September 2015…A new teacher’s guide is now available that enables all teachers in Healthy NewsWorks schools to integrate our student health newspapers and books into classroom lessons and activities.
Prepared by a veteran educator, the 2015-16 guide offers lessons and activities tied to the themes of our student-written books and healthy newspapers over the past several years.
To make it easy to incorporate Healthy NewsWorks materials into classroom curriculum and activities, the new guide is:
• Leveled for lower elementary grades and upper elementary/middle school grades.
• Aligned with Common Core Standards.
• Aligned with National Health Education Standards.
“The guide makes it possible for all students in our schools to be part of our program,” said Marian Uhlman, Healthy NewsWorks director. “It also enlarges the circle of students and community members who can engage in learning about health.”
The guide updates and expands on an earlier guide developed in 2013 by teachers Natalie Shuler and Thanh Huntington and Principal Nicole Poncheri at Cole Manor Elementary School in Norristown, Pa. Cole Manor will celebrate its 10th year producing student health newspapers during the 2015-16 school year and its students have helped produce all four editions of Healthy NewsWorks books.
“I truly believe that the Healthy NewsWorks books and newspapers are an invaluable resource for any classroom,” said Dr. Poncheri in her introduction to the new guide. “As Cole Manor teachers use the books and newspapers as a regular part of their classroom lessons, the excitement around the program continues to grow. The activities you will find within this guide will add to your program in a unique and engaging way.”
The new guide was prepared by Deborah Stern, Ph.D., who has worked in urban classrooms since 1988. She was an award-winning middle and high school English teacher in Chicago and more recently worked as a teacher, coach, and charter school administrator in Philadelphia.
The nine lessons in this guide will serve as a prototype for annual updated versions to coincide with new articles and books written by our students. We are eager to hear how the guide works for you and how it could be improved in the future.
Please send us your suggestions and comments at: editor@HealthyNewsWorks.org.
