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Helps Teachers Help Students to “Think Twice” About Drugs (Washington, D.C.)- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is providing a new tool to educators to help their students “just think twice” about the dangers of drugs. A new teachers’ guide based on DEA’s teen anti-drug website www.justthinktwice.com, has been published by DEA and is available to teachers for classroom use. The guide contains lesson plans and recommended activities for middle and high school students and covers a wide array of topics related to the consequences of drugs. The curriculum was previewed and vetted by educators who felt that it was a dynamic, hands-on approach which would help teach America’s youth about the dangers of drugs. DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said “Today’s teens are bombarded with myriad, and often conflicting, messages about drugs. They need straightforward and objective information on what drugs do to them, their future and society as a whole. Teachers now have a resource to help them provide their students with unambiguous information on drugs. By using the Just Think Twice website as the basis for assignments and class activities, teachers will stimulate middle and high school students to really think about the consequences of taking or selling drugs.” DEA’s award-winning “Just Think Twice” website was launched in August, 2005 and has garnered praise from students, parents and educators. The teachers’ guide provides lesson plans based on the eight segments of the website. For each of the segments, the guide includes lesson plans for middle school and more advanced plans for high school. Each module is comprised of an introduction, a list of materials, teacher preparation requirements, an introductory discussion, suggested activities, concluding discussion, assessment of students’ responses to the lesson, extension activities to expand on concepts learned in the lesson, and quizzes to assess knowledge. Families Changing America: Standing Together Against Substance Abuse, an organization comprised of families who lost loved ones to substance abuse, expressed support for the teachers' guide. Many members of the organization are parents of young people who believed that their substance abuse was not harmful. "We believe that this curriculum will serve as a centerpiece for preparing students for the great challenges that lie ahead. It will give them the tools to make the right choices and avoid the enormous risks that our loved ones sadly took. We heartily support this curriculum as now, more than ever, the fourth R, Risk Avoidance, needs to be given equal weight with reading, writing, and arithmetic, " said Linda Surks, Spokesperson for Families Changing America. The eight modules in the guide are:
The teachers’ guide is available on DEA’s website, www.dea.gov. |
