Activities for Middle School-Aged Students
Kicking Butts on Film
Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Do you or the youth you work with love acting? Here's a chance to share your anti-tobacco message with the world. Find out more about how you can reach hundreds of thousands of people by making a video public service announcement (PSA) and posting it on YouTube. This is a great opportunity for youth to stand out, speak up, and seize control against Big Tobacco.
Estimated preparation time: 2 months
Cost: $0 - $200
KBD Carnival
A KBD Carnival is a creative and fun way to give people important information about tobacco use and the tobacco industry. It's also a great way for youth advocates to lead the fight for policies, programs and practices that protect kids from tobacco use and secondhand smoke.
Estimated preparation time: 1-2 months
Cost: $50 - $100 or more
They put what in a Cigarette?!
There's a lot more than tobacco in cigarettes, spit tobacco and secondhand smoke. There are plenty of chemicals that can also be found in everyday household products. For this activity, you will create a display that tells others about these ingredients and exposes the truth.
Estimated preparation time: 3-4 weeks
Cost: $10 - $20
Numbers Campaign
How do you get people to realize just how deadly tobacco is? By creating a way to show the “fatal figures” for your state or your community. There are a lot of easy ways to make numbers into something that people will understand. Turn the numbers into what they represent: LIVES.
Estimated preparation time: 2 months
Cost: $20 or more
Sumo Wrestling/Boxing Match
Use a boxing match to help expose how the tobacco companies enjoy the profits from their deadly products rather than caring about the lives of their customers. There are several ways you can set up the boxing match. You and your group can decide to make it as elaborate or as simple as you'd like.
Estimated preparation time: 4-10 weeks
Cost: $50-400
Pledge/Graffiti/Memorial Wall
Choose from one of the three or combine them all together. Create a wall as a memorial to lost loved ones from tobacco, create graffiti expressing your thoughts towards big tobacco, or create a pledge wall for people to pledge to quit tobacco and support those who are trying to quit. Read more to learn more about each possibility.
Estimated preparation time: 2-3 weeks
Cost: $20-$30
Take it to the Streets
Grab your whole community's attention when you take it to the streets and spread interesting tobacco company quotes and tobacco facts all across your town.
Estimated preparation time: 1-2 weeks
Cost: $0 - $20
Extra Warning
Did you ever notice packs of cigarettes and chewing tobacco have only a microscopic warning and no list of ingredients? Here's your chance to design your own creative and shocking messages that tell the truth about tobacco products.
Age Group: Middle school, high school
Number of Participants: 3-6 recommended per store (depending on store size) and 1 adult
Preparation Time: 6-8 weeks recommended
Resources: stickers, markers or a printer
Cost: $30-$60
Kick the Can
Kick the Can is a group of activities which focus on the use of spit tobacco. Create a make your own spit exhibition and show your audience exactly what tobacco companies put in spit tobacco. Create a Spit Kit to help others quit using spit tobacco, or hand out Kick the Can stickers to advertise your views on spit tobacco.
Estimated preparation time: Varies
Cost: Varies
Smoke-Free Playgrounds
Have you ever wondered if your younger brother or sister, or other young relatives are being harmed by secondhand smoke and cigarette butt litter? To ensure their protection create a city ordinance that will not permit smoking 25-feet from a tot-lot (playground).
Age Group: Middle school, high school and above
Number of Participants: 8 or more
Time: 3-4 months
Resources: Signage, containers for cigarette
Return to Sender
Show magazines that publish tobacco ads that you’re not buying the lies, and they shouldn’t either!
Age Group: Middle school, high school
Number of Participants: The more the better
Preparation Time: At least 3 weeks
Resources: Magazines, rubber stamp and inkpad, or stickers and markers or a printer
Cost: $20 to $40
Caravan to the Capital
What better way than a rally at your state capitol or city hall. Gather as many youth advocates as you can and caravan to the capitol to let your representatives know you support strong tobacco control policies and they should too!
Age Group: Middle school and high school
Number of Participants: 100 to 1,000 or more
Preparation Time: 3 to 4 months
Resources: Paper and access to photocopier and printer; transportation (either private cars or rented buses); access to a microphone, loudspeakers, and a podium.
Cost: Varies, but a minimum of $5-$10 per participant to cover transportation and audiovisual equipment rental. (Estimate does not include the cost of box lunches or giveaways such as T-shirts, buttons, etc.)
Buck Tobacco
Rodeos are for families, not Big Tobacco! Take it to the streets and protest the tobacco industry and brand sponsorship at rodeos. This activity is an example of "Take it to the Streets" from the KBD guide, and features an annual event organized by OK SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) protesting U.S. Smokeless Tobacco's (UST) sponsorship of the Bullnanza rodeo in Oklahoma.
Age Group: Middle school, high school and above
Number Participants: 15 – 100 or more
Preparation Time: 4-6 weeks planning, 3-4 hours day of event
Resources: Signs, palm cards, gear, t-shirts, cars and a hearse if you have the resources
Cost: up to $200 for the event supplies (if you plan on renting a hearse) and gas money for each driver
Quit Cold Turkey Stand
Spend the afternoon at a Quit Cold Turkey stand. Set up a table at a busy grocery store and pass out cold turkey sandwiches and information that has tips to help people become tobacco-free.
Age Group: 15 and older
Number of Participants: 2-5
Time: 2 days
Resources: Individually packaged turkey sandwiches, a table, posters, informational aides to educate visitors regarding the toll of tobacco.
Cost: $100 - $200, depending on the amount of sandwiches.
Flash Mob
A flash mob is designed to capture attention. This is a great way to get out your message to your school or community!
Age Group: Any age, however, younger youth will need to be supervised.
Number of Participants: As many as possible
Time: 1-2 weeks
Resources: Markers, posters, a banner, and transportation. Other options include making (or buying) t-shirts for all of the participants and having a table with flyers and information to hand out.
Cost: $0 - $25, or more if you choose to purchase t-shirts.
Kickball to Kick Butts
Plan a Kickball to Kick Butts tournament in your community to spread the message about the dangers of tobacco while also having a great time in the sun.
Age Group: All ages can participate; however, younger youth will need to be supervised.
Number of Participants: Varies
Time: 3-4 weeks
Resources: A gym or field, the appropriate sports equipment, posters, markers, and other decorations.
Cost: Varies
Smoke-Free Movie Night
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Show movies that don't have any smoking in them.
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But, be sure to bring to your audiences attention all of the movies that are geared towards kids that do have smoking in them.
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Prior to starting the feature presentation, perhaps show clips of the many children's movies that include smoking, examples include 101 Dalmations, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,and Iron Man.
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Discuss how smoking in movies can influence kids in their decision to smoke.
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Have a petition or letters available to participants to sign and send to Hollywood, demanding that smoking be banned from children's movies.
Dead for the Day
One American dies every 72 seconds from tobacco related causes. You can find the statistics for your particular state at TobaccoFreeKids.org. Use members of your group or student body to bring this number to life.
Age group: All Ages
Number of Participants: Depends on the number you decide to use.
Time: 2-3 Weeks
Resources: The same t-shirt or sign for every member, a bell or gong.
Cost: Varies
Day of the Event:
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Suppose in your state 52 people die everyday due to tobacco related causes. Have 52 volunteers sign up to dress up for the day all in black and wear signs signifying they are dead.
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Be sure to hang up posters explaining your overall message throughout your school or event.
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Or you could take the angle that one American dies every 72 seconds due to tobacco related causes. In this case every 72 seconds ring a bell or a gong and have a volunteer stand up and signify that they are dead, either by putting on a black t-shirt, or coming sitting in a specific area. These people should stay “dead” for the rest of the day.
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At the end of the school day hold an assembly to discuss tobacco issues and have the people who died throughout the day stand together to present a strong visual on the effects of tobacco.
Tobacco Museum
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Get together a large group to create exhibits for your tobacco museum.
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Consider providing information on the dangers or tobacco smoke, second-hand smoke, tobacco laws, cessation information, Big Tobacco's advertising strategies and anything else you can think of.
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Make posters and displays.
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Make your information interactive and illustrative.
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Consider incorporating the They Put What in a Cigarette?! Activity in your museum.
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Have your tobacco museum in a heavily trafficked area, for example at the front of your school cafeteria or in your local mall.
Missing You
The number of people who die from tobacco use is more than just a statistic. Help people in your community realize that tobacco kills mothers, fathers, sons and daughters by posting “missing” flyers around your community.
Age Group: Any age
Number of Participants: As many as possible
Time: 1-2 days
Resources: Markers, construction paper, rubber cement, and photos of family and friends who have died due to tobacco use.
Cost: $10
- Before you start, respectfully ask permission to use the names and photographs of your friends and family for this activity.
- Create "missing" posters using pictures of friends and family members. Make sure you include that they died from tobacco use.
- Hang the posters up around your community (For example, on community bulletin boards, on light poles, bus stops, etc.). Remember to get permission before hanging posters on private property.
Lunchtime Scavenger Hunt
Engage all of your peers at lunchtime with a fun tobacco fact scavenger hunt. It’s a great way to educate your friends about Big Tobacco and the harmful effects of tobacco while also having fun!
Age Group: All ages, but activities will need to be tailored to the age group and younger youth might need to be supervised
Number of Participants: As many as possible
Time: 1-2 weeks
Resources: Tables, posters, and prizes for the winners. Supplies will vary depending on how the stations are set up.
Cost: $25 - $100
Tobacco Facts Trivia Game
Get everyone in your community familiar with tobacco facts with this fun activity. Use information you find on TFK’s website or in the front pages of the KBD Guide to give you ideas and information.
Age Group: Any age.
Number of Participants: Anywhere from a few people to a large group
Time: 2-3 Weeks
Resources: Depending on your choice of event you may need poster board, a table, a game board, markers or items to give away as prizes.
Cost: $10-$30
Day of the Event:
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Set up your game. Your game could be similar to Jeopardy or perhaps Trivial Pursuit.
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For a Jeopardy game create a large board with different categories and point values. Write your questions (remember in Jeopardy the question is really the answer) on the back of the point values. A participant will then pick a category and point value and have to answer the question on the back of the card.
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For a Trivial Pursuit game use the trivial Pursuit game-board but make your own tobacco related questions. Play with teams or as individuals.
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Or for a scavenger hunt find ways to relate the tobacco facts you have found with items the participants can find. Give a time limit and the first person back with the most items wins.
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At the end of the event distribute prizes and awards.
Poster Contest
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Advertise the contest a few weeks prior to Kick Butts Day
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On KBD all participants should bring in their poster submission. You could hang all the posters in a hallway, around the gym or around the cafeteria.
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Have a panel of judges, of the student body vote for their favorite posters.
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Ask local businesses to donate prizes.
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Announce the winners and deliver the prizes at the end of the day.
Puppet Show
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Be creative and produce a puppet show that is related to tobacco issues
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You can make it funny, sad or scary
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Present the show to your peers or younger students
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You may want to make it into a competition and have many groups create different puppet shows, judges can then decide on a winner at the end of the day.
KBD Skits
Create entertainment while at the same time providing important information about tobacco with these KBD Skits.
Age group: All Ages
Number of participants: Enough to make at least a few small groups
Time: 2-3 Weeks
Resources: Paper, scissors and markers can be used to make quick small props otherwise use your imaginations.
Cost: No more than $15
Day of the Event:
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Have participants split up into small groups.
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Once in the small groups each group should use what they know about tobacco to create a skit. Consider handing out some of the fact-sheets that TFK provides at www.tobaccofreekids.org so the participants have accurate information.
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Have groups take turns presenting their skits. Allow some time for questions and discussion after each skit.
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Consider handing out prizes for the best, most creative, or funniest skits.
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