The
Health and Literacy Compendium
Developed by World
Education in collaboration with the
National Institute for
Literacy with a generous grant from the Metropolitan
Life Foundation, the Health and Literacy Compendium includes
over 80 citations to print and Web materials concerning
health and literacy. Web resources from the Health
Compendium are listed throughout this site. The hyperlinked
HTML version of the entire compendium is available by
clicking on the title above. A
PDF version is also available.
How to
Feel Good: Learning to Relax and Exercise
This Massachusetts Department of Education-funded health
education project on dealing with stress was created by ESOL
students, and their teacher, Lee Hewitt, in a class at
Jamaica Plain Community Learning Centers Adult Learning
Program, Boston, MA. Although its focus is helping
immigrants to deal with stress through relaxation and
exercise the content will also be useful for a broader
audience.
My Life Story With Cancer
by Mary Walker
This is a story written by a student at Somerville Center
for Adult Learning Experiences (SCALE), and adapted for
students with limited English literacy. It also includes a
version for Spanish speakers. For teachers, a section on
using Mary's story in the classroom is included, as well
selected breast and cervical cancer resources.
Question Violence: Love is the Answer
The on-line selections are from a book and project that were
done at the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association by four
students in the Young Parent Program. Their purpose was to
learn more and to teach others about health and violence in
the community of Lowell. For a more detailed discussion of
the process of developing this resource, go to the
Student
Leadership section.
Read/Write/Now Brochures
The Read/Write/Now Brochure Project is a wonderful example
of how to integrate health content using a participatory
model of curriculum development. It is also an example of
student leadership development. Included in this piece is a
summary of their process, as well as samples of their
brochures in pdf format, which you can download, print, and
adapt for your own use.
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to Top
Fostering Health
Collaborations
Caring
About Community: A Workbook on Heart Disease and Stroke
created by the Jackson Mann Community Center Health
Team in Allston-Brighton, MA
These on-line selections introduce the Jackson-Mann Health
Team and give background information on heart disease and
stroke, what to do in emergencies, and worksheets for
classroom use.
HEAL:BCC
Website
The Health Education and Adult Literacy: Breast and Cervical
Cancer (HEAL:BCC) Project is a good example of a
collaboration between the fields of health and literacy.
Based at World Education, HEAL:BCC is a CD-funded program
that brings information on breast and cervical cancer early
detection to adult learners in ABE and ESOL classes.
Massachusetts
Department of Public Health
Important linkages have been made with the State Department
of Public Health. Their web page presents a good way to
learn about the system and learn about possible ways of
collaborating.
Massachusetts Prevention Centers
The ten regional DPH-funded centers are excellent resources
that provide consultation, training, and education in the
areas of public health and community development. Each
center houses an extensive multimedia library with
multilingual and multicultural resources, and has a
well-trained staff offering a wide variety of support
services including assistance with health programming,
organization-building, creating community partnerships, and
working with diverse cultures.
Encouraging Student
Leadership
Question Violence: Love is the Answer
The online selections are from a book and project that were
done at the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association by four
students in the Young Parent Program. Their purpose was to
learn more and to teach others about health and violence in
the community of Lowell. Also included are a
teacher's notes on how this resource was created and a
discussion of the
participatory spiral model that influenced this work.
SCALE
Health Action Team: The Year in Review
by Susan Grace
This is writing by a teacher at an adult learning center in
Somerville, MA, who worked with a small group of students to
give workshops on health issues important in their
community. She speaks with honesty and clarity about the
process of enabling students to learn the skills they need
to take on leadership roles. Through the writing you see how
both the teacher and the students grew in their process of
partnership.
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Ideas and Resources
DOE/ACLS:
Curriculum Frameworks
The Massachusetts Department of Education's adult literacy
unit offers the latest state guidelines on developing health
curriculum.
Eastern
LINCS: Health Special Collection
This modest site contains a number of resources with
particular applicability to adult literacy classrooms,
including several online lesson plans and student projects.
Look first at the
Student/Learner and
Teacher/Tutor menu
selections.
Focus on Basics
Literacy and Health Outcomes
MEDLINEplus
From the National Institutes of Health comes this very rich
site, written in a manner accessible to general adult
literacy practitioners. Two components of note are the
tutorials, covering 150 topics, and an extensive
medical encyclopedia.
NIFL/LINCS: Health and Literacy Discussion Group
This online discussion area (or "listserv") provides a place
for health educators and literacy educators to address some
of their common goals, questions, strategies and successes.
Subsribe to the list, browse the discussion archives or do
both!
Orientation to Integrating Health Education into Adult Basic
Education
created by Elizabeth Morrish and Alisa Povenmire
This participatory orientation focuses on helping teachers
promote student leadership, critical thinking skills, and a
level of confidence in students which transfers directly to
their employability, their participation in their
communities, and their lifelong learning journey.
