Personal and Community Health Lesson Plans

This resource has many links to basic concepts behind nursing and wellness. Learners will define the terms community and health to then describe the six basic elements of community health practice to be used in nursing. This is an online activity.

Investigate the primary causes for the increase in overweight youth and discover its impact on the health care system. After watching segments from the Bill Moyers Now program, they develop campaigns to implement in school that combat obesity and promote physical activity.

What are the factors that affect health? Middle schoolers will identify four factors which contribute to health and identify the environment as the factor with the most impact. They tape their card(s) under the column on the flip chart paper that most affects/contributes to the health problem or issue on their card. Resources and handouts are included.

High Schoolers participate in a class discussion on the ethical issues faced in the health care industry today. In groups, they develop their own definition of bioethics and role play the role of one of the various types of members of different ethical systems. To end the lesson, they develop the characteristics of their own health care system.

Students understand that giving birth in developing countries can be risky. For this maternal health lesson, students are informed about the problems and statistics for giving birth in developing countries. Students create posters showing how mothers are celebrated around the world.

Students write a proposal with an appropriate budget to establish a health day at school. They design this day to educate and promote good health. They educate other students about health care, inform students of health concerns, and encourage them to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Students analyze information and draw conclusions about the reality of human life expectancy; the battle between health care technology and our own internal time clocks. Students answer questions such as "Why does aging occur and can science extend the life expectancy of humans exponentially?

Students discuss the health effects of asthma. In this asthma instructional activity, students answer questions about their own history with asthma or difficulty breathing. They create a pamphlet to go in a doctor's office to inform others about asthma. 

Students discover the changes their body goes through during puberty by participating in a role-playing activity.  In this human health lesson, students write a description of themselves as if they were a pituitary gland.  Students research the Internet about puberty and complete a fill in the blank quiz.

Students participate in a class demonstration to see how many Americans are affected by cancer in their lifetime.  In this public health lesson, students are placed in situations that allow them to experience how relevant cancer research is to everyone. This lesson includes a project based discussion, a theatrical reading, a role playing situation, and web resources.