NYC Sugary Drink Ban & Lesson Plans?

While reading about how New York City is planning on banning the sale of sugary drinks (non-diet soda, energy drinks, and sugar tea for example) I kept thinking about how a ban like this relates to Prohibition. There are several similarities: the government telling people they cannot do something they once did, those enacting the law claim it is for the good of the people, and many people are upset about it. Though they are on different scales (and there are differences) the current event might be an interesting tool to help students think about Prohibition from another perspective.

If I were to use the NYC sugary drink ban in a lesson plan I would first have students read the article. After, I would ask them if they had ever heard of Prohibition. I would open up by telling students that Prohibition was similar to the sugary drink ban--that it was a time when the production and sale of alcohol was banned in an effort to get Americans to stop drinking, similarly to the way that NYC is banning the sale of large sugary drinks in an effort to get Americans to stop drinking things that contribute to obesity.

After giving an introduction I would delve into material, repeatedly going back to the analogy between Prohibition and the soda ban.

Once students had knowledge about the causes and effects of Prohibition I would work with them to compare and contrast it with the soda ban. I would write on the board and ask that they copy it down into their notebooks. This part of the lesson would look like a whole-class discussion where I scaffolded them by giving them hints about various similarities and differences and probed them for more detail and explanation of their answers.

After looking at the facts of Prohibition and the sugary drink ban I would shift to a discussion of the social aspect. I would ask students to think about how constituents who did enjoy Saloons and drinking in public probably felt, but considering how they would feel if they were told they could no longer have soda (I don't really want to use alcohol in the scenario because they will be under 21...I suppose soda does seem like the next "specialty" drink?). The discussion would turn to focus on civil liberties briefly.

For a homework assignment I would ask them to imagine they were living in the 1920s. I would ask them to write a journal entry that discussed Prohibition. What was it? How did they feel about it? How did they feel about the government telling them what they could drink? What did they do or not do because of it?

Obviously, this idea would have to be spread out over the course of several lessons (because there is a lot of material to cover), but you get the general idea...hopefully! I think one of the reasons I really enjoy history is because I like to try and put myself into other peoples' shoes. I hope that relating Prohibition to the NYC sugary drink ban will allow students to see Prohibition from the perspective of the people, rather than as a section in a textbook or set of facts they have to learn.

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