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 Sexual Health, and the HBO for the lesson is SH-6: Engage in behaviors that prevent or reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on preventing STIs, including HIV, the health 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 presenting information about every STI, having students memorize which STIs are bacterial and which are viral, and memorizing the signs and symptoms for specific STIs.
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include explaining that there are many different STIs, how an STI is transmitted, how to prevent getting or giving an STI, common signs and symptoms of STIs (including being asymptomatic), where to get tested for STIs, and responsibilities of a person if they have an STI.
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Sexual Health module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Sexual Health).

      

2. The HBO is posted and introduced so that there is a clear understanding of the expected outcome, which is to prevent or reduce STIs, including HIV.
3. The teacher then creates a true/false quiz that includes questions related to the functional health information listed above. Students are instructed to take the quiz before any instruction is provided. After students have completed the quiz independently, students pair up with a partner and compare answers.
4. The correct answers for the quiz are reviewed, and an explanation of why the answer is true or false is provided. Students are encouraged to correct their quizzes and add notes under each item with functional health knowledge provided by the teacher. Some true/false quiz item examples are listed below.
   1. A person can have an STI and not know it (true).
   2. Birth control pills prevent STIs (false).
   3. People who have had only one sexual partner are not at risk for an STI (false).
   4. Using latex condoms properly can help prevent the spread of STIs (true).
   5. Some common symptoms of STIs are itching and burning in the genital area (true).
5. Students are asked to share one thing they learned to day about preventing STIs.

Example 2 

For this example, the unit that is being taught is Alcohol and Other Drugs, and the HBO for the lesson is AOD-4: Avoid the use of illegal drugs. Marijuana will be the specific drug focused on for this lesson (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. When planning a lesson that focuses on preventing marijuana use, the health 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 presenting information about how marijuana grows, listing all the chemicals in marijuana, learning about marijuana use in different countries, and making students learn how to spell “tetrahydrocannabinol” (THC).
   2. Examples of functional health knowledge that should be taught include the risks of using marijuana (e.g., negative effects on brain health, mental health, athletic performance, lung function, and driving ability), marijuana addiction, and law and policies about marijuana use.
   3. Use the CDC’s HECAT Alcohol and Other Drugs module to help identify and select functional health knowledge across grade spans (CDC HECAT: Alcohol and Other Drugs).

      

2. The HBO is posted and introduced so that there is a clear understanding of the expected outcome of the lesson, which is to avoid the use of marijuana.
3. The risks of using marijuana are reviewed with the students.
4. The students will then use this knowledge when participating in a carousel activity.
   1. The teacher posts five pieces of chart paper in the room and labels them as follows: social, family, financial, education, and future.
   2. Students are divided into five equal groups and assigned to one of the chart paper stations. Each group is given a different color marker.
   3. Each group will have 2 minutes to brainstorm and write how using marijuana could negatively affect their assigned topic. For example, under the category of education, students might write that they might fail a subject, have difficulty in concentrating, have poor memory, etc.
5. After 2 minutes, students rotate to the piece of chart paper to their right. They read the items on the list and add to it. After 2 minutes, the students rotate to the next piece of chart paper and add to that list. They continue this process until they are back to their original piece of chart paper.
6. Students then review the list on their original piece of chart paper and circle the five negative consequences that would most likely convince a teen to not use marijuana.
7. Each group reports their answers to the entire class.
8. Students then complete the following sentence stem as an exit ticket: My top five reasons not to use marijuana are…

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