Third - Health

Overview

SFUSD Health Education Logo

Third-grade students in SFUSD engage in 20 Health lessons per year. Lessons are created from the HealthSmart curriculum and correspond to SFUSD monthly health themes. Elementary health education strives to improve health outcomes for youth and their families by teaching the knowledge and skills necessary for life-long healthy choices. We view comprehensive health education as a rite of passage for all students.

Priority Standards

What students will know, what students will do, and what thinking skills students will develop to apply and transfer Health understandings that endure within the discipline, leverage deeper understandings, and/or support readiness for success at the next grade level. 

In Third Grade, focus on these critical areas:

Four illustrations of positive interactions

Explaining and Practicing Positive Peer & Family Relationships

Illustration of people coughing, sneezing, and feeling sick

Identifying and Demonstrating Health Practices That Reduce Illness & Diseases Caused by Bacteria & Viruses

Illustration of a full length mirror

Recognizing and Demonstrating Respect for Individual Differences in Growth & Development

Instruction: Signature Elements

Below are signature elements of SFUSD Health instruction that students should experience regularly throughout first grade as they develop health literacy.

Mind map with "Health" at the center

Create an Information-Rich Environment

Provide meaningful, health-related text on classroom walls and well-stocked, inviting, and comfortable libraries that contain a range of health-related texts (e.g., nutrition and physical activity, social and emotional learning), including texts in students’ home languages.

Illustration of question mark, gears turning, light bulb coming on, and exclamation point over faces

Promote Inquiry & Autonomy

Allow students to generate their own questions and to choose health-related activities, texts, and even locations in the room in which to engage with health-related books, manipulatives, and tasks independently.

Text: Student like with multicolor circle around text

Make It Relevant

Ensure that health education experiences are relevant and responsive to students’ interests, everyday life, or important current events.

Icon of four people forming a circle by interlinking arms

Emphasize Collaboration

Structure frequent opportunities for students to collaborate with their peers in health-related group learning tasks, to read and discuss texts, and in creating artifacts that demonstrate their learning.

Units & Planning Guide

Lessons are created from the HealthSmart curriculum and correspond to SFUSD monthly health themes. Harvest of the Month lessons correspond to the availability of the produce at local farmers’ markets. To meet the required 20 health lessons per year, we recommend at least three lessons from each health topic. Health lessons are not available in Spanish.

Unit Lessons

Personal and Community Health (AUG/SEPT) 

Harvest of the Month: CUCUMBERS (Spanish)

Substance Abuse Prevention (OCT)

Harvest of the Month: PERSIMMONS (Spanish)

Violence Prevention (NOV/DEC)

Harvest of the Month: PUMPKINS & SWEET POTATOES (Spanish)
Harvest of the Month: CABBAGE & BROCCOLI (Spanish)

Growing Bodies and Active Consent (JAN/FEB)

Harvest of the Month: GREENS (Spanish)
Harvest of the Month: MANDARINS (Spanish)

Nutrition & Physical Activity (MARCH)

 Harvest of the Month: ROOT VEGGIES (Spanish)

LGBTQ and Advocacy (APRIL)

*All read aloud books can be found in SFUSD libraries

Harvest of the Month: PEAS & BEANS (Spanish)

Summer Safety and Environmental Health (MAY)

Harvest of the Month: STRAWBERRIES (Spanish)

**Lessons will continue to be added as they are developed
Unit Overview as Document for Third-Grade Health

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Reflection Questions

  1. How are students' developmental needs, communities, and experiences being reflected and honored, or how could they be?
  2. What opportunities do you see for developing equitable access & demand, inquiry, collaboration, and assessment for learning?
  3. What are the implications for your own practice? What strengths can you build upon? What will you do first?

This page was last updated on May 17, 2023