Advocates for Youth
What Reduces Sexual Risks?
Teens don't have the ability to see around all of the corners of their decisions, some of which can affect the rest of their lives. Help them understand the implications of risky sexual behavior, including sexually transmitted diseases...
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Youth and Tobacco Use
There are a number of social, emotional, and physiological reasons why teenagers start smoking, and why they continue smoking into adulthood. Help class members understand why smoking begins in youth—and how to protect themselves from...
Health Smart Virginia
Decision Making
Researchers have discovered that when making decisions, teens' brains function differently than the brains of adults. After reading an article about this research, middle schoolers learn about a five-step decision-making process and...
Health Smart Virginia
So Stressed, Now Stress Less
Carrot, egg, or tea? A parable gets teens thinking about how, when faced with the same adversity, people respond differently. As the lesson progresses, class members learn about how stress is regulated by the sympathetic and...
Sacramento Country Day School
7th Grade Character Development Workshops
Be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. Synergize. These are just a few strategies outlined in Sean Covey's ground-breaking best-seller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. With a series of five character development workshops...
Nemours KidsHealth
Breakfast
How can breakfast help you to avoid feeling sluggish and distracted throughout the day? After reading informational articles, learners will discuss how to overcome obstacles to eating breakfast, brainstorm ideas for quick breakfasts, and...
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 6: Making Choices
A lesson looks closely at risky behavior such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Middle schoolers use a question box to ask questions anonymously. They role-play what life would be like if they became pregnant then...
Cooking Matters
Cooking Matters: For Chefs and Kids
Get your scholars cooking with a collection of activities that pairs the class to a community chef, promotes healthy snacking and drinking, and explores fruits and vegetables. Lower elementary learners create vegetable super heroes,...
Generation Rx
My Generation Rx: Minute Activities
Want to discuss the prevalence of prescription drug abuse among teenagers, but running out of class time? A series of short, straightforward activities address topics such as sharing prescription drugs, coping mechanisms for stress, and...
Nemours KidsHealth
Obesity: Grades 9-12
High schoolers take on the role of the nation's first Teen Nutrition and Fitness Czars and create tips that can be texted to other teens to remind them about healthy eating and exercising. Groups read articles to gather background...
Nemours KidsHealth
Breakfast: Grades 9-12
Sleep and food are brain fuels, and teens require a lot of both, but getting high schoolers up in time to have a healthy breakfast before they charge off to school can be a challenge. To meet this challenge, scholars first set up a...
Nemours KidsHealth
Obesity: Grades 6-8
Screen time and fast foods, sugary drinks and greasy fries have lead to one-third of tween and teens being overweight or obese. As part of the Health Problems Series scholars analyze the nutritional value of the school food services menu...
Health Smart Virginia
Mindful Yoga Introduction
Middle schoolers apply what they learned in the previous instructional activity about mindful yoga to design a project to help a teen cope with a stressful situation in a healthy way. Groups role play explaining the benefits of their...
Nemours KidsHealth
Fitness: Grades 9-12
Get off the couch, potato! Fitness is the focus of a resource that offers two engaging activities. The first has class members design a 5-day, 60-minute exercise session program for reluctant teens. The second activity asks teams to...
Nemours KidsHealth
Sports Safety: Grades 9-12
What to do and what not to do when training and playing sports. That is the focus of two activities designed for teens. In the first activity, individuals read research about factors that contribute to safe sport participation and share...
Nemours KidsHealth
Food Safety: Grades 9-12
Food poisoning, salmonellosis, E. Coli, shigellosis, tapeworms—all these words can strike fear into eaters. Alas, the five-second rule is not necessarily true! Two activities teach teens safety rules for food purchasing, preparation,...
Nemours KidsHealth
Conflict Resolution: Grades 9-12
Conflicts happen. Learning to deal with them positively, manage anger, and communicate feelings is the focus of a lesson that gives high schoolers the tools they need for conflict resolution. After reading a series of related articles,...
Nemours KidsHealth
School Lunch: Grades 9-12
Go! Slow! Whoa! As part of a study of the nutritional value of foods available on the school campus, groups label those that are fine anytime as "Go" foods. Those that are okay a few times a week get the "Slow" label while those...
Nemours KidsHealth
Smoking: Grades 9-12
The increase in the number of restrictions placed on smoking represents a clear shift in the understanding of the dangers of both the short term and long term consequences of tobacco use. But people still light up. Three activities help...
Nemours KidsHealth
Diabetes: Grades 6-8
After reading a series of articles that provide background information about Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, class members design a meal plan and an activity plan for a weeklong summer camp for 5- to 8-year olds with diabetes. A second...
Nemours KidsHealth
Bike Safety: Grades 6-8
Two activities teach tweens and teens about bike safety. After reading articles about bike safety, class members design tags with important safety reminders that can be attached to bikes. Groups then create a dance video that...
Nemours KidsHealth
Alcohol: Grades 6-8
To get the word out about the realities of teens and tweens drinking alcohol, class members engage in two activities. For the first, groups design highway billboards about the dangers of alcohol drinking. Class members then create a...
Health Smart Virginia
Building Self-Esteem and Self-Image
The ninth lesson in the Health Smart series is designed to get high schoolers to understand the factors that make them feel the way they do about themselves, their bodies, and their self-worth. Pupils watch a video about teens and body...
Nemours KidsHealth
STDs: Grades 9-12
After gathering information about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), high schoolers engage in two activities designed to educate themselves and others. They begin by using what they have learned to write a speech for a friend who...