How Can You Help Others Stay Tobacco Free?

This learning experience fosters awareness of representations we see, and don't see, in the media. Learners list TV programs, games, and films they enjoy, identify characters' ethnic, religious, (dis)ability, and sexual orientation...

Between 1996 and 2006, three quarters of the action films made in the US featured tobacco or depicted smoking—and the more young people see smoking in movies, their likelihood of becoming smokers increases. Get the facts about just how...

A series of activities encourages young people to be smoke free. Class members identify the chemicals found in cigarettes and cigarette smoke, investigate the health risks, and practice refusal strategies.

Two compelling texts about tobacco companies' influence over editorial content in print media introduce readers to the concept of advertising censorship. After study and discussion, class members compose a mock "final column" by a...

Step up your word search game with a puzzle that challenges scholars to sleuth out phrases, not single words. Each phrase boosts making healthy lifestyle choices by choosing not to smoke. 

Much has been written recently about the danger of secondhand smoke. Laws have been passed to limit that exposure in offices, transportation centers, and public areas. But what about apartment buildings, condos, public housing, and other...

How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

Scholars examine the effect of media and advertising on youth drinking and smoking. They determine what advertising means, how much money is spent on it, and how different age groups are targeted. They watch a movie and examine pictures...

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...

If you are in need of a lesson on tolerance or the impact of media, this plan could be useful. The class begins with a brainstorming session in which they reflect on their own experiences with bias based on appearance. Next, they...