Lesson+6

Grade Level:  10

Unit:  Biology (or Health Education)

Lesson Objectives (include 4 or 5): Student will understand  Student will be able to  Time Required to complete this lesson:  About 1 hour
 * How lifestyle choices affect their health.
 * Which factors promote good health and which factors are detrimental to good health.
 * Honestly complete an online survey about their lifestyle choices.
 * Think critically about their lifestyle choices and how they can change them if necessary.

Title of lesson:  Lifestyle and health survey

Description of lesson (if you were to describe to a parent what was happening in the classroom for this lesson, what would you say in 3-5 sentences).  This lesson was inspired by an interactive display that I saw at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science that asked a series of questions based on lifestyle choices and other factors related to health (i.e., diet, activity level, obesity, family history of disease, and tobacco and alcohol use) and then estimates one's life expectancy based upon the data entered. I'm hoping to find a similar online survey (that won't disclose information to anyone except the person taking the survey) for this assignment. This will be a homework activity that each student will complete independently. After taking the survey, students will write a brief essay about what they are doing (or plan to do in the future) to maintain good health. The essay should be word processed. I have not yet found the online health survey, but I have created an Animoto video that I have embedded onto the Teaching with Technology page that addresses some (hopefully) attention grabbing statistics about health risking behaviors that are specific to teens. I have deliberately avoided "preaching" directly to anybody who may be engaging in any of these behaviors, instead, I am promoting advocacy for the friends of those who are at risk. At the very least, students will become aware of these (mostly preventable) health risks and tell their friends (who may really need it) about this information. This lesson fits into the Anatomy and Physiology portion of the Biology unit in my Scope and Sequence.

Assignment (homework or in-class: this is how the learner will practice the learning that has just occurred):  View "Chances Are..." video, complete online lifestyle and health survey, write essay about health and lifestyle choices.

Resources/materials needed:  Access to World Wide Web, word processing software.

Technology used:  The World Wide Web, Animoto video "Chances Are..." on this site.

The technology used in this lesson changes the teaching / learning in this way: Students can view the Animoto video anywhere they can access the Internet. By independently completing an online survey, students will become aware of their lifestyle and health choices without the risk of disclosing this information to their peers, parents, or teachers. In this light, I would ask students to be honest with themselves and include any information about potentially harmful activities in the survey for their own enlightenment. Students DO NOT have to tell me about these activities in their essay if they don't wish to do so. They simply need to tell me their plans for maintaining and improving their health.