Healthy Conversations

Module 5
Essay 2
This assignment involves written work relating to the course content. You may save your work and continue later.
Healthy Conversations

Look for opportunities to apply the good communication principles from this week’s content. Make an effort to use active listening skills during your conversations, especially if the conversation is tense or sensitive. Also look for ways to be assertive in your communication and not aggressive, passive, or passive-aggressive. Use “I” statements.

What to Include in Your Write-Up and How it will be Graded:

Choose 1 conversation to analyze and write about. 

• Write a 250-word essay about what communication strategies you used (2 points)
• how those skills impacted the conversation (2 points), and
• whether you feel your communication style changes improved the outcome of the conversation and why (3 points).
• Tell how you plan to use good communication skills in the future.(3 points)

Module 3 Essay 1

This assignment involves written work relating to the course content. You may save your work and continue later.

Choose to focus on Exercise OR Nutritional Habits

Think of all the things you’ve learned regarding physical activity and nutrition. Choose an area of your physical activity OR nutritional habits, you want to improve. Make a plan to change just 1 thing in your exercise routine or nutrition habits; make it a significant thing but nothing too drastic because large changes are rarely sustainable.

Research your plan on the internet to find information from reliable sources that helps you make your decision. Change your exercise routine or nutrition plan to accommodate your plan. Follow your plan for 2 weeks.* Log your changes and your results in a journal, taking care to note how the changes make you feel (e.g., hungry, energized, tired, strong, etc.).

Write a 250-word essay about your experience. You should describe your goal and what changes you made. Then you should talk about the information in your log. You should also include information about your research and cite 2 or more websites where you got your information. Tell why you feel you can trust the information in each website.

Example of Citing Your Sources

1. National Library of Medicine: “Exercise, Protein Metabolism, and Muscle Growth” (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11255140)

This source is a government run website sharing peer-reviewed research articles.

• EatRight.org: “4 Keys to Strength Building and Muscle Mass” (http://www.eatright.org/resource/fitness/training-and-recovery/building-muscle/strength-building-and-muscle-mass)

This source has been reviewed by a registered dietitian nutritionist, and it’s a recently written article, so it’s hopefully up-to-date scientifically.

*You should always consult a medical professional before you make major changes in your physical activity and consult a dietitian, nutritionist, or medical professional before you make major changes to your diet.

How your work will be graded:

• Your work should contain a clear explanation of what you changed and how you felt about the change and its effects.
• Make clear in your explanation what information you gathered from your 2-week log (10 points).
• Make sure you also cite at least 2 sources for any of the research you did (4 points).
• Note: You may submit a text entry, a word document, or a media recording.

Module 10 Essay 3

This assignment involves written work relating to the course content. You may save your work and continue later

Drug-Free Lifestyle: Public Service Announcement (PSA)

You have many choices in this assignment. Choose how you want to present your PSA. 

1. You may write a 250-word essay. The essay should include a public service announcement (PSA)* advocating a drug-free lifestyle.
2. You may create a PPTX presentation for your PSA advocating for a drug-free lifestyle.
3. You may make a video or multi-media presentation for your PSA advocating for a drug-free lifestyle.

For all choices above: Please include the graphic, storyboard, script, or video of your PSA. Do some research about drug use and abuse from reliable sources. As you advocate good strategies regarding drug use and abuse, cite at least 2 valid sources that your target audience can use if they want to know more. Also in the essay describe whether TV, radio, billboard, or other media would be the best place for your PSA. Feel free to be creative as well as informational. 

What is a Public Service Announcement? (PSA)

*A PSA is like an advertisement for some social cause or public initiative. On TV and on the radio, you’ll hear PSAs mixed in with the other ads. Many billboard companies place PSAs on billboards that are not currently rented out. The PSA you’re most likely to have heard is the test of the emergency broadcast system. Many of the anti-drug commercials you see and hear are PSAs. Search the internet for PSAs, and watch a few. You’ll start to see similar characteristics, but mainly you’ll notice that they’re not trying to sell anything. Their primary focus is to educate the public, not to sell products or services. If you’re interested, my favorite TV PSA from my childhood educated kids on the value of healthy snacks; you can find this PSA online by searching “I hanker for a hunk of cheese.” I have not included a link because I didn’t find any videos published by the original creators. You’ll know you’ve found it when you see a yellow blob guy in a cowboy hat.

Explanation for how work will be graded:

• Your PSA should educate without trying to sell, though you may choose to educate in any constructive way (e.g., talking about the negative effects of drugs or the positive effects of not using drugs, teaching the responsible use of prescription drugs, etc.). (8 points)
• Describe what type of media (radio, TV, billboard, etc.) is the best place for your PSA (2 points).
• Make sure to cite at least 2 valid sources (4 points).