The health of children in affluent economies has become closely tied to the ideal of a normative body weight achieved by monitoring and balancing diet and physical activity. As a result, the education of young people on how to avoid becoming fat begins at an early age through the language and practices of families, the messages embedded in…

Creating community-based opportunities for youth to be physically active is challenging for many municipalities. A Lexington, Kentucky community coalition designed and piloted a physical activity program, "VERB[TM] summer scorecard (VSS)", leveraging the brand equity of the national VERB[TM]--It's What You Do! campaign. Key elements of…

This article is concerned with the continuing advance in health education programs with such innovations as drug education in elementary schools, and productive relations with dental societies. This has been effected in Prince George's County by its own Office of Education. (JA)

A project is described that provides activities which allow children to learn about their physical health by using themselves as experimental subjects. (JD)

Suggests activities and teaching techniques that make instruction in dental health more interesting to the elementary school child. (RB)

American children today are fatter, less fit, and more sedentary than their 1960s counterparts. Teachers mistakenly assume that participation in a general activity program is sufficient to develop and maintain physical fitness. Health-related fitness, defined as optimal functioning of the heart, lungs, and muscles, improves with activities to…

A study was done to determine the effects of an activity-centered health education curriculum on the attitudes of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. The results indicate that the students in the experimental group were much more inclined to change their health beliefs and behaviors in a positive direction. (Author/JN)

Recounts a successful implementation of the School Health Curriculum Project in an elementary school. Development of the program has been supported by the federal Bureau of Health Education, Center for Disease Control, and the National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health. (Author/IRT)

A physician presents teachers with some classroom activities in medical self-care, including anatomy, measuring pulse, relaxation, biofeedback, yoga, and throat examinations. For a related article by the same author, see pages 66-72 of this issue. (SJL)

Provided in this guide is an array of supplementary activities centered around the topic of aviation. Although the activities are designed for students in grades 2 to 6, teachers are encouraged to adapt them to other grade levels or to the individual abilities of students. The activities are presented in five parts by subject area and within these…

A physician and a teacher taught medical self-care skills to first and second graders. Content was based on students' own questions about physical examination techniques and basic health care. Appended is a discussion of school health education by a self-care advocate. A related article begins on page 86. (SJL)

Elementary school activities designed for celebraing the significant dates of each school month, excluding December, are described in this compilation. The collection covers birthdays of well-known people, historical events, mathematics, writing, reading, science, history, social studies, art, and cooking. (JW)

Summarizes activities and materials for a two-week nutrition education program designed to foster food choice skills. Results of classroom field testing are also reported. (SK)

Ten years ago the Institutes of Education and of Child Health of the University of London organized the initial meetings of what was to become a worldwide concept. A small team of pediatricians, curriculum designers and field workers from a variety of countries turned the key messages of primary health care into activity sheets for the…

Provided is a collection of 54 health education activities which attempt to bridge the gap between health information and changing health-related behaviors. The activities, which vary in content and in levels of difficulty, are grouped into six chapters with a range of 8 to 11 activities in each chapter. Chapters focus on body organs and systems,…