Resources
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) Health Resources page contains a selection of reliable resources vetted by USBE staff and community content experts. These resources are meant to support current Health Education content knowledge for teachers and not intended to be curriculum or instructional materials for students.
Health Foundations and Protective Factors
23 Resilience Building Tools and Exercises (+ Mental Toughness Test)
Positive Psycology
- Science-based activities to build resilience.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention
- Explains ACEs and the impact for youth.
Goal Setting
RMC Health
- Goal setting steps for each grade level. Includes models and teacher materials.
Protective Factors
Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention
- Defining protective factors with resources for schools, parents, and adolescents.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Toolkit
University of Minnesota Extension
- Toolkit includes activities, templates, and tools organized around four ways to help support staff and youth.
Teaching Kids About Boundaries
Child Mind Institute
- Resource for teaching empathy and setting boundaries.
Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Article on the teen brain: behavior, problem solving, and decision making.
Human Development and Sex Education
A Teacher's Guide: Answering Commonly Asked Questions about Sex Education
Abstinence
United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Website defining and describing effectiveness of abstinence.
Cancer Screening
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI)
- Recommendations on cancer screening based on gender, age, and family history.
Grades 6 to 8: Human Body Series
Kids Health in the Classroom
- Teacher guides with information, diagrams, and possible activities for the reproductive system.
Intimate Partner Violence
Utah Department of Health
- Information, definitions, data, and resources on intimate partner violence
Mouth Healthy Resources
American Dental Association (ADA)
- A dental health curriculum for preschool through grade eight students offering flexible, modular lesson plans, support materials, hands-on classroom demonstrations, student activity sheets, and suggestions for future dental health activities.
Outreach
Rape Recovery Center
- The Rape Recovery Center is committed to increasing awareness and to engage all communities in the goal of ending sexual violence.
Power Your Life
Utah Department of Health
- Maternal health and family planning. Information can be found on vaccinations, menstrual cycles, mental health issues around pregnancy and childbirth, nutrition, exercise and recommendations, and guidance on substance use.
Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) Utah
- Prevention programs educate children to recognize abuse,engage children to learn safety strategies, and empower children to report abuse. PCAU in-school programs are free, age appropriate, and typically taught in the classroom with visual aids, videos, and other interactive activities such as role playing. The programs also teach adult community members how to prevent child abuse, how to identify signs of possible abuse, and how to report abuse.
Prevention Strategies
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Teacher resource for sexual violence prevention.
Resources
Utah Newborn Safe Haven Teacher Toolkit
- The state of Utah enacted the Newborn Safe Haven Law in 2001. The Newborn Safe Haven Law allows desperate parents to anonymously relinquish an infant in a safe, legal and confidential manner at any hospital in the state of Utah.
Sexual Health
Teen Health from Nemours
- Learn the facts about sexual health with articles about puberty, menstruation, infections, and just about everything else you want to know.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- STD information and resources. Includes data, prevention, treatment, and informing partners.
Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
- Article on the teen brain: behavior, problem solving, and decision making.
Testing and Treatment Resource Guide
Utah Department of Health
- This testing guide was developed as a resource and is not a comprehensive list of providers.
ThinkB4YouSpeak Educator’s Guide
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLESN)
- Provides tips on how to support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning (LGBTQ) youth and the resources to support alternatives to the phrase “that’s so gay”.
Mental and Emotional Health
How to Deal with Self-Harm
Crisis Text Line
- Information and ways to cope with self-harm behaviors.
Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide
Teen Mental Health
- Provides a complete set of evidence-based, online modular resources proven to increase the understanding of mental health and mental disorders, decrease the stigma of mental illness, and enhance help-seeking efficacy among both students and teachers.
SafeUT
University of Utah
- The SafeUT Crisis Chat and Tip Line is a statewide service that provides real-time crisis intervention to youth through live chat and a confidential tip program – right from your smartphone.
Stress Management
Help Guide
- Tips to deal with stress from Help Guide.
The Trevor Project National Survey on LGBTQ Mental Health 2019
- Provides new insights into the challenges that LGBTQ youth across the country face every day, including suicide, feeling sad or hopeless, discrimination, physical threats, and exposure to conversion therapy.
Utah 2-1-1
United Way
- Provides people with ways to get help and give help. Callers are connected to health and human resources they need.
Youth Suicide
The Jason Foundation (JF)
- Services teach the warning signs associated with suicide, suicide facts & statistics, and how to find help for at-risk youth.
- Learn the warning signs for suicide from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Nutrition
Crush Diabetes Thrive Team Thrive Teacher Registration Form
University of Utah Center for Community Nutrition
- The University of Utah has created diabetes prevention curriculum aligned with Utah Core Health Education Standards for Nutrition. By incorporating technology and active learning, these lesson plans are engaging for students and simple to teach. Enter your information into this survey to receive your free copy of the curriculum.
Food and Fitness
TeensHealth from Nemours
- Resource for healthy eating, dieting, exercise, eating disorders, steroids, and more.
Fruit and Veggie Toolkit for Kids
American Heart Association (AHA)
- A collection of resources that will help you empower your child(ren) to develop healthy habits early in life that will bring lifelong benefits. Download the American Heart Association’s Fruit and Veggie Toolkit in English or Spanish.
Healthy Schools, Healthy Students, Ready to Learn
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Information about nutrition, physical activity, obesity prevention, chronic conditions, the link between health and academics, recess in schools, and more provided by the CDC.
Herbs and Supplements at a Glance
National Center for Complementary and Integrated Health (NCCIH)
- Resource for herbs and botanicals including potential side effects.
MyPlate
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
- In addition, there are supporting posters, handouts, games and songs. The website has the address from which materials can be ordered. Schools must be Team Nutrition schools to order, but sign-up is easy. You just need to click "Join the Team" at the top link on the left side of this page.
What is Disordered Eating
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Resource explaining disordered eating.
Safety and Disease Prevention
A Teacher’s Guide To Teaching the Harmful Effects of Pornography
- Peer-reviewed research about pornography in a clear and concise way that’s engaging and easy to understand.
- Resource for evaluating online resources.
Healthy Living
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Resource where you can select from a variety of diseases and conditions to learn more.
Navigating the Health Care System
Moving Healthcare Upstream
- Resource on navigation health care and health literacy.
- Provides online videos and resources for kids, teens, parents and educators, including Internet Safety information that Utah schools need to meet the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requirements.
Oral Health
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Resource for oral health.
Resuscitation Science
American Heart Association (AHA)
- The AHA and the American Red Cross jointly co-authored and released the 2019 Focused Update for First Aid.
- You can learn how to stop major bleeding in three simple ways.
What is CPR?
American Heart Association (AHA)
- The AHA develops science-based Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) guidelines and is the leader in first aid, CPR, and AED training. All recommendations below are based on the AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC).
Substance Abuse Prevention
Operation Prevention
- Provide educators with engaging tools that are aligned to national health and science standards and integrate seamlessly into classroom instruction. Through a series of hands-on investigations, these resources introduce students to the science behind opioids and their impact on the brain and body.
Electronic Cigarettes
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Information on electronic cigarettes including health effects, risks for youths, an youth tobacco prevention.
Foundation for a Drug-Free World
- A nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.
Lesson Plan and Activity Finder
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for Teens
- Find free science-based classroom lessons and multimedia activities on teens and drugs.
- A media and education campaign funded by the Utah Legislature and designed to prevent and reduce underage drinking in Utah. Website has resources on addiction, effects on brain development, behavior, laws, and prevention.
Utah Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH)
- Resources for support, education to support recovery.
Utah Department of Health
- Information on opioid misuse, Utah specific opioid use rates, and resources for help if you or someone you know is demonstrating opioid misuse.
The Hidden Dangers
Use Only as Directed
- Dedicated to prevention and reducing the misuse and abuse of prescription pain medications in Utah by providing information and strategies regarding safe use, safe storage, and safe disposal.
The Science of Addiction: Genetics and the Brain
University of Utah, Genetic Science Learning Center
Utah Department of Public Safety (UPS)
- Laws on Driving Under the Influence (DUI) for different ages.
Way to Quit
Utah Department of Health
- Resource on quitting tobacco products.
Other Helpful Resources
- Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators: Health, Physical Education, and Fitness.
- Books, journals, videos, software, distance education courses, job opportunities, and more in sports, fitness, physical education, and the sport and exercise sciences.
Professional Resources for the Educator
American Heart Association (AHA)
- A healthy school environment can result in greater academic achievement, healthier students and school staff. Good habits are the key to good health. Healthy students perform better academically, have better attendance and behave better in class. Lessons available for elementary and middle school.
Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America
- A nonprofit, educational organization whose mission is to promote and support creative and healthy lifestyles through high quality programs in health, physical education, recreation, dance and sport, and to provide members with professional development opportunities that increase knowledge, improve skills, and encourage sound professional practices.
Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) Statewide Survey
Utah Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH)
- View the 2019 SHARP survey with data broken into region, student demographic, or view the entire report. Has 2019 Utah data on student self-reported substance use.
- Connects all Utah school districts, schools, and higher education institutions to a robust network and quality educational resources. Access lesson plans, Utah's Online Library, and more!