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Elementary Health Education

Health Topics: Fitness | Nutrition | Enjoy Being You! | Violence/Abuse Prevention | Prevention Council Program

Elementary Health Education: Fitness

Physical exercise is a necessary part of life for all children but especially during their growth spurts when their bones and muscle tissues need to be used in order for proper development.

Additionally, heart and lung health and the ability to digest food and burn calories also all depend upon physical fitness. If you factor in self-esteem and confidence building, you’ll have a better understanding of why fitness and physical activity are such important parts of our daily life.

To help you talk to your children about the importance of movement and physical fitness, we’ve provided you with some useful resources, activities, and videos you and your children can do together.

Helpful Links

Videos
Resources
  • Physical Activity
  • 5 Reasons Girls Should Play Sports. Why play sports? You might say “to get exercise” and you’d be right. To have fun? That’s true, too. But there’s more.
  • Body & Mind Activity Cards: Is there an activity you want to know more about? Not sure of how to play or what gear you’ll need? Look no further — it’s all right here!
  • Bicycling. Be street smart. Ride on the right side of the road, moving with traffic, and obey all traffic signs and signals.
  • FBI Fitness Instructor videos. Meet E.J. He talks about teaching at the FBI Academy and why you should keep moving.
  • Gear Up. Need a helmet? Need a ball? If you’re not sure what gear you need in order to do a certain physical activity, find it here!
  • Getting Started and Staying Active. You don’t have to be an athlete or be involved in an organized sport to be fit. Find tips on leading an active lifestyle.
  • Meeting the Challenge. Not everyone has it easy when it comes to doing physical activity. Check out how athletes overcome physical challenges to make it to the top!
  • Staying Healthy – KidsHealth. Read these articles and learn about keeping fit and having fun.
  • Sun Proof. It’s key to get outside and get active – just make sure you’re protected! You always need sun protection – it’s just another part of your gear!
  • Why Exercise Is Wise. When you exercise, you’re helping build a strong body that will be able to move around and do all the stuff you need it to do. Try to be active every day.
  • Why Kids Should Eat Healthy and Exercise. Meet Sasha, a nutritionist for U.S. Department of Agriculture. She tells us about how healthy eating and exercise helps kids grow physically and mentally strong.

Elementary Health Education: Nutrition

Our food choices each day affect our health — how we feel today, tomorrow, and in the future.

Encouraging children to eat a nutritious, balanced diet early on is important for a number of reasons. Ensuring they get the right vitamins and minerals in their diet will help them grow and develop optimally. They are also more likely to be energized and motivated, which supports their ability to learn. Educating them on healthy eating during childhood will also help them make healthier choices as they become adults.

Good nutrition coupled with physical activity can help children reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce the risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote overall health.

Helpful Resources

  • Choose My Plate, the United States Department of Agriculture website, has lots of up-to-date information about nutrition.
  • Kids Health has health-related activities, word finds, fun quizzes, movies and more!
  • Eating Healthy for Kids has lots of great recipes for whole family.
  • Dole Super Kids website is a super fun interactive site for kids with recipes, nutrition advice, fitness activities and suggestions, games, comics and much more. There’s also an educator section with lesson plans and activities.
  • The Best Bones Forever!™ Campaign encourages girls to get active and eat more foods with calcium and vitamin D. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a site design that couples pink with skulls, but I get what they’re aiming for with it. Lots of girl-geared things to do on this site like games, activities, recipes and quizzes with good information on healthy eating and living.
  • The Nutrition for Kids site has a lot of gems, such as activities, puzzles, “things to do” ideas, downloads, recipes, links. and books on nutrition recommendations.
  • Food Insight is designed for kids aged 9-12 and their families, the Leader’s Guide is a lesson-based curriculum guide for health professionals and educators to use when working with patients and students, and the Parents’ Guide provides quick and easy-to-use information just for parents.
  • From baby teeth to braces, the Nova Scotia Dental Association website is all about what goes on inside your mouth. Produced by dentists for elementary aged kids curious about the “why?” of oral health.
  • With hand-held games, tv, laptops, facebook, mobile phones, homework, and ever-increasing after school activities, kids are getting less and less sleep. The National Sleep Foundation has created Sleep for Kids to show how important a good night’s sleep is.
  • GirlsHealth is geared towards specific health-related issues that affect mainly girls. Body image, bullying, nutrition, fitness, healthy lifestyles, and more sections are written in a style that will get girls on the right track towards health.
  • Nourish Interactive is a great resource for kids, parents, and educators to learn about ways to be fit and healthy. There are games that teach about nutrition (and about not spending too much time playing computer games), nutrition worksheets, teacher tools, and lesson plans, as well as tips and tools for parents.

Enjoy Being You!

Grade 5 Female Lesson/Video | Grade 5 Male Lesson/Video (Opting out of this unit is possible. Please contact your child’s school principal.)

Violence Prevention (including sexual abuse)

The child sexual abuse prevention lessons will take place the classroom. The school district is mandated by the State of New York to provide instruction to children to help recognize, resist, and report sexual abuse and molestation. Though the lessons are different at each grade level, some basic concepts are listed below. Please also visit the Erin’s Law section of the NYS Education Department’s website to learn more about developed age-appropriate grade bands.

  • Understanding that personal safety is important (just like we do with bus, water and fire safety);
  • Knowing the difference between good, bad and confusing touches;
    Identifying when it is okay for someone to see or touch a child’s personal parts;
  • Understanding why it is important to know the medical terminology for personal parts.  The correct anatomical words will be used in corresponding lessons;
  • Practicing, through role playing, the safety rules of Say No, Go, and Tell someone you trust, and identifying situations that could be unsafe;
    Identifying people that a child could tell if sexual abuse was attempted or occurred;
  • Understanding that it is never the child’s fault if sexual abuse occurs;
    Realizing that sexual offenders are usually not strangers.

Prevention education has proven successful in helping children avoid sexual abuse and in helping children who have been abused or molested to confide in someone they trust.  It is our goal to have parents and schools work together to educate children on how to stay safe so that we can prevent child sexual abuse.

Prevention Council Program

Kindergarten | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 5

Kindergarten: An Apple A Day

Day 1: Introduction of program

  • What is Self- Esteem? Liking yourself no matter what!
  • Read I Like Me by Nancy Carlson and discuss
  • Make a mirror activity to say “Hi, Good Looking!” into it
  • Complete workbook page – draw a picture of themselves

Day 2: Friendship.  How can you be a good friend?

  • Read Corduroy by Don Freeman and discuss
  • Activity: Write name of given strip of paper to create a paper chain that links everyone together saying they are all friends in the class
  • Workbook page – draw a picture of your best friend

Day 3 – Feelings – what are they? They are important but they make us behave a certain way sometimes

  • Feelings are real and just are what they are
  • Read The Way I Feel by Janan Cain and discuss
  • Workbook activity – Draw a picture of how they are feeling today

Day 4: Safe Person. Someone you know, you are comfortable with like your parents, grandparents, or caregivers and why are these people important?

  • Read 2 books Just Me and My Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa by Mercer Mayer and discuss
  • On heart worksheet page draw the safe people in your life

Day 5: Safe Place.  place where you feel comfortable, happy and safe

  • The importance of a safe place
  • Read The Foolish Tortoise by Eric Carle and discuss
  • Construct a web of possible safe places
  • Workbook page- draw a picture of your safe place and what you like to do there

Day 6: Healthy Choices and Good Habits

  • It’s our responsibility to take care of our own bodies – how can we do this?
  • We need to stay healthy to enjoy life
  • Read Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow and discuss
  • Activity: cut and paste happy faces to healthy choices and sad faces to non-healthy choices

Grade 2: Protecting You and Me

Day 1: Introduction of program. What is safety? Who helps you feel safe?

  • Safety related to the brain, (wear a helmet for sports…) The brain is the Boss of the Body
  • Bruce brain puppet says Game “Do something with your eyes, nose, mouth…”
  • Your brain controls your feelings (Show me with your face- scared, angry, bored, etc.. game)
  • Read book Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day
  • Match the Feeling worksheet done as a group

Day 2: Feelings and keeping the brain healthy

  • Discuss the importance of a healthy diet, exercise and sleep in order to keep a healthy brain
  • Paper plate mask activity. On one side they are to draw a smiley face and on the other draw a frowny face then give situations and they hold their face up with however they feel about the given situation.
  • Explain everyone has different feelings and may not feel the same way about the same things and that’s ok

Day 3: Friendship. Brainstorm what makes a good friend

  • Worksheet – I am Ready to be a Good Friend
  • Add COMPROMISE to the top of the page – what does it mean?
  • Introduce Bobby puppet and his fighting with a friend over a special pillow scenario (positive outcome)
  • Focus on being polite, caring and compromising

Day 4: Review what makes a good friend and compromising

  • Brainstorm 6 situations that 2nd graders could have with friends or siblings that could be compromised
  • Role play six different scenarios with students on how to be fair and compromise (use puppets)

Day 5: Bruce Brain wearing helmet with Band-Aid (explain helmet usage and safety)

  • What are rules and laws? What are the consequences? (School, home, community)
  • Why should we follow these rules and laws? What protection do we need for activities we do?
  • Discuss car safety and car behavior so people can ride safely…
  • “Here I Am… Using My Favorite Rule and Law” worksheet – positive activities (no weapons)

Day 6: What is a drug (regarding medicines and rules we have about medicines)

  • How many of you have ever had an ear infection? Cold? Tummy ache? Might have taken a medicine
  • At home we should have rules about what we can touch or not touch regarding vitamins or any medicines
  • Granny’s purse filled with a mix of candy and medicines (Activity of guessing either candy or medicine)
  • Point is that if you don’t know what it is, don’t put it in your mouth, ask an adult for help
  • Helping Hand worksheet – who are the “helpers” in your life? Write them down in the hand.

Day 7: Alcohol cans and bottles don’t always have safety caps and commercials don’t tell us HOW to protect our bodies from drugs (show “alcohol” bottle and why it’s tricky looking to a child)

  • Summary of program about the brain and the body and keeping it safe and healthy
  • My Warning Label worksheet
  • Certificates of Completion

Grade 3: Too Good for Violence

Day 1: What is violence?

  • Where do we see violence?
  • No-one is born violent- learned behavior
  • Bullying is violent- bullying discussion and how to recognize it and deal with it
  • Have you ever? Game

Day 2: Introduce the word peaceable- get along w/o fighting, settle disagreements and differences peacefully

  • When people disagree, we call this a conflict (normal)
  • When handled badly = violence, handled well = find a peaceable solution
  • Who can handle problems better- Machine or Person?
  • Robot vs. Person activity
  • “Who has what it takes to Solve Conflicts?”  and “Find the Feelings” workbook pages

Day 3: Let’s talk about feelings today

  • How do YOU feel when you get angry? (body) Discuss uncomfortable feelings.
  • Ways to manage feelings in non-violent ways.
  • Explain YOU messages and then introduce I-messages and replace with I-messages
  • Practice with student volunteers (someone cuts in front of you, calls you a name, doesn’t include you, whispers about you, takes something of your w/o asking)
  • Workbook pages “Replacing the You- Message with an I-message” and “Does this message compute?”

Day 4: Listening For Clues- You can tell how a person is feeling from their body language and face

  • Guess my feeling  activity (Angry, annoyed, sad, frustrated, proud, excited, happy, pleased)
  • Student volunteers show feelings with face, body and voice
  • Model appropriate communication and listening behavior and ask for student volunteers to talk while I actively listen
  • Birthday line-up game

Day 5: Perception. What is it? There is always more than one point of view

  • Show 2 different pictures and discuss what we see.
  • Read Three Pigs and a Wolf story – Assign parts to students.
  • Stand up/ Sit down activity

Day 6: Bullying. What is it? Who can it be? Where do we see it?

  • What is an ally?
  • Role play with puppets

Day 7: Roleplaying

  • Bully Pledge – What is a pledge? Say together and sign
  • Paper chain with their names all connected together
  • Certificates

Grade 5: Too Good for Drugs

Day 1: Introduction to program

  • What is a drug? Gateway drugs
  • Why do people use drugs?
  • What is a goal? Discuss short-term and long-term goals.
  • Write their own goal and share if time

Day 2: Stress and Communication Day

  • Healthy ways to handle stress
  • Demonstrate poor communication vs. good communication
  • Workbook page “Someone to talk to” trusted adults in our lives we can do to
  • Pictionary Game on healthy ways to handle stress

Day 3: Decision making discussion

  • What is the most dangerous drug? Nicotine
  • Facts on tobacco death
  • 7,000 Chemicals in one cigarette
  • Prices and costs
  • Pig Lung demonstration – Healthy lung vs. smoker’s lung

Day 4: Nicotine/Tobacco Continued

  • Nicotine Product – where we see advertisements
  • Other forms of nicotine: Smokeless, Electronic Cigarettes
  • How they attract the youth
  • What the tobacco ads don’t tell you

Day 5: Marijuana – What is it?

  • What’s inside? THC
  • Side effects
  • Different forms and additional facts

Day 6: Alcohol Prevention

  • Legal purchase and consumption age and why?
  • Brain development and how alcohol affects your brain
  • Targeting youth by making fruity flavored drinks and bottle styles that are similar to non-alcoholic drinks
  • Where do we see alcohol advertisements? Counter Advertisements
  • Dangers of drinking – Healthy liver vs. unhealthy liver
  • Medicines are Drugs – OTC and Prescription drugs

Day 7: Peer Pressure – what is it?

  • Passive, Aggressive, Assertive
  • Go over refusal skills
  • Role Play

 Day 8: Review

  • Kahoot Review Game
  • TGFD Pledge – Certificates