Reach Out Now Offers Materials to Schools
By Leslie Quander Wooldridge
 To
highlight Alcohol Awareness Month in April, SAMHSA and
Scholastic, Inc., are sponsoring a nationwide teach-in
for fifth- and sixth-graders from April 3 to 7.
Alcohol use among children and adolescents starts early
and increases with age, according to data from SAMHSA's
2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
In that survey, about 10.8 million youth age 12 to 20
(nearly 30 percent) reported using alcohol at least once
in the month prior to the survey.
This year's teach-ins to prevent underage drinking are
part of SAMHSA's annual Reach Out Now activities.
The effort gives prominent national, state, local, and
youth leaders an opportunity to use the research-based
curriculum to educate students, parents, and other community
members about the dangers of underage alcohol use.
According to NSDUH, more than 40 percent of individuals
who start drinking before age 15 will develop alcohol
abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.
SAMHSA and Scholastic sent materials to fifth-grade
teachers across the country for the first time in 2002.
Beginning in 2004, similar materials were distributed
to sixth-grade teachers nationwide.
Partnering with SAMHSA, Scholastic offers resources
such as classroom lessons and take-home tools to encourage
the discussion of underage drinking in school and at
home, provide children with accurate information on the
effects of alcohol on the body, and help children practice
critical thinking and self-expression skills that are
needed to make healthy decisions.
 Teach-in participants receive packets of information
that include a lesson plan as well as a media kit and
CD-ROM that contain templates for creating press releases
and pitch letters. The packets also include Too Smart
To Start crossword puzzles and word searches that
reinforce parts of the curriculum, such as symptoms of
alcohol use, as well as congratulatory certificates for
students who complete the program and for adults who
lead the teach-ins. SAMHSA's Too Smart To Start
initiative is an alcohol awareness program that focuses
on 9- to 13-year-old children and their parents and caregivers.
(See
SAMHSA News, March/April 2005.)
In
addition to teaming with Scholastic, SAMHSA has also
joined with several other national partners, including
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Community Anti-Drug
Coalitions of America (CADCA), to expand overall awareness
and reach of the event.
 Based
on a two-part set of materials, Reach Out Now: Talk
with Your Fifth Grader About Underage Alcohol Use and
Reach Out Now: Start Talking Before They Start Drinking,
the national teach-in event alerts children, parents,
and teachers about the dangers of underage alcohol use
and reinforces the message that it is unacceptable at
school and at home.
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In the Classrooms
At the end of a Reach Out Now lesson, students
should be able to:
Describe some of the effects of alcohol on the brain
and body. Identify effective alternatives to using alcohol. Work in groups to develop an effective alcohol prevention
message.
Communities nationwide are encouraged to participate,
and anyone who has a positive influence on young people
can be a teach-in presenter. Participants at previous
events include governors and lieutenant governors, mayors,
congresspersons and senators, faith leaders, school personnel,
and health care professionals.
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Playing a Vital Role
Parents, teachers, and caregivers play a vital role
in influencing children's attitudes about alcohol. They
give children the knowledge to recognize the dangers
of underage drinking, help children build skills to reject
alcohol offered by peers, express clear and consistent
messages that alcohol use is unacceptable, and reinforce
children's ability to make healthy decisions.
Additional information about SAMHSA's underage drinking
prevention programs is available at www.teachin.samhsa.gov
and www.toosmarttostart.samhsa.gov. 
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