PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Kenan Fellows
Unit 3: How Drugs Enter/Exit the Body
The third of a four-part series on Pharmacology teaches scholars how drugs enter and exit the body, how they act inside the body, how they affect the brain, and more. Over the course of the unit, groups complete two labs and one...
ProCon
Drug Use in Sports
The ancient Greeks used performance enhancing drugs, such as opium juice, when they participated in the original Olympic Games. Pupils research a website with debate topics to decide if athletes' use of such drugs in modern sports is...
Scholastic
Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body
What's the difference between medical marijuana and marijuana bought on the street? Not much. High schoolers learn more about marijuana with an informational booklet that focuses on the medical uses of THC, how marijuana affects the...
Scholastic
Consider the Source
Who is more trustworthy when it comes to marijuana: a high school student, or The National Institute on Drug Abuse? Sources matter when reading informational text. Help teenagers discern which facts are true with an activity that focuses...
Nemours KidsHealth
Drugs: Grades 3-5
Two lessons take a close look at drug prevention. The first lesson, split into two sessions, challenges learners to gather information from an article, answer questions, then create a poster that encourages others to stay away from...
Curated OER
Commercial Time. Don't Turn that Channel!
Students review information on drug abuse and types of drugs and then learn about alcohol and other drug abuse in a hands on activity. In addition, they learn about kinds of drugs and the effects of drug abuse on the body.
Curated OER
Addiction
Young scholars warn others about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. In this personal health lesson, students research the effects of addiction and share their findings with their classmates. Young scholars then create posters or...
National Association of School Nurses
Learn to Be Smart and Safe with Medicine
The stated purpose of a school tool kit is to help schools implement teen prescription drug abuse awareness programs. The kit includes actions that groups can take in the school, with parents, and in the community at large.
RAND Corporation
Project ALERT
Why do people use drugs? What are the consequences? The alternatives? How can young people resist the pressures to use drugs? The Project Alert drug prevention program provides middle schoolers with the information they need and the...
Curated OER
What Do Drugs Do to the Body?
Students research the effects that drugs have on the human body. Using this information, they create a poster showing some of the effects of a specific drug. They work together to summarize the information they have gathered and present...
Scholastic
Analyzing Media Messages
Telling young people to just say no can be difficult in a world that inundates them with messages to just say yes. A lesson on media messages encourages teenagers to analyze song lyrics and advertisements that mention drugs and/or...
Scholastic
Marijuana Facts
Can marijuana really hurt you? Three medical facts and three discussion questions prompt teenagers to consider the ramifications of using marijuana recreationally.
Curated OER
Drugonyms
Students research information about the effects of drug abuse. They take a quiz, conduct Internet research and write a "drugonym" where each letter in the name of an assigned drug begins a new sentence or paragraph describing properties...
PBS
Opioids in Our Community—Middle School
How do opioids affect the lives of families and individuals within a community? Scholars explore the topic with a series of informative, thought-provoking videos. They also complete worksheets and discuss the effects of the opioid...
Scholastic
Think it Through
What does the media tell the teenagers about using marijuana? Help class members decipher what they are being told about drug use with a instructional activity on editorial cartoons, subliminal messages, and critical thinking skills.
Curated OER
If You Really Love Me
Students identify the effects of substance abuse. For this drug awareness lesson, students work together to develop a slogan for substance use and abuse. Each pair of students posts their slogans for the class to see.
Novelinks
The House of the Scorpion: Anticipation Guide
Introduce Nancy Farmer's award-winning science fiction novel, The House of the Scorpion, with an anticipation guide that asks readers to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect the major concepts in the story. Follow...
Curated OER
Grade 9 - Personal Development (Substance Abuse Prevention)
Ninth graders evaluate peer, cultural, mass media, and social influences related to substance use and abuse. Define available support and describe use refusal skills.
Curated OER
Soccer: Kickin' Butts!
Students view a PBS "In the Mix" video about soccer and identify the benefits of playing the sport. They examine how playing a sport can help prevent tobacco abuse and design posters depicting the benefits of soccer.
Curated OER
Prescriptions for Disaster?
Students share opinions about prescription drugs and prepare public service campaigns to inform peers and adults about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Their ads also offer prevention techniques and possible methods of treatment.
Children's Commissioner for Wales
Know Your Rights!
Children around the world enjoy a list of rights that protect their bodies, minds, families, and lifestyles. Review the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child with learners of all ages, and teach them all about their rights.
Curated OER
The Chocolate War
Learners scrutinize the story, "The chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for examples of nonconformity in the face of power. The nature of the relationship between students in the story is compared to the associations of the reader.
Curated OER
The human barometer
Learners read the story: 9-year-old girl dies on railway line. They engage in the 'Human Barometer': Collect a range of names of dangerous activities from the class. For example: skateboarding, waterskiing, bungee jumping, climbing,...