Here are resources to help design curriculum aligned to the new comprehensive health and physical education standards as well as teach health, physical education, emotional and social wellness, nutrition,  sexual health, and violence-free relationship skills:

Designing Curriculum
Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum
See the 14 essential characteristics of today’s effective, state-of-the-art health education curricula, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT)
Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT)
Use these tools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to analyze your health and physical education curricula. Results can help districts and schools select or develop effective health and physical education curricula, and improve teaching strategies.

Key strategies for improving the quality of physical education
Read this short brief about two key strategies to increase students’ time in moderate to vigorous physical activity during physical education classes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tool to Assess the Characteristics of Effective Sex and STD/HIV Education Programs
Use this organized set of questions to help assess whether curriculum-based programs incorporate the common characteristics of effective pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV prevention programs.

Teaching Comprehensive Health
Effective Programs archive – Sociometrics
Access outstanding research-to-practice prevention programs in key health areas such as teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention. This archive assembled by Sociometrics offers cost-effective prevention programs that work.

HealthTeacher
Get K-12 health curriculum and lessons on this site, which is geared toward all teachers, regardless of whether they have professional preparation as a health educator.

Healthy Schools Program – Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Tap these resources to help develop a healthier school environment, including health education.

National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) – SAMHSA
Use this searchable online registry of more than 190 interventions to find resources to promote mental health, prevent substance abuse and support treatment.

Rocky Mountain Center (RMC) Health
Get comprehensive school health education programs and training for educators, parents and others committed to improving health. Resources include curricula and training, events, and standards and assessments. Click here to see a quick comparison of some of the programs RMC Health can support you in implementing.

School Health Education Resources (SHER)
Access the myriad school health education resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Search by grade level, topic or language (including English, Spanish and Chinese) to find curriculum and lessons, fact sheets, materials for students, and instructional materials for educators.

Teaching Physical Education
Action for Healthy Kids
Tap this national network supporting schools as healthy places where kids learn to eat right, be active every day and be ready to learn.

American Heart Association
Find out how to integrate personal and physical wellness education into a variety of classes as well as schoolwide.

Colorado Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (COAHPERD)
Find curriculum and supplements such as Fitnessgram physical fitness tests that assess aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility.

Colorado Coalition for Healthy Schools
Access Colorado’s coordinated school health initiative to promote health through instruction and school operations.

Healthy Schools Program – Alliance for a Healthier Generation
Tap these resources to help develop a healthier school environment, including physical education.

National Association for Sport and Physical Education teaching tools
Visit this site for teaching tools and guidance documents to connect with students, implement best practices, educate parents and motivate children to engage in a lifetime of physical activity.

Colorado Health Foundation’s Overview of Evidence-Based PE Curricula
Use this quick summary of five evidence-based PE programs to learn more about which might be useful and feasible to your district.

Teaching Emotional and Social Wellness
Emotional and Social Wellness Leads to Effective Learning Environments
This fact sheet provides an overview of Colorado’s Emotional and Social Wellness (ESW) Standard and the research behind social and emotional learning for healthy development and academic achievement. Steps for designing explicit ESW instruction as well as school-wide ESW practices for effective learning environments across the school building are included.

Building Bridges for Children’s Mental Health in Colorado
Get tools for families and schools such as tip sheets and presentations to support behavioral health education in public schools.

Center for Mental Health in Schools
Find resources, online trainings, learning communities and exchanges, guides to evidence-based practices, and the latest research supporting mental health education in schools.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Access the numerous nationally available, evidence-based social and emotional learning programs that provide systematic classroom instruction to enhance children’s abilities to recognize and manage their emotions, appreciate the perspectives of others, establish pro-social goals and solve problems, and use a variety of interpersonal skills to handle the challenges of growing up.

Random Acts of Kindness
Access free lessons and activities that develop students’ skills for positive behavior and a climate of kindness.

Teaching Nutrition

Energy Balance 101
Free lessons and activities for K-5 classrooms and families that focus on the concepts and skills of energy balance for healthy living. Fact sheets and activities for families available in Spanish too!

Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives
Use these free instructional resources for K-3 healthy eating concepts and skills that link to other content areas and additional materials that can be used to reinforce these concepts at home.

Denver Urban Gardens
Check out these seasonal resources for experiential learning opportunities that meaningfully integrate nutrition, science, and outdoor education.

Teaching Sexual Health
Colorado Youth Matter
Get help selecting and implementing an evidence-based program.

ETR and Associates
Access four acclaimed ETR evidence-based prevention curricula focusing on teen HIV, sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy prevention – and get reviews of school-based prevention programs.

Teen pregnancy prevention implementation reports – U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Access a list of reviewed interventions, including a summary of each program’s implementation and its supporting research.

Teaching Healthy, Violence-Free Relationship Skills
Sexual Violence Prevention Curricula Guide
Use the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs’ guide to learn more about some of the options for sexual violence prevention, including cyberbullying.

The Colorado Legacy Foundation believes that increased student achievement for all Colorado students requires effective leaders in every school, effective educators in every classroom, and healthy and engaged students who come to school ready to learn.