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Great American Smokeout: Five Lesson Plans

On November 20, people around the world will spread awareness about the negative effects of smoking on Great American Smokeout. This holiday is also a way to encourage those who smoke to use the date to plan to quit.

Teachers will also embrace this day to educate their students about smoking tobacco products through different lesson plans, books, videos, crafts, and other activities. 

Education World has gathered a list of lesson plans and other resources teachers can use on Great American Smokeout Day. 

 

Smoking Prevention Campaign:

In this activity, students from grades 7-12 will " combine a study of facts regarding tobacco with a survey of their peers' attitudes and experiences to create a school-wide smoking prevention campaign." Students will need computers to access the Smoking Prevention Web Sites list and complete a Smoking Crossword. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand facts about smoking. 

 

The Great American Smokeout: Anti-Smoking Activities: 

In this article, Education World offers a list of activities, Internet sites for teachers, facts to share with students, and more. There are plenty of math activities, geography activities, art, puzzles, surveys, board games, and web resources, including: 

 

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs: 

After students complete this lesson plan geared towards second and third grade, they will be able to identify adults in the community who care for the students and to strengthen positive relationships with adults. 

 

KidsHealth.org:

Read and Discuss

In this first activity, students will read the following articles:

Students can then discuss the following questions:

  1. Puff, puff, smoking is dangerous! Make a list of the health problems that smoking can cause.
  2. Thousands of kids start smoking every day. If it’s so bad for your health, why do so many kids do it? Brainstorm a list of reasons why kids might start smoking. Do you think these reasons are good enough to put your health at risk? Why or why not? Can you think of safer and healthier ways to meet these same goals?
  3. Anyone who starts smoking can become addicted to it. What does it mean to be addicted to something? Why is being addicted to smoking a problem? Do you know people who have quit smoking? How did they do it? Was it difficult for them? Why?
  4. When friends light up, they are putting themselves at risk. Discuss how you can help a friend who smokes. What could you say or do to get your friend to stop smoking? Who could you ask for help? Do you think some strategies would not be helpful in getting your friend to quit? Which ones? Why do you think so?

Smoking Adds Up:

In this activity, students will be able to use math skills to calculate the cost of smoking and identify alternate ways to use money spent on smoking. Students will use this worksheet to organize their calculations and then take a quiz about basic smoking information. Answer key provided. 

 

Every-Day Edit: The Great American Smokeout:

With this printable provided by Education World, students will read a short paragraph about the history of The Great American Smokeout and highlight ten errors. Answer key provided. 

 

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor