HELPs Project

About the Behavioral HELPs Project

The Behavioral Health Education Lesson Plans (HELPs) Project seeks to enrich students’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs to develop health-enhancing behaviors that prevent substance use and promote mental and emotional health. The project's two components support health education teachers to provide skills-based health education. 

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Behavioral Health Education Lesson Plans

Substance use prevention and mental and emotional health lesson plans for Grades K-12.

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Professional Development Modules

Four professional development modules target planning health education curriculum, skills-based instruction, meeting students’ needs in positive learning environments, and coordinating a whole school approach to support behavioral health.


Project Goals

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Goal 1

Use health education lesson plans to increase students’ functional knowledge, skills, and beliefs to enhance healthy behaviors in substance use prevention and mental and emotional health.

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Goal 2

Use professional development modules to enrich teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs to plan, instruct, and collaborate to deliver a whole-school approach to behavioral health education that enhances students’ knowledge and skills to demonstrate healthy behaviors. 


Lesson Overview

Both the substance use prevention and mental health lessons develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes so they will recognize, reach out, and use resources to make healthy choices.

The Behavioral HELPs include learning outcomes aligned with national standards, descriptions of learning activities, question processing, and assessments. Behavioral HELPs is grounded in Recognize, Reach Out and use Resources.

Register to become a Behavioral HELPs partner to access the additional tools, including lesson PowerPoints, professional development, and resources.

Substance Use Prevention

  1. Recognize healthy choices and situations that require a thoughtful decision.
  2. Reach out to resources to support healthy choices.
    1. Resources include trusted adults, information, and tools.

Mental and Emotional Health

  1. Recognize emotions and feelings.
  2. Reach out to resources to share feelings, ask for help, or enhance health. 
    1. Resources include trusted adults, information, and tools.


Substance Use Prevention Lesson Plans

Please note: All lessons are in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, and will download to your computer or device when clicked.

Grade: K

Grade: 1

Grade: 2

Grade: 3

Grade: 4

Grade: 5

Middle School Lesson Plans

High School Lesson Plans


Mental and Emotional Health Lesson Plans

Please note: All lessons are in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, and will download to your computer or device when clicked.

Grade: K

Grade: 1

Grade: 2

Grade: 3

Grade: 4

Grade: 5

Middle School Lesson Plans

High School Lesson Plans


Professional Development Modules

Skills-based health education is key to enhancing healthy behaviors. The four professional development modules are designed to support the development and delivery of a K-12 skills-based health education curriculum. The modules are self-paced and can be completed individually or with a district team of health education teachers. Complete each of the four lessons within a module and the module assessment to receive a certificate verifying four contact hours of professional development. Contact Kevin Lorson (kevin.lorson@wright.edu) for support and resources. 

Module

Description

Planning a K-12 Health Education Curriculum to Enhance Health Literacy

The session will focus on planning a skills-based K-12 health education curriculum and programming. Module topics address the principles of skills-based health education curriculum; Characteristics of Effective Health Education; aligning scope and sequence to meet local needs; and  implementation strategies.

Teaching Skills-Based Health Education

The module is focused on pedagogical skills and strategies to implement a skills-based approach to health education. The session provides an overview of health literacy; instructional skills/strategies; using theory to promote healthy behaviors; and using assessment to enhance student learning.

Meeting Students’ Needs in Positive Learning Environments

This module develops skills and strategies to build positive, safe, and supportive learning environments, meet students’ diverse learning needs, reduce stigma, and use trauma-sensitive practices in health education.

Coordinating Efforts to Enhance Behavioral Health in Schools: The Role of the Health Education Teacher

The session will address the role of the health education teacher to support behavioral health within a coordinated whole school, whole community, whole child approach aligned to the Ohio Whole Child Framework.

*The Behavioral HELPs project was a funded project by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
 


Frequently Asked Questions

coming soon
 


Additional Links