Activity

Energy Drinks

Key Learning

Students will investigate the associated dangers with drinking energy drinks. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the structural framework and language features of persuasive texts.

The Australian Curriculum

English / Literacy / Creating texts
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects ofsubjectmatter and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas(ACELY1725)
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print andmultimodal texts, choosingtext structures,language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose andaudience(ACELY1704)
/ English / Literacy / Creating texts
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasivetexts, choosing and experimenting with text structures,language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience(ACELY1714)
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasivetextscontaining key information and supporting details for a widening range of audiences, demonstrating increasing control over text structuresandlanguage features(ACELY1694)

Discussion Questions

1.  Why is there a debate about energy drinks?

2.  How are energy drinks advertised? Discuss as a class.

3.  What drink, other than energy drinks, contains caffeine?

4.  What effect does caffeine have?

5.  Energy drinks contain about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. True or false?

6.  Energy drinks contain up to....

a.  1 teaspoon of sugar

b.  10 teaspoons of sugar

c.  13 teaspoons of sugar

7.  Describe the experiment seen in the BtN Energy Drinks story.

8.  In the experiment, the researchers found that their blood became very ______after having the energy drinks.

9.  How can energy drinks be dangerous?

10.  List some healthy drinks and then list some unhealthy drinks.

Activities

Classroom discussion

Before watching the BtN Energy Drinks story hold a class discussion. Find out what your students know about energy drinks and what questions they have about the topic. Hold a class discussion using the following questions.

Watch the BtN story Energy Drinks and ask students to summarise the story in their own words. Hold a group discussion, and reflect on the issue of energy drinks and the affect they have on children’s health.

Language features of persuasive texts

This activity introduces the structural framework and language features of persuasive texts to the students and allows them to gain an understanding of the purposes of each sentence within a paragraph.

Discuss the sentences below and ask the students to rank them from low modality to high modality. Explain that modalities can be high, medium or low and that these have an impact on the certainty of the argument of the writer. Explain that modality can be expressed through choice of auxiliaries, verbs, adverbs, adjectives and nouns.

Write the following sentences on the classroom whiteboard and ask your students to rank the arguments from low modality to high modality.

Persuasive text writing

Should kids be allowed to buy energy drinks?

Explain that students will be constructing a persuasive text about the effects of energy drinks. Students will turn the question above into a statement and explain why they think kids should or shouldn’t drink energy drinks.

Students can also then:

·  Design an advertisement for their school newsletter, school radio station and/or council website.

·  Create a “did you know fact sheet” about energy drinks

Are you ready to map out your argument for your persuasive essay or debate?

Use the persuasion map

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/persuasion_map/

8 Related Research Links

CBBC Newsround – Kids’ caffeine intake should be controlled

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/23251617

ABC Science – Energy drinks put kids at risk: report

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/02/15/3139247.htm

Child and Youth Health – Caffeine

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=1630

Nutrition Australia – Drinks for Children

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/drinks-children

Nutrition Australia – Caffeine and Energy Drinks

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/sites/default/files/Caffeine%20and%20Energy%20Drinks.pdf

Australian Drug Foundation – Energy drinks: do they really give you wings?

http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/fact-sheets/energy-drinks-do-they-really-give-you-wings-web-fact-sheet

Behind the News – Energy Drinks

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2358488.htm

Behind the News – Caffeine Culture

http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s2953654.htm

©ABC 2013