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American History Essay Contest

The American History Essay Contest was established to encourage young people to think creatively about our nation's great history and learn about history in a new light.

This contest is open to students in public, private, and parochial schools, and registered home-study programs. Students in grades five through eight are encouraged to participate. Each year, a selected topic for use during the academic year is announced, and contest instructions are published online and sent to schools by participating DAR chapters. Essays are judged for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness.

Participating chapters send one winning essay from each of the four grades for judging on the state level. The state will send one winning essay from each of the four grades to be judged on a divisional level. The winning essay from each of the four grades will then be judged on the national level and the winners are announced.

Each student participant receives a certificate of participation from the chapter and the chapter winners receive bronze medals and certificates. State winners receive certificates and silver medals. National winners receive special certificates, medals, and a monetary award.

Click here for an informational PDF handout . For additional contest information or guidelines, please contact your local DAR chapter .

Patriots of the American Revolution High School Essay Contest

In preparation for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, the DAR has launched the "Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest.” This contest will focus on the men and women who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783), and it is hoped that students will find Patriots to write about who will interest and inspire them.

These Patriots may be one of our famous Founders, or an everyday man, woman, or child who supported the American Revolution in ways both large and small.  Students will be asked to discuss how their chosen Patriot contributed to the founding of the nation. Essays will be judged for historical accuracy, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and the quality and scope of references, particularly the use of primary sources.

This contest is open to students in public, private, and parochial schools, and registered home-study programs, in grades 9 through 12. Essays from students from all grades will be judged together, with one winning essay chosen at each level. Participating DAR Chapters will select one essay as the chapter winner, to be sent on to the State level; the State will select one essay winner to represent the state for judging at the Division level, and each Division level will also have one winner which will be sent on to the National contest. Each student participant receives a certificate of participation from the chapter and the chapter winners receive a bronze medal and certificate set. State winners receive a silver medal and certificate set. Division level winners receive certificates and a book. National winners receive special certificates, medals, and a monetary award.

The National Society will select first-, second- and third-place winners. The national winner will receive a National Winner Certificate, pin and monetary award, presented at NSDAR’s annual Continental Congress, and the winning essay may appear in official DAR communications. National second- and third-place winners will also receive a certificate and monetary award.

This essay contest is being launched to engage students during the 250 th anniversary of the American Revolution, and is designed to encourage students to think more about the many different people, known and unknown, who were a part of the American Revolution, and perhaps even see themselves in the figures they write about.

For additional contest information or guidelines, please contact your  local DAR chapter .

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DARE essay winners recognized

July 2, 2022

The annual fifth-grade DARE graduation celebration took place at all three elementary schools in the Highland district prior to the end of the school year, with a total of 258 graduates combined.

Each school also announced its winners of the DARE essay contest during their program. Again this year, the contest focused on writing a letter to their older self, explaining what they learned in DARE, and some even reminded their older self to live a drug-free life and make good choices. The winning essays were read aloud and each winner was presented with a certificate. 

The essay winners include:

• Colleen Rees, Sarah Mellinger (overall winner), Olivia Martello, Tristan Lind, Katelyn O’Flanagan and Lily McManus at Granger Elementary
• Sharon Winners: Miles Miller, Kaylee Reep, Camarie Carter, Aubrey Payne (overall winner), Amelia Price, Brynn Vandegrift, Aaron Davis and Jordan Gryskiewicz at Sharon Elementary
• Reese McPherson, Saphira Melnik, Ellia Whitacre, Max Marcum (overall winner), Logan Conrad, Alicia Grimes, and Eliana Profant at Hinckley Elementary. ∞

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Student Wins DAR Essay Contests

Anna gray writes of forgotten revolutionary hero..

By Susan Belford

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Thirteen-year-old Anna Gray discovered the story of unsung hero Sybil Ludington when she googled “Revolutionary War women” — and as Anna explains her choice, “She was the most interesting of the women I had not heard of.” Sybil Ludington was a 16-year-old girl who volunteered to gallop 40 miles through a cold damp night on horseback to warn American troops that the British were approaching.

The assignment was to write about “Forgotten Patriots Who Supported the American Struggle for Independence” for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) annual American History Essay Contest. Anna, a seventh grade student at the Fourth Presbyterian School in Potomac, read her winning essay to the Goshen Mill DAR Chapter on Feb. 11, where she accepted a certificate and monetary award. That same day, they announced that her essay had also won the Maryland State Society DAR contest and she will receive her award on March 23. Her essay will now be entered in the Eastern Division contest and could advance to the national level.

Anna’s composition, “Teen Rides Forty Miles in Storm To Save Town” was written as a newspaper article for the Danbury Post Historic Special on the Revolutionary War of 1777. Under the name of “Annie Grayson, Staff Writer” she wrote the story of a young woman who most likely had many of the same feelings, thoughts and aspirations as Anna does today. Sybil wanted to be independent and to help her country, as well as her father, a colonel, in the fight against the British. When an exhausted messenger relayed the news that the British were soon planning to attack and burn Danbury, Conn., Sybil, a skilled horseback rider, volunteered for the dangerous mission. She rode from village to village shouting for the militia to meet at her house, since her tired father was mustering the troops. After her journey, she arrived back home to find that the men had all responded and were waiting for orders in her front yard. She was thrilled that they had listened and immediately responded.

Anna wrote, “Her father later reflected on the extraordinary circumstances of his daughter’s daring ride. He was overwhelmed that a child of 16 could accomplish so much. He stated in his memoir ‘there is no extravagance in comparing her ride with that of Paul Revere and its midnight message.’ Unfortunately the troop was unable to stop the burning of Danbury on April 26, 1777. The 7th Duchess Militia joined the Continental Army, though, in the Battle of Ridgefield and was able to push the British back to their boats the next day.”

Anna also included that George Washington and the French Comte de Rochambeau visited Sybil’s house to thank her for her bravery. Her birthplace, Fredericksburgh changed its name to Ludingtonville and statues of her stand in Lake Glenieda and outside the Danbury Library. Anna states, “Sadly, after she died, she was only a quickly fading memory.”

The DAR American History Essay Contest was established to encourage young people in grades 5 – 8 to think creatively about the nation’s history and to learn about it in a new light. Essays are judged for historical accuracy, adherence to the topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation and neatness.

Anna is the daughter of Karen and Corey Gray of Bethesda.

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Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest

In preparation for the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, the DAR is launching the " Patriots of the American Revolution DAR High School Essay Contest ”!

This contest will focus on the men and women, both famous and unknown, who figured in the events of the American Revolution (1773 – 1783). Students will be asked to discuss how their chosen Patriot contributed to the founding of the nation. These Patriots may be one of our famous Founders, or an everyday man, woman, or child who supported the American Revolution in ways both large or small. We hope that this wide topic area will allow students to choose individuals who capture their imagination and interest.

Students will be encouraged to use primary sources (that is, immediate, first-hand accounts such as letters, diaries, speeches, and newspaper reports) for their research, and judges will be asked to take the quality and scope of references into account when judging the essays. While many primary references are online, at, for example, the National Archives’ Founders Online project or the Library of Congress’ American Revolution Digital Collection , DAR chapters are also encouraged to reach out to students to help them explore the many primary sources available in their area at local historical societies, local libraries, and even in chapters’ own records and collections.

The essay contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12 in public, private and parochial schools, and to those who are home schooled. All grades will be judged together, with one national winner chosen. Chapters may award each essay writer a Patriots of the American Revolution Essay Participation Certificate, available for purchase through the DAR Store . Chapters will select one essay as the chapter winner, for whom the chapter may purchase a certificate/bronze medal set available for sale through the DAR Store . States will also select one essay winner to represent the state for judging at the Division level, and a state level winner certificate/silver medal set (also available for sale through the DAR Store) will be presented to the state winners. Each Division level will also have one winner, who will receive a certificate and a book.

The National Society will select first-, second- and third-place winners. The national winner will receive a National Winner Certificate, pin and monetary award, presented at Continental Congress. The winning essay may appear in official DAR communications. (National second-and third-place winners will also receive a certificate and monetary award.) Additional information is available by visiting the American History Committee section of the DAR Members Website .

This essay contest is a wonderful opportunity to engage students during the 250 th anniversary of the American Revolution. It complements the American History essay contest , which is for students in the 5 th to 9 th grades. It has also replaced the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest: the DAR administered that high school essay contest in partnership with the National Christopher Columbus Association for 25 years, but has decided to focus on our core mission of promoting the history and ideas of the American Revolution. This essay contest will encourage students to think more about the many different people, known and unknown, who were a part of the American Revolution, and perhaps even see themselves in the figures they write about.

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Local News | DAR honors Good Citizen, American History Essay…

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Local News | DAR honors Good Citizen, American History Essay contest winners and participants

The Elbridge Gerry Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held their annual patriotic program to honor area youth. They honored students that they sponsored in the DAR Good Citizens program and American History Essay contest. The program was held onSaturday, Feb. 13, 2021 at the CSU Extension office at 10:00 a.m. Attending were the winning students, their family members and DAR chapter members.

Patty Ament, a longstanding member and Honorary Chapter Regent of the chapter welcomed everyone and led them in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States. She explained that DAR was founded in 1890 and that it is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and securing America’s future through better education for children. Any woman 18 years or older regardless of race, religion or ethnic background that can prove lineal descent froma patriot of the American Revolution is eligible for membership. There are presently 47 chapters in Colorado with over 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally.

DAR defines a patriot as one who provided service or direct assistance in achieving America’s independence. Some examples of patriotic service would be rendering aid by furnishing supplies, lending money to the Colonies, gunsmiths, nurses, ministers and many other acceptable services.

Among our communities DAR chapters participate in restoring and maintaining historical sites, preserving genealogical records, locating and restoring the marking of Revolutionary War patriot gravesites and headstones, supporting schools through donations and volunteer efforts, providing scholarships and awards to outstanding students throughout the country, promoting education and citizenship through youth programs, sponsoring American history essay contests for youth, providing volunteer time to assist military veterans, supporting American’s service personnel through a variety of programs, sponsoring special programs promoting the Constitution and celebrating with new citizens at naturalization ceremonies.

It was for the promotion of education and citizenship youth programs that the chapter gathered for the patriotic program. The DAR Good Citizen topic this year was “Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It”. The focus question was “How do the combinedactions of so many good citizens keep our nation moving forward?” This year there was six schools that submitted entries which are for senior students that are selected by their respective school to participate.

The following are the winners and their school that they attend. Andrea Marick from Caliche High School, Madison Sutter from Merino High School, Owen Kurz from Peetz High School, Allie Elaine Schumacher from Sterling High School, Sadie Jo Ingram from Julesburg High School and Rylee Lundgren from Haxtun High School.

The students attending were asked to introduce their guests, tell about their future plans after high school and to read their essay, they were then presented their award packet including a monetary award. The chairman of the DAR Good Citizen is Linda Griess.

The student that was selected by three non-DAR judges to be entered to the Colorado state competition was Owen Kurz from Peetz High School. They are judged on dependability, service, leadership and patriotism and have also made a significant contribution to their community through volunteerism, academics and activities.

The American History Essay contest is open to fifth through eighth grade students. This year’s topic was “The Boston Massacre”. There were 14 essays submitted this year from two different area schools. The students were asked to introduce their guests and to read their essay and then were presented their award packet including a bronze medal. All participants are awarded a participation certificate and flag code. The essays are judged by three judges and the winning essays are submitted to Colorado state DAR for further competition. They are judged oncompletion of a title page, bibliography, grammar, spelling, historical correction and interest and word count. The chapter chairman is Loretta Maxwell.

The following are the winners and their respective schools. Sixth grade winner was Caiden Jay Bruns from Caliche School, seventhgrade winner was Alexis Gentry from Peetz School and eighth grade winner was Braylon David Bruns from Caliche School.

It was our pleasure to announce that Elbridge Gerry Chapter had three contestants win at Colorado State DAR level. The following are the state winners. DAR Good Citizen Owen Kurz from Peetz High School, American History Essay contest winners Caiden Jay Bruns, sixth grade from Caliche School and Braylon David Bruns, eighth grade from Caliche School.

Due to the restrictions with COVID-19 the Colorado State Conference will be held virtually and the winners will be recognized per Zoom for their accomplishments.

We congratulate all winners and participants and wish them the best in their future endeavors.

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Putnam Hill DAR Essay Winners Imagine Voyage of the Mayflower

By: greenwichfreepress | august 15, 2020.

On August 6, the Putnam Hill Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) presented to this year’s DAR American Essay student winners.

The essay topic for 5th to 8th-grade students was “The Voyage of the Mayflower.”

As this year marks the 400th Anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower and the founding of the Plymouth Colony, the contest asked students to imagine themselves as one of the passengers on the Mayflower.

Knowing what materials were available in 1620, what would you have packed to prepare for the trip and starting a new life in the wilderness? After experiencing more than two months at sea then finally landing at Plymouth Colony on November 9, 1620, do you think you would have made different choices and why?

The History essay topic for the 9th to 12th (Upper) grades was “A Sailor’s Experiences as Part of Christopher Columbus’ First Expedition to the Americas” – Through Rodrigo De Escobedo’s Eyes. Christopher Columbus’ first expedition set off in August of 1492. He and his men explored the Caribbean for 5 months after arriving there in October. The essay asked the writer to Imagine themselves as a sailor who accompanied Christopher Columbus on this voyage and now has returned to Spain. Describe your impression of Christopher Columbus and the perception of the purpose of the expedition. Talk about your experiences on the voyage, detailing the places and people that you encountered, and what you see as the significance of the discoveries made.

The 2020 DAR History American Essay contest for 5-8th graders is “The Boston Massacre” in recognition of March 5, 2020, marking the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre.

The event was considered pivotal, paving the way for the American Revolution. Imagine you are living in Boston and, after witnessing the events of March 5, describe your family’s discussion about the Boston Massacre and what role it played in organizing the colonists against the British King and Parliament.

The required length is Grade 5: 300–600 words; Grades 6, 7, and 8: 600–1,000 words. The due date is Nov 1, but for those interested, essays will be accepted now. More information will follow in the fall.

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DAR essay winners announced

The Daughters of the American Revolution Libertad Chapter wish to announce the winners of this year’s American History essay contest.  

The topic of the essay this year was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and many wonderful essays were submitted by fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students of, Devers, and Liberty school districts.

“Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to the following students:  Ashlyn Hergemueller, fifth grade, Liberty Elementary; Kendall Harper, sixth grade, Liberty Middle School;  Addison Vickers, seventh grade, Liberty Middle School; and Summer Balch, eighth grade, Liberty Middle School,” said Donna Davis.

Also this year, the DAR held a separate essay contest for high school students about heroes of the American Revolution.  Many excellent papers were submitted by Dayton and Hardin school districts.  Congratulations to Allison Muscanere, an 11th grader from Dayton High School, for winning this year’s award. 

All of these winners will be honored at the April meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Liberty.

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ELA Brave and True by Marilyn Yung

DAR Patriots of the American Revolution Essay Contest

High school essay contest

Looking for a high school writing contest this fall? Look no further than the Daughters of the American Revolution’s (DAR) Patriots of the American Revolution Essay Contest. In my previous teaching position, a few of my high school students participated in this contest as part of our Writer’s Workshop routine. Entering the contest was one of the options they could choose for their portfolios.

If you’re not familiar with the DAR, here’s a brief intro from the organization’s website: “The DAR, founded in 1890 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America’s future through better education for children.”

My students have had great success with the  DAR Patriots of the American Revolution Essay Contest.  Within the last three years, two of my students have written essays that won at both the local and state level, where monetary prizes were awarded. Needless to say, I’m very proud of those students!

This year’s 2022-2023 contest guidelines sheet details the topic, length (800-1,200 for 6-8 grades), format, and bibliography details. (Note: Each DAR chapter designates their own individual due dates. Check with your local chapter by locating it here on the  national DAR website’s chapter locater. )

Here’s the high school essay prompt:

“Select a figure from the era of the American Revolution (1773-1783). Discuss how he or she influenced the course of the American Revolution, who he or she was and his/her contribution to the founding of a new nation. Your figure may be any person, whether a well-known figure or an everyday man, woman or child who supported the American Revolution in ways large or small.”

With that prompt in mind, here’s my advice to your students:

Choose a lesser known patriot. Go beyond the founding fathers to find and write about a patriot whom the judges won’t be as familiar with. My student who won at state last year, for example, wrote about the patriot Nancy Hart.

Download the contest guidelines by clicking the button below:

And here’s my last tip:.

Tell your students to get creative and go beyond the traditional informative essay. Blend genres, combining, for example, a journal entry with a biographical piece.

I encourage you to try the DAR Patriots of the American Revolution High School Contest with your high school students. It was a mainstay in my classes.

Thanks for reading!

Have you ever tried a DAR contest? Leave a comment below or send me a message via my  Contact Page.  If you need more info, please ask. I’ll be glad to help you however I can.

I thoroughly believe that  writing contests  can infuse ELA with relevance and a dash of project-based learning. Whenever students know their words will enter “the real world” and be reviewed by real people, it makes them take the work more seriously.

Need a new poetry idea?

Enter your email below and I’ll send you this PDF file that will teach your students to write Treasured Object Poems , one of my favorite poem activities. I know your students will enjoy it!

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DARE Essay Winner 2017

And the Winners are….. Each year the best DARE Essays from around Wisconsin are submitted. Here are the winner for 2018

DARE Officer Sandy Brown  Area 1 Essay Winner Mary Grace Schlifske, Elm Grove Chief Jim Gage

D.A.R.E Report

By, Lindsey Eis

D.A.R.E… Drug, Abuse, Resistance, Education is a program that is directed to focus on the prevention of the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol for young adults. D.A.R.E was formed to educate young adults about the risks of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol to prevent future use of it. D.A.R.E also focuses on communication skills, resistance strategies, bullying and many other life situations. The D.A.R.E abbreviation meaning Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. Which if made the right decision can also prevent the future use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.

DDMM The abbreviation DDMM stands for D.A.R.E Decision Making Model. The D.A.R.E Decision Making Model is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate and is a way to making safe and good decisions in a difficult or bad situation. The Define part of the model means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Next the Assess part of the model means for you to think what are your choices. ln the Respond part of the model you need to make a choice by using the facts and information you have gathered. Finally the Evaluate part of the problem means to review your decision and for you to think did you make a good decision. Finally l now know after this very helpful lesson in D.A.R.E that every time I am in a bad or difficult situation l know and should use… DDMM.

Resistance Strategies Resistance Strategies are strategies to stay away from a difficult or bad situation. Some resistance strategies are to walk away, say no, avoid, change the subject, give an excuse, and there is always strength in numbers. Resistance strategies can be used in bullying situations or in situation that you don’t want to do something that could hurt or affect you in the future or now. in your resistance strategies, you always want to be away from the situation in good, alcohol free, drug free, and tobacco free surrounding. Many of these situations happen in real life and anyone should always use these strategies if you want to live a happy, healthy life for l know that l do.

Risks of Tobacco, Drugs, and Overuse of Alcohol A risk can be positive or negative but the risks of doing these drinks, plants, and powders under the age of 18, none of them are positive. There are many different health effects and scary facts about these things that will make me or anyone think twice about using them. Some of the health effects of tobacco are… ‘  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 18  2. There are 200 known chemicals in cigarette smoke  3. There are 400,000 deaths each year due to the use of tobacco

Some of the health effects about alcohol are…  1. You can get arrested for the use of it under the age of 21 2. lt causes memory loss, loss of coordination, and slow reflexes

Some of the health effects of drugs are…1. if you overdose you will have a risk of death or other conditions2. You can get arrested for the use of it at all

This information is important because it can prevent the start of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. It can also help people stop these things and help them live a happy healthy life. This has affected me a lot because l want to live a full life for we only have 1.

‘The 5’s and How to Report Bullying What is bullying… bullying, according the D.A.R.E writers, is an aggressive or unwanted behavior used again and again to isolate, harm, or control another person.~ This is a ham1ful and mean act that’s why you should always know how to report it. There are many different kinds of bullying some of them are…1.      Cyber2.      Mental3.      Verbal4.      Physical5.       Social

The 5’s of reporting bullying are who, what, where, when, and why. These are to help anyone tell a trusted adult about WHO did it, WHAT did they do, WHERE did it happen, WHEN did it happen, and WHY did they do it. Resistance strategies can also be used in these situations, not just situations involving tobacco, drugs, and alcohol. Now l know whenever l am being bullied l know to use the 5 w’s of reporting bullying, resistance strategies and other strategies to help me deal with and report bullying.

How to Deal With Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is a hard thing to deal with, but you should always try to push through. Peer pressure according to the D.A.R.E authors is when people your age try to get you to do something. lf you are having troubles resisting you can always use DDMM and resistance strategies to help you push through. Peer pressure can also be positive not just negative, pushing you to do drugs, tobacco, and underage drinking. The positive peer pressure can be pushing you to do better on a test or pushing you to do something new like a new sport. This has affected me so much because now‘ l always remember to do what l believe not what others believe l should do.

Confident Communication

You should always use confident communication. lt can help you with your social skills, when you ask people questions, and to help you get your point across. in using this strategy, you should always talk or discuss in a calm and cooperative way. You can also use DDMM in this strategy as well to help you figure out what to say and to help you say it clear. This lesson in D.A.R.E has helped me a lot to speak more confident and more efficiently.

Signs of Stress Stress according to the D.A.R.E authors is any strain, pressure, or excitement about a situation or event. There are many different signs or stress some of them are…1.     Depression2.     Loss of hair3.     Anger4.      High blood pressure

Some of the actions due to stress are…1.     Yell2.      Stay still3.      Over eat4.     Throw things or items

You can always use different strategies to help you deal with stress like to use a stress ball or to hang out with friends. This has helped me a lot because now l know if l am stressed to talk to someone or if l should use those strategies to push through it.

Help Network

A help network according to the D.A.R.E authors is a person or a group of people that you can call for advice or guidance. A help network can be a friend or any trusted adult. You ‘should always go to you help network when you need them it can help you make safe and good decisions. You can go to your help network anytime you feel uncomfortable or threatened in a situation or just for any life problems. This information is important because this can help any person know that they should always go to their help network for advice or help. Now I know that if l have any problem that l should always go to my help network for help.

Tattling vs. Telling

Tattling and telling are two totally different things. Tattling according to the D.A.R.E authors is when you want to get someone in trouble for a harmless behavior. While telling is to provide information to a trusted adult to help someone or to keep someone safe. DDMM can also be used in these situations to help anyone decide if it is tattling or telling. I used to tell a trusted adult if it was tattling or telling but after the lesson in D.A.R.E I realized that I don’t always have to tell only when it is to keep someone safe or to just help them. I have learned so many skills in D.A.R.E that have helped me so much with many of my life situations and will help me with so many more in the future as well. All of the lessons will and have helped me make healthy decisions about tobacco, drugs, and the overuse of alcohol. The lessons have given me facts and many different health effects that have made sure I was never going to do any of those things. There are also many different skills I have learned in D.A.R. E. Like how l have Ieamed of how to stay away from situations that could affect me in the future to how to report bullying and other situations. I have also learned how to access situations using DDMM, different signs of stress and how to deal with it, and so many other skills and strategies. I am so glad to have finished D.A.R.E with so much new knowledge in my brain.

Pledge Statement

I Lindsey Eis, pledge not to do drugs, tobacco,  or alcohol in my lifetime and ruin my chance at a full happy life. ‘

My D.A.R.E.

Report By: Jaylee Weyhrauch

Did you know that there are over 200 harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke? In fact, there are even over 4,000 chemicals. ln the US 16.8% of Adults smoke, but we can lower this number even further. Smoking is very bad for your body. Does having cancer sound fun to you? Because there are 43 known cancer-causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. The smoke alone can kill you! There are also toxins, in fact, there are over 400 other toxins. In cigarettes, there are ingredients that you would never think that people would enjoy like nicotine which can make you addicted in a bad way. Nicotine is also the main ingredient in bug spray. In fact, once you start getting addicted, if you try to stop, you will feel very bad. Imagine the worst stomach flu, now think of that ten times worse. That is how hard it is to stop once you are hooked. There is also carbon monoxide in these death sticks. lt is a colorless, scentless, tasteless gas. Symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headache, and flu-like symptoms. It can also make it seem like the world is spinning. Ln severe cases carbon monoxide can even infect your central nervous system, introduce toxins to your heart, and even kill you. lf you are exposed to low levels of carbon monoxide for a long time, it can result in permanent damage like depression, memory loss, and confusion. Cigarettes have more than just that, they also have ammonia. Ammonia is a colorless, irritating gas that has a sharp odor that can cause irritation and burns. It dissolves easily in water to create ammonium hydroxide solution. Normally people who smoke don’t mind this noxious odor. That’s still not all. The cigarettes contain formaldehyde which is also in glue, plywood, fiberboard, and insulation materials. Formaldehyde is also a chemical that is in all the animals that the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classed dissected this year. I would never eat glue, would you? Now imagine you saw a truck laying down pavement for your driveway. Would you go up to the driveway and take a bite of the squishy stuff? I bet not. But that is exactly what you would be doing if you took a cigarette and smoked it. Cigarettes have tar. Tar is a very bad thing to put into your body. It will start off fine, being stopped by your tiny nose hairs, or cilia, that stop bad things from going into your lungs like dirt or dust, but the tar will burn them away and infiltrate your lungs. From there it will coat your lungs over and over with small thin coats. Since there is nicotine, which I told you about earlier, you will want more and more. Soon, there will be many layers of tar, your lung surface Will be so small that your lungs will go from as big as a shoe box to as small as a tennis ball. That would be very hard to breathe with.

In D.A.R.E. I also learned that alcohol is also very bad for you. In fact, there are an estimated 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year. Alcohol is illegal for anyone under 21 years old. Alcohol slows down your brain and results in loss of coordination, poor judgement, memory loss, loss of self-control, and slow reflexes. Alcohol can also be addictive. In fact about 18 million people abuse alcohol. This is awful but we can make a stand!!  We need to fight against this terrible substance. But before you go home and tell your parents they can never have alcohol again, I want to tell you that a little bit every now and then is okay, but if they drink all the time, it’s about time to stop the damage. Alcohol, as l told you earlier creates poor judgement, therefore, many people die of alcohol related deaths each year including about 1,580 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, about 1,296 deaths from homicides, 245 from alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, and drowning, and 492 from suicide or killing themselves. Added up this is about 10,613 alcohol related deaths each year from young people abusing it. The reason young people can’t have alcohol is because they are still growing and it can harm them. They also aren’t as mature. Most people think that alcohol will make you look cool, but waddling around, puking on yourself, and passing out is not cool. Alcohol also causes bad breath and weight gain. If you’re under twenty-one, drinking is illegal. If you are caught, you will have to do community service, pay a fine, or take alcohol awareness classes. You may also get bad grades. Some reasons why teens think it’s okay to drink are advertising, social status, peer pressure, peer example, and family example. These have been going down in the past few years, but WE can end it all together!!!!!l!l!!!!!Thanks for listening to my presentation, and remember, We are the generation to stop drug abuse!!!!l!!!!!!

Report Lilly Ackerman

Did you know that alcohol weakens the heart muscle, and decreases the amount of blood that is pumped through the heart?  The D.A.R.E. program has helped me learn facts like this, and how to make safe and responsible choices.

The very first day Officer Weaver talked about how to use the D.A.R.E. decision making model. By defining a problem, assessing your choices and responding appropriately, then evaluating your response, you put yourself in a better position than you were before.  We practiced this model in the many scenarios that we read. Officer Weaver also taught us health related facts like, there are 75,000 alcohol related deaths each year in the U.S.

This teaches us that when we are older we need to drink responsibly. Another topic he talked about was stress. Stress is the strain, pressure, or excitement that is felt about a certain situation. Stress can also be very harmful ta your health.

I recently used the D.A.R.E. Decision Making Model when I was at a swimming pool. I used it by taking a look at my situation, which was identifying my challenge. My challenge was trying to figure out whether I should get in the water with my cousins before my parents got down to the pool. I was very tempted to get in because my cousins kept telling me to come swim. Next, it was time to assess my choices which were to get in the pool without an adult in the room and get in trouble, or stay out of the pool and wait fox’ an admit. After thinking about it I chose to stay out of the pool. 1 was glad I made that choice because instead of being in trouble with my parents, I was complemented on making the right choice.

Another time I had to evaluate a sticky situation was when my sister came to me asking for advice. She had overheard a friend talking about something that shouldn‘t have been said, I helped her think about what she should do and I also told her that I thought she should go and talk to our mom. In the end this advice worked and she was relieved that it all worked out, and she wasn’t in trouble because she found help.

I also used the Decision Making Model on the soccer field when my teammate was being unsportsmanlike I knew my three choices were to be a bystander and do nothing, talk to her, or tell my coach.  After thinking about it I chose to talk directly to her. In the end this chaise worked because I was able to talk to her about how being unsportsmanlike was not okay and hurt our whole team. She understood why she shouldn’t do what she was doing and she stopped. This was better than telling the coach because she didn’t feel like she was in trouble. The D.A.R.E. model has really helped me improve in making the right choice and has given me a way ta also help others make those same choices.

I plan to use what I have warned in my D.A.R.E. program to five a healthy and safe life. I can use my knowledge to make responsible choices and remember the facts about stress, alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. The D.A.R.E. program is a great model to follow when it comes to sticky situations and may come in handy next year in middle school.

I have also realized that D.AR.E. is really important because life is going to be full of challenges that may lead me in the wrong direction. At some point in my life alcohol and drugs will be introduced and l will have to be smart and not feel pressured to do something I don’t want to do or that is not healthy for me. Life will also be full of stressful moments that I will need to know how to stay away from Trying to do activities that won’t cause stress will be very important. In my future I plan on being some type of doctor. D,A.R.E. will help me do this because I now have the knowledge to keep my body healthy and that knowledge will allow me to share this information with my patients. I “DARE” you to live a drug, alcohol and tobacco free life.

I Choose DARE 

by: Olivia England

Did you know that my dad died from drugs? He isn’t the only one either.

Unfortunately, 75,000 alcohol related deaths occur each year in the U5! Two health effects of alcohol are memory loss and loss of self-control. Sometimes, it can even lead to coma or death.

Some of the DARE skills t learned in the past ten weeks are how to say no to alcohol. l learned to say no through the DARE Decision Making Model. (DDMM) The DDMM is Define, Assess, Respond, and Evaluate.

Define means to describe the problem, challenge, or opportunity. Assess means to ask yourself. what are my choices? Respond means to make a choice by using the facts and information you have.

Lastly, Evaluate! Evaluate means to review your decision, did l make a good choice?

One of the many types of bullying is Cyber Bullying. I’ve been cyber bullied by someone I know. It was on an app on my ipad. It wasn’t very fun, but l got over it. Two things that helped me overcome it was all of the bystanders that stood up for me! Also, my parents gave me inspiring talks! When we were talking about bullying in DARE, it brought back some hurtful memories, but it also cured my hurt! Now l feel better about it! That’s all thanks to DARE! L will use my DARE skills in the future if I ever run into another case similar to that one!

The best thing I learned in DARE was the health effects of tobacco and Alcohol use. It helped me because if someone I know were to use it, then maybe they would stop! If only everyone didn’t do drugs, then to me, the world would be complete!

I Olivia England, solemnly swear never to use drugs or to be a bully to anyone for as long as I live.