Taking the Message Further with Holiday Natural Highs!

This time of year is the perfect opportunity to encourage students to engage in "seasonal" natural high activities! Whether you live in a cold state and it's making snow men, snow angels, or snow shoeing, or you live in a warm state and its making ginger bread houses, shopping for presents, or ice skating at the local rink, these types of heart warming and energetic activities only come around a few weeks out of the year but they still deserve to be celebrated!

This exercise can be short and simple. Get some large poster paper and hang it up on one wall of your classroom. Encourage each student to write what their favorite holiday natural high is or draw a picture of it. Explain how with all the extra time off, coupled with the prevalence of drunk driving accidents that occur this time of year, students may need to find additional natural highs to fill up their time and stay away from drugs and alcohol. It's never too early for students to start thinking about it and it's great way for them to share ideas or communicate their desired plans. Maybe they will make a new friend through the process!

Natural High Bonus Discussion Guide Question

Anna Rawson from Natural High 4 described how one of her best friends stopped cycling after she started hanging out with the wrong crowd. In response, Anna said she stopped being friends with her because that was not the path she wanted to take.  

Q) Sometimes it's hard to make a decision like Anna did but it?s necessary to keep on track. Describe a time where you or someone you know had to make a tough decision in order to do what they thought was right.

Natural High Teacher Spotlight: Celeste Coffman

Celeste Coffman (left in picture), Guidance Counselor at Monrovia Middle School, has used Natural High 2, 3 & 4 in classroom settings. With her passion for art and youth, she incorporated some unique and creative ideas while showing the Natural High DVDs!

How are you implementing the Natural High DVDs or message at your school?

Before watching the video I make sure to read the list of Natural Highs that comes with the online lesson plans. This helps my students think about their own High while watching the video. After the film ends, I have my students write an essay describing their own Natural High. One fun and artistic activity we did was a Natural High acrostic. Students spell out "NATURAL HIGH" vertically down a blank sheet of paper, and then alongside each letter they write a description of their Natural High (see examlpe below). 

I also plan to show the video in an 8^th grade Science class, and then we are going to shoot a video of our own. I want the 8^th graders to talk about their own Natural Highs, and then I plan to show the student-made video to our 6^th graders. 

Never give up
Always dance when no one is watching
Turn up the volume
Usually having fun
Reggaton is fun to dance to
Always do your best
Love to Dance

Have to work hard
Intense
Graceful
Have to practice
-W.J.

How did your students respond?

My students truly love the Natural High video. They are thoroughly engaged and impressed throughout the film, and this is not often seen in middle schoolers! I can tell when I present the lesson to my students; they are really getting the message. We discuss not only drugs and alcohol, but other obstacles that can get in the way of reaching your dreams (i.e., family problems, school drama, laziness, etc.)

What do you think is the most important key to remember when teaching drug prevention?

I really think the key to teaching drug prevention is to reach the students on their own personal value level. You have to find out why they think it is a poor choice to use drugs. In Natural High 4, Paul Rodriguez spoke about how staying clean and sober was never an active choice for him, he was simply so wrapped up in his Natural High that he didn't even consider doing drugs. 

Any additional thoughts?
Here are some excerpts from essays or acrostics my students wrote. 

"I want to play NBA basketball because that would be fun. If I spent my time doing drugs this dream would never happen. I would be in jail or prison. If I did drugs it would have a negative vibe on my natural high." -T.D.

"I started hearing about meth and crack in the neighborhood I lived in. Drug dealers used to live there. Sports and video games kept me away from drugs." -T.B.

"If I spent time with drugs and alcohol, it would be very difficult to be a cheerleader. I would be putting people in danger, especially my flyer for stunting. There would be a very big trust issue between me and all the other cheerleaders." - C.S.

 "I feel the Natural High Program puts a positive spin on the anti-drug campaign. Watching 100% of my students being engaged in the video gave me goose bumps!" 
-Mrs. Morris, Teacher, Monrovia Middle School (shown right in picture)

Thank you Celeste!! Do you have a great story to share? How are YOU using the Natural High DVDs or taking the message further? We would love to hear from you and share your ideas with other teachers. Please email us at info@naturalhigh.org if you would like to be featured!

Give the Gift of Natural High to Another School! 

For those of you who don't know, the Natural High ® DVDs are produced by the Sundt Memorial Foundation, a 501©3 nonprofit organization dedicated to reaching the hearts and minds of youth by inspiring them to find a natural high and reject drugs. For just a $3 donation, you can give the gift of Natural High to another school that could benefit from the positive testimonials of Paul Rodriguez, Lisa Leslie, Relient K and more! Click here to make a donation.

Natural High Education Network