Curriculum Topics

Elementary School Curriculum Topics

Healthy Alternatives
I'm Special
LifeSkills
Media Detective
Storytelling
Too Good For Drugs

Healthy Alternatives For Little Ones

Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO) is designed to help children (3-6 years old) understand the abstract concepts of “health” and “healthy choices” by putting them into concrete terms they understand. HALO encourages healthy eating, exercise, and emotion recognition. It also teaches the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) on the body. Learning opportunities are provided through teacher-led, developmentally appropriate, and fun hands-on activities that involve educational songs, videos, group activities, and books.

I'm Special

I’m Special (6-12 year olds) is designed to develop and nurture each child’s sense of uniqueness and self worth. It enhances the protective and resiliency factors by teaching appropriate ways for dealing with feelings; decision making; and skills for healthy living, effective group interactions, and resisting drugs. I’m Special incorporates children’s need for movement and creative expression through a variety of hands-on activities and art based projects.

LifeSkills Training (LST)

LifeSkills Training (LST) for grades 3-6 targets the major social and psychological factors associated with substance use and other risky behaviors. LST is based on both the social influence and competence enhancement models of prevention. LST teaches skills that build resilience and provides information relevant to important life transitions. Facilitated discussion, structured small group activities, and role-playing scenarios are used to stimulate participation and promote skills building.

Media Detective

Media Detective is a media literacy education program for grades 3-5. The goal is to prevent or delay alcohol and tobacco use using critical thinking skills. Media Detective helps students deconstruct advertising of alcohol and tobacco and encourages healthy beliefs and attitudes about being drug free. Students are taught to deconstruct product advertisements by looking for five "clues": (1) the product, (2) the target audience, (3) the ad hook, (4) the hidden message, and (5) missing information about the health-related consequences of using the product.

Storytelling for Empowerment

Storytelling for Empowerment is a school-based, bilingual (English and Spanish) intervention for teenagers at risk for substance abuse, HIV, and other problem behaviors due to living in impoverished communities with high availability of drugs and limited health care services. The program primarily targets Latino/Latina youth and uses cognitive decision making, cultural empowerment, and resiliency models of prevention. Storytelling for Empowerment also uses fotonovelas--a comic book-like print medium popular in Mexico and Latin America--to facilitate discussion between parents and their children on specific behaviors.

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD)

Too Good For Drugs (TGFD) targets children ages 5 – 11 years old. The program focuses on developing personal and interpersonal skills to resist peer pressures, goal setting, decision making, bonding with others, having respect for self and others, managing emotions, effective communication, and social interactions. TGFD also provides information about the negative consequences of drug use and the benefits of a non-violent, drug-free lifestyle. Developmentally appropriate information and skills lessons are presented through fun, hand-on activities, stories, songs and games.

Middle School Curriculum Topics

All Stars
Hip Hop
LifeSkills
Lions
Media Ready
Project ALERT
Project SUCCESS
Storytelling

All Stars

All Stars (11-14 years old) is designed to prevent or delay high-risk behaviors such as drug use, violence, and premature sexual activity. The program focuses on five topics important to prevention: (1) developing positive ideals; (2) believing in conventional norms; (3) building strong personal commitments; (4) bonding with school, pro-social institutions, and family; and (5) increasing positive parental attentiveness. The All Stars curriculum includes highly interactive group activities, games and art projects, small group discussions, one-on-one sessions, a parent component, optional online activities and worksheets, and a celebration ceremony.

Hip Hop 2 Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV (H2P)

Hip-Hop 2 Prevent Substance Abuse and HIV (H2P) is designed to prevent or reduce substance use and risky sexual activity among youth ages 12-16 through knowledge and skills. The program uses hip-hop culture as a social, cultural, and contextual framework for addressing these high risk behaviors. Students learn information about drugs, HIV/AIDS, and sexual behavior; resistance and refusal skills; effective communication; self-efficacy; and information about healthy alternatives to sex and drugs.

LifeSkills Training (LST)

LifeSkills Training (LST) for grades 6-9 targets the major social and psychological factors associated with substance use and other risky behaviors. LST is based on both the social influence and competence enhancement models of prevention. LST teaches skills that build resilience and provides information relevant to important life transitions. Facilitated discussion, structured small group activities, and role-playing scenarios are used to stimulate participation and promote skills building.

Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (SFA)

Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence (SFA) is a multi-component, comprehensive life skills education program designed for schoolwide and classroom implementation in grades 6-8. The goal is to help young people develop positive commitments to their school, families, peers, and communities and to encourage healthy, drug-free lives. Lions Quest SFA unites educators, parents, and community members to develop these skills: (1) social/emotional, (2) good citizenship, (3) strong positive character, (4) drug-free lifestyle and (5) service to others. The learning model employs inquiry, presentation, discussion, group work, guided practice, service-learning, and reflection.

Media Ready

Media Ready is a media literacy education program for grades 6-8. The goal is to prevent or delay underage alcohol and tobacco use by encouraging healthy beliefs and attitudes about drug free lifestyles and by enhancing critical thinking skills in interpreting media messages. Lessons are based on established models of decision making and research on the message interpretation process. The curriculum is adaptable to a variety of classroom settings and skill levels of students.

Project ALERT

Project ALERT (grades 6-8) focuses on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use. Based on the social influence model of prevention, the program focuses on helping students understand the consequences of drug use, recognize the benefits of being drug free, understand that most teens don’t use, and identify and resist pro-drug pressures. Lessons involve small-group activities, question-and-answer sessions, videos, role-playing, and the rehearsal of new skills to stimulate students' interest and participation.

Project SUCCESS

Project SUCCESS (Schools Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students) is designed to prevent and reduce substance use among teens (12 - 18 years old) who are at a high-risk of substance use. The intervention includes four components: (1) Education on peer pressure, prevalence and acceptability of use, and consequences of use; (2) School-wide Promotion on the dangers of use, social norms, and drug policies; (3) Parent Program to include informational meetings, education, and a parent advisory committee; (4) Individual and group sessions with an individual assessment. Students and parents who require more intensive counseling, treatment, or other services are referred to appropriate community agencies.

Storytelling for Empowerment

High School Curriculum Topics

Athena
N-O-T
PRIME For Life
Project SUCCESS
Project TND
Reconnecting Youth
Storytelling

Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise & Nutrition Alternatives (ATHENA)

Athletes Targeting Healthy Exercise & Nutrition Alternatives (ATHENA) uses a school-based, team-centered format that aims to reduce disordered eating habits and deter use of body-shaping substances among female athletes. The intervention focuses on the consequences of substance use and other unhealthy behaviors; and the benefits of appropriate sport nutrition and effective exercise training. The ATHENA program is delivered using scripted lessons in small learning clusters, each led by one coach-designated athlete squad leader. The sessions are integrated into a team's usual practice activities.

Not On Tobacco (N-O-T)

Not On Tobacco (N-O-T) is a smoking cessation program designed for youth ages 14 to 19 who are daily smokers. Based on social cognitive theory, N-O-T incorporates training in self-management and stimulus control, social skills and social influence, stress management, and relapse prevention. Tips are provided to manage nicotine withdrawal, weight, and family and peer pressure. Group sessions are delivered in gender-specific groups of 10-12 teens by same-gender facilitators.

PRIME For Life (PFL)

PRIME For Life (PFL) is a motivational intervention used in group settings to prevent drug problems or provide early intervention. PFL is based on the Lifestyle Risk Reduction Model, the Transtheoretical Model, and persuasion theory. Instructors use empathy and collaboration (Motivational Interviewing methods) to encourage behavior change to protect what they value most in life. Participants also develop a detailed plan for change. Multimedia presentations and extensive guided discussion help motivate participants to reduce their substance use or maintain low-risk choices. Individual and group activities are completed using participant workbooks.

Project SUCCESS

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND)

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND) is designed to help students develop self-control and communication skills, acquire resources to help them resist drug use, improve decision making strategies, correct myths around substance use, and develop the motivation to be drug free. Interactive sessions include role-playing, panel discussions, debate, small group activities, and structured games. The TND curriculum was developed for high-risk students in alternative high schools. It has also been tested among traditional high school students.

Reconnecting Youth

Reconnecting Youth: A Peer Group Approach to Building Life Skills (RY) targets teens with school related problems. Students must have either (1) fewer credits than the average student, high absenteeism, and a significant drop in grades or (2) a record of dropping out of school. RY incorporates several social support mechanisms for youth: social and school bonding activities to improve teens' relationships and increase their repertoire of safe, healthy activities; development of a crisis response plan detailing the school system's suicide prevention approaches; and parent involvement, including active parental consent for their teen's participation and ongoing support of their teen's RY goals.

Storytelling for Empowerment

Workplace Setting Curriculum Topics

Accidents
Between A Rock
Helping
Drug-Free Child
Addiction Is A Family Disease
Stress Management

An Accident Waiting To Happen

An Accident Waiting to Happen - This training is designed to raise employees' awareness about the dangers of workplace alcohol or other drug use.

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Oftentimes an employee may know about another employee's substance abuse, but not know how to help, who to talk to, etc. This workshop will provide employees with direction in dealing with this difficult situation.

Helping A Troubled Employee

Helping a Troubled Employee - This interactive workshop for supervisors helps them to recognize an impaired employee, engage in role rehearsals regarding an impaired employee, and discuss outside resources.

Raising A Drug-Free Child

Raising a Drug-Free Child - This practical training for parents discusses how to reduce their child's risk of using alcohol and other drugs; includes a general description of the drugs of choice among children and teenagers, and signs and symptoms of use.

Addiction Is A Family Disease

Addiction is a Family Disease - An employee's family member's addiction affects the employee's performance at work. This presentation will help participants understand the family dynamics resulting from addiction, and how these dynamics affect all areas of a person's life.

Stress Management

In this training, your employees will learn ways to recognize if stress is getting too high, identify & build healthy ways of coping, work as a team to combat stress, and learn to build resilience.