Creating a Health Action Plan

Lesson Overview

Unit: Understanding Health Determinants
Lesson Number: 7 of 7
Year Level: Year 9
Subject: Health
Lesson Duration: 90 minutes
Class Size: 20 students
Curriculum Alignment: Australian Curriculum – Health and Physical Education (Years 9-10)

• Strand: Personal, social and community health
• Sub-strand: Being healthy, safe and active
• Content Descriptor:
  • Plan, rehearse and evaluate options for managing situations where their own or others’ health, safety, or wellbeing may be at risk (AC9HP10P03).
  • Propose and implement actions to enhance health, safety, and wellbeing of their communities (AC9HP10P04).

Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Analyse key health determinants affecting their personal lives or communities.
2. Develop a structured and actionable Health Action Plan (HAP).
3. Engage in critical thinking to identify solutions to health challenges.
4. Justify the effectiveness of their proposed health actions.

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Lesson Structure

1. Introduction & Connection to Prior Learning (15 minutes)

(Whole Class Discussion & Quick Reflection)

• Recap Key Concepts:
  • Ask students: “What are the most influential determinants of health that we’ve discussed in this unit?”
  • Brief discussion on social, environmental, behavioural, and biological health factors.
• Think-Pair-Share:
  • Students pair up to recall an issue from their own lives or communities related to health determinants.
  • Groups quickly summarise their discussion to the class.

2. Health Issues Brainstorm (20 minutes)

(Small Group Activity – 4 students per group)

• Scenario Based Challenge: Each group randomly selects ONE real-world Australian health issue related to young people, such as:
  1. Mental Health (e.g., stress, anxiety, social media impact)
  2. Nutrition (e.g., fast food access, body image influences)
  3. Physical Activity (e.g., screen time vs. movement)
  4. Substance Use (e.g., vaping, caffeine overuse)
• Discussion Questions:
  • What key determinants influence this issue (e.g., social media, family habits, public policies)?
  • How does it impact young Australians?
  • What changes could improve this situation for people their age?

3. Developing a Health Action Plan (30 minutes)

(Independent Work – Teacher Support)

• Task: Each student individually creates their own Health Action Plan (HAP) for a chosen issue.

• Guiding Framework:

  • Issue Statement – Define the chosen health issue.
  • Identify Determinants – What social, environmental, or behavioural factors contribute to this issue?
  • Health Goals – What specific, measurable goals should be set?
  • Action Steps – What are 3-5 steps they or the community could take?
  • Support & Barriers – What challenges may arise? How can they be managed?
  • Expected Outcomes – What changes will indicate success?

• Teacher Role: Circulate, prompt critical thinking, challenge students to be specific.

4. Peer Feedback & Reflection (20 minutes)

(Pair & Small Group Discussion, Whole Class Reflection)

• Peer Review (10 minutes):
  • Students pair up and exchange HAPs.
  • Provide one strength and one suggestion for improvement.
• Class Discussion (10 minutes):
  • “What were the biggest challenges in creating your HAP?”
  • “Which determinants were hardest to address?”
  • “Why is it important to plan health improvements rather than just ‘hoping’ things get better?”

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Assessment & Differentiation

Assessment (Formative)

✔ Verbal contributions in class and partner discussions.
✔ Health Action Plan submission – checked for detail and appropriate depth of thought.
✔ Peer feedback engagement.

Differentiation

✅ Support for Diverse Learners:

• Provide sentence starters for those who need structure.
• Offer graphic organisers for planning steps.
  ✅ Extension for High Achievers:
• Students explore how age, gender, or Indigenous status influence health determinants.
• Encourage connections to current government health initiatives.

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Conclusion & Homework (5 minutes)

🔹 Final Class Reflection: What’s one change you can personally make, starting today?
🔹 Exit Ticket: Students write a one-sentence commitment based on their plan.
🔹 Optional Homework: Students discuss their plan with a family member and note their reactions.

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Teacher’s Notes

• This lesson encourages problem-solving and personal accountability within health contexts.
• Use real-world Australian examples to enhance relevance.
• Consider bringing in health professionals (school nurse, local nutritionist) in future years to enrich the task.