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 Mental and Emotional Health, and the HBO for the lesson is MEH-6: Get help for troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions for oneself and others (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on promoting mental and emotional health, 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 having students conduct in depth research on specific mental health disorders and in depth discussions of treatments for mental health disorders.
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include identification of thoughts, feelings, or actions that might be troublesome; healthy ways to deal with troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions; common warning signs that someone needs help dealing with troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions; when and how to ask for help; and how to identify and access trusted adults.
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Mental and Emotional Health module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Mental and Emotional Health).
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, which is to get help for troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions.
3. The teacher posts the definition of “troublesome feelings” on the board: Troublesome feelings are “strong feelings that can cause problems for you or make you feel overwhelmed.”
4. The students are asked to write down three troublesome feelings that youth their age may experience. Students share and discuss answers, and the teacher posts them on the board. Examples may include anger, anxiety, depression, sadness, hurt, or loneliness.
5. The teacher explains that most individuals experience these emotions occasionally and temporarily and do not require medical attention or intervention. However, when these emotions become overwhelming and last over time, students need to tell a trusted adult.
6. The teacher circles three of the feelings that students have identified as troublesome and divides students into triads to answer the following questions for the selected feelings:
   1. What might cause young people to experience these feelings? Examples may include loss, divorce, breakups, or poor test scores.
   2. What healthy strategies can be used to deal with these feelings? Examples may include talking with a friend, journaling, exercising, or deep breathing. The students report answers, and the teacher discusses their responses. The teacher explains that sometimes when feelings are overwhelming or ongoing, it is important to seek help from a trusted adult who could offer insight, advice, or help to access needed resources.
7. The teacher asks the students for examples of trusted adults they could go to if they needed help. Examples may include parents, family members, coaches, school nurses, counselors, or teachers.
8. The students complete a 3–2–1 exit ticket responding to the following prompts:
   1. Three common troublesome thoughts, feelings, or actions experienced by teens are…
   2. Two healthy strategies to help deal with these troublesome feelings are…
   3. One trusted adult I could go to for help is…

Example 2

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Promoting Mental and Emotional Health, and the HBO for the lesson is MEH-4: Prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on promoting mental and emotional health, 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 Hans Seyle’s stress general adaptation syndrome and hormones that are released during a stressful situation.
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include defining “stress” and identifying common stressors; determining the sources and effects of personal stressors at home, in school, and with friends; explaining the physical, social, and emotional reactions to stress; and determining the effective and ineffective ways to manage stress.
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Mental and Emotional Health module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Mental and Emotional Health).

      

2. The teacher posts and introduces the HBO of the lesson so that there is a clear understanding of the expected outcome, which is to prevent and manage emotional stress and anxiety in healthy ways.
3. The teacher writes a statement on the board that causes a stress response for students as they enter the room—for example, “assign a research paper,” “midterm exam,” or “oral presentation.”
4. After several minutes, the teacher asks the students what they were feeling when they read the assignment on the board (e.g., angry, confused, panicked). The teacher asks them how they felt physically (e.g., stomachache, headache, tense).
5. The teacher defines and explains how stress is the feeling of pressure and it is a part of life. Stress can be useful and help you to grow, or it can cause fear, upset, anxiety, and illness. Everyone experiences stress throughout their lives. We don’t always have control over the stressor; however, what we can control is how we respond to stress, which affects our emotional health and well-being.
6. The teacher defines a stressor as anything that causes stress. The teacher differentiates among internal (i.e., imposed by self, including worry and self-doubt) and external (i.e., coming from outside, including pressure from family, friends, and peers). Stressors can also be positive (e.g., graduation, party, athletic event) or negative (e.g., sickness, death, loss). The teacher then describes the differences of each and explains that stress in our lives is how we mature and grow.
7. The teacher divides students up into small groups. Each group is given a piece of butcher paper and markers. Students list examples of stressors they may experience in their lives and indicate whether they are internal or external and positive or negative. Students will report to class. After they report, the teacher asks students what similarities or differences they noticed and discusses that not all people perceive or respond to stress in the same way. The teacher asks what may influence responses (e.g., previous experience, family, ability to handle).
8. The teacher discusses effective ways to deal with stress, such as relaxation exercises, deep breathing, time management, and planning, and ineffective ways to deal with stress, such as putting things off, ignoring a problem, getting angry, and fighting.
9. The teacher leads a discussion on the long-term physical and mental health effects of stress if not effectively managed (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance use and abuse, fatigue, stomachache, headaches, and heart disease).
10. The teacher shows three brief video clips of people in stressful situations. The students describe the response as effective or ineffective (e.g., an athlete shooting a foul shot when their team is one point down, friends pressuring you to drink alcohol, waiting until the last minute to study for exams). For each video clip, the students will identify two healthy strategies that they would utilize to deal with the stressor. The students submit their responses to the teacher as an assessment of learning.

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