Standard of Learning

9.4 The student will use various sources of information to evaluate global health issues. Key concepts/skills include:

1. the connections between personal health goals and state or national health issues (e.g., as found in the Report of the Surgeon General);
2. the benefits of information provided by recognized sources such as state and local health departments, the United States of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

<< Back to Index

Understanding the Standard

Student will identify the connections between personal health goals and state and national health issues.

Essential Knowledge and Skills

The student will:

• identify the national health issues outlined in the Report of the Surgeon General. (http://www.health.gov/healthypeople).
• research community, state, national, and global health issues and evaluate their connections to personal health goals.
• identify how personal health practices can affect the health outcomes of individuals and groups. (normative behaviors - smoking, poor nutrition, etc., the spread of communicable diseases, pollution, violence, immunizations, etc.)
• analyze health behaviors and practices that are common to groups of people. (cultural or religious practices, gangs, underinsured, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.)
• analyze the impact of unhealthy community and global practices on individuals and groups.
• assess the value of health indicators and their impact on societal health. (obesity, communicable disease infection rates, infant mortality statistics, etc.)

Sample Lessons

Eating Disorders in Teenagers Today
Grade(s): 7-12
This lesson will enable students to understand the complexity of eating disorders and their underlying causes, the identifiable symptoms of common eating disorders, and the resources available to teenagers that may help to prevent and/or treat eating disorders.
http://apps.caes.uga.edu/sbof/main/lessonPlan/EatingDisorders.pdf
Free

Health: Eating Disorders
Grade(s): 7-9
Learn about anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, compulsive overeating, and other types of eating disorders. Find out their signs and symptoms, how they can be identified, and prevented. Includes video files, peer stories, questions and answers, quizzes, and a lesson plan. There is also a link to an eThemes resource on diet and nutrition.
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001532.shtml
Free

Hydroville Challenge
Grades 9-12
Four environmental health scenarios based on actual occurrences and real data.
"Pesticide Spill Scenario"
"Mysterious Illness Outbreak"
"Indoor Air Quality"
"Water Quality"
Sponsor: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: http://www.hydroville.org

Lifetime Health and Fitness Project
Grade(s): 9-12
The lesson will need to be done at your school's computer lab. The students are going to be in groups of 4 and are going to explore the internet about diets, physical fitness and effects of being overweight, cooking healthy and life time activities, and effects of drugs/alcohol/tobacco.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/PECILifetimeHealthAndFitnessProject912.htm
Free

Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles: BENEFITS OF LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
Grade(s): 9-12
Students will identity the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle: proper nutrition, balancing caloric intake with energy output, and the role of exercise.
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=1156
Free

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

Tox RAP
Grades K-9
Students understand basic environmental health sciences concepts and make informed decisions to reduce their health risks associated with potential environmental pollutants. Lessons use a risk assessment framework.
'The Case of the Green Feathers' (air pollution) Grade 3
'What is Wrong with the Johnson Family?' (investigate unexplained health problems) Grades 3-6
'Mystery Illness Strikes the Sanchez Household' (simulated health hazard) Grades 6-9
Sponsor: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: rhttp://www.eohsi.rutgers.edu/rc/toxrap/index.htm

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

• Healthy People 2010 – http://www.health.gov/healthypeople
• http://www.kidshealth.org
• http://www.nih.gov
• Virginia Department of Health - http://vdh.state.va.us
• Virginia Department of Social Services - http://www.dss.state.va.us
• World Health – http://www.pbs.org/teachersource (health & fitness 9-12)

Assessment Ideas

The student will:

• create a world map and describe the health status for each continent.
• compare state and national health problems with those of the rest of the world.
• design a Web site to display global health concerns and provide links to international and national health resources.
• write a three-page paper on the Healthy People 2010 Goals and identify strategies to implement positive health decisions and practices in their community.
• identify five Internet sites that provide a better understanding of global health issues.
• research regions of the world, cultures, and patterns of health for various communities.
• illustrate through the creation of a historical time line the health problems that have had a global impact throughout the past 400 years.
• list health conditions that originated in one country and spread to other parts of the world.
• analyze interventions practiced by communities around the world that promote good health. (e.g., sanitation, immunizations, health education, etc.)

TOP...