Our Core Curriculum

The Natural High curriculum is aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)
as well as National Health Education Standards (NHES). The activities are designed to develop
student understanding about the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse and also to support
students in learning and practicing strategies to make healthy decisions.

Additionally, many of the activities help students develop advocacy for self
and others. All storyteller videos have discussion questions and recommended activities.

Our Scope and Sequence outlines all of our activities with alignment to our storyteller videos,
CCSS and NHES standards, as well as the six Natural High Principles.

Natural High Principles &
The Research Behind Them

1. PURSUE YOUR NATURAL HIGH

Research has shown one of the single most effective protective factors for helping youth thrive and lowering addiction risk is to inspire them to identify and pursue their Natural High. Inspire them to find their passion, get involved, and show them it’s a better choice.

Iceland Study 1, Search Institute 2

2. EMBRACE POSITIVE PEER INFLUENCE

3. CULTIVATE MENTOR RELATIONSHIPS

4. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

5. SET GOALS

6. DEVELOP RESILIENCE

References

  1. Young, Author: Emma, et al. “Iceland Knows How to Stop Teen Substance Abuse but the Rest of the World Isn’t Listening.” Mosaic, 17, Jan. 2017.
  2. Peter C. Scales, Finding the Student Spark, Search Institute Insights & Evidence Nov. Vol. 5 No. 1. 2010.
  4. Rhodes, J. E., Reddy, R., & Grossman, J. B. (2005). The protective influence of mentoring on adolescents substance use: Direct and indirect pathways. Applied Developmental Science 9(1), 31-47.
  5. Growth Mindset works, Carol Dweck
  6. Grit – Angela Lee Duckworth, Psychologist At the University of Pennsylvania
  7. Brene Brown research
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