Health Education

Health Education


David Sytulek

K-12 Health/PE Curriculum Specialist

The elementary health curriculum is designed to provide a safe, healthy and caring environment that maximizes the social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth of young adolescents. The curriculum is designed to motivate children and youth to maintain and improve their health, prevent disease, reduce health-related risk behaviors and develop and demonstrate health-related knowledge, attitudes, skills and practices. The curriculum meets national and state health education standards addressing the following:

  • Standard 1: Core Concepts

  • Standard 2: Accessing Health Information

  • Standard 3: Self-Management of Healthy Behaviors

  • Standard 4: Analyzing Internal and External Influences

  • Standard 5: Communication Skills

  • Standard 5: Communication Skills

  • Standard 7: Goal-Setting Skills

  • Standard 8: Advocacy

In order to promote social, emotional and physical wellness, South Windsor Public Schools uses “The Great Body Shop,” a comprehensive curriculum that covers all aspects of physical, mental, social emotional health and safety. This K-5 program promotes wellness through the integration of ten health content strands, with social and emotional learning, as well as substance abuse and violence prevention skills and messages integrated into every unit. The mission statement of The Great Body Shop is, “to equip children and their families with the knowledge and skills needed to make healthy choices throughout their lives.”

Each of the units/topics covered in Grade 5 are listed below.

Great Body Shop Units

Unit 501:
Injury Prevention and Personal Safety

  • Defining First Aid

  • Helping others

  • Rules for emergencies

  • Decision-making steps

  • First Aid skills

  • Major vs. minor emergencies

  • Avoiding risk

  • Personal safety

  • Sexual harassment

  • Assertiveness

  • Refusal skills

  • Locating resources for help

Unit 502:
Nutrition

  • Nutrition in the community

  • Good food handling practices

  • Responsible approach to food choices

  • Individual, family, and personal preferences

  • Predicting results of good nutrition

  • Life cycle and changes in nutritional needs

  • Preventing illness and disease

  • Understanding health policies

  • Eating disorders

  • Setting dietary guidelines and goals

  • Influences on food choices

  • Shopping and budgeting

Unit 503:
Functions of the Body

  • Brain structure and functions

  • Reflex vs. conscious actions

  • Respiratory system

  • Breathing problems and response to emergencies

  • Endocrine, nervous, circulatory, muscular/skeletal, and reproductive systems

  • The brain and types of intelligences

  • Responsible self care

  • Impact of drugs on the body

Unit 504:
Growth and Development/
Cycle of Family Life

  • Growing up

  • Hygiene routines for puberty

  • Endocrine system/role of hormones

  • Hormone disorders

  • Biological differences between boys and girls

  • Responsibilities of maturing adolescents

  • Decision-making in at-risk situations

  • Social/emotional learning skills

  • Genetic factors (heredity)

  • Sexual harassment

  • Social awareness of differences

  • Self awareness of traits

Unit 505:
Disease and
Illness Prevention

  • Defining viruses and HIV

  • The immune system and transmission of disease

  • Cancer and other diseases

  • Respect for body systems

  • Responsible behavior

  • Help resources

  • Helping the sick

  • Abnormal cells

  • Communicable and non-communicable diseases

  • Illness prevention routines

  • Proper use, misuse, and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs

Unit 506:
Substance Abuse Prevention

  • Use, misuse, and abuse of drugs

  • Short and long-term effects of drugs

  • Why drugs won’t solve problems

  • Practicing positive values (self-respect, responsibility, honesty)

  • Media influences

  • Positive social behaviors

  • Alcoholism

  • Developmental assets

  • HIV and IV drug use

Unit 507:
Community Health
and Safety
(Violence Prevention)

  • Public health/safety groups

  • Community safety and illness prevention

  • First Aid in the community

  • Group behaviors that pose safety hazards

  • Demonstrating responsibility to others

  • Routines for keeping safe

  • Community impact of communicable respiratory disease

  • Conflict resolution

  • Harassment and bully prevention

  • Gangs

Unit 508:
Self Worth, Mental and Emotional Health

  • Social awareness of other people’s emotions and perspectives

  • Human emotions

  • Emotional maturity and respect

  • Positive and negative influences

  • Puberty and self esteem

  • Social, emotional learning skills

  • Grief and loss

  • Service to others

  • Communication and conflict resolution

  • Practicing mental health routines

  • Protective factors and support systems

  • Positive character development

Unit 509:
Environmental and Consumer Health

  • Community influences on health

  • Physical activity and environmental conditions

  • Consumer skills and influences, advertising, product labels

  • Managing money

  • Consumer responsibilities and advocacy

  • Unit price shopping

  • Social responsibility

  • Consumer products evaluation

  • Advocating for positive health and consumer behaviors

  • Accessing health services and products

Unit 510:
Physical Fitness

  • Benefits of exercise

  • Identifying healthful environmental conditions for exercise

  • Safety routines

  • Fitness goals

  • Good sportsmanship

  • Fitness habits

  • Sports and dance from other cultures

  • Components of physical fitness

  • Types of physical activities

  • Fitness pyramid

Additional Resources

Where to go for additional information and support