Every fall, teachers look for Red Ribbon Week ideas to help make their school celebration a success…and we are here to help! The teachers and educators here at Teach Starter know it can often be overwhelming to start each year with fresh ideas, so we’ve pulled together our favorite anti-drug activities to add to your planning.
In addition to living a drug-free life and learning about the consequences of drug use, Red Ribbon Week is also a perfect time to discuss peer pressure, bullying and learning to say no. We know there’s a lot to cover in a week, so continue reading for ideas on what you can discuss in your elementary or middle school classroom, activities for the entire school, books to read aloud, Red Ribbon Week dress-up ideas and much more.
Red Ribbon Week Dress-Up Ideas
Red Ribbon Week brings about some heavy topics and discussions, but including dress-up days can get your students excited to learn and unite with their fellow classmates. Consider some of these ideas as you create your dress-up schedule:
- Wear Red — Grab anything and everything red from your wardrobe and go all out!
- Say Boo to Drugs — Wear all white or dress like a ghost.
- Team Up Against Drugs — Find your favorite sports attire.
- Sock it to Drugs — Grab your funkiest or brightest pair of socks.
- Don’t Get Wrapped Up in Drugs — Dress like a mummy.
- Put a Cap on Drugs — Wear your favorite hat to school.
- Lei Off Drugs — Find your most tropical/Hawaiian-themed clothing items.
- Too Bright for Drugs — You’ll need sunglasses for all the neon prints brightening the hallways!
- I Dream of a Drug-Free School — A perfect theme to wear your pajamas to school.
- Dinosaurs Don’t Dig Drugs — Choose your favorite dinosaur and dress like a terrifying lizard.
Need more inspiration? Try these other dress-up theme ideas:
- Pattern Day
- Tie Dye Day
- Book Character Day
- Wacky Weather Day
- Superhero Day
- Beach Day
- Decades Day
- Tourist Day
- Animal Day
Red Ribbon Week Ideas for the Classroom
Red Ribbon Week leads all the way up to Halloween, and there are various activities to get your students thinking critically while being creative. Here are some tried and true Red Ribbon ideas from US teachers:
Make a Drug-Free Pledge Chain
If your school celebrates Red Ribbon Week, challenging students to pledge to be drug-free is a simple but effective activity. So how do you up-level the impact? Make a pledge chain with all of your students’ pledges!
Have each student write their name on a strip of red paper — symbolizing they’ve signed their pledge to remain drug-free — and link them up, creating a giant paper chain that represents your class. Teachers from each classroom can combine their individual chains, creating a giant display that stretches along the hallways or around gymnasium as a powerful visual of solidarity.
Invite Law Enforcement to Visit
Does your school building have a school resource officer assigned to the building? You can ask them to come into your classroom to discuss the dangers of drugs and how to form a healthy, happy community.
If you don’t have an SRO assigned to the building, why not reach out to the local police department to ask if they have an officer who can present to your class or even to a school-wide assembly at some point during Red Ribbon Week? Your local department may even have teamed up with the National Red Ribbon Week campaign and have their speeches for the kids mapped out!
Write a Public Message
Let every visitor to your school know that living a drug-free life is encouraged. Take your class outside to write an anti-drug message on the pavement using sidewalk chalk.
Each student can write their own message as well, or you can create a larger school message. Write the words “Live Drug Free” in giant bubble letters, and have individual students sign their names within the letters.
Be a Public Message
While we’re on the topic of school-wide activities, set up a group photo of students and staff wearing red for Red Ribbon Week that can be posted on the school’s social media and website.
This is a great activity to do outside in a field or parking lot to ensure there is enough space for everyone. Mark out borders to create a giant ribbon shape, write out “drug-free free” or create a heart shape.
Add a Read-Aloud to Your Day
Combine a story with the message of Red Ribbon Week as an activity for your morning meeting or after recess. There are many books to help kids ponder about setting boundaries for themselves, building self-confidence and learning how to say no. Here are some ideas to add to your classroom library:
- Think For Myself at School by Kristy Hammill
- When Things Arent’ Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni
- I Can Say No by Jenny Simmons
- The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt
- My Strong Mind by Niels Van Hove
- Fitting In by Haruka Aoki
Think About the Future
Many kids already have that dream career picked out for themselves, so tie it in with Red Ribbon Week! This can be a morning meeting topic to discuss how living a drug-free life can help them accomplish their goals, whether that’s becoming a professional athlete, saving people’s lives or becoming the next US president.
Find Words to Live By
Stop, think, and choice are just a few of the words that come to mind for Red Ribbon Week. Challenge your students to brainstorm words that relate to Red Ribbon Week, and then use our Red Ribbon Week Word Search as a follow-up activity. We have primary and upper elementary versions!
Focus on the Positive
Red Ribbon Week is all about empowerment. Students learn that they have the right to choose a healthy, drug-free life without sacrificing their bodies, relationships, and future goals. Encourage your students to reflect on the opportunities a drug-free life can provide with our Reasons to Live Drug Free sheets. These can be used for partner work or as an individual exercise.
Make The Pledge
Teacher, children’s author and foster parent Shenley Seabrook of We Have The Same Heart, created a red banner as a space for students to “pledge and maintain a bully and drug-free school.” Try this idea as a Red Ribbon Week bulletin board, classroom banner, or classroom booklet! 
Photo courtesy of children’s author, Shenley Seabrook
Want to hand out individual pledges at the end of Red Ribbon Week? Bring an element of your social and emotional learning to the table with Proud to Be Me Certificates your students can take home and hang proudly on the fridge.
We hope you and your students have a positive Red Ribbon experience and share these activity ideas with your fellow teachers and friends. Here’s to celebrating life!
Getting Red Ribbon Week ready doesn’t have to take up your important classroom time. Explore a Red Ribbon Week collection full of resources created by teachers for your classroom. Print coloring pages, download Drug-Free Headbands, and much more.
Banner image via Shutterstock/Kenneth Summers
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