No matter how much we might wish it were otherwise, the four great social concerns about teenage behaviour (smoking, drinking, drug taking and experimentation with sex) ultimately come down to the matter of the individual?s choice.

The problem is of course that quite often the one person who we would prefer not to have a choice in these matters is the teenager in question.

But choice it is in each case.

That's the starting premise of 'Choices for Teenagers'  a photocopiable book (which also comes on CD) which sets out a series of articles for pupils and students aged 10 to 16 in each of these topic areas.

Each article is followed by a set of case studies, and then there's a set of classroom activities. Because of the format and the fact that each article is only a few pages long, one copy of the book can be photocopied and used across the school

Overall the aim is to have pupils look seriously at the potential consequences and given information on the help and support which is available and on where it can be found if needed. These topics are included in the curriculum requirements for PSHE at Key Stage 3.

There's one other point to highlight about this book. Choices for Teenagers contains a wealth of facts and statistics, many of which may surprise students. And when youngsters think they know it all, surprise is sometimes a very good tactic to introduce.

Cat No: 978 1 86083 750 0