Middle School
The Emily’s Hope middle school curriculum is structured to build on key prevention principles learned in elementary school.
The Curriculum Features:
🧠 Science-Based Learning
Explores how the adolescent brain develops and how substances interfere with critical functions.
🎭 Story-Driven Approach
Uses relatable characters and real-life scenarios to help students connect with the material and apply it to their lives.
🎬 Engaging Multimedia Tools
Includes animations, interactive activities, supportive graphic novels and discussion-based lessons.
🤝 Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Integration
Reinforces emotional regulation, goal-setting, and self-advocacy skills.
📚 Teacher-Friendly Resources
Provides comprehensive lesson plans, hands-on activities, and professional development support.
The curriculum is designed for flexible implementation, allowing educators to adapt lessons based on classroom needs while maintaining fidelity to core learning objectives.
By Grade Level
6th Grade
| 6th Grade Lessons | |||||||
| My Body | Emotions | Pressures | Your Health / My Health | Medication Safety | My Brain | My Brain on Substances | Substance Use Disorders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
7th Grade
| 7th Grade Lessons | |||||||
| My Body | Emotions | Pressures | Your Health / My Health | Medication Safety | My Brain | My Brain on Substances | Substance Use Disorders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
8th Grade
| 8th Grade Lessons | |||||||
| My Body | Emotions | Pressures | Your Health / My Health | Medication Safety | My Brain | My Brain on Substances | Substance Use Disorders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Coming Soon: High School
Emily’s Hope Substance Use Prevention Curriculum in high school features 23 lessons across eight key topics and is kept up-to-date with today’s emerging threats.
Key features include:
- Designed with flexibility in mind to provide options for how, when, and by whom the lessons are taught.
- A consistent lesson plan format that is rich in content and activities.
- Opportunities for students to engage in research and make choices about their learning.
- Emphasis on advocacy and messaging to empower students.
Two Plans
Emily’s Hope offers two flexible plans for elementary & middle school to meet the needs of your school or district:
RECOMMENDED
Preferred Plan: 1:1 Student Copies
Every student receives their own printed Emily’s Hope Children’s Book or Comic Book to keep.
Encourages personal connection, deeper engagement, and at-home conversations.
Priced per student, per year
Standard Plan: Basic Classroom Access
One classroom copy of the student book per grade level.
Full access to teaching materials through the Teacher Hub.
Priced per student, per year
What’s included in Both Plans:
- Full access to our interactive Teacher Hub, including:
- Web & PDF lesson plans
- Interactive and printable student activities
- Animated video series
- Access to the e-books
- COMING SOON: Translated lessons in Spanish
- Pre- and post-curriculum assessments
- Self-paced Educator Training Center
- A self-paced training center to support educators with new materials regularly added
- Ongoing email support from our team
- Regular content updates based on educator feedback and research
Every School Deserves Access
We know funding can be a challenge. As a nonprofit, we’re committed to keeping this accessible, and we’re here to work with you. Our priority is getting life-saving education into classrooms.
We offer funding guides and financial support. Go to emilyshopeedu.org/funding for details.
Why We Recommend 1:1
When students take their books home, they share what they’ve learned, sparking powerful conversations with families. Educators report higher engagement, better retention, and stronger community impact.
Another option: Some schools purchase 1:1 classroom sets in the first year and then switch to the Standard Plan in future years.
You can also choose a different plan for each grade level.
Teacher Hub
All lessons and activities are easily accessible through our teacher portal. Designed for flexibility, the portal supports different student needs, schedules and learning levels-while helping educators feel confident in guiding the material.
Additional Resources
Development
By employing proven practices in school-based curriculum design1, Emily’s Hope ensures that its educational tools are rooted in evidence-based principles.
Emily’s Hope 6-12 Prevention Education Committee
Our dedicated middle & high school committee consists of experienced professionals from various fields, including education, medicine, and addiction counseling.
Alignment
Each lesson is aligned with National Health Education Standards2 and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Mindsets and Behaviors3.
Future Directions & Expansion
Following the success of the pilot program, Emily’s Hope is expanding the curriculum to more schools and grade levels, with a focus on:
- Scaling the program to high schools to ensure a comprehensive K-12 prevention pathway.
- Enhancing teacher training through workshops, implementation guides, and fidelity checklists.
- Developing additional materials, including animations and educator support tools.
- Conducting longitudinal research to measure the curriculum’s long-term effects on student behavior and substance use rates.
- Parental Education to inform parents of the dangers of current illicit drug supply and why their children must receive this timely curriculum.
- Benita Manzengo, Molly Stevens. Promising and Best Practices in School-Based Drug Prevention: Evaluation of the Emily’s Hope Pilot Curriculum. Beacom Research Fellows – Augustana Research Institute. 2024 April. ↩︎
- National Consensus for School Health Education. (2022). National Health Education Standards: Model Guidance for Curriculum and Instruction (3rd Edition) www.schoolhealtheducation.org ↩︎
- American School Counselor Association (2021). ASCA Content Standards; Mindsets and Behaviors for Student Success. Alexandria, VA: Author ↩︎