D.A.R.E. Lesson Plan Focus

Dare to say no! D.A.R.E. lesson plans focus on four major areas:

Providing accurate information about drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Teaching students good decision-making skills.
Showing students how to recognize and resist peer pressure.
Giving students ideas for positive alternatives to drug use and destructive
behaviors.

Another acronym model for D.A.R.E. is “Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.” This model is taught in the classroom to help children work through a problem that they are facing.

1. Define: What is the problem?
2. Assess: What choices do you have?
3. Respond: Make a choice regarding your problem/situation
4. Evaluate: Was that a good choice and what are the consequences?

D.A.R.E. officers work with children to raise their self-esteem, teach them how to make decisions on their own, and help them identify positive alternatives to drugs. Through role-playing, the D.A.R.E. curriculum emphasizes the negative consequences of drug and alcohol use, consequences, and reinforces the skills to resist peer pressure and intimidation.

Sample D.A.R.E. Lesson Outline:

Lesson 2: Tobacco and You

• Students will review the D.A.R.E. Decision-Making Model by applying it to authentic situations.
• In a graphic representation, students will compare their estimates of the extent of tobacco use among adolescents with estimates reported in national surveys.
• Students will compare and contrast “common” beliefs about tobacco use through discussion, and analyze the validity of personal beliefs about tobacco use through a think, pair, share activity. They will recognize and correct personal misconceptions about tobacco use.
• Students will identify harmful effects of tobacco to the body by creating a warning
  label.
• Students will write a personal reflection in response to the lesson.