1. Drug Awareness Action-Research Project
4th Graders
Jessica Woody

2. The Problem:
I was needing to know where the baseline was for my 4th grade students on their knowledge of drugs and alcohol.
I want my lessons to be informative and not just a repeat of what they already know.

3. SIMS
Students: The students targeted for this research was 4th grade students. I chose 4th grade because this is the last grade level in the elementary that I get to have counseling with and I wanted to make sure they met the drug awareness standards before they left the elementary.
Interventions: I started out giving each class the pre-test of 10 questions before we talked about anything. The next week we had an assembly for Red Ribbon Week and talked about drug awareness. Then during RRW, I went into the classrooms to do counseling lessons and we talked more about what drugs are and how they can hurt the body. However, we focused more on peer-pressure and how to handle saying “NO”. Once the lessons were completed, I gave each class the post-test.
Measurements: The data was measured by the pre-test and post-test.
Setting: The intervention took place at Forsyth Elementary School.

4. All of 4th Grade took a Pre-Test.
Steps to Intervention
All of Elementary participated in Red Ribbon Week Assembly.
All of 4th Grade took a Pre-Test.
Drug Awareness Lesson was delivered to all elementary students. 4th Grade talked more specifically about peer-pressure.
4th Grade took a Post-Test.

5. Questions on Pre/Post Test
1: Alcohol is not considered a drug.
2: Pot, Weed, Grass is another name
for marijuana.
3: Some drugs can give you diseases.
4: Drugs DO NOT shorten your lifespan.
5: Some drugs are addictive.
6: Drugs help you solve your problems.
7: Some drugs are illegal.
8: People who take drugs solve their own problems.
9: All drugs have the potential for being dangerous.
10. Some kids use drugs because of peer-pressure from other kids.

6. Data From Pre/Post Test

7. Results
From the data collected, there were three questions where students answered incorrectly on the post-test. This tells me I need to focus on addressing alcohol as a drug, the fact that drugs can cause diseases, and drugs can shorten your lifespan.
The students scored remarkably higher on the post-test relating to the peer- pressure question. I feel this is because each class had deep conversations about this.
Next time, I would like to see how the 4th graders relate to the 3rd graders in drug awareness.