This week’s lesson
Building on the nicotine and vaping lesson, students investigate their pulse before movement, after movement, and after resting. They explore how the lungs, blood, and heart deliver oxygen, then make a poster with accurate facts, a healthy stress tool, and a response to a vape offer.
What to know
- Moving muscles need more oxygen. The heart responds by pumping faster. The classroom activity shows movement and recovery; it does not simulate smoking or vaping.
- Nicotine is addictive. It can increase heart rate and blood pressure and narrow blood vessels.
- Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.
- Vape aerosol can contain nicotine, metals, harmful chemicals, and tiny particles that travel deep into the lungs.
Start a conversation
- Why does your heart beat faster when you move?
- What is a healthy way to handle stress?
- What could you say if someone offered you a vape?
Try one small thing together
Let your child pick a healthy stress tool: a short walk, music, drawing, a break, or talking with someone they trust. Try it together and ask how they felt afterward.
Practice the 3 C’s
Clarify: What am I being asked to do? Consider: What are my options and what could happen? Choose: What fits my values and protects my health?
If your child uses nicotine
Keep the conversation calm and thank them for being honest. A healthcare professional can help connect them to appropriate support. Find nicotine quit-support resources or read the nicotine parent guide.
Questions? Contact pbradway@glrc.org.