GACE Health and Physical Education (737) study plan
GACE Health and Physical Education (737) · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Health Education: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Map Domain 1 into its high-yield clusters: chronic disease risk factors, communicable disease prevention, health screening, and health literacy skills.
Explain the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, giving one concrete school-based example of each from memory.
List the leading modifiable risk factors for the major chronic diseases and state which are addressed by school health education.
Describe the chain of infection and name at least four school-relevant prevention strategies that interrupt it.
Draft a one-page summary sheet of Domain 1 key terms with a working definition for each.
Your checkpoint
A one-page Domain 1 summary sheet covering prevention levels, chronic disease risk factors, and infection control, self-quizzed to 90% accuracy.
Health Education: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Compare the major theoretical models used in health education (health belief model, stages of change, social cognitive theory) and match each to a classroom scenario.
Identify the components of the coordinated school health approach and explain how each component supports disease prevention.
Analyze how health literacy and numeracy affect a student's ability to act on prevention advice.
Write five original practice questions on Domain 1 and justify the correct answer for each.
Your checkpoint
Five original Domain 1 practice questions with written rationales for every answer choice.
Health Education: Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Healthy Weight Management & Health Education: Mental and Emotional Health, Family and Interpersonal Relationships
Break down the six major nutrient classes by function, energy yield, and food sources, and identify common misconceptions students hold about each.
Interpret a nutrition facts label and calculate the percentage of daily values contributed by a stated serving.
Distinguish food insecurity, disordered eating, and eating disorders, and describe appropriate teacher responses to each.
Explain the components of emotional health, including stress response, coping strategies, and warning signs of distress in adolescents.
Describe strategies for teaching refusal skills, conflict resolution, and healthy relationship boundaries.
Your checkpoint
A two-column comparison chart separating nutrition content from mental/emotional health content, with at least eight teachable concepts per column.
Health Education: Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Healthy Weight Management & Health Education: Mental and Emotional Health, Family and Interpersonal Relationships & Health Education: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention
Apply energy balance concepts to explain healthy weight management without promoting diet culture or weight stigma.
Identify the major categories of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs by mechanism and short-term versus long-term effects.
Explain risk and protective factors for substance use and match each to a prevention approach.
Describe the stages of addiction and the role of tolerance and withdrawal.
Build a flashcard set covering drug classifications, effects, and prevention terminology.
Your checkpoint
A 40-card flashcard deck spanning Domains 2, 3, and 4, with a self-test score of at least 85%.
Health Education: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention & Health Education: Safety, Injury Prevention, and Emergency Response
Outline the legal and ethical responsibilities of a teacher regarding suspected substance use, including reporting and referral boundaries.
Sequence the steps of first aid for the most common school emergencies: choking, bleeding, seizure, anaphylaxis, heat illness, and suspected concussion.
Apply the RICE and concussion-return-to-play protocols to written scenarios.
Identify injury prevention strategies for playgrounds, athletics, and transportation safety.
Explain the components of an emergency action plan and how it is rehearsed.
Your checkpoint
A written emergency action plan outline plus correct responses to six scenario prompts covering Domain 5 emergencies.
Physical Education: Motor Development and Motor Learning & Physical Education: Movement Forms, Biomechanics, and Fitness
Trace motor development across the fundamental movement phases and identify the characteristics of each stage.
Distinguish motor learning principles including feedback types, practice schedules, transfer, and retention.
Apply biomechanical concepts such as force, torque, levers, center of gravity, and stability to common sport skills.
Classify movement forms by their category and describe the critical elements of a mature performance.
Relate the health-related fitness components to their appropriate assessments and to training principles.
Your checkpoint
A skill-analysis write-up of one fundamental movement and one sport skill, each broken into critical elements with a stated biomechanical principle.
Physical Education: Movement Forms, Biomechanics, and Fitness & Physical Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Design a unit plan aligned to national standards with measurable objectives, progressions, and modifications for diverse learners.
Write assessment items in multiple formats and explain how each aligns to a stated objective.
Describe how to use formative assessment data to adjust instruction within a lesson.
Explain differentiation, inclusion, and safety considerations in physical education instruction.
Analyze a sample lesson plan for alignment between objective, activity, and assessment.
Your checkpoint
A complete three-lesson mini-unit with objectives, activities, assessments, and differentiation notes.
Professional Knowledge: Program Planning, Collaboration, and Advocacy & Health Education: Health Promotion and Disease Prevention & Physical Education: Movement Forms, Biomechanics, and Fitness
Explain the program planning cycle from needs assessment through evaluation and identify the data sources used at each step.
Describe collaboration strategies with families, community agencies, and school staff, including barriers and solutions.
Articulate advocacy messages for health and physical education programs to administrators and school boards.
Review flagged weak areas across all domains and re-teach them.
Complete a full timed practice test and analyze every missed item by domain.
Your checkpoint
A full-length timed practice test with a written error analysis identifying the domain and reasoning gap behind each missed item.
Milestones
Week 4: Score at least 85% on the 40-card Domain 2-4 flashcard self-test and explain energy balance and addiction stages aloud without notes.
Week 6: Correctly answer at least 8 of 10 self-written questions on motor development, motor learning, and biomechanics, and submit both skill analyses.
Week 8: Complete the timed practice test with a written error analysis and a ranked list of the three domains needing the most review before test day.