video called "Everything's Controlled by the Brain" by The Body Rocks. This video has a very catchy tune and is very engaging to children of all ages.
After talking about all the things in the video, I usually talk about the topic a little deeper by showing a (non-gross) illustration of the brain and an illustration of a nerve cell. To demonstrate the way that the brain communicates to the parts of the body through the nerve cells, I have 4-5 students join me in front of the class. I (the brain) communicates to a body part like the hand by passing a message through each nerve cell. I pass the message by high fiving the student next to me who high fives the student next to him and so on until it makes it to the final student (the hand). I usually tell students the message I'm sending is for the hand to wave at the rest of the class.
It is an easy jump from there to demonstrate how the process gets messed up through an injury by choosing one student to be the "break" in the nerve. I attempt to send the high five message again, but it can't pass any further than the point of the break in nerves. The students then theorize what happens to the cells beyond the break (the message doesn't get through, which can lead to injuries).
Similarly, I demonstrate what happens to this communication process when an unhealthy substance, like alcohol, enters the brain. Because alcohol is a depressant, it slows the brain's ability to process information and to communicate it through the nervous system. I make this demonstration very dramatic with students by moving in extreme slow motion to high five the student next to me. I instruct them to move in slow motion, too. After seeing how slow the communication moved I usually ask what would happen if the message were about something important, such as telling the foot to push the brake petal in a car or telling the hand to move away from a hot stove. Generally, the students make comments like "So, that's why you aren't supposed to drive a car if you're drinking!" It is a very powerful and engaging lesson.
With older students I go much deeper in the lesson on what the brain controls. I talk about the different lobes of the brain and what they are in charge of. I talk about the spinal cord and how it is protected by the bones of the spine (which I instruct students to run their fingers along their own spine). I also talk about how serious it can be to get repeated head injuries in sports and the importance of wearing helmets. The school district where I work is very enthusiastic about sports, so most of my students either play sports or are avid fans. This also makes the brain science lesson more applicable to their every day life -- and not just a choice they will make someday to say "no" to drugs or alcohol.
