Drunk Impairment Goggles Activities

Picking up Paperclips Station

Alcohol is one of the most abused and used drugs among our youth in the United States. Sadly, many young people have lost their lives, accidently killed someone, or have become seriously injured as a result of being intoxicated.  Drinking and driving is a major public safety issue that results in many deaths each year in the U.S.

Another serious alcohol-related problem is binge drinking. Binge drinking is when a large amount of alcohol is consumed in a short time and blood alcohol concentration is raised to .08%. When too much alcohol is consumed at a fast rate, the liver can't process it fast enough and the alcohol lingers in the bloodstream where it can become toxic. This can lead to short-term and long-term health risks. Binge drinking can result in alcohol poisoning which can cause coma and death. In addition, many accidental drownings have occurred as a result of being intoxicated.

Personal for Me___________________________________

A friend of mine from high school was in a horrific accident on her prom night after she got in a car with her drunk boyfriend after attending an after-prom party. My friend was too drunk herself to make the decision to put on a seatbelt as she got into the back seat of his car and passed out. According to police reports, her boyfriend was driving 100 mph when he lost control of the car and crashed into a wall. My friend was thrown hundreds of feet from the car and landed on pavement. She suffered a serious brain injury and many fractures. She lived 6 months before succumbing to pneumonia. She was just 18. A cheerleader. An all-A student. A really nice person. And an only child. Her boyfriend and another passenger who was in the car with them survived the crash.  I never forgot her story, or her, and vowed as a teacher to always share her story with my students. Sharing stories like these may help students realize the dangers of drinking irresponsibly. But what if you add another element to your lessons, one that further engages students in learning about the effects of alcohol?

High alcohol levels cloud your reasoning and judgement, decreases your reaction time, distorts vision and perception, and impairs your balance and coordination. Basically, when you are drunk you are not in control anymore, the alcohol is. The Fatal Vision Goggles is something I recommend if you are teaching youth about the dangers of alcohol abuse. It gives students a firsthand experience of what it feels like to be drunk. When you wear these goggles vision, depth perception, and eye-hand coordination are distorted.

The goggles come in different blood alcohol concentration impairment levels. For example, the lowest impairment level goggle simulates a BAC of .06% or less (mimics an impairment level of maybe one drink) while the highest impairment level simulates a BAC of .25% or more (The level of binge drinking or alcohol poisoning). Then there are several goggles with impairment levels in between those two goggles. Students can take turns performing different tasks with these goggles on to see how difficult it is to perform simple things when they have been drinking. They will find it more difficult to do these tasks as the impairment level of the goggles increases.

Having a class set of these would be great if you teach health. However, they can be expensive, especially if you want to purchase a class set and if you wanted more than one level of impairment goggles. *If you only have one or two of these goggles, that is just fine. You can bring up students who want to try different tasks with them on in front of the class and let them know which level of impairment goggles they are trying on. The class can observe the effects of the drunk impairment goggles while they watch that person perform one of designated tasks.

I have a worksheet in my TPT store that goes with this lesson in case you want to check it out. Click HERE to access this free worksheet packet. It includes station directions for each of the tasks listed below and a two-page post-activity worksheet for students to fill out. You can laminate the station directions so that they do not get torn up in the future.

Here are ten activities you can have students try with the Fatal Drunk Impairment Goggles. If you have a class set of 15 of these, you can have students work in pairs or groups of four. You can have your class set up in stations ahead of time to make it run more smoothly. You can set a timer for each station, and have it ring when it is time for students to begin a new station. Make sure each student gets a turn to try the different tasks both with the drunk impairment googles on and without them on to feel the difference.

10 Drunk Goggle Impairment Activities You Can Try

*For any of these activities, if a student has a medical concern and cannot, or does not want take part in any part of the lesson, they can simply be an observer. Make sure to have the room set up beforehand so the lesson goes smoothly and is set up in a way there no hazards that could cause a student to trip over something or slip and fall.

Walk a Straight Line

Using painter's tape, or a similar kind of tape, make a straight line on the floor about 20 feet long (more if you have room). The student will walk on the line, one foot in front of the other. With arms at their sides, then turn around and walk back one time while wearing the goggles. Then they will do this again without the drunk goggles. Other student(s) in the group should remain close by to spot the student walking the line when they have the goggles on, in case they lose their balance.

Stand on One Leg Balance

One student will stand one leg with their eyes open while another student times them to see how long they can balance on one leg, first without the drunk goggles on and then with the drunk goggles on. You can set up this station near a wall or desk in case the student loses their balance, they can put their hands out to catch themselves. They can try this a few times if time permits. Also, students nearby can watch out for the safety of the one wearing the goggles by acting as spotters.

Trash-ket Ball

Place a small trashcan out with a clean bag in it. Using painters' tape, make marked spot

about 10 feet away from the trashcan to indicate where a student will stand to try and

throw a mini soft basketball or other soft throw item in (Paper balls work just fine if you

have none of these). Have another student count how many baskets they make in 2

minutes without the drunk goggles on first and then with them on. You can even

do this activity with an over the door basketball hoop.

Game of Catch

Using a soft throw mini ball, students will stand on marked lines (using painter's tape) that are 10 feet apart. Both students will wear drunk goggles and throw the soft throw ball to each other. They will count how many times each one fails to catch the ball in a 2-minute game of catch. Have them repeat this without the goggles on. If there are not enough goggles for both to wear at the same time, students can take turns wearing the goggles and play the game with one person wearing the impairment goggles and the other not wearing them.

Lead the Way

Have a student lead another student to the water fountain or restroom while wearing the drunk goggles. Make sure the person being led by that student watches that they don't fall, and please do not let them lead the way to a restroom or water fountain that is on another floor. To ensure safety, keep it on the same floor (no stairs) and not too far of a trip.

Pick up Paper Clips

On a table, lay out a bunch of small paper clips so that none are on top of each other. Have a small desktop magnetic paperclip holder taped a foot away in front of the pile of paperclips. Have a student put on the goggles and pick up as many paperclips as they can and place it in the hole of the paperclip storage container, one at a time. Another student can time them and see how many paperclips they can put in the container in one minute. Then they can do the same thing without goggles.

For a bigger challenge, you can attach the paperclips and have the person completing this task take them apart before placing them in the paper clip storage container.

Basketball Dribble

You will need space for this one. Have students have do this one in the hallway. They will take turns dribbling a basketball from one marked spot to another marked spot wearing the drunk goggles. You can make a path for them to dribble on using painter's tape if you want. Count how many times they lose the ball or lose their balance. Make sure the area they are doing this is clear of any hazards that they could fall over or slip on. Have other students be near the student ready to spot them the whole time as they dribble, in case they lose their balance. Tell them not to dribble too fast, especially when the goggles are worn (And more so if a high impairment level goggle).

Path of Turns

Instead of a straight path, like in the first example, using painters' tape, make a pathway that involves right and left turns. Have the student walk on the lines from start to finish wearing the drunk goggles and again without them on. Another student or two can walk next to them and catch them if they lose their balance. Then they will walk the course with without the goggles on.

Balance Board Game

Have students play a board game that requires good hand-eye coordination, like the Don't Rock the Boat game. I love this one best, but you can use another game if you prefer another one. If using this game, you can have one student wear the goggles and try on their own to get as many of the figures on the boat before it tips over. Another way to play is to have four students play one round of the game with one person wearing the goggles and the others no goggles, then when the game ends because the boat tips over, you can have another person wear the goggles in a new round of the game. A third way to play this, if you have enough goggles in your class, you could have two players play at the same time wear goggles. Then these students would play another round without the goggles on to see and feel the difference. As with all stations, students will record their observations for this task.

Steer the Course

Set up a mini driving course with small flexible cones. This station will need lots of space, so it would be best done in the hallway or even outside if this is possible for you, depending on where your class is. Using a plasma car, students will steer along the pathway of the driving course. They will drive through the course from start to finish and then back to start, one time with the drunk goggles and then one time without them on. The other students in the group will be nearby watching to make sure the driver is safe from anything that be hazardous in the path. Make sure also to set up this driving course far away from any stairs if you are on a second floor.

The plasma car is a fun, and really cool, steer-only car; it has no pedals and no batteries. My kids had one of these when they were little and loved it! I even rode it myself, sometimes with one of them on my lap (when they were small). Although they are marketed for kids, they hold up to 220 lbs., so most adults can safely ride it. It is just that you don't see adults riding these :). I guarantee this station will be a definite hit with your students!

Your students will have fun participating in all of these activities, and that as a teacher should make you feel good. But the best part of this lesson is the takeaway. They will leave your class with a better understanding of the risks and consequences involved with alcohol abuse. Remember to use my free worksheet for this should you try this with your classes.

You can be flexible and creative in how you set up your stations and which tasks you include in them. If you can't get a class set but are able to get one of each impairment level goggles (5 total), you can set up 5 stations with one goggle of different impairment at each one. Then you would have more students in a group of maybe 5-6.

*If you teach biology and wanted to include this, you could incorporate this lesson idea into your nervous system lessons when discussing the functions of the different lobes of the brain. Alcohol impairment affects the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe, cerebellum, so you could discuss the lobe’s functions and alcohol’s effects on each of these. I would first see if the health teachers at your school use these in their classes. If they include this in their alcohol education lessons, then you would not need to do it in your class.