Free Copies of Past Issues
Download or order free compilations of Heads Up teacher and student materials.
Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body is an educational collaboration between the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and Scholastic Inc. The series provides science-based information about the effects of drugs and drug abuse on the brain and body through articles distributed in Scholastic classroom magazines for grades 6–12. Posters and poster teaching guides, as well as annual compilations of student and teacher editions are available as the following free Adobe PDF downloads, or by ordering them free through NIDA.
Use the following links to find drug education materials to use in your classroom:
Posters and Poster Teaching Guides
Posters and Poster Teaching Guides
NEW! Poster Teaching Guide: Marijuana—Download the Facts — Paired with essential facts about the risks of marijuana use, critical-thinking activities that help students analyze the meaning behind media and social messages.
• Download Poster [PDF 985 KB]
• Download Lessons and Activity Reproducibles [PDF 4.67 MB]
NEW! Poster: Prescription Drugs — This classroom poster graphically illustrates the double-sided nature of prescription drugs.
• Download Poster [PDF 418 KB]
Poster Teaching Guide: Facts on Drugs—Teen Guide to Making Smart Decisions — This poster teaching guide helps students understand the serious short- and long-term effects of drug, tobacco, and alcohol use, as well as the importance of informed decision making.
• Download Poster [PDF 1.16 MB]
• Download Lessons and Activity Reproducibles [PDF 1.18 MB]
Poster Teaching Guide: Drugs and the Body—It Isn't Pretty — A graphic tour of how the body is affected by various drugs of abuse. Includes an annotated “body” poster for your classroom wall along with six skills sheets.
• Download Poster [PDF 7.8 MB]
• Download Skills Sheets [PDF 3.8 MB]
• Download Poster (Español) [PDF 560 KB]
• Download Poster (Bilingual) [PDF 8 MB]
Annual Compilations
NEW! School Year 2010—2011 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of abusing prescription pain medications, including topics such as the difference between the proper use and abuse of prescription drugs, prescription stimulants, and facts from a leading scientist on the dangers of abusing prescription drugs.
• Download Student’s Edition [PDF 1.28 MB]
• Download Teacher’s Edition [PDF 664 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2009—2010 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as answers to questions about drugs commonly asked by teens, teen research in addiction science, and how to use facts to help make smart decisions when it comes to drugs.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 6.7 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 1.3 MB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2008—2009 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as genetics and drug addiction, teen research in addiction science, facts about stimulants, and drug rehabilitation.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 1.6 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 524 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2007—2008 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as consequences of impairment from drug abuse, facts about hydrocodone, how to talk with your doctor about your health, and the brain science behind teen decision making.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 1.2 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 344 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2006—2007 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as the science of addiction, effects of tobacco addiction, the connection between stress and drug abuse, and the health risks associated with drug abuse.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 2.3 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 180 KB]
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• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2005—2006 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as methamphetamine, inhalants, prescription drugs, and influences on teen decision making.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 1.4 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 688 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2004—2005 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans on the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as the science of drug addiction, the teen brain, the connection between drug abuse and AIDS, abuse of inhalants and prescription drugs, and the connection between drug addiction and obesity.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 1.7 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 864 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2003—2004 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as cocaine, LSD, and prescription painkillers.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 4.2 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 548 KB]
• Order Copies of Student’s Edition
• Order Copies of Teacher’s Edition
School Year 2003—2004 Skills Book — A collection of 16 reproducible skills pages full of facts and activities on drugs of abuse.
• Download Skills Book [PDF 13.7 MB]
School Year 2002—2003 Compilation — A collection of articles and teacher lesson plans designed to teach students about the repercussions of drug use, including topics such as tobacco, marijuana, ecstasy, inhalants, heroin, and steroids.
• Download Student's Edition [PDF 16.1 MB]
• Download Teacher's Edition [PDF 2.4 MB]