Standard of Learning

6.2 The student will use knowledge of the body's structure and function to make sound decisions related to personal health. Key concepts/skills include

1. relationships of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Dietary Guidelines for Americans to personal eating habits;
2. the interconnection of the body systems;
3. the effects of disease on the functions of the body;
4. the relationship of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, and other harmful substances to body functioning;
5. the positive and negative effects of prescription and over-the-counter medications on body functioning.

<< Back to Index

Understanding the Standard

The student will understand how diseases affect the function of the body.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

The student will:

• define disease and differentiate between communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• explain the process of infection and the immune system’s response.
• describe how diseases affect the function of body systems.

Sample Lessons

Allergies vs. Viruses
Students will understand the difference between an allergen and a virus upon completion of this lesson. Students are asked to create a flowchart comparing the common cold or hay fever. The diagnosis and treatment of allergies and viruses is also discussed.
Two class periods are needed to complete this lesson.
Sponsor: Discovery School
Contact: http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/allergiesviruses/
Free

Be a Germstopper
Encourages healthy habits to prevent the spread of illness in schools and at home. Provides links and resources for teachers on food safety, hand washing, the flu and nutrition.
Sponsor: CDC
Contact: http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/index.htm
Free

Fighting Invisible Enemies
Students learn about antibiotics to fight bacterial infections and the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Sponsor: Discovery Channel
Contact: http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/invisibleenemies
Free

Glo Germ
Hand washing lesson plan that teaches about disease transmission, germs and how frequent hand washing helps to prevent illness.
Sponsor: Glo Germ
Contact: http://www.glogerm.com
Free

HeartPower!
Grades: 6-8
Teaches student about the heart and how to keep it healthy. Science-based. Lessons, handouts.
--How Does the Heart Work?
--What Increases the Risk of CVD?
Sponsor: American Heart Association
Contact: http://www.americanheart.org (select HeartPower!)
Free

Introduction to Bacteria
Covers how bacteria move, where they live, and how they reproduce and that they can be harmful.
Sponsor: Discovery Channel
Contact: http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/bacteria/
Free

It’s a Snap
A hands-on initiative for middle schools that's designed to help keep students in school and learning by improving overall health through promoting clean hands. Schools can use the SNAP program to increase student and staff hand cleaning and help them stay healthy. SNAP offers a free teachers toolkit to use to integrate hand hygiene into the curriculum and schoolwide activities.
Sponsor: CDC, Department of Health and Human Services and Soap and Detergent Association
Contact: http://www.itsasnap.org/index.asp
Free

New York Times Daily Lesson Plan> Healthy Hearts: Exploring the Causes and Cures of Diseases Affecting the Cardiopulmonary System
In this lesson, students focus on advanced technologies used to treat disease impacting the cardiopulmonary system; they then reflect on the experiences of having and overcoming illnesses. The final project requires student groups to investigate four common diseases affecting the cardiopulmonary system: heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, and diabetes.
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> Nothing to Sneeze At: Creating Informational Pamphlets About a Range of Allergic Reactions
In this lesson, students learn about allergic reactions; they then synthesize their knowledge by creating informational pamphlets that help new allergy patients learn more about the nature of allergies.
Sponsor: The New York Times in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education in NYC
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers
Free

Polio Web Quest
Grades: 5-8
A WebQuest about polio. The activities are Internet based. In the 1950's one of the most terrifying words to any parent was "polio". As a child of the fifties, I remember my mother being very careful about things like playing with the garden hose, splashing in the rain and stomping in mud puddles. No one knew where polio came from and parents were terrified of their children catching this crippling disease. Do you know who Dr. Salk is? Have you ever seen an iron lung? Come with me on a journey into the past and listen to survivors tell about their experience with this debilitating disease.
Sponsor: Ask Eric
Contact: http://www.eduref.org (select lesson plans – health – health)
Free

Texas Department of Health
This lesson will help children recognize that personal health decisions and behaviors affect health throughout life. Following this lesson students will be able to identify and practice personal health habits that help individuals stay healthy. Sponsor: Texas Department of Health
Contact: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/kids/lessonplans/default.shtm
Free

Virus Encounters: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Presented in five activities students learn about a viruses’ internal structures and functions, about diagnosing and treating viral infections. In activity three, students access the CDC’s Live Event video links. Students investigate a viral disease from perspective of a patient or a doctor in activity four. In order to understand disease outbreak, students examine a CDC case study.
Sponsor: U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Contact: http://turnerlearning.com/fyi/virusencounters
Free

Additional Instructional Resources

• American Cancer Society – http://www.cancer.org
• American Heart Association – http://www.americanheart.org
• American Lung Association – http://www.lungusa.org
• BrainPOP – http://www.brainpop.com/health
• Diabetes Fact Sheet - Diabetes_Fact_Sheet.pdf
• Diabetes Resource Directory - Diabetes_Resources.pdf
• DiscoverySchool.com – http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/6-8.html
• Diseases – http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/LPview?core=7
• Human Body Systems – http://www.si.edu/nsrc/stcms/access/humanbod.htm
• Illness & Disease – http://www.pbs.org/teachersource (health & fitness 6-8)
• Innerbody – http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html
• KidsHealth.org – http://kidshealth.org
• National Diabetes Education Program - http://www.ndep.nih.gov
• Teaching the Human Body – http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/teachercenter

Assessment Ideas

The student will:

• research and present to the class the effects one communicable or noncommunicable disease has on the functions of the body.
• identify specific body systems affected by various diseases.
• discuss how a healthy immune system protects the body from diseases.

TOP...