Driving Question
(Teacher Guided, Student Constructed)
What community initiative can help people live healthier, prevent chronic disease, and support mental well-being?
Public Products
Students will present their designed products or services to an audience composed of health professionals from the school or local community.
Connections
Foundations
Milestones
Milestone 1 (Days 1–2): Entry Event
Situation
Utah’s Public Health Data Resource recently reported that 22.1% of all students in Utah’s public schools are not at a healthy weight, with 9.8% classified as obese. Eating well and staying active help maintain a healthy weight and improve mental health, so it’s essential to track the amount of physical activity adolescents are getting. In Utah schools, only 14.0% of girls and 28.0% of boys reported getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day of the week. Health advocates in Utah are exploring ways to help students and families access the tools and programs they need to build healthy, active habits.
Key Student Questions
- How many minutes of physical activity do you get per day?
- How much junk food do you think you consume daily?
- How is your mental health connected to your physical health?
Formative Assessments
- Exit Ticket
Materials
- Guided Notes
- health-related documentaries (vary clips/videos based on what you have access to and what is available locally):
- Way Beyond Weight
- Bite Size
- Fed Up
- Sugar Coated
- post-its or scrap paper with tape
- Team Jenga Instructions and Template
Instructional Procedures
- Pass out the Guided Notes.
- Invite students to answer the first question on the Guided Notes (how many minutes of physical activity do you get per day). Poll the class to identify an average amongst the class.
- Share the Situation to lead a class discussion.
- Present a variety of clips from the health-related documentaries that students may be unfamiliar with.
- Have students fill out the rest of the Guided Notes.
- Review the Background Information and Vocabulary with the students.
- As the students consider their own physical activity levels, also have them think about the people in their lives who are affected by poor health related to a lack of activity or poor nutrition. Provide time for students to share these experiences to help gain a broader perspective.
- Have students consider an audience that could benefit from better health and the factors that influence people’s health behaviors. Guide students to craft a driving question such as, “What community initiative can help people live healthier, prevent chronic disease, and support mental well-being?”
- Share examples of community initiatives that promote physical activity, healthy eating, and mental wellness. Encourage students to come up with their own ideas and choose a method they feel will have the most impact on people’s behaviors.
- Instruct students to write down their possible project ideas on a post-it and have them post it on the whiteboard, wall, or other designated area.
- Analyze the post-its with the students and discuss their solutions and how they address the driving question. Sort their ideas into categories.
- Group students according to the project ideas they developed. You can use an informal survey method to have students identify a project idea they are interested in (four corners, hands raised, thumbs up, thumbs down, etc.).
- Lead a Team Jenga team-building activity to help students get to know each other and practice effective communication. The Team Jenga Instructions and Template includes getting-to-know-you questions and a blank template if you want to create your own.
- Have students fill out an exit ticket with responses to the following prompts:
- A healthy amount of time participating in physical activity is … minutes per day.
- I participate in … minutes per day.
- How can I improve my physical activity?
- How is my mental health associated with my physical health?
- The service, program, or product I am considering is …
- What careers would be involved with my project …
- Who from our community can we invite to be a part of the panel of judges?
- I was a little confused and may need some help with …
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