US National Library of Medicine
Drug Use and Abuse: Past and Present
Pick your poison: tobacco, alcohol, opiates, cocaine, or marijuana. An online exhibition launches a research project that asks groups to select one of the five drugs and gather information on how the use of the drug and the regulations...
Nemours KidsHealth
Alcohol: Grades 3-5
Students investigate alcohol safety by researching the Internet. In this drugs and alcohol lesson, students discuss the legal drinking age and brainstorm the problems drinking can cause. Students complete a worksheet about...
Curated OER
Making Good Decisions: Drug and Alcohol Reports
Students identify the effects and consequences of using and abusing alcohol and drugs. For this drug education lesson, students watch a video about underage drinking. Students research an assigned drug and compose a PowerPoint...
Foundation for a Drug-Free World
The Truth About Drugs
Teenagers hear many messages about drugs from advertisements, their peers, their teachers, and their parents. But who is lying? What is the truth? A thorough, thoughtful unit takes a purposeful look at drug education, drug culture, and...
National Institute on Drug Abuse
The Brain's Response to Drugs
Marijuana affects the brain differently than inhalants, which have a different effect than opioids. Elementary and middle school classes read about these drugs as well as nicotine, methamphetamine, hallucinogens, and steroids before...
Curated OER
Sex And Alcohol: A Risky Mix
High schoolers examine the reasons people use alcohol and discuss the negative things that can happen when mixing sex and alcohol. In this lesson on risky behavior, students explore the ways in which they can reduce the risks involved...
National Institute of Drug Abuse
Nurturing My Mental and Emotional Health
One exercise does not necessarily work for all! A resource from the National Institutes of Health provides tweens and teens with exercises to help them cope with anxiety and stress. Participants note their stress levels before and after...
Curated OER
Developing Self Awareness.Community, and Exploring Personal Qualities
Older individuals just overcoming homelessness or drug abuse issues, engage in a practical lesson to boost self-awareness. They work through two hours of activities intended to aid them in gaining a self perspective while increasing...
Curated OER
An Investigation of the Effects of Marijuana and Alcohol
Students, in groups, research the physical, psychological and social effects of alcohol and marijuana on the people who use them. They prepare a class presentation with their research.
Carfleo
Substance Use and Abuse
What is substance abuse? What is the difference between a depressant and a stimulant? Here is a comprehensive unit on drug use, including three lessons with such activities as categorizing and defining key terms, identifying...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How Much Does Smoking Really Cost?
Following a brief survey about tobacco, scholars examine a fact sheet to answer questions about the substance. A practice page challenges the class to determine the cost of the habit using money math. Pupils discuss their findings...
Curated OER
Drugs Change the Way Neurons Communicate
Students examine that certain drugs interfere selectively with neurotransmission, and realize that the effect of a drug is dependent upon dosage and route of administration.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Caution: Thin Ice!
Sixth graders listen to a story titled "Thin Ice!" then partake in a whole-class discussion asking and answering questions about what was read. Scholars brainstorm risky behaviors in preparation for a game of RISKO—a game similar to...
Curated OER
Alcohol and Marijuana "Gateway Drugs"
Ninth graders use the internet to research the effects of alcohol and marijuana. They present strategies for resisting peer pressure.
Curated OER
Binge Drinking and Drug Use
Students critically evaluate young peoples' comments on under age drinking. They map out valleys tieing together communities and drinking problems in a variety of situation. In addition, they correlate drinking and education in schools...
Curated OER
Drugs: Prevention Tips
Students use the Internet to examine ways they can prevent using drugs. They discover the dangers of these substances and complete online quizzes.
Curated OER
Boomers Assess High School
Students examine drug and alcohol abuse by American teens. In this health journalism lesson, students read the USA Today article titled "Boomers Assess High School", respond to discussion questions regarding the article, and...
Advocates for Youth
How Can I Take Care of My Health?
Life is all about choices, and a healthy life tends to involve a lot of healthy choices. Guide teenagers toward a life full of nutritious food, regular exercise, and responsible decisions with a series of lessons on healthy habits for...
Curated OER
Impaired
Students examine how drug and alcohol use diminishes our ability to perform tasks that require manual dexterity such as driving a vehicle. Using gloves and sunglasses students attempt tasks and compare it with the relationsip to an...
Curated OER
Judy Garland: By Myself
Students investigate Judy Garland's life create a media campaign focusing on the role of drugs and alcohol in her life. Students watch a video and conduct Internet research to find out about Garland's life. Groups write a newspaper...
Curated OER
CLOSE TO HOME - Overboard
Students read a comic about a teen drug overdose that leads to death. In this drug awareness instructional activity, students role play characters in the story that react to the death of their friend due to drug use in an online forum....
Social Skills Central
Ready, Set, Respond!
When faced with a difficult situation, do you respond selfishly, face it head on, or ignore the problem? This game encourages learners to evaluate the wide range of reactions we can have to problematic situations, and how our responses...
Steered Straight
Marijuana Awareness
February is Marijuana Awareness Month, and a set of interdisciplinary activities can make your class aware of the social, medical, legal, and psychological effects of marijuana. With writing prompts, research opportunities, and...
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...