In Our Voice

1. In Our Voice A culturally responsive curriculum for students in grades 7 – 12 incorporates the research on preventing CVD, uses state-of-the art instructional practices, is ‘user-friendly’ for teachers, reinforces language arts and health standards, and provides accurate and culturally appropriate information.

2. Topics • Grade 7: Tobacco • Grade 8: Body Image • Grade 9: Exercise • Grade 10: Weight and Nutrition • Grade 11: CVD • Grade 12: Healthy for Life

3. Structure • Guided by teachers, powered by students. • Gives students information. • Provides opportunities to learn from their and other people's experiences.

4. Discussions Students share their opinions and ideas in small- and large-group discussions.

5. Content Students learn relevant content about each topic including the ways in which the media promotes unhealthy behavior.

6. Skills Students learn a skill step by step by seeing it modeled, practicing it among themselves, and transferring it to situations outside the classroom.

7. Projects Students become health activists; designing and implementing projects to take what they learned and apply it to make a positive change in their school community.

8. Videos of Native students their own age: discussing the topic they’ll cover in the lessons, modeling relevant skills in realistic situations, and making a healthy difference in their communities. Produced by Native Voices, the premier Native American media training center in the United States, at the University of Washington Videos

9. Articles and Stories • Native characters act out the topic issue or skill • Personalizes the topic so that students can relate the issue or skill to their own experience • Dr. Lori Lambert, enrolled member of the Abenaki Nation and a descendent of Mi’kmaq tribal members and French Acadians • Native Art

10. 7th Grade Example • Introduction (video) • Content • Media • Consequences • Prevalence and the Perception of Use • Family Position • Refusal Skills • Projects (video)

11. Cherokee Wisdom