Title:Aesop's fables
Topic:There is one for almost any topic
National Standards:
Standard 1Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention to enhance health.
Standard 2Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
Standard 4Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
Level:Any
Time:10-15 minutes
Materials:A book of Aesop's Fables – they can also be found on the internet. Stories
will have different morals attached to them depending on your source.
Procedures:
1)Have students in groups of 4.
- May do with all groups having the same fable or have different groups reading different fables
- It is helpful to have at least 2 groups with the same fable
2)Have someone in the group read the fable and moral out loud.
3)Have students discuss how the fable is relevant to your topic.
4)Have student record their thoughts to be presented to the class.
5)Have whole class discussion on how it relates to your topic and how they can
apply this lesson to their life.
Options
1)Do not provide the moral and have the students write their own moral to the fable
2)Provide the students with a moral and have them write a story that teaches that moral. This should be done after they have already read some of Aesop’s and connected them with a moral.
Sample fables:
Examples of how some fables can be used
1)"The Spaniel and the Mastiff" - This fable would be useful in a substance abuse
unit or when stressing the need to treat people with respect. The guilt by association point is a critical one for our young people to understand.
2)"The Dog and the Crocodile" and "The Two Pots" - There is no question that the
choice of friends one makes has a big impact on the decisions young person make. These can be used in conjunction with "The Spaniel and the Mastiff" to reinforce the importance of associating with others who have similar values and accepting responsibility for what happens when they do not.
3)"The Birds, the Beasts, and the Bat" - This fable addresses the value of loyalty
and the consequences of failing to be loyal.
4)"The Crow and Mercury" - Emphasizes the importance of keeping one's word.
This is very similar to the next one "The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf". Each illustrates the pitfalls associated with lying. As a follow-up to either one or both of those the "The Lion and the Mouse" can be used to illustrate the benefits of being truthful.
5)"The Flies and the Honey-Pot" - Could be used in a sexuality course (or any that
would stress delaying behaviors until later in life). Stressing that long-term outcomes are generally more important than short-term outcomes.
6)"The Hares and the Frogs" - Could obviously be used in a suicide unit. The
teacher would have to be very careful in how this was presented though.
7)"The Stag at the Pool" - People often focus their perceived weaknesses as
opposed to their strengths. Further, many emphasize appearance over substance. This fable can be used to help address these issues.
8)"The Ass Carrying an Idol" - The lesson in this fable can be just as important to
us as teachers as it can be to the students. As teachers we must be careful not to praise students for work that is not up to their potential. And, from the student's perspective they must learn that in all things they must evaluate their performance and situation fairly. They must not take credit for that which is not theirs.
9)"The Horse and the Stag" - This addresses the benefits of sharing and treating
people fairly. This can be used when teaching about relationships and having the students examine what could have been done differently to avoid the negative consequences. The students should develop a win/win scenario.
10)"The Dove and the Ant" and "The Ass, the Dog and the Wolf" - Each of these
addresses the importance of helping those in need. While "The Dove and the Ant" illustrates the benefits of assisting others and being loyal, "The Ass, the Dog and the Wolf" presents what can happen when assistance is not provided.
11)"The Wolf and the Ass" - Again, this is as important to us as teachers as it is to
the students. We MUST be good role models. Further, it is important for the students to recognize their influence on others and it is their actions more so than their words which are of importance. This fable can be of particular use in schools where there are peer mentoring programs.
Again, with all of the examples, many other options would be available. These are simply some very brief ideas concerning how these fables could be used.
Title:Alligator river (Values Clarification book by Simon, Howe, & Kirschenbaum with
modification)
Topic:Sexuality unit
National Standards:
Standard 2Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
Standard 4Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
Standard 8Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.
Level:high school
Time:class period
Materials:Alligator River stories (below)
Procedures:
1)Place students into groups. This can work best by having some single gender groups as well as some mixed gender groups.
2)Distribute different stories to different groups.
3)Students should then rank the characters in order of the "most objectionable character" in the story to the "least objectionable character"
4)Groups should then have discussions and see if they can come to an agreement on their rankings (this may be very difficult in some cases. Therefore, this activity can also be very good for helping the students learn how to agree to disagree and move on as well as compromise and communicate respectfully).
5)Have each group read their story and present their rankings. Put the rankings on the board. Have the comparable character in each scenario across from the other on a table so the students can see if the situation tended to impact on their rankings.
6)Discuss the responses. Even the reactions to the stories as they are read out loud can be a very significant part of the discussion.
Remove the Version prior to giving to students
Version A
Once upon a time there was a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river which separated the two lovers was teeming with man-eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. So she went to ask Sinbad, the riverboat captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would consent to go to bed with him preceding the voyage. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want to be involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only alternative was to accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory.
When she told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun sets on the horizon we hear Abigail laughing at Gregory.
Version B
Once upon a time there was a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river which separated the two lovers was teeming with man-eating alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. So she went to ask Susan, the riverboat captain, to take her across. She said she would be glad to if she would consent to go to bed with her preceding the voyage. She promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want to be involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only alternative was to accept Susan's terms. Susan fulfilled her promise to Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory.
When she told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun sets on the horizon we hear Abigail laughing at Gregory.
Version C
Once upon a time there was a man named Gregory who was in love with a woman named Abigail. Abigail lived on the shore of a river. Gregory lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river which separated the two lovers was teeming with man-eating alligators. Gregory wanted to cross the river to be with Abigail. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. So he went to ask Susan, the riverboat captain, to take him across. She said she would be glad to if he would consent to go to bed with her preceding the voyage. He promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain his plight. Ivan did not want to be involved at all in the situation. Gregory felt his only alternative was to accept Susan's terms. Susan fulfilled her promise to Gregory and delivered him into the arms of Abigail.
When he told Abigail about his amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Abigail cast him aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Gregory turned to Sally with his tale of woe. Sally, feeling compassion for Gregory, sought out Abigail and beat her brutally. Gregory was overjoyed at the sight of Abigail getting her due. As the sun sets on the horizon we hear Gregory laughing at Abigail.
Version D
Once upon a time there was a man named Gregory who was in love with a woman named Abigail. Abigail lived on the shore of a river. Gregory lived on the opposite shore of the river. The river which separated the two lovers was teeming with man-eating alligators. Gregory wanted to cross the river to be with Abigail. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out. So he went to ask Sinbad, the riverboat captain, to take him across. He said he would be glad to if he would consent to go to bed with him preceding the voyage. He promptly refused and went to a friend named Ivan to explain his plight. Ivan did not want to be involved at all in the situation. Gregory felt his only alternative was to accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to Gregory and delivered him into the arms of Abigail.
When he told Abigail about his amorous escapade in order to cross the river, Abigail cast him aside with disdain. Heartsick and dejected, Gregory turned to Sally with his tale of woe. Sally, feeling compassion for Gregory, sought out Abigail and beat her brutally. Gregory was overjoyed at the sight of Abigail getting her due. As the sun sets on the horizon we hear Gregory laughing at Abigail.
Title:Alphabet Taxonomy (Human Sexuality)
Topic:Any topic of your choosing (sexuality used in this example)
National Standards:
Standard 1Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention to enhance health.
Level: Upper elementary, high school, college
Time:One class period
Materials:Each person will need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
Overview:This activity can be used to stimulate a lot of discussion in relation to the topic selected by the instructor.
Procedures:
1) Have each person write the alphabet down the left side of a piece of paper.
2) Instruct everyone to write one word that begins with each letter of the alphabet that indicates something associated with the topic selected.
3)Example using sexuality as the topic of discussion:
- AreolaK. KissU. Urethra
- Breasts L. LoveV. Vagina
- CervixM. Mother W. Womb
- D & CN. No/neonatalX. Xenophobia
- EpididymisO. OrgasmY. Yeast infection
- ForeplayP. PenisZ. Zygote
- Genitals Q. Quickening
- HugR. Refractory
- IntimacyS. Sexual intercourse
- Jock itchT. Tongue
4)As a variation, instead of individuals doing this, you could put students into small groups of three or four and then play “Scatergories,” where each team reads the word it has developed for a letter and other teams need to cross out that word if they have the same word. The team gets to select the letter they think will be unique for them, that is, no one else will have the same word as they have selected. Doing this stimulates creativity. If a team or individual has a unique word or phrase, that person can explain why he or she or they selected that word or phrase.
5)This activity may be used for any content area in a health class.
Title:Balancing pole
Topic:Short-term vs. Long-term goals
National Standards:
Standard 5Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health
Standard 6Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
Level:K-6
Time:5-10 minutes
Materials:peacock feathers or other 3-4 feet long objects/poles
Procedures:
1)Ask the student to balance the feather or pole on the palm of their hand or a finger.
2)Tell them to look at their hand/finger to balance the object.
3)Tell them to look at the top of the feather/pole when balancing the object.
4)Discuss which was easier and why. Obviously it is much easier to balance this when
looking up. This is to illustrate that it is generally more important to look at the long-term outcome than it is the short-term outcome.
**Note: This can also be used to illustrate that it is often easier to look at things from a different angle or from a distance to help one see things more clearly and then help them come up with better solutions to a problem.
Title:Breakitdown-AlcoholandtobaccomediadeconstructionTopic:Substanceabuseprevention
Objective/Assessment: Uponsuccessfulcompletionofthelesson,thestudentwill...
Cog-CorrectlylisttheCML's5coremediadeconstructionconceptsasevaluatedbyoralquizAffective-Believeinthepersuasivepower ofadvertisingasevaluatedbyvalues-voting.
Skill -AccuratelydeconstructanalcoholortobaccoadvertisementfollowingtheCMLquestion sheetasevaluatedbyscoringguide
NationalStandards:
Standard2:Studentswillanalyzetheinfluenceoffamily,peers,culture, media,technology,andotherfactorsonhealthbehaviors;Standard4:Studentswilldemonstratetheabilitytouseinterpersonalcommunicationskillstoenhancehealthandavoidorreducehealthrisks.
Level:MS/HS/College
Time: 2-350minutelessons
Materials:CMLquestionchart,descriptionoftechniquehandout,advertisementsamplesfromprint/mass/social media
Procedures:
Anticipatory set
Showanalcoholortobaccoad;ask'whocreatedthismessage/who istheintendedaudienceforthismessage/explainyourinterpretation?'.Norightorwronganswers-eachofusinterpretsmediamessagesdifferently.
Above
Stateobjectives
ProvideInput
Medialiteracydefinition-access,analyze,evaluate,create,participateusingmedia-tobecomecompetent/critical consumersandproducersofmedia-especiallyhealth-relatedmessagesinthemedia-toraisetherightquestionsaboutmedia/messages.Importanceofmedialiteracy-centraltodemocracy,highconsumption/saturationrates,mediainfluencesperceptions/beliefs,importanceofvisualcommunication,informationneededforlifelonglearning.Keyconceptsformediadeconstruction:source,audience,text,subtext,persuasiontechniques.CMLchart/coreconcepts.
Checkforcomprehension
UsingtheCMLandcoreconceptshandouts-askthefollowingquestionstostudentsaboutitinthink-pair-sharetechnique:Listthe5CMLcoreconcepts;thenask'Whatkeyconceptisthisdescribing:'whodoeseachviewerinterpretthemediamessage?;whosemessageisthis/whohas
contentcontrol?;whatgroupofpeopleisthemessagedesignedtoreach?;whatmethodsare usetopersuadetheviewer?;howisthemessageorstoryarranged?
Modelidealbehavior
Useasamplealcohol/tobaccoad-instructordemonstratescorrectanswerstothehandout/questionsheet.Askstudentstovalues-vote:Howstronglydoyoupersuasivepowerofadvertising?
Provideguidedpractice
Chooseanadfromthehandout-insamethink-pair-sharegroups:studentsanswerthequestionsonthehandoutsheet.Instructorgivesfeedback/evaluation.
Provideindependentpractice
Forhomework-studentschoose2adsfromthesheet;studentsanswerthequestionsonthehandoutsheet.Instructorgivesevaluation/scoringguide.
Achieveclosure:Processquestions:What/SoWhat/nowwhat/Howdoyoufeel?
Summarize-mediaincludesallmessageformats,characterizedbyaskingimportantquestionsforhealth-relatedmediamessages;promoteskepticism,findouttheanswers.Noonetellsthewholestory-tellpointofviewfromtheirperspective;deconstructioncanexposevalues/biasesofmediamaker;usethequestionsinthehandoutsindailylifetodeconstructanymediamessage.
Differentiatedinstruction
Addadvertisementconstruction-extension;useothermass/socialmediachannels...
Title:Candy bowl
Topic:Introduction to peer pressure/resistance skills
National Standards:
Standard 2Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
Standard 4Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
Standard 5Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health
Level:6-12
Time:10-15 minutes
Materials:large bowl of candy, about 4 confederates from the class
Procedures:
1)Prior to class you talk to about 4 students who are trustworthy and able to do a little acting. Try to choose one who is an extrovert and pushes the limits on occasion. Another student should be one who really sticks to the rules. One should be a bit of a leader in the class. And the other can be just one of the average students in the class. These students are going to "steal" some of your candy.
2)Tell the class they are going to be playing a game today and you are going to use some candy as prizes.