Last week, I was on a call with a 5th-grade teacher who was preparing to teach puberty education. “I’m already so far behind on our ELA pacing guide,” she sighed. “How am I supposed to justify spending two weeks on a non-tested subject?”
It’s a conversation I hear all the time. I talk with so many dedicated teachers who feel caught between state standards and the real-world needs of their students. The pressure to boost reading and writing scores is immense, and any time spent on subjects like health can feel like a luxury we can’t afford.
But what if this isn’t a trade-off at all? What if a great health education lesson is also one of the most effective ELA lessons you can teach? That time isn’t lost—it’s an investment that pays dividends in literacy skills, critical thinking, and classroom focus.
Why health education is an untapped ELA resource
Let’s start by acknowledging a reality your administrator is keenly aware of: the national literacy challenge. Between 2017 and 2023, U.S. adult literacy scores declined by 12 points. This isn’t just a background statistic; it’s the driving force behind the intense focus on core instruction.
In response, educational experts are calling for an end to fragmented learning. They are urging schools to embed literacy instruction across all subjects.
This is where we can build a bridge. Instead of seeing health education as a separate block of time, we can frame it as a high-interest content area where students practice and apply essential ELA skills in a context that deeply matters to them: their own bodies and well-being.
When you make the case for puberty education, you aren’t asking for time away from ELA. You’re presenting a powerful, relevant, and research-backed strategy to strengthen it.
Your talking points: Making the case to your administrator
The next time you’re asked to justify your curriculum, you don’t need to be on the defensive. You can be a strategic partner, armed with data that connects student health to academic achievement. Here are four talking points you can adapt for that conversation.
Talking point 1: Health ed builds the critical analysis skills you want to see in ELA.
One of the most important skills we teach in ELA is how to analyze information, evaluate sources, and distinguish credible arguments from misinformation. Health education provides a perfect, high-stakes training ground for this exact competency.
A core component of a skills-based health curriculum is teaching students how to access, comprehend, and critically evaluate health information from a variety of sources. When students learn to question a wellness trend they saw on social media or compare information from a health organization with an advertisement, they are practicing the same skills needed to write a research paper. They are learning to assess validity, identify bias, and synthesize information—all foundational ELA standards.
Talking point 2: Health ed gives students real-world practice in reading and communication.
ELA standards require students to comprehend complex informational texts. Health education moves this skill from the abstract to the practical. Students aren’t just reading historical documents; they are learning to decipher nutrition labels, understand instructions on a medicine bottle, or comprehend health brochures. This focus on functional, real-world texts is a powerful way to improve health literacy and overall reading comprehension.
Furthermore, health education offers a rich context for developing sophisticated communication skills. Class discussions about puberty and relationships require students to express themselves clearly, listen with empathy, and disagree respectfully. Role-playing scenarios, such as talking to a trusted adult or navigating peer pressure, directly build the negotiation and conflict-resolution skills that are central to both ELA and social-emotional learning.
Talking point 3: Health ed creates a healthier classroom, which leads to better academic focus.
This point connects the dots between student well-being and academic outcomes. A student who is anxious about the changes in their body, confused by misinformation, or dealing with unaddressed health issues cannot bring their full attention to a math problem or a writing assignment.
Research from the CDC is incredibly clear on this: quality school health programs are linked to improved academic performance, better attendance, and higher student engagement. When we provide medically accurate, age-appropriate puberty education, we are addressing the questions and anxieties that can otherwise distract students from learning. We are reducing stigma and creating a more supportive classroom environment where students feel safe and seen.
As the National Academy of Medicine notes, health conditions can diminish a student’s motivation and ability to learn. By proactively addressing student health, we are laying the foundation for greater focus and achievement across all subjects.
Talking point 4: Health ed develops the 21st-century skills our students will need.
The conversation about student achievement must extend beyond today’s test scores to tomorrow’s workforce. The world our students will enter requires a different set of skills than the one we grew up in.
The World Economic Forum identifies analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, and emotional intelligence as some of the most critical skills for the modern workforce. A skills-based health curriculum is explicitly designed to foster these competencies. When students learn to manage stress, make responsible decisions, and build healthy relationships, they are developing the resilience and flexibility that employers demand.
This aligns perfectly with the growing demand for workers with strong social, emotional, and higher cognitive skills—competencies that are deeply intertwined with ELA goals like communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
Putting it into practice
Feeling the squeeze between core subjects and student needs is a real and valid pressure. But you don’t have to choose between them.
By framing health education as a strategic partner to ELA, you can shift the conversation with your administration from an “either/or” dilemma to a “both/and” solution.
You are not just teaching about health; you are building stronger readers, more critical thinkers, and more focused learners.
The next time you talk with your principal, try sharing just one of these points. You might start by saying, “I was thinking about our school’s literacy goals, and I realized how much my health lessons are reinforcing the critical analysis skills we want to see in ELA.”
When you connect your work directly to their priorities, you position yourself as a proactive problem-solver and a vital part of the school’s academic mission.
