AMDG

AP Psychology
Drugs and Alcohol project

BACKGROUND
Unit 6 on States of Consciousness is a natural place to look at Drugs and Alcohol because of their cognitive,
emotional, and behavioral effects. Rather than us lecture and you take notes, this Unit works best as a group
project with presentations.

ASSIGNMENT
No more than three students per group. Each group will research and present its findings to the class. Each
group is responsible for submitting a group paper, and doing a presentation. The 12 groups are:
1. alcohol 6. ecstacy 10. GHB
2. cannabis 7. Psilocybin 11. inhalants
3. amphetamines mushrooms 12. Oxycodone
4. LSD 8. Ketamine
5. heroin 9. cocaine

The purpose of each presentation is to educate in an engaging, mature, practical, and thorough
manner on the various drugs. Each group’s presentation must address the following issues:
• Is the drug a depressant, stimulant, hallucinogen, narcotic (opiate), or dissociative?
• How is the drug normally consumed?
• What is the current street value?
• What are current statistics on usage?
• What are the short-term effects of the drug?
• What are the effects of prolonged use?
• If an individual is addicted, what are their treatment / therapy options?

MATERIALS
You will have two extended class periods next week during which to work. Please use a variety of
resources, including books, magazines, and the Internet, to research. Be very careful about the
accuracy of Internet sources. Use proper citations for your summary paper, and for images in your
visual presentation.
Your presentation should be in the style of a TED talk; you need to talk to us, not read at us; you
need to use some form of presentation software (PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Presentation, Prezi, or
anything else that you find) to highlight the visual elements of your group’s presentation – not the
text.

REQUIREMENTS
• Each group needs to submit one summarizing paper that includes a full bibliography of any
and all sources used.
• Each group needs to create one visual presentation to back-up the spoken presentation.
• Each group needs to give a 5-10 minute presentation reporting their findings to the class. Do
not read your written report – talk to us, explain to us, interact with us – teach us!
o Delivery is very important; we want your delivery to be practiced, smooth, and
natural. No notes, no note cards.
RUBRIC
Name: ________________________ Teacher:
Date of Presentation: ____________ Title of Work: ___________________

Criteria Points
1 2 3 4
Student presents
Audience cannot Audience has Student presents
information in
understand presentation difficulty following information in
logical, interesting
Organization because there is no presentation because logical sequence ____
sequence which
sequence of student jumps which audience can
audience can
information. around. follow.
follow.
Student is Student
Student does not have uncomfortable with demonstrates full
Student is at ease
Content grasp of information; information and is knowledge (more
with content, but ____
Knowledge student cannot answer able to answer only than required)with
fails to elaborate.
questions about subject. rudimentary explanations and
questions. elaboration.
Student occasionally Student used
Visuals related to
used visuals that visuals to reinforce
Visuals Student used no visuals. text and ____
rarely support text screen text and
presentation.
and presentation. presentation.
Student's presentation Presentation had Presentation has no
Presentation has no
had four or more three misspellings more than two
Mechanics misspellings or ____
spelling errors and/or and/or grammatical misspellings and/or
grammatical errors.
grammatical errors. errors. grammatical errors.
Student mumbles,
Student incorrectly Student used a
incorrectly pronounces Student's voice is
pronounces terms. clear voice and
terms, and speaks too clear. Student
Delivery Audience members correct, precise ____
quietly for students in pronounces most
have difficulty pronunciation of
the back of class to words correctly.
hearing presentation. terms.
hear.
Points ____