Deer Hill Health Newsletter
May 2022
Happy Spring Deer Hill Families!
As we move forward with our Life Skills Training lessons, grades 3 and 4 have finished Advertising and Dealing With Stress. Most of grade 5 has finished their lesson on Alcohol. Following their lesson on alcohol, all grade 5 classes are receiving a presentation on Alcohol and other topics from Nicole Balaschi, Director of Safe Harbor Cohasset Coalition. Grade 5 will also have a lesson on Dealing With Stress. Continuing with our lessons, all grades will learn about Communications Skills, Social Skills, and Assertiveness if we have the time. Grade 5 will watch a video on Puberty in June.
Grade 3
In their advertising lesson, grade 3 students learned a few of the "Tricky Techniques" advertisers use to sell their products, such as Have a Great Time and Image Appeal. They looked at a real cigarette ad and a truth cigarette ad. Then, using the information they gathered in their Smoking Information lesson, they made their own advertisement-a Truth Poster on Smoking and Vaping.
In their lesson on stress, students talked about what stress is and how it makes them feel. We read The Lemonade Hurricane by Licia Morelli. Students learned 2 deep breathing exercises and practiced doing them with a partner.
Grade 4
In their advertising lesson, grade 4 students learned the "8 Tricky Techniques" advertisers use to sell their products. Some of these are Bandwagon, Health Appeal, Scientific Evidence, and Free Stuff, as well as the two mentioned above. They analyzed cigarette and electronic-cigarette ads and completed a worksheet.
In their lesson on stress, grade 4 talked about the positive and negative ways to deal with stress. They watched the video The Owl and the Guard Dog by Cosmic Kids. We read the book A Little Spot of Anxiety by Diane Alber. They watched the video Guided Square Breathing Exercise in 2 minutes to learn another deep breathing exercise, and they practiced this exercise with a partner.
Grade 5
In their alcohol lesson, grade 5 watched the BrainPOP video on Alcohol and completed the vocabulary worksheet. They learned about 4 areas regarding alcohol use in detail: Alcohol and the Teenage Brain, Liver Function and The 3 Stages of Alcoholic Liver Disease, Binge Drinking and Blood Alcohol Level, and Behavior and Personality Changes. They used all of this information to create a poster.
Once finished with their posters, grade 5 students receive a presentation on Alcohol and other topics from Nicole Balaschi, Director of Safe Harbor Cohasset Coalition. Students learned more about the brain and alcohol, including how a teen's perceived risk of using this substance greatly affects their decision to use it. They also learned about the Youth Ambassador Program at the coalition.
In their lesson on stress, grade 5 talked about stressors for their age group. We read the book Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by Julia Cook. Then students worked with a partner, completing worksheets on Time-Waster's Inventory and a Time-Management Calendar, a useful organization strategy.
Description of Made You Look
Lessons Moving Forward
We will have 3-4 more lessons in Health before the end of the year. Grade 3 has begun their lesson on Communication Skills. I am reading The Way I Feel by Janan Cain and The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Brittany Winn Lee. Students are learning about feelings, how to identify feelings, and the importance of communicating our feelings to others. In their Social Skills lesson, I will read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. We will discuss what makes someone our friend and what makes someone not our friend. The last lesson for grade 3 will be on Assertiveness. I will read Bullies Never Win by Margery Cuyler. Students will learn there are many ways to say "no" to something they do not want to do. Students will learn and practice refusal skills.
Grade 4 has begun their lesson on Communication Skills. I am reading the book "Quiet Please Owen McPhee" by Trudy Ludwig. They are completing a packet on Helpful and Unhelpful Ways to Communicate. In their lesson on Social Skills, I will read When Charlie Met Emma by Amy Webb. They will watch a BrainPOP video on Peer Pressure and do the quiz. Their last lesson will be on Assertiveness. I will read Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell. We will learn and practice using I-Statements to resolve conflicts.
Grade 5 will do their lesson on Communication Skills. I will read Being Frank by Donna Earnhardt. In this lesson, students learn about Passive and Active Listening. In their lesson on Social Skills, I will read Enemy Pie by Derek Munson. Students will learn about Conflict Resolution and 3 Conflict Styles: Confrontation, Avoidance, and Problem-Solving. Grade 5 will also watch a video on Puberty called Puberty Workshop and Curriculum by Human Relations Media. The boys and girls will view this video separately. Our Physical Education teacher Mr. Youmans will show this video to the boys. We will show this video in the first 2 weeks of June. Once I know the dates, I will email you a letter with more details on this.
Patricia A. Hamlin
Elementary Health Teacher
Cohasset Public Schools