Skills-Based Health Education

"Mary Connolly’s third edition of Skills-Based Health Education stands out as the best resource available for teaching health content through a skills-based lens. Grounded in a practical, standards-based framework, this book expertly guides educators in linking health education content with the essential skills students need to lead healthy lives.

For undergraduate students, the book provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to how health education connects with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model. It helps future educators see the vital role health education plays in supporting the whole child, while emphasizing the importance of developing assessments that are thoughtfully aligned with standards.

When working with graduate students and practicing teachers, this text serves as an invaluable tool for deepening instructional practice. It offers clarity on how to effectively design and implement lessons and units that are developmentally appropriate and rooted in real-world application. Connolly’s approach makes the shift to skills-based instruction not only accessible but immediately usable in today’s classrooms.

This edition is a must-have for anyone preparing to teach or currently teaching health."

Irene Cucina, Professor, Health and Human Performance, Plymouth State University, USA

"Mary Connolly is a leader and expert in Skills-Based Health Education. I had the opportunity to use the second edition of the book in the Methods of Teaching School Health Education course at my university. The 3rd edition provides chapters where standard 1 (functional information) are paired with standards 2-7 (skills), and each chapter provides information on the steps to teaching a skill when planning units and lessons, examples of lesson plans and task performances. Additionally, the social emotional learning (SEL) and Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) models are aligned and incorporated in each chapter with examples. This book is a great resource for current K-12 health education teachers, as well as university professors who teach health education method courses to prepare future health educators."

Tan Leng Goh, Associate Professor, Physical Education Program Coordinator, Physical Education and Human Performance Department, Central Connecticut State University, USA

"I use this text in my Health Education Methods class which prepares Health Education Teacher Education Candidates to teach in the K-12 School Health Education environment. This text supports students becoming successful in creating skills-based, standard-based units of instruction that focuses on teaching and assessing health literacy skills. This text allows students to practice balancing functional content with skills, resulting in performance-based strategies and assessment design in health education. This text also reinforces using backward design (assessment driven) to plan both unit plans and lesson plans.

I use this text as both a pedagogical framework for my Health Education Methods class as well as a supplemental text in student teaching in Health Education. This textbook is a resource that should be utilized well beyond the classroom. This text is particularly useful in planning standard-based health education curriculum in the K-12 setting. This textbook is one to keep through a School Health Educators career."

Kimberley Razzano, Professor/Department Chair, East Stroudsburg University, USA