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Challenging Simplified Notions About Health in the Middle Grades

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Intro & Agenda

Lindsay McQueen

Health Educator

Edmunds Middle School

Burlington, VT

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Agenda

Purpose and Background

Overview of Health Equity Unit

Focus on One Lesson

Initial Observations About Learning

Next Steps

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Purpose → Equity Literacy in Health

Educator

  • Reframe health education with equity literacy as a foundation
  • Analyze the extent to which anti-bias lessons in health classes change student thinking about the causes of health disparities

Learner

  • Recognize inequities within the dimensions of health
  • Advocate for healthy individuals, families, and schools (National Health Education Standard 8.8.3)

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Image Credit

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Inquiry Questions: Health for All Unit

Factual

What is the difference between health equity and inequity/disparity?

Conceptual

Why do health disparities exist?

Actionable

What is important to teach our community about health and equity?

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Overarching Question:

To what extent is health determined by individual choices and behaviors?

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Brief Overview of Unit

  • Definitions
  • Unfortunate or Unjust?
  • Choose a topic to investigate from teacher created resources
  • Investigate!
  • Create a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to inform our community (take action)

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Health Disparity = differences in health among groups of people that are avoidable and unjust

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Unfortunate or Unjust?

Purpose:

  • Raise critical consciousness
  • Connect to a similar experience students had in 6th grade humanities
  • Spark interest

Unfortunate (sit down) or

Unjust (stand up)?

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  • There are up to 10x more e-cig signs in my neighborhood than in other neighborhoods.
  • My school only serves the kind of fruit I don’t like so I never eat fruit.

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Investigation Resources

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PSA Examples

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Environmental Justice Video

Kindness Kits

Racism & Health Justice Slideshow

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Sample Takeaways

  • “I would hope that it would help open a conversation about gender equity.”
  • “I hope from my PSA, people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community will ask for help when needed and can talk to anyone and feel more comfortable around anyone.”
  • “I think the main idea was to educate people on this issue [mental health and the criminal justice system] because it is not talked about enough.”
  • “It will help raise awareness to racism because it’s not talked about enough.”

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Next Steps

  • Tap into prior knowledge more explicitly to have a better comparison at the beginning and end of the unit
  • Be intentional and explicit about individual choice vs. systemic oppression in terms of health outcomes
  • Recognize the tension of investigating inequities and keeping a hopeful eye on a more equitable future

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CONNECT

EXTEND

CHALLENGE

What practice(s) in your own classroom connects to the examples shared today?

What new ideas or impressions do you have that extended your thinking in a new direction?

What is still challenging for you to wrap your mind around?

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A Thinking Routine from Project Zero

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Thank you for being here!

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