Health Teacher Resources

Healthy bodies and minds make healthy learners! Find a wealth of health-related lesson plans and activities on nutrition, wellness, growth and development, injury prevention, and first aid In Lesson Planet’s collection of reviewed and rated resources.

A good place to start is with a presentation about the primary components of each of the three major areas (physical, social, and mental health) of the health triangle. Introduce early learners to the health triangle and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle with the collaborative activities found in this unit. The activities in another unit plan help middle schoolers develop a broader understanding of the areas of the health triangle.

Good nutrition is a key part of physical health. Get kids thinking about their food choices with a video that compares the nutrients found in fast foods to those in fruits and vegetables. Another video, sure to snare the interest of viewers, suggests world hunger problems could be solved by reviving or expanding the practice of eating bugs, an amazing source of vital nutrients!

Healthy relationships are a key part of social and mental health. A lesson for middle and high schoolers helps them develop the personal and interpersonal skills they need to develop and maintain healthy relationships. Another resource includes a series of lessons that discuss biological, emotional, and social facts about human sexuality.

Regular physical activity is one of the most important ways to maintain and improve physical health, mental health, and well-being. Get your students up and moving with a packet of activities designed to promote active habits and a healthy way of life.

Whether looking for resources for a health unit or materials to enrich a complete course, you’ll find what you need at Lesson Planet.

Showing 169 resources
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wherever We Go, There They Are!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The central video for this lesson is not available through the included resource link. However, the activity that simulates the passing of a virus through a population is impacting and the other resource links are invaluable. Use this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Asthma and Allergies

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Your health class reads two biographical stories: one about a girl who has allergies and the other about a girl who has asthma. They watch a quick cartoon on the KidsHealth website about immunity and take the related online quiz. You...
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PPT
Curated OER

Aerobic/Anaerobic Respiration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Both aerobic and anerobic respiration are introduced in this succinct PowerPoint. The chemical equations for both are included. The last slides give instructions for a lab activity in which pupils use a gas sensor to measure the...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Muscle Diagram

For Students 6th - 12th
Label the major muscle groups in the human body. This worksheet is two pages, one for the anterior/front view and one for the posterior/back view. The class labels the major muscle group, the common name for the group, and identifies an...
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Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Food for the Brain

For Teachers 6th - 12th
With a couple of neat diagrams on student handouts, your life science or health class will examine the contents and serving sizes of healthy foods. They dissect a slice of pizza and scrutinize the nutritional value of its components in...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Human Body Series - The Digestive System Quiz (Grades 6 to 8)

For Students 6th - 8th
Get those gastric juices going with a delicious quiz on the digestive system! Middle school learners fill in the blanks about the process of digestion, the function of different organs and fluids, and problems that can occur with the...
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PPT
Curated OER

Human Reproductive System

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Teenagers take on the human reproductive systems when viewing this presentation. Labeled diagrams of each are displayed, along with one of a fetus in utero. Presented in bullet-point fashion are facts about the formation of sperm and egg...
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Lesson Plan
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Baylor College

Body Mass Index (BMI)

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

Aspect, Treeline, and Climate

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Head to the treeline and beyond to examine how this feature of the landscape affects weather and climate, which gives scientists clues about its health. Class members' observations of photographs provide the data that drives the...
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Worksheet
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Curated OER

Good Drugs, Bad Drugs

For Students 3rd - 4th
Add a science experiment on medicine and drugs to your health lesson. After reading a paragraph on the difference between helpful and harmful drugs, kids choose which pictures of bottles they could find at a pharmacy. The last activity...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Good Food Explorers

For Teachers Pre-K
Pupils use different food items in order to practice the mathematical concept of shape recognition. At the same time the teacher explains how crops are a source of physical health. They use all five senses to describe each food item and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folic Acid Health Campaign

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A prewriting prompt, a class discussion, a website visit and accompanying worksheet, and a culminating group project make up this lesson on public health awareness. The topic is folic acid and how its absence in the diet may influence...
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Activity
River Dell Regional School District

Nutrition Project

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A salad of nutrition-themed videos can be enjoyed by your health class as a wrap-up to the nutrition unit. Groups select a topic and create a two-three minute skit or commercial to be filmed and shared. If you assign each group a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's the Beef - Beef Facts or Hype, Is it Bad for You?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Analyze a Happy Meal™ for nutrient content and calories. Blend the contents into "McMush" and use Biuret's solution to test for protein content. There are a few problems with the lesson plan: the resource links are no longer valid, the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Viruses/Infectious Diseases: What's Really Bugging You?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Middle school life science or health classes listen to an audio, visit websites, read different articles, and participate in a class-wide simulation about the spread of viruses. The lesson plan doesn't get into the mechanics of how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Clinical Studies

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A simple, yet poignant lesson gets teens reading ads for clinical trials and discussing the requirements for participation. At home, they peruse the newspaper to find current examples of similar advertisements. The purpose of this lesson...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A "Moment" of Unprotected Sex Leads to HPV

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In a health class, participants read a story about a young woman who contacted HPV. The story is not included in the lesson plan, but is easily located on the Internet. The teacher then describes different scenarios for individuals to...
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PPT
Curated OER

Healthy Eating: Vitamins

For Teachers 4th - 7th
The first five slides contain photographs of foods containing each of the major vitamins: A, B, C, D, and E. Then there is a slide explaining each of the three macro nutrients. The final slide is a low-quality graphic of the food...
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PPT
Curated OER

A Safe Food Supply? Is Your Food Safe to Eat?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Viewers of this slide show learn that pesticides used on food crops can be harmful, but that there are certain allowable levels that should not be hazardous. They find out the rigorous process of inspection that meat must go through...
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Instructional Video3:28
Curated OER

The Respiratory System - How it Works?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Diagrams and video footage of people help show the structures and functions of the respiratory system. Exercise is highlighted, making this an accessible video for a health class.
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Instructional Video3:39
Curated OER

Science of Obesity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Show your health class the issues someone with morbid obesity faces. Follow Francis Serrano, who at 500 pounds undergoes gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight. Use this to show a personal story of someone who chooses this option.
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Activity
PLS 3rd Learning

Health Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Two options for a health class project are presented in this assignment: a persuasive paper or an advocacy project. The persuasive paper is on students' choice of controversial topics, most of which require a high level of maturity. The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Health

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners discover and identify how germs are spread, the diseases they can cause, and how hand washing can help prevent the spread of germs. They learn about some of the health habits that are essential for maintaining good health.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physical Health

For Teachers K - 2nd
Pupils identify how germs are spread, the diseases they can cause, and how hand washing can help prevent the spread of germs.