“Chatham County Schools, through leadership, innovation, and collaboration, will provide real-world learning opportunities that prepare all students for life and success after graduation. Our diverse community will be invested, involved, and invited to create a strong culture of learning resulting in Chatham County Schools becoming a leader in education.” – Chatham County Schools Vision

In order for students to be prepared for “life and success after graduation” as the Chatham County Schools vision states, students must be armed with a number of skills- including those that prepare them to make lifelong healthy choices. These skills are reflected in the North Carolina Essential Standards which provide standards and objectives for health education and physical education for grades K-12. Each year these standards build on the previous year’s knowledge and skills, with the intent that upon graduation students are prepared for a lifetime of success and healthy choices. This makes it vital that students are taught the appropriate standards each year.

Standards are broken out by content areas. The Healthful Living Health Education standards, those covering health and wellness topics, include Mental and Emotional Health, Personal and Consumer Health, Interpersonal Communications and Relationships, Nutrition and Physical Activity, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. The Healthful Living Physical Education standards, those focusing on physical activity, include Motor Skills, Movement Concepts, Health-Related Fitness, and Personal/Social Responsibility.

We know that there is a lot to cover in the classroom, and we want to help make teaching health and incorporating physical activity into the school day as easy as possible. That’s why we’ve collected a number of health lesson plans, energizers and other resources. Individual grade level information resources are available at the following links:

• Elementary School (K-5) Classroom Resources
• Middle School (6-8) Classroom Resources
• High School (9-12) Classroom Resources
• Physical Education Resources
• Youth Tobacco Prevention Resources

Additional resources available on this page include:

• Wellness in the Classroom
• Energizers/Active Classrooms for K-8
• Reputable Health Information Sources

Wellness in the Classroom

As a reminder, as you strive to incorporate valuable health and wellness information into the classroom, it is also important to create a healthy environment within the classroom, this includes choosing healthful foods or non-food items as rewards, limiting classroom parties, and modeling healthy information in your classroom. Each of these things are reflected in the Student Wellness Policy (6140) and Regulation (6140R). The full Policy and Regulation can be found on the school’s policy website. Information and resources for aligning with the Policy and Regulation can be found at Wellness Polices. Schools that align with the district wellness policy can earn recognition through the CHAMPS program.

Energizers/Active Classrooms for grades K-8

The Healthy Active Children Policy includes the requirement that students in grades K-8 get at least 30 minutes physical each day. Physical activity does not need to happen in a 30 minute block, but can be broken up into smaller increments. The below resources include grade appropriate energizers that are aligned by grade and subject area. The full text of the policy can be found on NChealthyschools.org. Additional resources for the Healthy Active Children Policy are also available on the Wellness Policies section of this site.

• NC Healthy Schools Energizers: Includes short, 10 minute activities that for grades K-5, after school sites, and middle school energizers, aligned by subject area (healthful living, language arts, math, music, science and social students). Also include is information on adapting energizers for students with disabilities and a short eight minute video training on energizers.
• Active Academics: Includes K-5 energizers/active lessons aligned with common core content areas. Access to materials requires free sign-up.
• Let’s Move: Active Schools: A general resource dedicated to increasing physical activity within schools. The site includes resources for physical education, physical activity in the classroom as well as resources for before/after-school programs and staff wellness. Sign-Up with Let’s Move: Active schools to access tools and resources available through their website.
• Take 10!: Offers grade level- and subject-appropriate 10-minute activities designed to get students moving in the classroom. 

Reputable Health Information Sources

The internet has so much information to offer that sometimes it’s hard to know where to look for reputable information when you need it, especially when it comes to health. NC Healthy Schools provides a list of reputable sites on their webpage. Included in this section are some additional sites that we find useful. 

• North Carolina School Health Training Center: Training Center provides programs throughout the state for teachers, nurses, counselors, administrators, and public health educators to reduce health-risk behaviors in children and adolescents.
• Kids Health: Provides extensive health information tailored to parents, teens, and kids, through three separate sites.
• Answer Ed Honestly: Provides training and information for teachers teaching interpersonal skills and sexual and reproductive health.