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The 1980's
 Just Say No

Just Say No
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.03

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    original, spokesperson, wage, literacy, abuse, dignity, better, study, youth, presidency, radio, campaign, among, during, message, cause
     content words:    First Lady, United States, Nancy Reagan, Daytop Village, Laura Bush, Jacqueline Kennedy, White House, Say No, Punky Brewster, Different Strokes

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Just Say No
By Jane Runyon 		  
1     The University of Houston began a study in the 1970's. They wanted to see in what ways the abuse of drugs might be harming the young people of America. They experimented with ways to keep these young people from starting to use drugs. They wanted to see if there were skills that could be taught to school children that would keep them from falling into drug use and eventually abuse. One of the skills they wanted to teach was the ability to say "no" when drugs were offered.
 
2     In 1980, the First Lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, visited a drug abuse center called Daytop Village. While visiting the residents of Daytop, she saw the problems being created by drugs among young people. It surprised and shocked her. She saw young people trying to put their lives back together after using drugs. She walked away from Daytop Village wanting to do something.
 
3     For many years, it has been expected that the first lady of the land devote much of her time to special causes. Laura Bush, a former librarian, chose literacy as one of her causes. Jacqueline Kennedy chose to devote much of her effort to restoring the White House to its original dignity. Nancy Reagan chose to wage a "war on drugs." Mrs. Reagan was very worried about the effect that drugs could have on young people. She felt that the best way to help the youth of the nation was to educate them about drug use.

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