Instructional Strategies

The instructional strategies utilized in Growing Healthy are those that help students develop and practice specific life skills. Research has proven that effective teachers use a variety of ways to reach students and to help them learn. They reinforce learning by challenging, motivating, and captivating students' attention. The instructional strategies used in the curriculum can be transferred to other subject areas as well, thereby reaching students through a variety of experiential and participatory learning styles across the curricula. Some of the instructional strategies utilized in Growing Healthy include:

Cooperative learning groups
Role play
Demonstrations
Dissections
Guest speakers
Brainstorming
Think-pair-share
Small groups
Student presentations
Learning logs

Life Skills Training

Growing Healthy utilizes skills-building activities and strategies to teach personal health habits, values, and self-esteem. Life skills are those abilities and positive behaviors that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The core set of skills utilized throughout the curriculum facilitates the achievement of curricular objectives for the promotion of health education and the general educational well-being of children and adolescents.

The life skills taught in Growing Healthy include:

· Goal setting ~ Decision making
· Creative thinking ~ Empathy
· Self-awareness ~ Problem solving
· Effective communication ~ Coping with stress
· Critical thinking ~ Coping with emotions
· Interpersonal relationship skills

Assessment

Assessment allows the teacher to monitor progress and to identify student understanding over time. Authentic assessment gauges student progress toward adopting and maintaining good health practices. Therefore, by definition, true assessment for health cannot be fully realized until well into adulthood. However, grading is an integral part of the American school system, and the curriculum can still accommodate that need. Throughout Growing Healthy, there are activities that provide an opportunity to assess student ability to synthesize information, draw conclusions, and otherwise demonstrate knowledge and application of the skills and concepts taught. Teachers use activities, observation, and portfolios to assess student progress.

Dissections

Animal system dissections are an integral part of the curriculum, and a significant component of the Growing Healthy body systems approach to health education. While dissections generate interest and excitement in students and teachers alike, this activity can also cause fear and concern for some teachers. Demonstrating a dissection in training can alleviate the apprehension and eliminate fears and concerns about the skills and procedures involved. NCHE recognizes that some school districts prefer alternative methods to traditional dissection-therefore, three-dimensional models or virtual dissections using software resources are recommended in these circumstances.

The sequence of animal dissections is as follows:

Grade 2 Sheep Eye
Grade 3 Chicken Leg
Grade 4 Owl Pellet
Grade 5 Pig Lung
Grade 6 Pig Heart

Parent/Family Involvement

The Growing Healthy program encourages parent involvement, recognizing that family involvement in education is fundamental to children's health, strong schools, and higher levels of academic achievement. Family members who are professionals in health related fields are encouraged to share their knowledge about a variety of health-related topics and issues in the Growing Healthy program. At each grade level and at each phase, letters are sent to parents informing them of what their children will be learning. They are encouraged to participate in the classroom, become advocates for school health education, assist with health fairs, events, and classroom activities, model healthy behaviors, and practice healthy communication strategies with their children. Homework activities also encourage parents to participate in the Growing Healthy program.

Cross-Curricular Integration

Growing Healthy meets and exceeds the National Health Education Standards. In addition, Growing Healthy utilizes opportunities to integrate health education into other subject areas, allowing students to create, apply, and use knowledge in many different situations. Curriculum integration demonstrates to students the relationship among various disciplines and shows them how different subject areas influence their lives. Interdisciplinary integration allows for ease of teaching as well. The Growing Healthy curriculum includes integration across the subject areas at every grade level. The subject areas with integration activities include Reading and Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Mathematics, Physical Education, Art, and Music.

Growing Healthy has been analyzed against the national standards in a variety of disciplines including health, science, literacy, language arts, and social studies.