Healthy Habits Bulletin Board

Pre-K through Grade 2

Grade 3 through Grade 6

Back to Educator Main Page

Grade Levels Pre-K through Grade 2

Estimated Teaching Time 30 to 45 minutes

Interdisciplinary Connections

• Pantomiming healthy behaviors (Theater Arts)
• Categorizing (Language Arts)

Objective Children will be able to identify good hygiene habits.

What Children Do

Children will discuss good hygiene behaviors and why they are important. They will develop a bulletin board to display pictures that support healthy habits.

Materials Required

• “Healthy Habits” lettering (blackline master 3.9A PDF)
• Bulletin board border sheets (blackline master 3.9B PDF)
• Pencils and crayons
• Scissors, one pair per student
• An assortment of magazines
• Gym bag

Advanced Preparation

• Duplicate blackline master 3.9A. You may want to consider enlarging it.
• Duplicate blackline master 3.9B, one per every two children.
• Cut each of the border sheets in half lengthwise.
• Bring a gym bag to class.

Suggested Sequence

1. Place your gym bag in the front of the room. Ask the children if they can guess what you are going to do after school. [Exercise.] Lead them in a discussion of why exercise is important. [Build a healthy, strong body. Improve your cardiovascular system and heart.] What happens when you don’t exercise? [Less energy. Not as strong.]
2. Ask children to think of other things they do to take good care of themselves. Let them pantomime these healthy behaviors for the class to guess. [Brush teeth, shampoo and comb hair, wash hands, bathe, do the dishes, wipe down counters.] After each act, discuss what was done, why it is important and what happens if you don’t practice this healthy habit.
3. Divide children into groups. Let them go through magazines to find pictures that promote healthy habits. It can be a picture of someone doing a healthy behavior or a product that supports a healthy habit.
4. Let each group share the pictures it found.
5. Explain to the children that they get to help build a “Healthy Habits” bulletin board. Distribute border sheets to the children and tell each of them to color one. If they are working on identifying colors and following directions, guide them as they color. Ask for volunteers to help you color the “Healthy Habits” lettering.
6. As children complete their sheets, have them bring them up to be stapled to the board. Staple the “Healthy Habits” lettering across the top of the board.
7. Once the board has been assembled, post the pictures the children found in magazines onto it, grouping similar pictures together by the habit they address. Have children help create labels for each healthy habit represented.

Check for Understanding

Observe children as they are cutting out pictures for the bulletin board. Ask them why they chose those pictures, or have each group share its pictures with the class.

Extensions

• Make a “Healthy Habits” book with the class. Let each child finish the sentence: I am healthy because I _____________________________. Have them draw a picture to go with their sentence.
• Ask children to look for healthy habits and products that promote them on television.