Frequently Asked Questions

We are happy to provide districts with any information needed to help them review THE GREAT BODY SHOP.  Please email orders@TheGreatBodyShop.net with an inquiry and a regional consultant will be in touch.

We do not accept orders for the Teacher's Guides without an annual student subscription (one for every student) to THE GREAT BODY SHOP Student Issues.  The Student Issues are used like a periodical or informational text, the same way a student textbook is used in Science or Social Studies, etc. Teachers utilize the Student Issues to support skill-based instruction during each health unit. At the end of the unit, the Student Issue is sent home to support the family team in having ongoing conversations with their child about each health theme.

The Student Issues need to be ordered annually for every student. The Teacher's Guides need to be ordered every five years. With an annual student subscription to THE GREAT BODY SHOP for each student, teachers are provided with digital access to new, updated and revised Teacher's Guides, each year, during the five-year period.

*If your district has a multi-year order for six or seven years of an adoption cycle, digital access to the Teacher's Guides is extended for the adoption period.

The K-6 Student Issues have long been printed in English and Spanish. We are happy to announce that starting in the 2019-2020 school year, we are adding Mandarin, and French instructional materials for the elementary grades and expanding our existing Spanish offerings to include Middle School units. With a current Teacher's Guide (purchased within the last five years) and an annual subscription to THE GRADE BODY SHOP for each student, teachers receive a complimentary digital copy of all handouts, assessments, and Family Bulletins in Spanish.

Materials are usually shipped within 4-6 weeks. For more information on shipping and receiving, contact our Ordering Department at 800-782-7077 or email us at orders@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

For more information on making changes to your order and/or billing, contact our Ordering Department at 800-782-7077 or email us at orders@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

First, print and complete THE GREAT BODY SHOP Ordering Worksheet available on our website at www.TheGreatBodyShop.net. If you are a district new to THE GREAT BODY SHOP, you will need to order one grade level Teacher's Guide for each teacher, and a student subscription to THE GREAT BODY SHOP for each student. Prices are noted on the worksheet. If you are a current customer and your Teacher Guides have been purchased within the last five years, you just need to order the student subscription to THE GREAT BODY SHOP for each student. Student subscriptions cannot be purchased without a current Teacher's Guide. After completing the ordering worksheet, forward to your district's purchasing department to generate a purchase order. The purchase order can be mailed or faxed to The Children's Health Market.

We have bundled our program to make purchasing THE GREAT BODY SHOP affordable for school districts and to guarantee accessibility to and engagement of families on critical and emerging health topics. When you place an order for printed materials, you receive all instructional materials (Teacher Guides, Student Issues and a Family Portal) digitally at no additional cost. We do not sell the digital version without the printed materials.

A myriad of lessons designed to infuse technology to enhance learning are included in The Great Body Shop. In addition, we provide a secure Current Customer section of our website where teachers and administrators can access an array of web tools designed to support instruction. Teachers can activate web-based student assessments, including pre/post assessments, view digital Teacher Guides and Student Issues, upload handouts for interactive whiteboard use, locate additional resources to augment instruction, access games, stream music, and create a Family Portal. For more information on technology and THE GREAT BODY SHOP, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

We have bundled our program to make purchasing THE GREAT BODY SHOP affordable for school districts. When you place an order for printed materials, you receive all digital instructional materials at no additional cost.

We are happy to assist our current customers with this. Email us at info@TheGreatBodyShop.net and request an account for you and/or your district or school. Please include the following information for you and your teachers: Name, title, email, district name, school name (if applicable), and zip code.

TGBS teacher and student materials are available via our website on current, popular web browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, IE, etc. The functionality is identical for teachers and students on both Windows and Apple devices, including IPADS, tablets, PCs, smartphones and IPhones. All data is stored on our secure servers so use of school/district network servers are not required for either running applications or storing data. For more information on technology and THE GREAT BODY SHOP, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Yes, Dr. Smartstuff does have an email address and he loves to receive emails from classroom teachers and/or students at DrSmartstuff@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Read our privacy policy here.

We offer a variety of professional development workshops. After THE GREAT BODY SHOP has been selected as an approved health education resource, we work closely with school districts to customize a professional development plan that is most relevant to their needs. For more information, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Throughout implementation of THE GREAT BODY SHOP, our Instructional Support Department works closely with school districts to assess implementation. Ongoing support includes but is not limited to, data analysis, phone/email communication, on-site and web-based technical assistance, demonstration/modeling lessons, and in-service trainings. We strive to customize our professional development efforts to meet district needs and maximize student growth in the area of health knowledge and skills acquisition, therefore, each site visit is individually designed by our team in consultation with the district.

We provide a variety of administrative tools to help evaluate program implementation and monitor student growth, such as the Instructional Log, Standards Explorer, validated pre/post assessments, and a customizable teacher implementation survey. These digital tools allow administrators and health committees to easily follow instructional patterns, and review student growth data throughout the implementation cycle to ensure a successful implementation of THE GREAT BODY SHOP.

Yes indeed! Our regional consultants come from a wide range of backgrounds with years of educational and public health experience in small and large venues. For more information, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP is a sequential, comprehensive health education curricular resource that is aligned to the National Health Education Standards, the National Sexuality Education Standards, many state and district health education standards, and the core concepts recommended by CDC's HECAT (Centers for Disease Control, Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool). For more information on our alignment to various standards, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

We actively support the effort to make our schools more socially and emotionally healthy places to work and learn, and to help students develop greater social and emotional competence. To that end, we have integrated Social and Emotional Learning performance objectives into each of the ten-core grade level instructional units within THE GREAT BODY SHOP.  In addition, there are many reinforcement lessons and activities, as well as the Social/Emotional Learning Journal, all of which are designed to build the following five competencies noted by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL): Self-awareness, Self-management, Social-awareness, Social-management, and Responsible Decision-making.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP provides an abundance of opportunities requiring students to apply skills used in reading literature and informational text, writing for purpose, working in cooperative learning groups, and speaking and listening effectively in every lesson. The practice of these skills is at the heart of the CCSS, as well as many state and local language arts standards. THE GREAT BODY SHOP provides opportunities for teachers to work with students in a meaningful way as they connect language arts to the subject of health education. For more information on our alignment to the CCSS for English Language Arts and/or your local language arts standards, contact our Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Yes, we have aligned THE GREAT BODY SHOP to the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success. For more information on this alignment, contact the Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Some districts refer to the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention alignment as meeting Erin's Law while others refer to this alignment by a different title or statute. Regardless, we recognize that the topics of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Personal Safety are subsets of the larger category called Violence and Injury Prevention. Core prevention knowledge, values, and skills have been integrated into THE GREAT BODY SHOP and are evident in various locations throughout Lessons, Portfolios, and Reinforcement Activities. For a detailed alignment to your specific Child Sexual Abuse standards, contact the Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

Yes, and more! We recognize that Bullying Prevention is a subset of the larger category titled Violence and Injury Prevention. You will find very specific skills and knowledge related to developmentally-appropriate, bullying prevention strategies and research-based practices across the spectrum of our 10 thematic strand/units at the elementary level. This approach highlights multiple contexts and nuances associated with bullying behaviors and provides students with multiple opportunities to employ and practice positive prevention strategies. For a detailed alignment to Bullying Prevention key concepts and skills, contact the Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

We routinely respond to requests from school districts to provide them with alignments of THE GREAT BODY SHOP with local and state standards. For assistance, contact the Instructional Support Department at 800-782-7077 x1003 or email info@TheGreatBodyShop.net.

We never forget that families are the primary educators of their children. THE GREAT BODY SHOP has the strongest family component of any health education curricular resource that we know of at this time. Families are encouraged to participate at home, in the school and in the community. That is why we designed Family Issues (Pre-K), Family Music (PRE-K and K), Family Bulletins (K-8), Child/Family Extension activities (K-6) and the Home Connection (7-8). In addition, we provide schools with a Family Portal for each classroom. This way, the family team can view the Program Guide, Student Issues, Family Newsletters, among other supportive resources to encourage family involvement at home.

To ensure accessibility for all learners, The Children's Health Market annually submits NIMAS (National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard) files for all GREAT BODY SHOP student materials to NIMAC (National Instructional Materials Access Center). These files are validated by and registered with NIMAS for download by state and local education agencies. These NIMAS files of THE GREAT BODY SHOP are not intended to be directly distributed to students. Educational agencies generally use an accessible media producer of their choice who convert the GREAT BODY SHOP NIMAS files into accessible materials including braille, digital audio, DAISY text, DAISY audio, large print, or other student-ready formats.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP takes a multifaceted approach to addressing the needs of English Language Learners. The lesson design is consistent and establishes a predictable routine; information is presented in concrete and representational ways; learning is supported with graphics to scaffold the text and new information is presented in the context of what is known information which allows students to draw upon what is known and transfer to the unknown. In addition, multiple opportunities are provided for students to practice critical skills, thus providing time to check for understanding, provide feedback, and support students is achieving skill proficiency.

The textual content is medically accurate and developmentally appropriate. All grade level Student Issues have been reviewed for complexity of the text using the Lexile Analyzer. The Lexile measure for each grade level falls within the recommended text complexity ranges to best prepare students for college and career success.

We recognize that students learn best when they can acquire knowledge and skills through lessons that are diverse, multi-faceted, and incorporate researched-based instruction. Therefore, we have analyzed THE GREAT BODY SHOP lessons for teaching strategies that have been proven effective to help students learn. When reviewing the lessons, look for BEST PRACTICE TIPS bulleted in each section of the lesson. You will note that these tips incorporate different learning styles, such as Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Visual-Spatial, and Musical, among others.  By utilizing these tips, students will have equal access to the learning experience.

In addition to the varied lessons, a wide range of optional Reinforcement Activities are provided. The classroom teacher will find the Reinforcement Activities useful for students who need the same objective taught in a different way and for accelerated students who require additional challenges.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP is a comprehensive, evidenced-based health education curricular resource that is sequential, developmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive and medically accurate. THE GREAT BODY SHOP promotes wellness through the integration of ten, all-inclusive, health content strands including Injury Prevention and Personal Safety, Nutrition and Physical Fitness, Functions of the Body, Growth & Development, Disease and Illness Prevention, Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention, Social and Emotional Health, and Environmental and Consumer Health.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP is a spiraling, thematic curricular resource that includes ten health themes.  Each of the 10 monthly themes includes four core lessons--just one lesson per week! Instructional time varies depending on many variables, including student needs and instructional style. That said, the average time frame is approximately 45 minutes for each lesson.

Each core lesson has a simple four-step lesson design based on the time-honored approach of learning: 1) the old, 2) the new, 3) a review/transfer, and 4) studying the methods of learning. This best practice instructional design helps students activate prior knowledge, acquire new information and skills, demonstrate new learning through guided practice and feedback, and then reflect on metacognition.

The instructional design provides opportunities for direct instruction, guided practice (through varied whole group and small group activities), evaluation and feedback. THE GREAT BODY SHOP lessons are designed to be skill-based, interactive, student-centered, and and more importantly, fun!

Each instructional unit includes a variety of assessments, both formative and summative. Assessments include performance tasks, constructed response questions, pre and post tests, and unit quizzes.

Critical thinking is so important that we have made it the central theme of THE GREAT BODY SHOP program. Regardless of the topic, students practice methods of making good decisions, learn how to compare and contrast, and generate multiple solutions to problems as they learn to make predictions with reliable information. These are not the only skills infused into each theme. Additionally, students practice communication skills, advocacy skills, accessing valid information, analyzing influences, goal-setting, and self-management. By practicing these skills repeatedly throughout the program, students develop skill proficiencies that will help them make healthy decisions, and prepare them to meet future challenges.

We are proud to say that we update THE GREAT BODY SHOP every year! It is our mission to provide school districts, students, and their families with current, medically accurate, and developmentally appropriate health education materials. Therefore, we have an annual evaluation process where our editorial team reviews the Student Issues and Teacher Guides and makes changes as needed.

Absolutely! We hope that it will be integrated across all content areas. Using the cross-curricular chart provided in every unit, teachers can incorporate activities from each lesson that strengthen skills in another discipline while providing differing modes of learning. Some districts love the program design for the flexibility with implementation, and find it helpful to have their specialists in counseling, nursing and PE deliver some of the lessons thereby reducing the instructional load on the classroom teacher.

The Children's Health Market works with an editorial team of experts in health and education to produce THE GREAT BODY SHOP.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP was designed to be taught by classroom teachers who have no previous background in health education. It can also be taught by health teachers and other content specialists.

THE GREAT BODY SHOP has firm community roots. The program had its origin in a hospital-based education program. While our primary focus is educating students and their families, communities are the larger family that also must be healthy to nurture the families within. Lessons throughout the program address ways students and their families can contribute to the community and benefit from valid and reliable community resources.