Unit 5 Project: “UnFun with Pharmaceuticals”

Objective: Create an informational poster on one of 13 psychoactive drugs, geared toward 1st year counseling students, that highlights the drug’s physiological and psychological effects, speed and effects of addiction to and withdrawal from the drug, statistics on national addiction rates, and its relationship with other drugs

Due: 10/21

Grade Value: ONE summative!(to help save those of you who are struggling with the Unit assessments)

What: Use Google Docs to create a 2-3 page poster that contains all of the following on two or three 11x17 sheets of paper.

Name of your drug

Physiological (physical/biological) effects of the drug on the human brain and body – both positive AND negative

Psychological effects of the drug (INCLUDING perception or altered consciousness) – both positive AND negative

Does NOT identify the category of the drug (stimulant, depressant, opiate, hallucinogen); the students will categorize the drug based on your physiological and psychological evidence

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – you’re writing for students who are in the first year of a Masters’ program in Counseling, so the language of your poster needs to be clinical (or professional)

Address addiction by answering:

  • How addictive?
  • National statistics on addiction rates
  • Effects of addiction on individuals’ lives
  • How difficult is withdrawal (physiologically and psychologically)?
  • How much does it cost to sustain a habit?

At least a 3-5 pictures

Headings and subtopics that help organize your poster and make it more attractive, DO NOT just take the categories from the graphic organizer or rubric

Interactions it has with other drugs (such as effects of mixing drugs, or how consumption of one can lead to another)

A BRIEF history of the drug’s legal status

Check your formatting, spelling, and grammar carefully; this will be on display for all of your teammates and must look professional.

Sources and academic integrity- DO NOT use the copy/paste function for anything besides images. Do not copy/paste text. Plagiarism will result in the loss of a letter grade, multiple letter grades, or earn a zero on the assignment for both partners. Instead, take notes and summarize everything in your own words.

Criteria RUBRIC / Value
Accuracy and Completeness:
  • Content should be specific and accurate.
  • Physiological and psychological effects allow you to easily categorize the drug in one of the four categories.
  • Thoroughly addresses ALL of the topics on the top of this handout (and on note-taking sheet).
  • Descriptions are detailed, as you’d expect in an educational poster for masters’ degree students
/ 15
Appearance, Organization & Clarity:
  • It is easy to understand information presented, even if I didn’t know anything about the topic.
  • Spelling and grammar are 98-100% correct and do not detract from message and quality of work.
  • Images are thoughtfully selected and placed.
  • CREATIVE headings are used to organize the content in a way that is appealing and helps the reader understand what they are looking at, but also make sense to students in that field.
  • Formatting is DONE and looks professional. I should not have to mess with your project before I can print it onto 2-3 pages and put it on the wall.
  • Language used is appropriate; NOT an advertisement FOR or AGAINST the drug or using it.
/ 10
Urgency, Teamwork and Professionalism:
  • Teammates are communicate with each other effectively and are considerate to each other and other groups.
  • Teammates conduct themselves with urgency and purpose, share the work, and use their time effectively to get the job done.
/ 5

Our Drug: ______Category: ______

Synthetic (made in a lab) or natural?
Physiological effects of the drug:
(make sure you can understand this yourself)
Psychological effects of the drug:
(especially effects on consciousness)
Addiction notes:
- How addictive?
- Statistics on addiction
- Effect of addiction
- Costs of addiction
Withdrawal notes:
- What physiologically happens during withdrawal?
- What psychologically happens during withdrawal?
Potential benefits of this drug’s usage:
Potential negatives of this drug’s usage:
Relationship with other drugs:
Relevant Historical Context: