What’s different in the new version of Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives
The content in the Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives® program is based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and USDA’s new generation food icon, MyPlate. For the version that works with MyPyramid, click here.
Links to Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives Materials
THINK Healthy
The Think Healthy lessons are about understanding what being healthy means and setting meaningful and reachable goals about nutrition and physical activity. When teaching the lessons, you will have an opportunity to use multiple creative strategies to help students build meaning around the concept of being healthy. A common understanding of what being healthy means will provide a solid foundation for students to learn and utilize heath-enhancing behaviors.
EAT Healthy Part 1 and EAT Healthy Part 2
The Eat Healthy lessons will help you teach your students to build a healthy plate at meal times by choosing foods from the five food groups and incorporating three factors into your daily meals: variety, balance, and moderation. In the lessons a variety of games and cooperative learning activities are utilized to reinforce important nutrition concepts like making half your plate fruits and vegetables.
MOVE Healthy
The Move Healthy lessons are about helping students understand the importance of accumulating at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Children gain physical and mental health benefits from daily physical activity. The lessons create powerful and memorable learning experiences to help students remember the difference between sedentary, moderate, and vigorous activity levels, and recognize the types of activities that count toward their 60 minutes every day.
Teacher Planning Resources
The Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives activities are tied to National Curriculum Standards in all academic areas. Download this section to read the Nutrition and Physical Activity Backgrounder and to access National Standards Tie-In Charts for grades K-3.
Tools for Parent Communication
Send the Healthy Family Connections home to parents to help communicate what students are learning about being healthy.
Additional Teaching Materials
Use the Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives MyPlate Poster to teach your students about nutrition and physical activity. It is a colorful and motivating visual learning tool that is used throughout the Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives lessons. It represents the key messages from the USDA MyPlate icon and can be used to help students learn about nutrition and physical activity year-round. Use the Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives Food and Activity Cards to teach your students about making healthy choices. The Food Cards are also used in several Eat Healthy lessons.