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Seventh-graders at Glen Hills Middle School near Milwaukee recently took a field trip without leaving the classroom. They learned about drug prevention on the Internet and participated in games and activities that reinforced lessons.
 The exercise was part of a pilot program called Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs II, created by Children's Health Education Center. Glen Hills was one of the 24 schools across Wisconsin to implement the new program in the classroom this year.
Hope Liu, distance learning project manager of CHEC, said the program is designed to cover a variety of topics related to drug prevention and abuse. Risk-taking, peer pressure and the role of media are among the issues covered.
"The combination of mini-lessons and game reinforcement offers teachers a unique way to present content and allows students interactions with concepts in a new way," Liu said.
One simulated game in the CHEC program is called Locker Slam. After students learn the different advertising techniques used to sell products, they have an opportunity to reinforce their knowledge by matching terms with real examples of ads.
The initiative came to Glen Hills when Heidi Erstad, director of curriculum and instruction, and Julie Jaekels, instructional technology coordinator, worked out the logistics. Seventh-grade teachers Mike Birmingham and Therese Jilek used the program during a science unit devoted to alcohol and other drug abuse topics.
"The program aligns with our district standards and benchmarks and had a very positive effect on many children," Birmingham said.
Jilek said the program was an enhancement of traditional textbook lessons because students had an opportunity to interact with the course material via the online exercises.
"They were using credible information from experts in the field," Jilek said. "The information was current and up-to-date. The students enjoyed the interactive games because they could relate to them."
Birmingham and Jilek said they are discussing bringing the CHEC program back into their classrooms for next year's seventh-grade class.
This story originally appeared in the North Shore Herald, Feb. 2, 2006.
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