Kids
Act to Control Tobacco!
NEA HIN developed
Kids Act to Control Tobacco! (Kids ACT!), a school-based tobacco
control advocacy program for middle school students (grades 6-8)
that is based on a four-step advocacy model. Kids ACT! is designed
to help teachers guide students through learning activities to help
them build knowledge and skills to act to promote tobacco-free environments
at home, in school and in their communities.
is standards-based and can be taught by teachers in a variety of disciplines
(English Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies and Health).
Formatted for service learning, Kids ACT! fosters students’ skills
in advocacy, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and
leadership. By conducting Kids ACT! activities, teachers can accomplish
multiple interdisciplinary performance indicators using the health
topic of tobacco use prevention.
A companion
Kids ACT! Family Guide contains easy-to-read information, and teachable
moments and action ideas to support parent-child communication on
tobacco while offering a school an organized way to increase parent
and community involvement.
The development
of Kids ACT! was funded by The Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids. The RWJF is currently funding an evaluation
study of this promising new program. NEA HIN is working with a team
of evaluators from the George Washington University School of Public
Health and Health Services on this evaluation study.
After the evaluation
study is completed, the NEA HIN hopes to market Kids ACT! to teachers
and schools throughout the U.S.