Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson B)
At one point, people thought mercury was therapeutic for humans, but now we know it is highly toxic. The second of three activities covering mercury focuses on its health hazards if humans are exposed. Pairs research and answer questions...
Curated OER
Human Embryo Development and Birth Defects
Open this lesson with a discussion on birth defects. Break the class into groups to visit a website and learn about what happens at each stage of human embryo and fetal development. Assign each group a particular birth defect to...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diabetes in the Family: A Case Study
Students examine a case study of a woman with a family history of type 2 diabetes and create a "family health portrait" that assesses her risk of developing diabetes. They use the family health portrait to record the woman's family...
Curated OER
Do I or Don't I? A Lesson in Making Healthy Sexual Choices
Students role play scenarios about making smart sexual choices. In this health lesson, students discuss the consequences of sexual decisions they make when they are teens. They analyze how these can affect their future and the people who...
Baylor College
Mapping the Spread of HIV/AIDS
Where is HIV/AIDS most prevalent and what are the current trends regarding HIV? Have groups work together to map the world's HIV/AIDS rates, then create a class map with all the data. Lesson includes cross-disciplinary concepts including...
Baylor College
Activity and Exercise
Leave it to the classic jump rope to get your class excited about physical activity! Your class will begin by discussing the benefits of jumping rope as a form of exercise and learning a few different types of jumps. Then in groups of...
Baylor College
Body Mass Index (BMI)
How do you calculate your Body Mass Index, and why is this information a valuable indicator of health? Class members discover not only what BMI is and practice calculating it using the height and weight of six fictitious individuals, but...
Scholastic
Opioids and the Overdose Epidemic
Learn about the opioid and overdose epidemic in America with an article that explains what opioids are, how they are used, and how they are abused. Learners discover the death rates associated with opioid overdoses and other factors that...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Nemours KidsHealth
Vision
From the iris and retina to glasses and contact lenses, learners will be excited to see what activities are in store for them as they learn about the complex organ of the human eye.
Baylor College
Calculating Exponential Growth
There can be a steep learning curve when teaching about exponential growth, but the lesson helps kids make sense out of the concept. When talking about exponential growth of viruses, learners may not be very interested, but when you are...
Baylor College
Modeling an HIV Particle
Models are an important part of science; they help us see the world on a scale that works for us. In the first of five lessons on HIV, learners make a paper model of the HIV virus that is about 500,000 times larger than the actual virus....
Baylor College
HIV/AIDS in the United States
In the final of five lessons about HIV/AIDS, groups create presentations to share data about the infection rates in the United States, examining demographic and geographic trends over the past ten years. Depending on how much time you...
Nemours KidsHealth
Drugs: Grades 6-8
What happens to your body when you use drugs? What do you do if your friend wants you to start using? Learn about the signs of addiction and the ways to withstand peer pressure with two classroom activities. After storyboarding the...
Curated OER
If Those Dolls Were Real People
Students explore shape perceptions. In this body image lesson, students take measurements of childrens' toys and use ratios to determine what the dolls would look like if they were real human people. Students discuss the implications of...
Curated OER
We've Come a Long Way, Baby!
Middle schoolers study technology and the different reproductive technologies available today. In this human reproductive technology lesson students describe how engineers create technologies to improve the health of mothers and babies.
Baylor College
Making Copies of an HIV Particle
In the second of five lessons about HIV, discover the mechanisms that allow the HIV virus to replicate. Using the models that they created the day before, learners examine the parts of the virus particle. The lesson plan does not say...
Curated OER
Changing Times, Changing Strategies
Students explore the C.D.C.'s efforts to become better equipped to battle bioterrorism; they then discuss surveillance, epidemiological, and communications issues related to their program.
Curated OER
Cough...Cough...Yeah, I Smoke!
Learners become familiar with the adverse health affects caused by cigarette smoking, nicotine addiction, and how when combined they may eventually lead to other risky behaviors. They engage in a role play where they make choices about...
Curated OER
BUS:Disease Detective - Health Informatics (HST)
Students explore careers in the Health Informatics Pathway.
Curated OER
Ah Choo!
Middle schoolers compare bacteria to viruses to find the differences. For this biology lesson, students research viruses they have been inoculated against, using the Internet. Middle schoolers complete a graphic organizer of their...
Curated OER
How is Atomic Energy Used Today
Students investigate energy sources by examining photographs. In this atomic energy lesson plan, students identify and describe various pictures and how atomic energy is used in them. Students create a presentation demonstrating how...
Curated OER
I Wash My Hands of It!
Young scholars conduct a survey about hand washing. They view the results and examine "Infection Charts". They research diseases and talk about the importance of handwashing and how they could improve their hand washing habits.
Curated OER
Regulation and handling of animal products: a special challenge
Students examine how food safety affects sustainable animal production and marketing. In this agriculture lesson students complete several activities including one on groceries and the rules of animal products.