About the Program
Informed students make better decisions. Join Ask, Listen, Learn and Discovery Education as we uncover the science behind how alcohol affects developing brains, bodies and behavior. Together, we’ll equip students with vital prevention resources and dive deep into the science, data and facts, leading kids to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to all risky behaviors.
Educators
Provide students in grades 5-7 with prevention resources with no-cost, standards-aligned digital classroom curriculum and engaging videos.
Explore the Educator Resources
Prevention Resources to Keep Kids Alcohol- and Cannabis-Free
Parents
Keep the lines of communication open about saying “NO” to underage drinking and other risky behaviors. No-cost family resources make learning about healthy lifestyles a family affair!
Students
Dive into the science behind how alcohol affects the developing brain and why it’s important to say “NO” to underage drinking and underage cannabis use.
Kids, Alcohol and The Developing Brain
As kids develop, they go through many emotional and physical changes. Give your students critical information about how alcohol affects them physiologically by having them explore how the brain’s functions are impacted by underage drinking.
The hypothalamus keeps the body’s organs and important bodily functions in a state of harmony. Alcohol causes an increase to blood pressure, hunger, thirst and the urge to urinate while body temperature and heart rate decrease.
The brain is your body’s control center! Learn what each part does and how alcohol affects its function.
The CNS carries messages along the spinal cord, between your brain and every part of your body. Alcohol interferes by slowing the flow of information from the brain to other parts of the body. This can result in slowed reaction time.
The cerebellum controls physical and verbal faculties. Alcohol interferes by affecting your body’s coordination—you might lose your balance, fall or slur your words.
The medulla keeps the body alive, controlling crucial involuntary actions such as breathing, swallowing and heart rate. Alcohol interferes by slowing or stopping functioning altogether–which could impede breathing, eating or blood circulation.
About the Partnership
Ask, Listen, Learn and Discovery Education have teamed up to provide teachers, counselors, nurses, parents and kids with prevention resources to keep kids alcohol free.
Ask, Listen, Learn
Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix is the most widely-distributed underage drinking prevention program of its kind. Developed and distributed by Responsibility.org, and recognizing more than a decade of success, the program has innovative, science and evidence-based digital resources for teachers, counselors, school nurses and other educators that teach kids about what the brain does, what alcohol does to it, and what THAT does to you. The program also includes resources for parents, such as conversation starters and tips, to help kids say YES to a healthy lifestyle and NO to underage drinking.
Ask, Listen, Learn features a seven-part animation series with corresponding lesson plans that align with National Health Education, Common Core State, and Next Generation Science Standards, to ensure synergy with curriculum teachers already have in place in the classrooms. This alignment also ensures that the resources can be used in multiple education settings, such as science and health classes. Program content regarding the effects of alcohol on the developing brain was reviewed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and is consistent with currently available science. For more information, visit AskListenLearn.org.
Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and trusted organizations to empower teachers with leading edtech solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.