Implementing Tar Wars at your school is easy if you follow the step-by-step checklists below.
Step One
- Contact your Tar Wars state coordinator in August or September to request a presentation (or use the online form), get a list of available presenters in your community, or find out more about implementing Tar Wars at your school.
- Schedule your classroom presentation sometime between August and March (during Red Ribbon Week or a health fair, for example).
- Ask your state coordinator when the deadline is to submit your winning poster(s) for the state poster contest so you can allow sufficient time to have the presentation and for students to finish their posters.
- Read through the classroom activities section to become familiar with the objectives, time requirements, and instructions for all the activities.
Step Two
- Conduct the pre-activity exercise one week before the classroom presentation and calculate and average student responses for discussion during the presentation.
- Make copies of the Parent Information Handout (2-page PDF file; About PDFs) to send home with each student the day of the presentation.
- Make 10 copies of the tobacco and advertising worksheet (found on page 15 in the program guide) and print the color sample tobacco ads for your presenter. Or, find 5-10 new ads in magazines (laminate them if possible).
- Have enough drinking straws on hand for each student the day of the presentation.
- Order Tar Wars promotional items to give to students, if your budget/funding allows.
Step Three
- Submit the online Presentation Questionnaire for Teachers following the presentation.
- Encourage students to create posters with a positive, tobacco-free message and schedule time for students to begin working on their posters. Don’t forget to review the poster contest criteria with your students before they start their posters. You can collaborate on this project with your school’s art teacher or make it a take-home activity.
- Plan, coordinate, and hold a follow-up poster contest at your school.
- Send the winning poster(s) to your state coordinator. The official poster contest entry form (1-page PDF file; About PDFs) and authorization release form (1-page PDF file; About PDFs) must be attached to the poster.
- Acknowledge all the students who participated in the poster contest with a certificate, prize, incentive item, or other type of recognition, if possible.
- Display posters throughout the school and community. Libraries and city offices are great places to showcase the students’ artwork.
