Level Up Health Education

Revamping a Unit Assessment: "Fill The Gaps"

A few years ago, I was looking to revamp my summative assessment for a sixth-grade unit. This unit focuses on the skill of interpersonal communication and uses the content area of anti-bullying/seeking support from adults. This unit was initially challenging to create a summative assessment for because there were so many sub-skills within the skill of communication that I wanted students to demonstrate. Communication skills were used in a conversation, including verbal and nonverbal. There was a specific method of seeking support from a trusted adult in there. Students learned I-Statements, too. I needed to fit all of those into a project where students actually demonstrated all of those skills.  In today's episode, I walk through the history of a sixth-grade project and how it's changed over the years before sharing advice about how you can use this approach in your classroom. Send Jeff a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539755/fan_mail/new]

Skills-Based Health Education: 7 Ways to Level Up Your Teaching

You can improve your skills-based health education teaching and curriculum without a major overhaul. In today's episode, I go over 7 strategies you can use in order to "level up" your SBHE teaching and/or curriculum. These strategies work for both new and veteran teachers alike. Resources Mentioned In This Episode * RMC Health: Skill Cues [https://rmc.org/resources-tools/] * The Essentials of Teaching Skills-Based Health Education [https://us.humankinetics.com/products/the-essentials-of-teaching-health-education-3rd-edition-with-hkpropel-access?srsltid=AfmBOopG_Bf-PlkPJoNKM_NlSTVIdhwrp430hX89yRtSUbyCacZRaZ7m] Submit your questions for me to answer here! Question Form [https://forms.gle/7uygwkKWAKAw2xdPA] Don't forget to sign up for my free email newsletter: Newsletter Sign Up [http://bit.ly/leveluphealthed] AI Disclaimer: I outline or script my podcasts; all words are my own. Send Jeff a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539755/fan_mail/new]

Updating Health Units to New Standards

I recorded this in a different location than usual, so the audio quality might not be what it usually is. When the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards were revised in 2024, I mourned the loss of an oft-used performance indicator from Standard 1. In today's brief episode, I celebrate its replacement and share details about how my units have changed as a result of this new performance indicator. NOTE: I initially shared some of this in an email newsletter back in August 2025 Submit your questions for me to answer here! Question Form [https://forms.gle/7uygwkKWAKAw2xdPA] Don't forget to sign up for my free email newsletter: Newsletter Sign Up [http://bit.ly/leveluphealthed] Send Jeff a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539755/fan_mail/new]

Shifting Health Education From Self to Others

I want to encourage you to think about a mindset shift. A mindset shift relating to your curriculum. A shift relating to your students. Ultimately, a shift in how you decide to teach health education. This shift is based on changes made to the SHAPE National Health Education Standards in 2024, specifically the addition of "...the health and well-being of self and others" at the end of every standard. Old: "How do I stay healthy?" New: "How do my actions, choices, and skills affect both me and others?" Traditional health education focuses on improving individual outcomes. I would argue that even traditional skills-based health education is focused on improving individual health outcomes. That is shifting, though.  In today's podcast episode, I talk through how to make that change: using information from the NHES to help you, what it could look like for each skill, and why we should make this mindset shift. This is very much a work in progress for me, but as I continue to work on it, things become clearer. I'll be honest: I ramble a little in this one. It could be a little tightened up. Heck, I barely talked about the language shift in the NHES I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this email. But, I think you'll get the picture. Submit your questions for Jeff to answer here! Question Form [https://forms.gle/7uygwkKWAKAw2xdPA] Don't forget to sign up for my free email newsletter: Newsletter Sign Up [http://bit.ly/leveluphealthed] AI Disclaimer: I outline or script my podcasts; all words are my own. Send Jeff a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539755/fan_mail/new]

Sprint Episode: Taking FIRME Action

In this "sprint" episode, Jeff tackles a topic in under five minutes. Today, Jeff reviews a concept known as FIRME Action, developed by Research for Better Teaching. This checklist can be used during instruction or between classes, whenever you're reviewing formative assessment data. Send Jeff a message! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539755/fan_mail/new]