Telling young people to just say no can be difficult in a world that inundates them with messages to just say yes. A lesson on media messages encourages teenagers to analyze song lyrics and advertisements that mention drugs and/or alcohol, and to determine whether the message is glorifying or warning against substance abuse.

Concepts

marijuana, drugs, drug abuse, advertising, song lyrics, evaluating claims

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Additional Tags

health

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Instructional Ideas

• Assign the extension activity as homework after the lesson is over
• Project the poster onto the board as class members walk in, and have them write about what they see as a warm-up journal activity

Classroom Considerations

• The fourth part of a longer unit on marijuana use
• Worksheet contains a lot of color; consider reformatting the information onto another document for easier printing
• Be sure that your class can discuss pop culture's portrayal of drug abuse in a mature and sensitive way

Pros

• Provides an answer key for all activities in the unit
• Encourages critical thinking and close reading 

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.7.1 RI.7.2 RI.7.3 RI.8.1 RI.8.2 RI.8.3 RI.9-10.1 RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.3 RI.11-12.1 RI.11-12.2 RI.11-12.3