What I Taught in Health Class This Week - SHAPE America Health Skills & Healthy Habits
Here are the health lesson plans and classroom engagements I taught this week in preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school health class. The main focus was on introducing students to the SHAPE America Health Skills and the concept of healthy habits.
Table of Contents
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Preschool Health
This week for preschool health, we read The Way Champs Play by Naomi Osaka. This is a favorite in our house. I love to use this book at the start of the school year when we are just beginning to explore what it looks like to manage our health and well-being. It’s also one of my favorite children’s books to read when teaching about the concept of healthy habits.
Elementary Health
Next up, elementary health. This week, we continued looking at healthy habits:) Here are the different activities we did:
Healthy Habits Relay - Free Access for Members
Healthy Habits Chain Printable - Blog Post | Click to Download the Healthy Habits Strips
Healthy Habit Relay
To start class, students did a healthy habit relay. I laid out habits (some were helpful, some were harmful) on the ground and then had students get into pairs and sit on the other side of the classroom. Then, they did two relay rounds:
Round 1: Helpful vs. Harmful Habits
When I said “go,” the first student in each pair walked to the cards and picked one up.
Once they were back with their teammate, they read the card and placed it upside down if it was a harmful habit or right side up if it was a helpful habit.
Then, the next teammate walked and picked up a card.
They repeated this until all of the cards were picked up.
Round 2: Sort by BEST element
For the second round, instead of determining if it was a helpful or harmful habit, students sorted their cards according to which dimension of health (from the BEST Model) the habit related to.
Teaching Note: I prefer the language of helpful vs. harmful habits instead of healthy vs. unhealthy. There can be a lot of moral weight and judgment associated with the words “healthy” and “unhealthy.” So I try to get a little more creative with how we address habits and health-related choices. I also think this switch encourages students to think a little more critically about what a habit is actually doing to their well-being, is it helping them feel good or is it limiting their well-being?
Healthy Habit Relay Debrief and Reflection
After the relay, we came back to our circle to discuss what habits are and to debrief the habits listed on the relay cards. Here are a few reflection questions you would ask the group:
What habit(s) from the cards is easy for you to do?
Which habit(s) from the cards is hard for you to do?
Which helpful habit from the cards have you seen a classmate do?
The Way Champs Play
Next, we read The Way Champs Play by Naomi Osaka. Before reading, I encouraged students to be “Habit Detectives" and identify some of the many healthy habits portrayed in the book. Here are some of the habits students may identify:
Going at your own pace
Playing fair
Practicing another alp
Try again after messing up
Pausing and taking a rest
P.S. Weren’t Naomi’s Labubu’s at the US Open so adorable:) My elementary kids were very excited to see photos of them.
Blog Post | Click to Download the Healthy Habits Strips
Healthy Habit Chain
The last thing students did was create a healthy habit chain. Each student was given four healthy habit strips, each one was a different color to represent the elements of the BEST Model:
Body - Orange
Environment - Green
Self - Pink
(Social) Ties - Yellow
On each strip, students identified one way they take care of each dimension of health (a.k.a. A healthy habit they practice). To help students note a habit from their real life, they could reference their health notebook and the habit sorting activity they did last week.
Blog Post | Click to Download the Healthy Habits Strips
Middle School Health
Now onto middle school health. Since we didn’t have health class last week, we did a quick refresh on the BEST Model and then dove into the health skills.
BEST Model Cootie Catcher - Free Access for Members
Health Skills Toolbox Printable - Buy | Free Access for Members
Health Skills Learning Stations - Buy | Free Access for Members
Daily BEST Check-In Worksheet - Free Access for Members
The BEST Model Cootie Catcher
To start, students used the BEST Model Cootie Catcher to reinforce the BEST Model teachings. Then, in their notebook, they did a quick brain dump of what each dimension of health looked like in their life. We also took a moment to review their Daily BEST Check-In worksheet.
Health Skills Learning Stations
Next, I introduced the health skills using the Health Skills Toolbox. Then, they proceed to do the Health Skills Learning Stations activity. In this activity, students learned a little more about each skill, and they examine our signature skill cues.
Teaching Note: If you’re going to use this, please read the directions on this blog post. I had to be very concise with the directions for this activity. A few students didn’t write down the answer next to the correct station line on the paper, so when they went to decode the message, it didn’t work. And I had to stress that they don’t circle the emoji on the poster they read the question/prompt, rather they circle it from the poster they found their answer.
High School Health
Now onto high school health:) Similar to middle school health, we dove into the health skills today!
Vision Board Lesson Plan - Buy | Free Access for Members
BEST Vision Board Questions - Free Access for Members
Health Skills Toolbox Printable - Buy | Free Access for Members
Health Skills Learning Stations - Buy | Free Access for Members
Daily BEST Check-In Worksheet - Free Access for Members
Vision Board Finalization
To start class, we reviewed/finalized the vision boards they were working on last week. They needed a little bit of time to glue their pictures down. So as they finished up, I chatted with them about why I asked them to make a vision board. Basically, the intention and goal of a vision board is to help students identify what they want their life to look like so they can be intentional about making decisions that align with their goals/vision. I wanted them both to look at some bigger, long-term goals (i.e. career they want to do) and more short-term day-to-day ideas of what they want their life to look like (i.e. being more consistent about cleaning their room and staying on top of their to-do list).
BEST Vision Board Questions - Free Access for Members
Entry Task: Identifying Real-Life Health Issues
After debriefing the vision board activity, I handed out scrap pieces of paper and I asked students to write out the things that are most impacting their (and their peers’) well-being/happiness. I asked them to write down one thing on each piece of paper (for an activity later on).
Here are some of the health issues students wrote down (I added a few to the list as well):
Athletics
Body Image / Body Ideals / Relationship with Their Body
Cringe Culture
Identity / Acceptance / Belonging
Limited in-Person Interaction / Isolation / Loneliness
Family Relationships/ Family Issues
Financial Insecurity
Friends / Bullying / Relationships
Mental Health
Political Climate / Big Issues Outside of Their Control
School - Academic
School - Social
Social Media
Substance Use / ATOD (alcohol, Zyn, vaping, marijuana, pain killers, etc.)
Their Future - College, Jobs
Once they had a list, we reviewed them together. As we went through the cards, I asked a few probing questions and then added more context to some of the cards. Then, we set these aside for a later activity - Paper Fusion.
Before moving on to the health skills, I checked in their BEST Model and did a quick refresh. They’re catching onto the concept easily. I just want to help reinforce the model and the process of checking in with each dimension of their well-being.
Health Skills Learning Station Activity
Next, it was time for the Health Skills Learning Stations activity. I introduced the health skills by using the Health Skills Toolbox to review the health skills and the understanding that they are the tools we use to build a healthy life. Then, we did one station poster together so they could understand the process, and they were off.
Whiteboard Debrief
After they were done, I used these whiteboard drawings to review the health skills (#1: showing the health skills + their sub-skills and their action word/skills; #2: showing how self-management is the overarching skill and all of the other skills are what enable us to manage our well-being).
It’s okay if they don’t fully understand or recall the skills after the learning station activity. The purpose was really to just introduce the health skills and the idea that we use them to manage well-being. They will have plenty of time to explore and practice these skills throughout the school year. This was just the start:)
Paper Fusion instant activity
The final activity we did was Paper Fusion (I adapted this from Dr. Karen Tilstra).
For this, you need two piles of papers:
In the first pile, there were eight cards with the health skills written on them.
The second pile was the cards from the earlier activity where they listed out teen health issues.
To play, students took one card from each pile and then explained how they relate (i.e. Interpersonal Communication + the Academic Side of School - Needing to use communication skills to ask for help or clarification, to work on group projects and collaborate, to resolve conflict with classmates, to self-advocate to the teacher/principal, etc).
This activity is a fun way to help students see how each health skill connects to every health issue. It’s a great way to start building self-awareness.
exit task: A quick discussion
And last but not least, we ended class with a quick Exit Task question - What’s one skill you’ve used this week?
Well, that’s everything I taught in health class this week. I hope there were some easy teaching activities you can use or that something gave you some inspiration! Until next time:)