Helping teens with mild to moderate substance use
Too Good for Drugs Eighth Grade
Unit 1
Lesson 1: Setting Reachable Goals
Students learn how to set and achieve personal goals.
Lesson 2: Responsible Decision Making
Students learn to plan their actions, evaluate their choices, and problem solve using the steps for responsible decision making
Lesson 3: Identifying and Managing Emotions
Students learn to recognize and manage their emotions using healthy strategies.
Lesson 4: Effective Communication
Students learn how to use communicate skills to resolve conflict, express emotions, and enhance cooperation.
Lesson 5: Bonding and Relationships
Students learn and apply peer refusal strategies and peer selection skills to promote healthy bonding and connectedness.
Unit 2
Lesson 6: Effects of Alcohol Use
Students examine the short and long term effects of alcohol use on the teenage brain and body as well as the social consequences of underage drinking.
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Lesson 7: Effects of Nicotine Use
Students learn the short-term, long-term, and social consequences of nicotine use and evaluate the impact of product placement in media on perceptions and attitudes toward tobacco and nicotine use.
Lesson 8: Effects of THC and Marijuana Use
Students examine the misperceptions of marijuana and its use. Students also learn the effects of marijuana on the teenage brain and body as well as its impact on reaching goals.
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Lesson 9: Prescription and OTC Drugs
Students learn the short term effects of the abuse of street, prescription, and OTC drugs and review the effects of drug use on the teenage brain and body.
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Lesson 10: Street Drugs and Overview
Students examine the developmental aspects of risk-taking and differentiate healthy and unhealthy risks by predicting outcomes.
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If you have any questions about the resources on this page, you can contact our Prevention Educators here, or you can visit the Mendez Foundation’s website here.
Lesson Videos
You will need: A pencil and a notebook or a Too Good for Drugs workbook
At Home Learning Worksheets
These worksheets are designed to support and practice skills in language arts, social studies, vocabulary, and art. There is a worksheet for each week. The worksheets do not needed to be printed. Students are able to complete the prompts on a separate sheet of paper.
Home Workouts
These worksheets are fun activities for adults and kids to complete together. There is a worksheet for each of the ten lessons. Some worksheets can be completed without printing, but some will be difficult to complete without printing.
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Spanish
English
Journaling Prompts
For each lesson topic there are several journaling prompts that students can choose from. The journaling prompts do not needed to be printed. Students are able to complete the prompts on a separate sheet of paper.