Red Ribbon Week PSA Project Guidelines for High School Health
A project guide for a Unit 3 Health assessment in which 10th graders design a public service announcement aimed at peers about drugs and alcohol. Students pick one format (poster, digital infographic or slide, or storyboard ad) and must include a slogan, two accurate facts, a short-term and long-term effect, a refusal skill, and a healthy alternative. The guide defines key terms like PSA, short-term effect, long-term effect, refusal skill, and healthy alternative, so students can plan their work step by step.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as the launch document for the Red Ribbon Week PSA choice in Unit 3, ideally paired with a 45-minute class period for reviewing the rubric, brainstorming formats, and gathering reliable sources such as NIDA or CDC fact sheets.
- Discussion question: Why does a PSA sell an idea rather than a product, and what makes a message persuasive to teenagers rather than preachy?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: Offer a fill-in-the-blank planning sheet with slots for the slogan, each required element, and a source for each fact, and let them sketch the layout before writing final text.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to tailor one version of their PSA for a different audience, such as parents or younger students, and explain how the facts and tone shift.
- Estimated time: Plan roughly 3 to 5 class periods for planning, drafting, and finishing, with an additional 10 minutes per student for a peer gallery walk at the end.
Red Ribbon Week PSA Project Guidelines for High School Health
A project guide for a Unit 3 Health assessment in which 10th graders design a public service announcement aimed at peers about drugs and alcohol. Students pick one format (poster, digital infographic or slide, or storyboard ad) and must include a slogan, two accurate facts, a short-term and long-term effect, a refusal skill, and a healthy alternative. The guide defines key terms like PSA, short-term effect, long-term effect, refusal skill, and healthy alternative, so students can plan their work step by step.
Teacher Guide & Tips
- Use this as the launch document for the Red Ribbon Week PSA choice in Unit 3, ideally paired with a 45-minute class period for reviewing the rubric, brainstorming formats, and gathering reliable sources such as NIDA or CDC fact sheets.
- Discussion question: Why does a PSA sell an idea rather than a product, and what makes a message persuasive to teenagers rather than preachy?
- Scaffold for struggling writers: Offer a fill-in-the-blank planning sheet with slots for the slogan, each required element, and a source for each fact, and let them sketch the layout before writing final text.
- Extension for advanced students: Ask them to tailor one version of their PSA for a different audience, such as parents or younger students, and explain how the facts and tone shift.
- Estimated time: Plan roughly 3 to 5 class periods for planning, drafting, and finishing, with an additional 10 minutes per student for a peer gallery walk at the end.