Literature for Alcohol and Drug Prevention
Book Title: I
Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much
Author: Judith Vigna
1.)
Description:
This story is about a little girl named Lisa, her mom and her alcoholic father. For Christmas Lisa received a hand-made sled that her father made and painted. On a note he promised to take her sledding after breakfast. The whole story is about the father getting drunk and angry on Christmas and being too drunk to take Lisa sledding or eat dinner with the family. Lisa and her mom feel threatened by the father because he continues to drink and become more and angrier, so the two girls pack up dinner and head over to their neighbor’s house, Mrs. Field. She too is an alcoholic but a recovering one. The story ends the next morning when Lisa’s dad wakes her up and thanks her for the card and promises her again that he will take her sledding. This time she does not believe his promise but she is thankful that he read her Christmas card and she is thankful that she can talk about her feelings with Mrs. Field and her mother.
2.)
Age level?
This book seems to be appropriate for 2nd through 5th grade. I do not believe that kindergarteners or first graders would really understand what alcoholism is so the book may not help them too much. There are also several words on one page so I do not think it would keep the younger children’s attention for the whole story. After fifth grade the students could understand the topic of alcoholism but at this point they would be able to read chapter books and more in-depth, challenging books.
3.) Messages about health care:
· Dealing with alcoholism is an important theme in this book. Lisa shows the students that you (other children who are experiencing the same family issues) are not the only one who feels afraid and guilty. She shows other children that it is not their fault if a parent has a substance abuse problem.
· Talking to an adult about a serious problem is also a health theme in this book. Lisa showed the children readers that it is okay to talk about your feelings and family issues with an adult that you trust. Just because a situation is embarrassing or is supposed to be secret, does not mean that you have to bottle up all of these sad feelings. It is better to confide in someone that you know you can trust.
· This book also portrayed the negative effects of alcohol on the life of a grown man. This could dissuade children from wanting to experiment with drugs and alcohol. The book showed how the father became angry, sloppy, irrational and mean when he drank. It revealed how the fathers main priority was drinking, it even came before the happiness of his wife and daughter.
4.)
Concerns:
I do not have any concerns regarding this book. I think it could be very helpful for a child who may be dealing with the same type of family issues. It does not seem to be offensive or over the top in any way so hopefully it would not cause conflict in the classroom or district.
5.) Hands on/ student centered activity to emphasize the health
theme in this book:
Lesson idea copied from:
http://www.learnnc.org/learnnc/lessonp.nsf
Pre-activities
Introduce the
concept to students by reading the book I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink so Much,
by Judith Vigna ISBN: 0807535265 or another book about alcohol addiction.
Activities
Assist students
in developing a definition for drug/alcohol addiction. Then have students look
it up in a dictionary.
Students generate a list on the board as each suggests ways in which drug
addiction affects the user as well as the famiy members. Discuss any
suggestion(s) students initiate.
Students illustrate/color pictures or list suggestions they may have for to
make someone feel better when someone close to them drinks.
Role-play a few of the suggestions the students give for helping a child who
knows someone who drinks too much.
Discuss options a student has if parent(s) drink too much.
Assessment
Question and
Answer Group Discussion:
. Why does the child's daddy drink too much?
. Why do we call alcohol a drug?
. What are some things the child could do to feel better when his/her relative
drinks too much?
.What happens to family members when someone drinks too much?
.What should someone do if his or her parents drink too much?
*Invite a guest speaker from community
such as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and/or NA (Narcotics Anonymous).
*Invite school guidance counselor to come and share self-help strategies and
options for students.
(All guest speakers would be introduced as one of many possible trusted
adults.)
Comments
Note:
Regardless of the approach or activities you choose to use in order to carry
out this lesson, we as knowledge givers, self-esteem boosters, and tear dryers
must make it our focus also to ensure that our students understand and feel
confident in the assurance that:
. They are in no way responsible for their parents' dependency.
. Is it their responsibility to make their mom/dad feel better.
. They are not alone.
. They should not be afraid to talk to other trusted adults.
*These comments
correspond with the health themes I listed in number 3.
Katrina
Hardgrove
Children’s
Literature Review
Book:
I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much
By Judith Vigna
Albert Whitman & Company, 1988
Content: Parents who are alcoholics, teaching children
how to cope
Skill Focus:
NHES 4: Analyzing Internal and External Influences- Dealing with
feelings
NHES 5: Interpersonal
Communication- Using these skills to enhance health
Children’s
Literature Book Evaluation:
This is a story about a
girl named Lisa and her father who drinks too much. The story addresses how Lisa’s dad acts and
how this makes her feel. Lisa gets very
upset with her father for ruining Christmas, but Lisa’s mom explains that her
dad is sick. When Lisa and her mom go to
Mrs. Field’s house, Lisa gains insight from someone who used to drink too
much. Mrs. Field’s tells Lisa that when
her dad is ready he can get help, but until them she must learn to be happier
and suggests that she try to do one of her favorite things every day.
This book is appropriate for grades 1-3. It is definitely at a rather simplistic
reading level, but it is more of a question of when it is appropriate to
address such a topic. This book would
serve as a good introduction for a younger age group, as the fictional story
would provide a good base for the class to learn some facts about alcohol.
Some of the important messages in this book are:
* Alcoholism is a disease (“Daddy’s sick…)
* People can get help when they are ready
* Children should try to be happy (Do one of your
favorite things)
* How a child feels/coping skills
As a future educator, I
feel that the topic addressed in the book (parents whom are alcoholics/alcohol)
might be a touchy subject for some parents, especially in a younger age group. I feel that it depends on where you would be
teaching, and how you would go about teaching it. It is always a good idea to send home a
newsletter if you are unsure how parents would react.
As a follow-up
activity, I would have students create a little book of things they could do to
cope in such a situation (i.e. - what are some of their favorite things to
do). With first graders, you might have
them write one sentence per page with increasing length for the older
children. Also I would have them illustrate
the books and include a page of where they could go to get help. I also think that it is essential to discuss
what happened in the story with the children, as it may raise some questions,
concerns, or misunderstandings for them.
“Oh, the Places You’ll Go”
By, Dr. Seuss
“With your head full of brains and your
shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any
not-so-good street” (p. 4).
Description: This book identifies the power of decisions. Good or bad, we are all determinates of our own futures. The world is presented to us, and it is our job to use of it what we want. The furthered meaning to tie into our drug and alcohol use is to show that the decisions we make now, can positively or negatively affect us in the future.
Grade Levels: This is appropriate for 5th grade. In 5th grade, students are starting the D.A.R.E. program. It is developmentally appropriate because it emphasizes the benefits of good decision making and identifies societal pressures. (Which some students can be worried about going into middle school)
Messages of Health:
Decision making and its outcomes
Role-modeling both positive and negative
(Ex. In the book negative role-modeling ‘The Waiting Place’ and ‘the slumps’)
Concerns: The book does not directly approach the issue of drug and alcohol abuse. Students may not take it seriously enough if it is seen as a children’s book written by Dr. Seuss. This may hinder the learning produced by the book.
Activity: This book is read as a prompt to the D.A.R.E. program. The teacher should inform the students that the D.A.R.E. program is used in only 50% of the schools in the country because it has shown no signs of effectiveness. (p. 201) The teacher then conducts a discussion on how the students can make the most of this program; how they can make it best work for them. Since the book focuses on obtained success through decision making, a follow up hands-on activity could be a panel presentation. You would invite local career positions to come in and be interviewed by your students. Within this panel, students are assigned to ask a variety of questions on performance effects and consequences taken when one uses drugs and alcohol in their career. This can help to identify policies within certain careers and helps students understand their definition of success and view a real-life example of how important good decision making is. The assessment is based upon how engaged students are, the thoughtfulness of their questions, and a paragraph response to the panel presentation and classroom discussion including anything new they learned, things that they found interesting to them, and how did it change their viewpoints (if it did), on the importance of decision making.
Katie Culpepper
Children’s Literature Book Evaluation: I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much
1. I Wish Daddy Didn’t Drink So Much, by Judith Vigna is a story about a young girl, Lisa, who is struggling with the issues of having a father dealing with alcoholism. The story takes place on Christmas where Lisa is so excited to go sledding with her father on the sled that he made her. When she gets up, he is drunk and in no mood to go sledding with her. This is, of course very hard for her. The book deals with a lot of emotions that Lisa is feeling. There are times when she is angry, times when she is sad, disappointed, and even scared. With the help from her mother, Lisa begins to understand that her father is sick, and he doesn’t mean, or want to be saying mean things to her , or hurting her feelings. The mother says, “He can’t help his drinking. It makes him do hurtful, mean things he doesn’t really want to do. The true, kind Daddy is the one who loves you so much he built you this beautiful sled.” Lisa and her mother end up spending Christmas with Mrs. Fields who has dealt with alcoholism herself. She gives Lisa very valuable advice. She says that Lisa should try to do one of her favorite things everyday. This will make her happier, and not feel as upset about her father.
2. I think that developmentally this book would be appropriate for around third grade. For younger children it might an issue a bit too difficult to understand. However, the illustrations are very good, which would appeal to students on the younger side.
3.Alcohol abuse is an issue of health that is addressed in this book. This is very
important to start addressing at a very young age, because according to the book, a 2000-
2001 survey showed that by the time students were entering into middle school, almost ¼
had drunk beer. By the time they reach highschool the number has jumped to over half of
all students who have drunk beer. These numbers are pretty astounding and show just
how prevalent alcohol use is to all students not just highschoolers. This story not only
talks about coping mechanisms for children in homes with alcoholic parents, but also
shows the effects of alcohol and could provide as a deterrent for young students.
4. As an educator, a concern about this book would be that alcoholism is a very hard subject to deal with, and could bring up many emotions in students. As a teacher, before reading a book like this I need to really prepare myself for the kinds of questions, or comments that I might get. This also could become very personal and students may talk in class about issues in the home that parents do not want to be discussed.
5.A hands on activity that could be done along with reading this book is having the students generate a list of their favorite things to do. In the book the mother’s friend Mrs. Field tells her that when things are hard, a good way to make yourself happier is to do one thing that you love to do everyday. This certainly can relate to every child not only those with parents dealing with alcoholism. This is a good activity to give students a list to look at when they get sad, or disappointed, or angry. Not only can this make students happier, but also many students can react negatively, or even aggressively when they are unhappy for whatever reason. This activity gives them a list of things to do when they start feeling upset.