This past year, my school was fortunate enough to purchase a new set of Health textbooks. The budget that was set aside, was enough for a classroom set of books. Although the books are a very nice launch-point for class, the lack of ancillary resources provided a challenge for delivery of the content. As the year continued, the challenge for delivery became an opportunity for me as a teacher to design the additional resources that are needed for my classroom.
The first resources I designed were the powerpoint presentations that I would be using to deliver the lectures. As I always stress the importance of the key terms within the chapters of each unit, the key terms became the touchstone between the text and the powerpoint presentation. In addition to the vocabulary words, the main ideas within the lessons were embedded into the powerpoint presentation for continuity.
The second resource that I spent time developing is an Interactive Notebook series that meshes with both the textbook and the powerpoint presentation. Many times, the students within my class struggle with the note-taking process. The concept of the interactive notebook takes care of the problem of students not knowing what to write down. The INB prompts the students to look for definitions and to write them down into their own health log. In addition to writing down key terms, the students complete tables and other graphic organizers within their notebook.
The third resource I designed, Health Scavenger Hunts, allows the students to be able to use their new knowledge in a collaborative fashion. The scavenger hunt is an easy prep activity that can become a standard lesson. The students love getting up and out of their chairs and being able to help each other navigate a series of clues that lead to solving a secret phrase.
The last resource that I designed for Health class has become the student’s favorite. As a culminating activity, the students are given a puzzle in the form of key terms, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and number combinations. Like the scavenger hunts, the students may work together. Some students excel in the content knowledge, where others are good at solving ciphers. Either way, the idea of having the students work on social skills in health class is a winner. With COVID-19 forcing us to work online, the Escape Rooms have been designed for both in the classroom activities and as an online resource.
As we head into the summer months, I know there are more resources that I need to convert over onto Teachers Pay Teachers. With the delivery of the information needed for Health class already completed with visual aids(PowerPoints), and INB’s, my task is to produce snapshot quizzes and assessments to make a complete bundle to share for your classroom.