Understanding Health Messages

Lesson overview

• Duration: 50 minutes
• Year level: 2
• Class size: 25 students (with varying needs)
• Location: Darwin Government Primary School
• Teaching model: Explicit Direct Instruction (I do, we do, you do)
• Wellbeing framework: Berry Street Educational Model
• Spelling program: Sounds Write integrated where relevant
• Learning Area: Health and Physical Education (Australian Curriculum v9)

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WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Understand and identify simple health messages
• Analyse health messages in posters and adverts
• Create clear, meaningful health messages via posters

Success Criteria

• I can identify the health message in a poster or advertisement
• I can create my own clear and simple health message poster

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Australian Curriculum Links

Content Description:

• AC9HP2P06 Investigate a range of health messages and practices in their community and discuss their purposes
• Elaborations include:
  • Creating posters to convey important messages related to health and wellbeing
  • Investigating nutrition, safety, and community health messages

These align with the lesson's focus on interpreting and creating simple health messages suited for Year 2 students.

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Lesson Breakdown

Time	Stage	Activity Description	Differentiation & Engagement Strategies
0–5 m	Introduction	I Do: Teacher introduces the learning intention and success criteria using clear visuals and simplified language. Display WALT and success criteria posters visually.	Use visuals and simple language for comprehension. Use Berry Street to check in with students' emotional states.
5–15 m	Explore	I Do: Show 4–5 short health promotion posters and ads with jingles: Sun Smart, Croc Wise, Healthy Eating, Road Safety, and Healthy Harold. Play jingles. Discuss each message explicitly.	For students working below benchmark, provide a checklist of message clues (e.g., words, images, colours). Use explicit questioning. Use big visuals and images.
15–30 m	Guided Practice	We Do: In pairs or small groups, students discuss posters and together identify the health message. Groups share their findings aloud. Teacher models how to find messages in a new poster.	Pair lower and higher ability students for peer support. Use speech-to-text or drawing tools for students with fine motor challenges.
30–45 m	Independent Practice	You Do: Students select a health topic (e.g., sun safety, handwashing, healthy food, road safety) and create their own health message poster with simple text and illustrations. Materials: paper, markers, stencils, printed clip art.	Offer sentence starters and spelling word banks linked to Sounds Write for students needing support. Challenge advanced students to add a catchy slogan or short jingle to their poster. Provide digital design tools for extended learners.
45–50 m	Reflection & Sharing	Students share their posters with the class or in small groups, stating the message they intended. Teacher and peers give positive feedback focusing on clarity of message.	Use positive reinforcement and peer recognition. Record presentations for students who prefer non-verbal sharing or need review times.

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Differentiation Strategies

• For students working below benchmark:

  • Provide sentence starters (e.g., "My message is to…")
  • Use picture cards for health topics to support vocabulary
  • Allow drawing-only posters with teacher scribing the message
  • Use oral response options during discussion parts
  • Frequent check-ins for understanding using thumbs up/down

• For students working above benchmark:

  • Encourage addition of slogans/rhymes on posters
  • Research a local community health message to incorporate
  • Use digital apps to create multimodal posters with voice recording
  • Lead a small group discussion about the effectiveness of health messages

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Resources

• Variety of printed health posters (Sun Smart, Croc Wise, Healthy Eating, Road Safety, Healthy Harold)
• Audio recordings of jingles
• Art materials: paper, markers, clip art, stencils
• Sentence starter cards linked to Sounds Write vocabulary
• Visual WALT and success criteria charts
• Optional technology: tablet or computer with presentation software

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Links to Berry Street Educational Model and Trauma-Informed Practice

• Use orderly classroom routines with clear expectations
• Provide visual and verbal cues to support neurodiverse learners
• Foster a safe, supportive environment with positive relationships
• Use check-in circles or short mindfulness to transition between activities
• Celebrate student effort, focusing on what they can do rather than deficits

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Assessment

• Formative observation during pair/group work (ability to identify messages)
• Collection and photographic record of student-created posters
• Oral explanation of poster messages assessing clarity and understanding
• Teacher anecdotal notes for differentiation needs and progress

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This lesson plan aligns explicitly with AC9HP2P06, promoting engagement through hands-on activities, clear scaffolding, peer interaction, and creative expression consistent with the national curriculum and your school context. It uses a structured explicit teaching approach with embedded opportunities for inclusion, extension, and wellbeing support to meet diverse learner needs and optimise outcomes in health literacy.

If you need, I can also help generate printable templates or sentence starters linked to Sounds Write spelling for this lesson!