Health Smart Virginia Sample Lesson Plan Grade 3 – Unit 3
Grade 3 Sample Lesson Plan:
Unit 3 – Proper/Improper Use of Medications
Description
Please see attached handout for a lesson submitted by a Virginia teacher
Handout
The next page includes a handout for the lesson. The handout is designed for print use only.
GRADE: 3 Department of Teaching and Learning TIME:
Lesson 1 ATOD Health Education 30 minutes
LESSON FOCUS:
Students will recognize the differences between proper and improper use of prescription and
nonprescription medications thus enabling them to make safe decisions when taking them.
STATE STANDARD:
SOL 3.1.h Describe proper and improper use of prescription and nonprescription medications.
DESCRIPTIVE STATEMENT:
Prescription and over-the-counter drugs can be easier to get than street drugs because family members and
friends may have them. Prescription drugs are only safe for the people who have prescriptions for them
because a doctor has examined and prescribed the right dose of medicine for their medical condition. The
doctor has also told them exactly how they should take the medicine, what to avoid while taking the drug
and the side effects to watch for. Taking prescription drugs in a way that hasn't been recommended by a
doctor is dangerous and in fact, it's drug abuse.
KEY TERMS:
LEARNING TARGET: • Prescription medications
I can describe proper and improper use of prescription and • Over-the-Counter medications
nonprescription medications.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
• Documents appear at the bottom of the lesson plan. Copies for Chromebooks can be found in Schoology.
Documents needed include:
- OTC Medicine Safety Pre Assessment
http://www.scholastic.com/otcmedsafety/pdfs/teachers/Lesson1/MedicineSafety_PREQUIZ.pdf
- Over-the-Counter vs. Prescription Medicines Venn Diagram
• 3rd Grade Lesson 1 PowerPoint on “Proper and Improper Use of Prescription and Nonprescription
Medications”
• Strategies for lesson listed in red within the lesson. All strategy procedures listed at the bottom of the
lesson plan.
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
LINK (activate prior knowledge/lesson intro
Students will be given the OTC Medicine Safety Pre-Assessment. (Teachers have the option to use this data
to determine student understanding, to drive future lessons, to be given again as a post-assessment, or to
activate student thinking with the answers covered in class to enhance learning.) Handout is listed at the
bottom of the learning plan.
(Slide 1) Review vocabulary words from the previous year by having students define prescription medicine
and over-the-counter medicine (OTC) to a partner.
Give the correct definition of each word:
• Prescription medicine: Medicine that you only get when a doctor decides that you need it. The doctor
writes a prescription for an adult to pick up at a pharmacy.
• Over-the-counter medicine (OTC): Medicine adults can get without a prescription from a doctor.
Teacher introduces the lesson for the day and gives the learning target: I can describe proper and improper
use of prescription and nonprescription medications.
ENGAGE AND EXPLAIN (direct instruction/guided practice):
(Slide 2) Medicine is a drug. Medicine and drug mean the same thing.
Taking medicine or drugs changes how your body works or treats or prevents a disease or symptom.
Medicine can do things as simple as make you feel better when you have a cold or as complicated as treat
cancer (like chemotherapy).
• Prescription drugs: Medicine that only an adult can buy and only with a doctor’s order. After seeing the
doctor, medicine is picked up at a pharmacy or sometimes delivered in the mail.
• Nonprescription (OTC, over-the-counter) drugs are drugs that can be purchased at a local store without a
physician’s note. Examples include Advil, Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl. Common reasons for using over-
the-counter medicine include minor aches and pains, fever, cold, upset stomach and allergy symptoms.
Any medicine can cause harm if you use too much of the medicine or use it incorrectly. This is true for
prescription and over-the-counter medicines. For all medicine, you must read and follow the directions.
Children should use medicine only with permission from a parent or guardian.
(Slide 3) Teacher goes through the compare and contrast Venn diagram.
(Slide 4) Important medicine rules: Teacher reads slide. Talks about dosage as an amount and strength of
medicine.
(Slide 5) Examples of proper use of prescription and nonprescription medications:
• Take under supervision of trusted adult
• Follow directions on label
• Never share your medicine
• Call doctor if you have any questions or side effects
(Slide 6) Examples of improper use of over-the-counter and prescription medicines:
• Taking too much medicine
• Taking someone else’s medicine
• Letting someone else take your medicine
• Taking medicine from someone other than your parent/guardian or another responsible adult
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
• Taking medicine without your parents’ permission
(Slide 7) Consequences of improper use of medicine:
• Get sick
• Have to go to the hospital
• Develop a drug dependence or addiction
• Damage your brain or other body systems or death
ACTIVE LEARNING (collaborative learning/work
Venn diagram
Hand out the compare/contrast information sheet. Students are given a partner and told to read each
statement: Handout is listed at the bottom of the learning plan.
1. Children should use only with the permission of a parent or trusted adult.
2. Should only be used by the person for whom the medicine was ordered.
3. Prescribed by a doctor for one person.
4. The medicine label, including the directions, must be read and followed carefully
before use.
5. Can buy without a doctor’s prescription.
6. Dangerous to misuse or abuse.
7. A healthcare professional or your local poison control center can answer questions
about this medicine.
Students are to sort the statements by number in the correct place in the Venn diagram. The statements
either fall within:
• over-the-counter medicine
• prescription medicine
• or both (Over-the-counter and prescription medicine)
Students work with a shoulder partner to complete the assignment. Teacher then covers the answers for
students to check their work.
REFLECTION (individual work):
Teacher reads each story, has students discuss with a partner whether the story shows a proper or improper
use of prescription or nonprescription medication. Then discusses student’s answers with the whole class.
Stories:
1. Kyle shows Sam a bottle with some medicine in it. Kyle tells Sam he got it from a friend that said it was for
coughs, but it makes you feel good. Is this a proper or improper use of a medication? Explain why.
2. Gayle is with her friend Katie when she opens her purse and pulls out a package of pills that she found at
her house. Katie tells Gayle the package said they give you energy, and she really needs some energy.
Then Katie asks Gayle if she wants one. Is this a proper or improper use of a medication? Explain why.
3. Julie tells her mom she has a headache, and her mother gets a bottle of Ibuprofen. Her mother reads the
correct dosage for Julie’s age and gives her the amount the bottle suggests for her pain relief. Is this a
proper or improper use of a medication? Explain why.
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
LESSON CLOSURE:
What things did you learn that you would tell a younger sibling or friend to help keep them safe from
prescription and nonprescription medications?
Strategies:
Venn diagram
A graphic organizer that helps classify items according to type. Circles show how prescription
medicines and over-the-counter medicines (OTC) are alike and different.
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
Handouts:
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
Name
Over-the-Counter vs. Prescription Medicines
Directions: Sort the statements by number in the correct place in the Venn diagram.
Read each statement and place the number of where it belongs in the diagram above.
1. Children should use only with the permission of a parent or trusted adult.
2. Should only be used by the person for whom the medicine was ordered.
3. Prescribed by a doctor for one person.
4. The medicine label, including the directions, must be read and followed carefully
before use.
5. Can buy without a doctor’s prescription.
6. Dangerous to misuse or abuse.
7. A healthcare professional or your local poison control center can answer questions
about this medicine.
GRADE: 3 Lesson 1
