This project study addressed the problem of teachers at a local elementary school site attempting to implement a standards-based health initiative with a minimal amount of instructional strategies designed to support the new curriculum. The purpose of the study was to examine current health instruction by gathering teachers' perceptions and lived experiences as they implemented the elementary-school health education (EHE) curriculum. The research questions addressed the effects of the standards-based health curriculum on teachers' instructional strategies in health education. The study was guided by the developmental learning theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and by conceptual curriculum and instructional paradigms in health education. A qualitative case study design was employed with a purposeful sample of teachers and support staff at the local school. Data were collected using surveys for teachers and staff and face-to-face interviews with selected classroom teachers. Data from surveys were descriptively analyzed and interviews were coded and reviewed for common themes based on the theoretical and conceptual frameworks. Data from each source and participant type were triangulated. The findings revealed a strong desire to implement a health-education curriculum that is grade-level appropriate and a need for further exploration into effective teaching strategies for standards. A curriculum project that incorporated standards and instructional activities for each grade level was constructed. Implementation of the project could affect social change when it becomes teachers at the site who are empowered to improve the health status of elementary school students through the use of a grade-level appropriate standards-based health curriculum. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]