1. Promoting Health in Young Adolescents EMD 335 | Newberry College
Hello – This is Jennifer Morrison with Newberry College for EMD 335 Middle School Curriculum and Organization.
This presentation is on the topic Promoting Health in Young Adolescents.
On this slide…
For today’s presentation you will need…
- An open
- Access to your course textbook and CD-ROM
- Access to the handouts associated with this presentation

2. Promoting Health in Young Adolescents
Describe why it is important to address adolescent health and wellness.
Outline ideas to improve adolescent health and wellness from research and real-life examples.
By the end of this presentation you should be able to…

3. Health and wellness are supported in curricula, school-wide programs, and related policies.
TWBA (2012) pp

4. Health-promoting schools are essential to the academic and personal success of young adolescents. This places a fundamental status to the placement of health in exploratory, related arts, or family and consumer life skills education. - TWBA (2005), p. 154
What do we mean by health?  physical, mental, emotional, etc.
Health and wellness includes sexual health – Review the Guttmacher Institute’s Facts on Sex Education
In the United States
Picture retrieved 8/2/2010 from

5. Reasons to promote wellness
Poor health practices drain resources.
Behavioral, physical, and emotional problems interfere with learning.
Youthful choices affect health.
Why is health promotion so critical at the middle level?
Students are making health-related decisions that will affect them the rest of their lives.
Health habits solidify in middle school.
Many students experiment in middle school and try things for the first time.
Young adolescents naturally take risks.
Young adolescents experience a great deal of peer and media pressure.
Young adolescents are easily influenced.
Today there are nearly twice as many overweight children and almost three times as many overweight adolescents as there were in (US Dept of health and Human Services, 2001, cited in TWBA p. 155)
Morning fasting has a negative effect on cognitive performance, even among healthy, well-nourished children. (Pollitt, Leibel, & Greenfield, 1991, cited in TWBA p. 156).
Today quality of life is primarily determined by our health choices. High risk behaviors identified by the CDPC that cause premature mortality and morbidity include tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behavior, dietary behavior, and physical inactivity.

6. Health problems are generally holistic. Solutions must be as well
Health problems are generally holistic. Solutions must be as well. Addressing one symptom and ignoring all the others or the problem itself has almost no chance of creating change.

7. What can we do? Collaborate with community organizations.
Weave positive health practices and messages into the curriculum.
Create a healthy school environment. (Assess your school – see Wisconsin DPI instrument on TWBA 2005, pp )
Research and develop a coordinated school health system.
Teach/practice negotiation, coping, decision-making, and refusal skills.
Advocate for student health needs with parents and in the community.

8. Take a read…
ASCD – “The Link between School wide Food Practices and Student Weight”
ASCD – “Schoolwide Environmental Interventions to Improve Healthy Eating Habits”
Thomas Lickona – “Character-Based Sexuality Education: Bringing Parents into the Picture”
NMSA – “Advice for Parents” (regarding adolescent health and wellness)
Laura Warner – “A Place for Healthy Risk-Taking”

9. Activity #5
Choose and read one article. List three big ideas that speak to you from the article. Be sure to explain your reasoning for each.

10. Teachers are often students’ only models of health and wellness
Students look to their teachers to see how to…
Eat.
Deal with stress.
Function in relationships.
Interact with others.
Have fun.
Learn.
That means we need to share our lives and thinking with students (as appropriate). Have pictures out, talk about your family, share appropriate problems, etc.

11. TWBA Video Clips Health & Wellness “Morning Exercise”
“Nutrition Break”
“Physical Fitness”
“Multiage Grouping”
“Safe Environment”

12. Activity #6
List and describe three ways your school can focus on and help improve student (and teacher) health and wellness.

13. The school actively involves families in the education of their children.
TWBA (2012) pp

14. TWBA Video Clips Family Involvement “Student-led Conferences”
“Student Agenda Books”
“Community Liaison”

15. Activity #7
TWBA outlines six types of family involvement. List the types and, for each one, describe what you already implement and/or would like to implement at your school.

16. The school includes community and business partners.
TWBA (2012) pp
Many benefits…
- In creased achievement
- Increased engagement and attendance
- Improved conduct
- Technical assistance
- Equipment and materials
- Improved reform effort

17. TWBA Video Clips Community & Business “Art-based Partnerships”
“Piano Lab”
“HS Tutors”
“Community Liaison”

18. Activity #8
Read about this characteristic in TWBA, then watch at least two of the associated videos. How can your school maximize community and business partnerships?

19. What’s next?