Standard of Learning

10.4 The student will synthesize and evaluate available health information, products, and services for the value and potential impact on his/her health and wellness throughout life. Key concepts/skills include:

1. marketing and advertising techniques to promote health and wellness;
2. the use of current technological tools to analyze health products and services;
3. involvement of local, state, and federal agencies in health-related issues;
4. the impact of technology on the health status of individuals, families, communities, and the world;
5. employment opportunities in health-related careers and professions.

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Understanding the Standard

The student will evaluate marketing techniques that promote health.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

The student will:

• identify marketing and advertising techniques.
• define social marketing.
• explain how advertisers use direct and indirect methods to influence the public.
• summarize how decoding false advertising methods provides individuals with a sense of control and enhances personal safety.
• identify federal agencies responsible for monitoring false advertising about drug and health products. (Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, and the United States Postal Service)
• develop a system for screening certain products without yielding to marketing and advertising techniques.
• identify organizations or agencies that use marketing techniques to promote health.

Sample Lessons

The Body Book Project
Grade(s): 9-12
High School students learn about the human anatomy, make a book of it and then afterwords go as a class to an elementary school and teach the little kids.
http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/AEF/1996/jones_books.html
Free

Discovery Education: "Eating Disorders: When Food Becomes an Enemy"
Grade(s): 9-12
Students in this lesson will understand the complexity of eating disorders and their possible causes.  Along with starting to understand these disorders, they will also learn to recognize the identifiable symptoms of the most prevalent eating disorders.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/eatingdisorders/
Free

Discovery Education: "Overcoming Eating Disorders"
Grade(s): 9-12
In this lesson, students will learn about two common eating disorders and compare the two.  While learning about these eating disorders, students will then also consider their own body image.
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/overcomingdisorders/
Free

The Educator’s Reference Desk: Lesson Plans> Health>Consumer Health Lesson Plans>Magazine Ads and You, the Teenager
Advertising is often aimed directly at young people. Not only do they spend $70 billion a year, but they influence their parents' purchases also. Youth are hit by certain appeals - appeals to be like everybody else, sex appeal, even negative appeal. This activity is to increase student awareness of persuasion tactics as seen in magazine advertising.
Sponsor: The lesson was developed by a teacher at Daly Middle School, Lakeview, OR. The site is part of the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM). GEM is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
Contact: http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi
Free

The Educator’s Reference Desk Lesson Plans>Health>Process Skills Lesson Plans> It’s In The News
Students analyze information from articles in current newspapers to find reliable information concerning health. The objectives are to ensure that students will be able to define health and wellness; identify components of health living; and analyze in formation from articles in a current newspaper to find reliable information concerning health.
Sponsor: The lesson was developed by a teacher at Clear Creek High School, TX. The site is part of the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM). GEM is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons
Free

The Educator’s Reference Desk: Lesson Plans> Health> Consumer Health Lesson Plans >Fostering Critical Thinking Skills for Consumer Health Decisions
This simple classroom activity can be used to develop consumer health skills among secondary school students. Students select sample advertisements for health products from the print and broadcast media. Peers cooperate to identify the health information and evaluate intended messages. Students present their conclusions orally to their peers, including suggestions to change the ads to help consumers to make informed purchase decisions. This lesson should be used as one component of a unit on consumer health education.
Sponsor: The lesson plan was developed by faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The site is part of the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM). GEM is a Consortium effort to provide educators with quick and easy access to thousands of educational resources found on various federal, state, university, non-profit, and commercial Internet sites. GEM is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons
Free

Fast Fats: A Nutritional Analysis of America's Obsession with Fast Foods
Grade(s): 10-12
In this three part lesson, students will examine nutrition labels for caloric intake using various snack foods. Then, they will determine the number of calories in a food item. Finally, they will conduct a research project in which they examine the food choices of their classmates.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/health/nutrition.html
Free

Fostering Critical Thinking Skills for Consumer Health Decisions
Grades: 9-12
This simple classroom activity can be used to develop consumer health skills among secondary school students. Students select sample advertisements for health products from the print and broadcast media. Peers cooperate to identify the health information and evaluate intended messages. Students present their conclusions orally to their peers, including suggestions to change the ads to help consumers to make informed purchase decisions. This lesson should be used as one component of a unit on consumer health education.
Sponsor: Ask Eric
Contact: http://www.eduref.org (select lesson plans – health – consumer health)
Free

Health: Teen Health Course 3 Internet Activities Activity 6 Safe in the Sun
Do you enjoy spending time outdoors? Perhaps you like to hike or swim in the summer and skate or snowboard in the winter. Outdoor activities can be a great deal of fun and an excellent way to stay physically active. Did you know, however, that you could be putting your health at risk simply by being outdoors? The sun's ultraviolet rays can cause serious health problems anytime you are outside-even in the winter. Overexposure to the sun can cause premature wrinkles, eye damage, and skin cancer. You can stay safe and prevent these health problems by following sun safety guidelines. This activity will show you how to use the Internet to find valuable information about the sun and its harmful effects on health. It will also show you how following sun safety guidelines can allow you to have fun outdoors while still protecting yourself. After exploring these sites and completing the questions, you will be able to identify the risks of sun exposure, provide tips for staying safe from the sun's rays, use your knowledge to create an informative public service announcement. No grade range given.
Sponsor: McGraw Hill Glencoe Online
Contact: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/health/th32003/activities
Free

In the Mix: "Hearing Between The Lines"
Grade(s): 7-12
Students will listen to and read lyrics from popular songs that explore themes of self-esteem, body image, and eating disorders. The song interpretations will serve as a jumping-off point to deeper discussion on the issues, culminating in a writing exercise.
http://www.pbs.org/inthemix/educators/lessons/selfimage2/
Free

Kellogg Special K Ads
This lesson helps students understand the relationship between body image and marketing by exploring the Kellogg’s Special K “look good on your own terms” advertising campaign. Students begin by reading about this award-winning, controversial campaign which uses humor to skewer traditional advertising stereotypes about thinness. Students will deconstruct a series of Special K ads and discuss how marketers target “ideal beauty” messages to both men and women. Students will also look at the differences between the different marketing campaigns for Special K that have been used with Canadian and American women.
Sponsor: Media Awareness Network
Contact: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources
Free

Macmillan McGraw Hill Lesson Plans and Activity Sheets Cybersmarts Identifying High Quality Sites
Students learn that, because anyone can publish on the Web, they must carefully evaluate the sites they use for research. They review evaluation criteria and use a checklist to "grade" informational sites. Students will learn how the ease of publishing on the World Wide Web may affect the usefulness of some sites' content. Students will interpret the criteria on a site evaluation checklist and apply the checklist to a site, evaluating its usefulness. The activity sheet may be downloaded in PDF format.
Grades 6-8
Contact: http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org
Free

Magazine Ads and You, the Teenager
Grades: 6-8
Advertising is often aimed directly at young people. Not only do they spend $70 billion a year, but they influence their parents' purchases also. Youth are hit by certain appeals - appeals to be like everybody else, sex appeal, even negative appeal. This activity is to increase student awareness of persuasion tactics as seen in magazine advertising.
Sponsor: Ask Eric
Contact: http://www.eduref.org (select lesson plans – health – consumer health)
Free

MedlinePlus: Evaluating Health Information
Filled with tips on how to evaluate health information. This well organized website links the reader to reliable resource, for instance the NLM and NIH Guide to Healthy Web Surfing, the Federal Trade Commission Health Claims on the Internet: Buyer Beware and American Psychological Association Watch for Commercial Influences.
Sponsor: National Library of Medicine & National Institute of Health
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html
Free

New York Times Daily Lesson Plan>Diagnosing Delusions: Debunking Common Medical Myths Through Education
In this lesson, after reading a background article from the New York Times, students learn how widespread medical myths can be potentially dangerous. They then synthesize their knowledge by creating pamphlets that help patients learn the facts behind some commonly believed medical myths.
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC.
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons
Free

New York Times Daily Lesson Plan>Organic Feud: Assessing Reasons to Buy or Abstain from the Organic Foods Market
In this lesson, students examine possible pesticide exposure in their fruit and vegetable consumption. They then compile fact sheets exploring various organic food issues and interview their parents about the food choices they make for their children.
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons
Free

New York Times Daily Lesson Plan>'Got Milk?' or 'Not Milk!'? - That Is the Question! Critically Analyzing Information about Dairy Products on the Internet
In this lesson, students critically analyze Web sites that present different sides of the controversial milk debate (good for you/not good for you).
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons
Free

New York Times Daily Lesson Plan>Herbs: Healthy Alternatives or Bad Medicine? Comparing Herbal and Pharmaceutical Remedies for Common Ailments
In this lesson, students compare herbal and pharmaceutical remedies for common ailments. Students will investigate the reported effects and warnings about specific herbal and pharmaceutical remedies used to treat common ailments and develop comparison/ contrast charts exploring the researched herbal and pharmaceutical remedies.
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons
Free

The New York Times Daily Lesson Plans. Bigger Than Life, But Not Necessarily Better
Evaluating Images of Health in American Society: A Science Lesson
In this lesson, students examine where one develops his or her views about health and ways in which different products promote specific ideas of what should be seen as healthy. Students then investigate different ways in which people alter their bodies to become more like the "ideal"' picture of health promoted in American society and assess the marketing of dolls, action figures, and nutritional supplements, focusing on the images of health that they present.
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC.
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons
Free

Project Towards No Tobacco Use (TNT)
Grades 5-10
Model program to prevent or reduce tobacco use in youth. Ten core and 2 booster lessons. Includes effective refusal and coping skills; effects of media and advertisers; methods to build self-esteem; and strategies for advocating no tobacco use.
Sponsor: Department of Preventive Medicine, USC
Contact: http://www.etr.org
Cost

Selecting and Using Health-Care Products
This Web site offers a lesson plan entitled “Selecting and Using Health-Care Products”. Registration is required in order to access the lesson plans.
Sponsor: Health Teacher
Contact: http://www.healthteacher.com/lessonguides/middle_index.asp
$100 for all teachers in a school to access the lesson plan.

Skating on Thin Ice Examining Eating Disorders and Various Means to Treat Them
Grade(s): 6-12
In this lesson, students research various eating disorders and their treatments. They then create fictional case studies of teenagers suffering from these disorders and synthesize their understanding by writing suggestions for treatment.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/
Free

Walk Across the Country
Grade(s): 6-12
This lesson plan insists on starting a physical fitness plan after hearing about the FDA  approving a fat substitute for cooking.
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/health/fitness/walkamerica.html
Free

Additional Instructional Resources

• Center for Disease Control – http://www.cdc.gov
• Centers for Disease Control – http://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/findings.htm
• Consumer Products Safety Commission – http://www.cpsc.gov
• http://healthweb.org
• Federal Trade Commission - http://www.ftc.gov
• Food and Drug Administration – http://www.fda.gov
• Food and Drug Administration – http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/200_med.html
• Food and Drug Administration - http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/OTClabel.htm
• Food and Drug Administration - http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/WhatsRightForYou.htm
• Food and Drug Administration – http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/CDRHHHC/brochure-checklist.html
• Healthfinder – http://www.healthfinder.gov
• How Quackery Sells – http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quacksell.html
• Marketing Specialists
• Medical Library Association - http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html
• National Institutes of Health – http://www.nih.gov
• National Library of Medicine & National Institute of Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/overthecountermedicines.html
• National Library of Medicine & National Institute of Health –http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugandmedicaldevicesafety
• Quackwatch – http://www.quackwatch.com
• Six Types of Advertising - http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/sixads.html
• Types of Web Advertising - http://www.pr2.com/webads3.htm
• United States Postal Service - http://www.usps.gov
• U.S. Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research - http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome
• U.S. General Services Administration, Federal Citizen Information Center, Office of Citizen Services and Communications - http://www.consumer.gov

Assessment Ideas

The student will:

• use two products and distinguish between advertising claims and actual benefits.
• compare advertising techniques and methods between the 1960s and the present.
• identify three advertisements that use the persuasion method to sell a product.
• have small groups of students role-play the persuasion method of advertising.
• analyze the effectiveness of social marketing techniques to promote health.
• create a jingle that contains false information about a health product.
• develop a fictitious product and try to sell it to their peers using their version of one of the marketing strategies.
• identify products that have been restricted to certain consumers because of their potentially harmful effects.
• plan and implement a study which documents the appeal of a product based on its advertisement rather than its taste or appeal.
• analyze the economic gains realized by effective advertising.
• discriminate between honest advertising and quackery.

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