Skills for Building
Health
S. Jett, NBCT
Montevallo Middle School
2013

Just as you learn sports, math, reading
and other skills, you can learn skills for
taking care of your health.

Just like other skills, you must practice
these health skills to improve your overall
wellness.
Health Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Accessing
Information
Practicing
Healthful
Behaviors
Stress
Management
Analyzing
Influences
Communication
Skills
Conflict-Resolution
Skills
7. Refusal Skills
8. Decision Making
9. Goal Setting
10. Advocacy
6.
Ten Building Blocks for Total
Health
A world of information on any topic ready at
your fingertips. Where are some places you
can find information? How do you know if
the information is reliable?
1. Parents
2. Trusted adults
3. Library resources
4. TV/Radio
5. Newsprint
6. Internet sites

1. Accessing Information
.gov and .edu are usually the most
reliable internet sources.
 Research the author to find out if he/she
is an expert in the field.
 Check out the owner/operator of the
website – Are they receiving any
compensation?
 Is the information from a hospital,
government agency and/or university?

Valid and Reliable Sources



When you were younger, your parents made
most or all of your decisions for you, now as
you get older, you are taking on more
responsibility for your decisions. If you
choose to exercise, your heart and other
muscles grow stronger.
What are other healthful behaviors?
When you practice healthful behaviors, you
learn new skills, meet challenges, and enjoy
life, while preventing many problems.
2. Practicing Healthful Behaviors

What is stress?

You will always have positive and negative
stress in your life. Give examples of both.

Learning strategies to deal with stress is
vital to a healthy life.
3. Stress Management

Let’s list some positive and negative ways
people deal with stress.
Activity 1 – Stress T Chart

Your decisions have to do with more than
knowing the facts. The have to do with
your values and beliefs. The opinions of
your friends and family, your culture, and
messages from the media also affect
your decisions.
4. Analyzing Influences
Communication skills involve more than
just listening or speaking. You send
messages with the words you choose, but
also how you say them. Examples.
 Two of the most important communication
skills are saying no when others want you
to do something unhealthy and settling
conflicts peacefully.

5. Communication Skills
Refusal skills deal with ways to say no
effectively. Sometimes when you make a
decision, you have to be prepared to
defend your decision / beliefs.
 To say NO effectively, make sure to use
the correct tone and body language to
communicate your message. (Direct eyecontact, serious facial expression and
firm, but not angry voice)

6. Refusal Skills
Say NO
 Tell why not.
 Offer other ideas.
 Promptly leave.

S.T.O.P. Strategy

Conflict is a normal part of life because
people are different and will always see
things differently depending on their
values and beliefs.

What are some things people have conflict
about?

What are some ways to solve conflict?
7. Conflict Resolution Skills





Take time-out to let everyone calm down. (24
hour rule)
Allow each person to tell his/her side of the
story without interruption.
Let each person ask questions without feeling
attacked or defensive.
Keep thinking of creative ways to solve the
conflict in a positive and peaceful way.
Look for win/win situations or you may just
have to compromise (meet in the middle).
Conflict Resolution Tips
The path to good health begins with good
choices.
1. State the situation
2. List the options
3. Weigh the outcomes
4. Consider your values
5. Make the decision and act
6. Evaluate the decision

8. Decision Making Process

Learning how to set realistic goals is
another step toward becoming healthy
and well. You will learn to set S.M.A.R.T.
goals.
9. Goal Setting





Specific – Make specific statements with both short
and long term goals. Ex. I want to be healthy is a
general statement. Instead say that you want to lose
10 pounds or better achieve less than 20% body fat.
Measureable – How will you know that you’ve reached
your goal? Ex. I will know if I’ve lost fat by
measuring my fat%.
Action-oriented – What are the steps that you will
take to achieve the goal. Ex. I’m going to start
exercising 30 minutes when I get home everyday.
Realistic – Is the goal realistic? Why or why not?
Timeframe – When will you accomplish your goal? I
will measure my progress weakly and give myself a
reward if I make progress toward my goal.
S.M.A.R.T.

You will need to set a SMART goal for
each of the 3 areas of health.
Activity 2 – Setting SMART Goals

Working to bring about change is called
advocacy. If you know that a dangerous
condition exist, you should bring attention
to it and work toward changing it for the
better.

Give examples of areas for advocacy.

What are some ways that you could
advocate ?
10. Advocacy