Marijuana: Download the Facts

• PRINT
  

  

  Help with printing?
  PRINT THIS PAGE

  	Printer-friendly format, no images Removes all graphics, other content, and advertising. Use this if you just want the body text!
  	Printer-friendly format, with images Removes other content, and advertising, but images remain. Use this if you want to print out pictures alongside the body text!

  
• EMAIL
  

  

  Help | Privacy Policy
  EMAIL THIS

  * YOUR FIRST NAME ONLY
  

  * FRIEND'S FIRST NAME ONLY
  

  * FRIEND'S EMAIL ADDRESS
  

  MESSAGE
  Here's something interesting from NIDA

  
  Scholastic respects your privacy. We do not retain or distribute lists of email addresses.

  

Welcome Teachers,

Teenagers are increasingly bombarded with mixed messages about marijuana—from TV, the Internet, popular music, and even friends and family. These messages can make it difficult for students to sort fact from fiction. How do they know who or what to believe?

As an educator, you are aware of how important it is for teens to have reliable information about drugs. Scholastic and the scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have created this poster/teaching guide, Marijuana: Download the Facts, to help students learn how to distinguish facts from myths.

The lessons and critical-thinking activities included in this guide will give your students important tools to help them analyze the meaning behind media and social messages. Paired with essential facts about the risks associated with marijuana use, these lessons will equip your students to make informed decisions. Below you’ll find:

• a full-color mini-poster for the classroom 
• four turnkey lesson plans and activity sheets
• alignment with national standards 

Thank you for sharing this valuable information with your students.

Nora D. Volkow, M.D.                                             

Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse       

Ann Amstutz Hayes

Vice President, Scholastic Inc.

LESSON PLANS

Lesson 1: Marijuana Facts 

Students will review some basic facts about marijuana, and understand how to use this knowledge, along with critical thinking skills, to make informed decisions about marijuana use.

Lesson 2: Consider the Source 

Students will understand the difference between a fact that can be verified and a personal opinion. Students will also determine the difference between an opinion based on facts vs. an opinion based on special interest.

Lesson 3: Think It Through 

Students will learn how to “read” and understand editorial cartoons.

Lesson 4: Analyzing Media Messages

Students will practice analyzing messages in a popular song or music video to better understand the number of messages they are exposed to and how, over time, that exposure might influence their decision making.

Alignment With National Standards 

Download and print a copy of the complete teaching guide Marijuana: Download the Facts (PDF). 

Download and print a copy of the poster Marijuana: Download the Facts (PDF).

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For facts about drugs and health, visit:

         •  www.teens.drugabuse.gov 

         •  www.drugabuse.gov

Photos: girl, © iStockphoto; cartoon, © Don Addis—Used with permission; teen with headphones, composite image—headphones, Maciej Toporowics/NYC/Flickr/Getty Images; sound bar, © iStockphoto; teen silhouette, © Photo Disc, Inc.