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 the truth about commonly abused drugs.

Concepts

drugs, drug abuse, drug addiction, marijuana, alcohol abuse, opioids, prescription drugs

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Additional Tags

health

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Instructional Ideas

• Have class members watch the PSAs on their own devices either in class or at home
• Host a discussion in which learners vote which PSA is the most effective, which is the least effective, and why
• Include in a health unit on drug use or when discussing substance abuse in a teen issues class

Classroom Considerations

• Video PSAs are available on the publisher's website, but are not in order; click on the video section to look through the selection
• Booklets are available for download or to order free copies
• Lessons reference a DVD with interviews that is available to order, but is not essential to the curriculum

Pros

• Substantive enough to support an entire curriculum on drug use
• Offers many methods to get the message across, including visual media, informational text, discussion, and writing
• Covers nearly every commonly abused substance
• Unit concludes with an anti-drug pledge

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.7.1 RI.8.1 RI.9-10.1 RI.11-12.1