Focuses on Clear Health Goals and Related Behavior Outcomes

Description: This characteristic is foundational for an effective health education curriculum. The goal of health education is to help students adopt or maintain healthy behaviors.¹ Given this charge, health goals, behaviors, or outcomes must be clearly defined, focused, and meaningful to students. Students need to know the healthy behaviors that are expected of them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified a list of healthy behavior outcomes (HBOs) for students in grades K–12 that align with nine health topic areas and help to promote health and prevent disease (HECAT Appendix 3).

Functional health knowledge and skills taught in health education should align and focus on addressing HBOs. Prioritizing and selecting HBOs should reflect developmental appropriateness and cultural inclusivity, as well as health-behavior data and trends from a variety of sources. For example, using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, state and local education and health data, and input from key partners such as students, parents, and health professionals can inform HBO selection.

Across the health topic areas, each HBO is important, but there isn’t enough instructional time allotted to health education in most school districts to address all of them. Therefore, health curriculum coordinators and health teachers need to be selective when determining which HBOs to address in the district’s health education scope and sequence, unit plans, and curriculum lessons. HBOs are the starting place for every health education unit and lesson plan, and they guide the development or selection of student learning objectives, functional knowledge and skills, and assessment.

Example 1

For this teaching example, the unit that is being taught is Safety, and the HBO for the lesson is S-4: Apply safety rules and procedures to avoid risky behaviors and injuries (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. The teacher posts the HBO for the lesson on a classroom whiteboard, poster, or slide.

2. The teacher introduces the HBO to students so they understand the focus of the lesson is to apply safety rules in school, at home, and within the community.

3. The teacher and students discuss examples of safety rules and why it is important to follow safety rules at home, in school, and within the community.

4. The students work in small groups to create lists of safety rules for their homes, school, and communities.

5. At the end of the lesson, the students complete an exit ticket explaining why it is important for them to commit to following safety rules at home, in school, and within the community.

To view in PDF format, please click here.