Selection of Lessons
Professional educators have screened and reviewed each of the lesson plans included in the HealthLessons.org database. Each lesson has been rated by two teachers who are part of a national team of five reviewers. These reviewers were selected based upon their experience in teaching and in the field of health education, recommendations by their supervisors, peers and colleagues. The reviewers have all completed a training conducted by Ed Diller, the HealthLessons.org editor.

Ed Diller, the HealthLessons.org editor, conducts the original screening process for choosing lessons for the HealthLessons.org data base. The editor works with the New York Academy of Medicine's Division of Information Management (DIM) staff to identify websites that contain health education lessons and then check basic criteria for selecting candidate lessons. At the outset the criteria are general, directed at locating health lessons that explore content within the five topic areas that the site targets: physical activity; nutrition; alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; injury prevention and mental health. Additional criteria relate to the lesson's presentation, to verify that the lesson is written in lesson-plan format.

The process for re-review to insure that the lessons listed on site are not obsolete is the job of the reviewers and the HealthLessons.org editor. If the editor or reviewers feel the lesson is "obsolete" it will be removed from the data base.

The Editor's Rating is established by averaging the ratings given by two members of the national review team. Each of the reviewers' cumulative rating for a lesson is an average of all of the rating values for the review questions/criteria.

The lessons are reviewed based on following questions/criteria:

1. Are the National Standards for Health Education identified in the lesson?
2. Does the lesson meet the National Standards for Health Education?
3. How well does the lesson address skill-based instruction?
   • Communication
   • Critical thinking
   • Decision-making
   • Goal-setting
   • Stress management
4. How well are the following components of literacy integrated throughout the lesson?
   • Communication
   • Critical thinking
   • Decision-making
   • Goal-setting
   • Stress management
5. Does the lesson provide strategies to integrate health into the following content areas?
   • English/Language
   • Arts
   • Fitness
   • Mathematics
   • Music
   • Science
   • Social Studies
   • Visual Arts
6. Please rate the usability of the lesson in the classroom
   • "Teacher friendly"
   • Easy to deliver
   • Needed supplies are easily accessible
   • Reasonable in lesson preparation time
7. Does the lesson provide for each of the following teaching strategies?
   • Brainstorming
   • Case studies
   • Classroom discussion
   • Cooperative groups
   • Experiments
   • Family activities
   • Role playing
   • Self-assessment
   • Simulations
8. Other criteria:
   • How well can the lesson be adapted for students with special needs?
   • How well does the lesson provide current, up-to-date information?
   • How well does the lesson provide information about accessing additional resources?
   • How well does the lesson provide opportunities for assessment?
   • How appropriate is this lesson for the diverse student population
9. Special considerations:
   • Internet access required
   • Requires additional materials
   • Requires outside services

The HealthLessons.org Editor
The site's editor is Edward Diller, MA, Senior Project Director, The New York Academy of Medicine Office of School Health Programs.
Email him at ediller@nyam.org