Evidence-Based Health Education Curriculum and Programs.

We all want our children to flourish in the classroom. School should provide a place where they can develop new skills, engage with new ideas, and establish life-long friendships. While many curricula feature the same lessons year after year, Positive Action (PA) takes an evidence-based approach to ensure a cutting-edge health education curriculum.

Our complete health curriculum and program address physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of healthcare for students in grade levels Pre-K to 12. It relies on evidence-based practices that lead to the program's meaningful improvements in student outcomes. The PA program can make all the difference in a child's understanding of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

How Does the Positive Action Program Work with Health Education?

The Positive Action health education curriculum provides a supportive environment for learning and teaching. We believe positive thoughts, actions, and feelings reinforce each other, creating a place where students want to learn. Positive Action works by emphasizing a healthy cycle of education.

Each health education sequence contains seven units, with the introductory ones focusing on self-concept. Students learn about their own thoughts and feelings and how they influence the people around them. The curriculum gradually adds skills related to responsibility, honesty, decision-making, and self-improvement. That way, students can make healthy choices for their personal well-being and development.

Aligned to National Health Education Standards

As part of a broad effort to align Positive Action to academic standards, the curriculum has been aligned to national health education standards. This is a brief summary of that alignment effort.

1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health

Unit 2 contains applicable lesson material. Physical and intellectual positive actions for a healthy body and mind are introduced for this standard. As the students increase by grade level it brings in social, emotional, intellectual, and physical health, which are included in all the other unit concepts.

The whole curriculum addresses this concept by helping students use the TAF Circle, decision-making skills, and hygiene and safety lessons from Unit 2.

2. Students will analyze the influence of the family, peer culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behavior

Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all contain applicable lesson material. Unit 1 discusses the effect of family, peers, and others on oneself, while Unit 2 educates students on the factors that influence their health habits. Units 3, 4, and 5, develop self-management, social skills, and self-honesty of students to teach them how to manage factors affecting themselves and build positive health habits.

3. Demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and services to enhance health

Unit 2 guides students to speak to their doctors and parents when they have specific concerns about their health. Lessons under this unit promote the correct usage of medicines, the prevention of toxic substance misuse, and safety from accidental indigestion of harmful chemicals.

4. Demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks

Units 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 all contain applicable lesson material. This standard includes healthy ways to express your wants and feelings, being a good listener, conflict management, conflict resolution, and developing good relationships with your family, peers, and others.

5. Demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health

This standard focuses on problem-solving and decision-making skills to create positive habits for the body and mind. To cultivate these, Positive Action Unit 2 introduces healthy practices to develop and enhance the physical and intellectual abilities of students.

6. Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health

Units 2, 3, 5, and 6 all contain applicable lesson material. This standard is about setting health goals and keeping track of them. Self-management, valuing setting goals pertaining to students' physical health as their grade levels increase, and being in touch with reality are the main areas of focus.

7. Demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks

Unit 2, 3, and 6 all contain applicable lesson material. This standard also talks about being responsible for yourself, which is found in Unit 3.

8. Demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health

Unit 1, 2, and 4 all contain applicable lesson material. From the beginning, students learn about self-advocacy. They learn more about themselves physically in Units 2 and 4 as they learn to promote positive engagement with their peers and community.

🔢 Discover our Program Structure

Positive Action Health Curriculum by Grades

Preschool (Pre-K)

The preschool health education curriculum provides young students with child-friendly situations to learn about nutrition, disease prevention, and informed decision-making. Kids can clap and sing along to positive action concepts that encourage healthy behaviors. The curriculum features a mix of visual aids and activity sheets to keep students on track with the National Health Education Standards.

Elementary School

The comprehensive elementary school curricula support kindergarten to 5th grade. They come with a blend of high-quality booklets, resources, and other materials that promote daily exercise and reduce health risks. Each set of programs also has instructional activities and resources that reinforce the lessons and skills from the previous school year.

Middle School

Students in grades six through eight get to engage with high-level concepts related to health education. The programs teach various positive behaviors and disease prevention techniques through ten to 15-minute lessons. They also introduce students to the "Three I's" concepts: identity, image, and impression, which carry over into future classes.

High School

High school students can tackle health education through one of four kits. The 15- to 20-minute lesson plans help students determine who they want to become while learning positive behaviors and skills. Each curriculum challenges students to learn more about themselves while engaging with their teachers and peers.

📚 Discover our Curriculum Kits

Free Sample Lessons

The Positive Action health education curricula benefit students K-12. We developed them in alignment with the National Health Education Standards and the Department of Education, ensuring that students learn health-enhancing behaviors. Our resources and materials cover everything from secondary drug prevention to self-management techniques.

Countless parents, educators, and students have already seen the difference that Positive Action can make in the classroom. Now, you can too with our complimentary teaching materials and resources. Download our free sample lessons today and see what they can do for your school health education program.

Research Outcomes

Every document, instruction, and practice problem in our health education curricula has a reason behind it. They guide students toward productive behaviors and reduce health risks. You can learn more about the research outcomes and the studies behind them here.

Positive outcomes from Positive Action programs include:

• 41% improvement in the number of students who have ever gotten drunk
• 38% improvement in the number of students that have ever used tobacco, according to teachers
• 63% improvement in the number of students who have used controlled substances
• 73% improvement in overall drug use
• 5% improvement in student’s overall life satisfaction
• 75% improvement in the prevalence of violent behaviors

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Success Stories

There's no shortage of Positive Action success stories. For example, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency found that Positive Action had a 21,689% ROI for schools that used the health education curriculum. Meanwhile, students at the Boys & Girls Club in Pennsylvania have used their knowledge and skills to improve their community's climate.

One of our favorite stories comes from Baldwin, Michigan, where a state reviewer from the Department of Education visited a Positive Action classroom. The reviewer watched as students explained various health decisions and disease prevention techniques. At the end of the lesson, the state reviewer leaned over to the teacher and said, "I can use this in my own life."

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Programs Comparison

At Positive Action, we're confident that teachers, schools, and health departments will love our health education curricula. We're so confident that we'll show you what separates us from our competition. Our handy table lets you see how each program stacks up in:

• Content
• Efficacy
• Accolades
• Economics
• Apps
• Training

The program comparison provides schools with the insights they need to make an informed decision. The comprehensive overview makes it easy to find a curriculum and resources that match your needs and budget. Check out all the comparisons now.

FAQs

How does Positive Action measure health education results?

Positive Action relies on randomized controlled trials to measure our curricula' impact on personal development and community engagement. This practice ensures reliable and long-lasting results. Schools and educators can learn more about each trial by visiting our research outcomes page.

Are there Positive Action lessons for parents?

Teaching students about health doesn't start and end in the classroom. Increasingly parents are involved in their child's knowledge and education. We offer free family lessons that allow parents to practice concepts and skills that students learn in school.

Ready to take the next steps?

Give your school health education curriculum the boost it deserves with a helping hand from Positive Action. Our evidence-based lessons empower students to learn constructional habits about disease prevention, healthy eating, and personal care. Since opening in 1973, we've assisted more than eight million students across the United States.

Find out why schools and communities trust the Positive Action health education curriculum. You can reach us by phone at (208) 733-1328 or by email at info@positiveaction.net. We look forward to working with you.

Further reading: Evidence-Based Mental Health Curriculum