š« Middle School Health Education Teacher š 2021 National Health Education Teacher of The Year š¤ Conference Presenter
Hello Reader,
As I'm getting used to the new settings in Convertkit, I'm keeping my email templates pretty plain. In this newsletter, I'll discuss key strategies for making informed decisions about what content to include in your health education lessons. Please read on and reply if you have any questions, or if there are specific topics you'd like to see in future newsletters.
In undergrad, one of the first unit plans I put together for my health education methods course was a five-lesson unit on alcohol. It was content-heavy, as this was before skills-based health was considered best practice. I don't remember the entire sequence of lessons, but I know I had a lesson on alcohol volume and what is defined as a standard drink. The activity used water and food coloring and was designed to be interactive, almost like a science lab. I thought it was a knockout lesson. When I submitted the first draft, my professor asked me, "Do you really want to spend an entire lesson on alcohol volume?" Looking back on this experience, it's clear now that it was my first time figuring out what functional health content to include in my lessons.
I want to be clear: I'm not saying teaching about standard drink sizes and volume is bad (in fact, I go over it in class), but it probably doesn't need to be the focus of an entire lesson. One of the most common questions from teachers shifting to a skills-based approach is, "What about the content? How do I know which content to keep and which to toss?" Effective lesson planning is the cornerstone of ensuring that our students receive the best possible learning experience. Here are some strategies to consider the next time you're writing lessons and trying to figure out what to fit in for functional health content.
The skill you're teaching may come into play here, too. Think about one last question: "What content do my students need to know in order to reduce risk behaviors and improve health literacy?" If it doesn't pass that test, consider taking it out of your program in order to focus on more important topics.
That's all for this week! Thanks for reading, and as always, please reply with any questions or suggestions for topics you'd like to see covered in this newsletter.
Jeff B.
Jeff Bartlett is a middle school health education teacher in Massachusetts, where he's been teaching since 2008. The 2021 National Health Education Teacher of the Year, Jeff started Level Up Health Education to help other health educators improve their craft. |
Helping health educators improve their teaching.
š« Middle School Health Education Teacher š 2021 National Health Education Teacher of The Year š¤ Conference Presenter
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