How do i get my biology class involved on my drug addiction lecture?handouts, labs,something for them to do!?

we ahve to do a 6 minute speech in biology, and my topic is drug addiction. any ideas on what to do or any information you know about drug addiction? my main question is what should i do for my visual aids. we need around three, and previous students have done posters (not prefered),hand outs, labs,and just things to get the students involved. what should i do!

thank you guys so much for your help! i really appreciate it =]

I generally disapprove of any discussion of Hollywood folks, but the recent celebrity deaths could be a great way to get the attention of the class. It is not hard to go from using for fun to using for (what seems to be) survival like many of the stars. There are images of the brain function of a cocaine addicted person compared to a clean person that are used quite often. I'm sure they would be easy to find on the web. There is a lot of interesting research on the causes of addiction. Here in America the disease model is the most widely accepted. This may sound a bit strange, but find an open AA meeting and there will surely be some people there who can give you a lot more than 6 minutes of material (take an adult, and try to find people with at least a year of clean time). Probably even some substance abuse counselors. People in recovery are generally very open and willing to discuss their feelings on addiction. Another interesting topic could be the function of addiction treatment drugs.

Well I don't suggest going and buying meth and bring it to class.. but maybe find some pictures of what different drugs do to you? Or show an episode//clip of that TV show Intervention.. there's always druggies on there.

I would do a slide show with before and after pics or through the stages pics. All the while you can be discussing the different consequences of different types of drugs. Check out the source page for more info. If you can use internet access do one of the interactive games. Hope that helped you.

can you do a Power Point?? If not why dont you do one of those picture progressions. You get mugshots of some crack head when they first got arrested and then you show successive pictures of further arrests that show their deterioration. That usually pretty shocking. You could do it has a hand out so people get a good look.

You could also bring in empty bottles of the common household things people use to make meth.

What about a drug quiz....with like little known facts?

It's the time of technology... I suggest making a video slideshow showing pictures of people with different types of addictions. It can really be a nerve-racking experience to see people wasting away and it's not quite so cliche as posterboards