Provides Opportunities to Reinforce Skills and Positive Health Behaviors

Description: An effective curriculum builds on previously learned concepts and skills and provides opportunities to reinforce health-promoting skills across health topics and grade levels. This can be accomplished in multiple ways:

1. By incorporating more than one skill practice application at multiple grade levels (e.g., teaching goal setting at the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th grade)

2. By integrating skill application opportunities in multiple health content areas (e.g., practicing decision-making skills in an alcohol- and other drug-use prevention unit and in a violence prevention unit)

3. By reinforcing health skills in other academic areas (e.g., teaching a health lesson on how to access valid and reliable health information, then having the librarian reinforce the lesson)

An effective health education curriculum that addresses age- and developmental appropriate determinants of behavior across grade levels, and reinforces and builds on learning, is more likely to achieve longer lasting results.¹

Example 1 

For this example, the focus is reinforcing students’ development of communication skills across two grade levels. The unit that is being taught is Mental and Emotional Health, and the HBO for the lesson at each grade level is MEH-3: Express feelings in a healthy way (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. This school district requires health education at the 9th and 11th grade. The health education scope and sequence includes a focus on mental and emotional health at the 9th and 11th grade.

2. The students in the 9th-grade health class are taught the five-step process of skill development for communicating needs, wants, and feelings in a healthy way, including time to practice these skills with a partner.

3. A similar activity is taught in the 11th-grade health class; however, different scenarios that are more developmentally appropriate for this grade level of students are utilized when practicing how to communicate needs, wants, and feelings in a healthy way.

Example 2 

For this example, the focus is reinforcing students’ development of goal-setting skills in two different lessons at the same grade level by two different teachers. The units taught are Personal Health and Physical Activity. The HBOs of the lesson are PHW-6: Practice behaviors that prevent chronic diseases and PA-5: Follow a physical activity plan for healthy growth and development (HECAT Appendix 3).

1. The focus for this example is on goal setting. In the 9th grade health class, students have learned the functional knowledge about how to be safe in the sun. Students are then taught the five-step process of goal setting and are asked to set a goal to remain safe in the sun. Students set a goal, make a plan to reach the goal, and track their progress for 3 weeks.

2. Later in the semester, the physical education teacher includes a lesson on the functional information related to the benefits of regular physical activity and refreshes students on the steps of goal setting. Students are asked to set a physical activity goal, make a plan to reach the goal, and track progress for 3 weeks.

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