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Review what we have learned

Hear from high school students why they say "no" to drugs

Make a commitment to be substance free

Core Lesson 11: Benefits of Not Using Substances

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STUDENT GROUND RULES

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TEACHER GROUND RULES

LISTEN

I will listen carefully to what you have to say and treat all responses with respect.

ENCOURAGE

RESPECT

I will encourage all students to participate in the program's activities.

I will treat our discussions with respect. I will keep things I hear in class private or confidential, unless I as the teacher am concerned about your wellbeing or safety.

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The Information Review Game

According to the most recent national survey data from “Monitoring the Future”, what percentage of 8th graders reported vaping nicotine in the last 30 days?

Now we’re going to play the Information Review game. Before we break into four (or five) teams, I’ll give you an overview of the game. I’ll ask a series of questions reviewing the knowledge we’ve gained in the earlier lessons, and the goal is to work as a group to come up with the most correct answers.

Each team will choose a Recorder who will write down their group’s answer to each question. The recorder will also track the points for their group.

When I read a question, each team will have about 10 seconds to come up with a single answer that the recorder will write down. The answer must be written down to earn a point. Teams must work together quickly and stop writing when I call time.

After each series of questions, we’ll reveal the correct answers, team Recorders will check-mark any correct answers, and we’ll continue with the next series of questions.

Divide the class into four or five groups. Provide each Recorder with answer sheets.

Read the questions and allow 5 to 10 seconds for groups to work and write. At the end of each topic series of questions, display and review the relevant poster, as indicated, and reveal the correct answers for those questions.

These first questions focus on nicotine.

Question 1.

This is multiple choice: According to the most recent national survey data from “Monitoring the Future”, what percentage of 8^th graders reported vaping nicotine in the last 30 days?

5%
9%
25%
42%

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The Information Review Game

2. How does vaping or smoking affect your athletic performance?

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The Information Review Game

3. According to the most recent national survey data from “Monitoring the Future”, what percentage of 8th graders reported smoking nicotine or a cigarette in the last 30 days?

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The Information Review Game

4. True or False: Vaping is safer than regular cigarettes.

Question 4. True or False: Vaping is safer than regular cigarettes.

Optional to display posters about the effects of vaping and smoking:

Smoking and Vaping Make You Less Attractive;

Smoking Affects Your Heart and Lungs;

Vaping Leads To…

Nicotine Is Addicting

Vaping Leads To…

---- ANSWERS

Answer 1. The correct answer is B, 9%. If your team guess it correctly, record 1 point.

Answer 2. Reduces stamina, shortens breath.

Answer 3. One percent of 8^th graders reported smoking a cigarette in the last 30-days. If you selected A, award your team a point.

Answer 4. False, vaping is not safer than smoking cigarettes. Vapes and e-cigarettes contain many cancer-causing and toxic chemicals – including nicotine, formaldehyde, arsenic, aluminum, and lead. Vaping has been linked to dangerous respiratory problems. Also, teens who vape are actually more likely to end up smoking cigarettes if they try vaping first.

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The Information Review Game

5. According to the most recent national survey data from “Monitoring the Future”, what percentage of 8th graders reported using marijuana in the last 30 days?

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The Information Review Game

6. If you go to school “high,” there is a good possibility you will forget which of the following:

a) your birth date, or

b) the answers to a school test?

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The Information Review Game

7. True or False: Marijuana is a plant, so it is safer than other drugs.

Question 7. True or False: Marijuana is a plant, so it is safer than other drugs.

Optional to display poster about effects of marijuana:

Marijuana Can Affect You Right Away

Marijuana Can Damage You in the Long Run

--- ANSWERS

Answer 5. Five percent of 8^th graders reported using marijuana in the last 30 days. If you said True, your team is correct.

Answer 6. Choice (b) the answers to a test. Marijuana impairs short-term memory.

Answer 7. False. Many “natural” substances also have toxic properties (like tobacco and poisonous mushrooms). While marijuana is a plant, its main psychoactive component is THC (Tetrahydro-cannabinol), which affects brain function. Prolonged or frequent use of marijuana has long-term effects on brain chemistry and body function. High-potency THC has been linked to short-term memory and coordination issues and unexpected poisonings.

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The Information Review Game

8. When you drink alcohol, which of the following is affected:

a) your judgment,

b) your coordination

c) both

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The Information Review Game

9. True or False: According to the most recent national survey data from “Monitoring the Future”, more than 10% of 8th graders reported drinking alcohol in the last 30 days.

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The Information Review Game

10. True or False: It’s OK to share prescription drugs between relatives or friends.

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The Information Review Game

11. According to the most recent national survey data from Monitoring the Future, what percentage of surveyed teens reported misusing prescription medication – meaning they took something that wasn’t prescribed to them or took the medication differently than directed - in the last 30 days?

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The Information Review Game

12. True or False. You can easily tell if a pill is fake prescription medication.

Question 12. True or False. You can easily tell if a pill is fake prescription medication.

Optional to display poster about prescription drugs:

Prescription Drugs Go Straight to Your Head

---- ANSWERS

Answer 10. False. Prescription drugs are prescribed to one person, for a specific condition, dose, and use. Use of medications outside of a doctor’s specific recommendations can be extremely dangerous, both immediately and long-term, and is illegal.

Answer 11. It's 2 in 100 who had misused any type of prescription drug in the last month. This is 2% of teens surveyed misused prescription medication in the last 30 days. If you selected less than A you are correct.

Answer 12. False. It is not easy to tell if a pill is real or fake prescription medication. Counterfeit or fake prescription medication is very difficult to detect. Chemical testing is the main way to safely detect if a pill is real or fake. Chemical testing is also required to determine if fentanyl is present in a pill. Even a very small amount of fentanyl can be deadly

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The Information Review Game

13. True or False: It takes at least a year or two after you start vaping or smoking to become addicted to nicotine.

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The Information Review Game

14. True or False: People can become addicted to marijuana.

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Video: Saying ‘No” to Drugs

https://www.projectalert.com/videos

Show and Discuss Video: Saying “No” to Drugs (8 min.)

Now we’ll learn what some high school students have to say about using and not using drugs. Look for reasons they had for resisting.

Show the video Saying “No” to Drugs

What did the high school students on the video say that you agree with?

What are some other things those high school students said about not using drugs?

Have you ever heard older students say things like what was said on the video?

If students say they have not heard such talk, ask if they have any idea why not.

Validate students’ own concerns about drugs
Remind them that there are benefits of nonuse
Emphasize that nonusers are the majority of teens even though they might not talk about not using

Remember, very few students your age experiment with or use drugs or alcohol. By resisting external and internal pressure to use substances, you are in the majority. Everyone is not using substances.

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Choosing a Healthy Lifestyle Free From Drugs

How do you think commitments help you?

One thing that helps people stick to their decisions is to write them down as commitments. How do you think commitments help you?

The certificates I will be handing out are a chance for you to write, in your own words, why you have made the decision to choose a healthy lifestyle free from drugs.

Hand out blank certificates.

Take a few minutes now to write down your own thoughts. Be honest. There are no right or wrong commitments. Your statement may be long or short.

As you write your commitments, I’ll walk around the room to get a sense of the commitments you are making. When you finish, please raise your hand.

Any questions?

Allow five minutes for students to write.

Optional to collect the certificates and quickly skim to summarize the types of commitments students are making. If collected, you can return the certificates at the end of the Wrap-up.

You made some great commitments for a healthy lifestyle free from substance use. I saw commitments like:

Summarize some responses without identifying students

How might it help to share our commitments with others?

If we share our commitments with others, they can offer support and encouragement.

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Wrap-up

We have now completed this series of Project ALERT lessons.

You now know how to resist pressures to use substances. You can use these skills in other pressure situations such as skipping school, dating, cheating on tests or exams. I hope you will use these skills.

Optional, if commitment statements were collected:

Now I will return your commitment statements to you. When your name is called, please come forward and receive your commitment statement, like a kind of Project ALERT graduation certificate to keep and remind you of your commitments.

Read off each name. Shake hands. Lead applause.

It’s not easy to resist these pressures, but it does pay off. It also gets easier the more you do it. You can always choose to say “no” when you feel pressured. You really learned a lot in Project ALERT. I think you’ll find it easier to resist all kinds of pressures in the future.

I hope you remember ways to say “no” and what you learned during Project ALERT.

Optional: Collect student responses to the Information Review Game for participation points or exit ticket. Use completion of the commitment statements for participation points or exit ticket.

Optional: Encourage students to share their certificates with their parents/guardians.

Optional: If you are worried about the choices someone in your life is making, please ask a trusted adult for help.

Optional: We will complete the Project ALERT survey [today/tomorrow/in the near future].