Provides Functional Health Knowledge That Is Basic and Accurate and That Directly Contributes to Health-Promoting Decisions and Behaviors

Description: This characteristic focuses on providing functional health knowledge (i.e., need-to-know information) to help students establish, manage, and maintain healthy decisions and behaviors.¹ Functional health knowledge is accurate, reliable, and credible information students can use to

• Assess risk,

• Clarify attitudes and beliefs,

• Correct misperceptions about social norms,

• Identify ways to avoid or minimize risky situations,

• Examine internal and external influences,

• Select valid and reliable resources,

• Make behaviorally relevant decisions,

• Set healthy goals,

• Advocate for health, and

• Build personal and social competence for engaging in healthy behaviors.

Health instruction that has little influence on health beliefs, health skills, and behaviors is nonfunctional (nice-to-know information). Sometimes students find nonfunctional health knowledge interesting (e.g., the large intestines are about 5 feet long). However, typically there is not adequate time allotted to teach both functional health knowledge (need to know) and nonfunctional health knowledge (nice to know). Therefore, it is critical for health curriculum coordinators and health teachers to focus on functional health knowledge that supports the adoption and maintenance of select healthy behavioral outcomes (HBOs) (HECAT Appendix 3).

Resources that can help teachers determine functional information from nonfunctional information include the following:

• Seeking information from accurate, reliable, and credible sources about specific HBOs and topics

• Utilizing local/state/national data describing issues related to student health

• Using state/district standards, frameworks, or requirements that dictate content

• Aligning lessons with district/school scope and sequence, curriculum maps, or pacing guides

• Reviewing Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) health-related modules that outline relevant knowledge expectations

• Determining available instructional time allocated for health education and then prioritizing the functional health information that aligns with the selected HBOs

Example 1

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Promoting Food and Nutrition, and the specific focus of this lesson is choosing healthy snacks. The HBOs for this lesson on choosing healthy snacks include FN-3: Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, FN-8: Limit foods high in added sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium, and FN-11: Choose and enjoy nutrient-dense foods and beverages when dining (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on choosing healthy snacks, the teacher needs to determine the functional health knowledge that needs to be taught and the nonfunctional knowledge that should be avoided.
   1. Examples of nonfunctional health knowledge that should be avoided include an overemphasis on the specific nutritional content of a wide variety of “junk foods,” the history of the production and manufacturing of food, and statistics related to the sale and consumption of “junk food.”
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include the benefits of eating healthy snacks and limiting the consumption of snacks high in fat, added sugars, and sodium; qualities of nutrient-dense snacks (e.g., tastes good; not salty, greasy, or sugary; contains key nutrients); examples of nutrient-dense foods and beverages (e.g., fruits and vegetables, high-fiber foods, foods/beverages low in added sugars).
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Food and Nutrition module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Food and Nutrition).
2. The teacher first provides a list of snacks and introduces the focus of this lesson on choosing healthy snacks as related to the HBOs. This focus will enable students to have a clear understanding of the expected outcomes of this lesson.
3. The teacher then asks the students to work independently to determine snacks on the list that are healthy snacks and snacks that are less healthy snacks. The students are then asked to compare their answers with a partner. The teacher than reviews the list with the class.
4. The students then participate in a “think-pair-share” in which they identify characteristics of healthy snacks, compare their answers with another pair, and then write their responses on the classroom whiteboard. The teacher and students then compare the results, and the teacher clarifies the responses to ensure that the students have correctly identified the characteristics of healthy snacks (e.g., low fat, low added sugar, low sodium; higher in nutrient density).
5. The teacher assesses the lesson with an exit ticket in which the students identify their favorite healthy snacks and the characteristics of healthy snacks. Each student then shares their responses in a whip-around (e.g., calling on every student in a systematic way).

Example 2 

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Promoting Physical Activity, and the HBO for the lesson is PA-1: Engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 60 minutes every day (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on promoting physical activity, the teacher needs to determine the functional health knowledge that needs to be taught and the nonfunctional health knowledge that should be avoided.
   1. Examples of nonfunctional health knowledge that should be avoided include memorizing the bones and muscles in the body.
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include defining what it means to be physically active, identifying different types of physical activities, and identifying ways to increase daily physical activity.
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Physical Activity module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Physical Activity).

      

2. The teacher posts and introduces the HBO of the lesson so that there is a clear understanding of the expected outcome for the lesson.
3. On the board, the teacher posts numerous pictures of young people and families engaging in a physical activity. Examples may include riding bicycles, jogging, hiking, playing, walking, or lifting weights. The teacher poses a question of what these pictures all have in common. How are they different (e.g., being physically active, having fun, using more energy for some activities, etc.)?
4. The teacher asks students to write down what it means to be physically active and why it is important to their health. Students share responses, and the teacher processes their answers.
5. The teacher then discusses how being physically active directly affects one’s overall fitness, which is the body’s ability to function at its best.
6. The teacher then explains that young people should engage in 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day, and that most of that activity should be aerobic.
7. The teacher explains aerobic activity addresses the cardiorespiratory (heart and lungs) system. The teacher asks students why aerobic exercise is important to overall health. The teacher then asks for examples of activities that would be considered aerobic (e.g., running, swimming, in-line skating, bike riding) and asks which muscle groups are most often used in aerobic activities (e.g., arms, legs, heart).
8. The teacher takes the students on a 10-minute power walk around the outside of the school and demonstrates what moderate- and vigorous-intensity walking feels like using a scale of 0–10 (0 is not moving, and 10 is maximum activity). Moderate intensity is 5–7, and vigorous intensity is 8-10.
9. The students reflect on their experience by completing the following exit-ticket questions:
   1. During our power, walk I felt…
   2. My favorite aerobic activity is…
   3. One aerobic activity I would like to try is…

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