Healthy Habits Challenge

Overview

Today is lesson 9 of 10 in “Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds”. Students create a personal healthy habit challenge, choose one habit to practise for a week, and track how they go.

Learning intentions

• WALT create a personal health challenge.
• WALT choose a healthy habit and explain why it helps.
• WALT track progress over a week using a simple tally or check-in.

Success criteria

• I can name the healthy habit I will practise for one week.
• I can tell how this habit helps my body and/or feelings.
• I can describe how I will track my progress at school and home.
• I can give kind feedback to a partner using our challenge checklist.

Curriculum links

• Health and wellbeing: learning to build healthy lifestyles and understand how choices affect people.
• Mental wellbeing: recognising feelings and developing simple strategies that support wellbeing.
• Creating and using simple plans for actions that improve health.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 5 min — Hook and recap (whole class)

• Quickly review the unit so far with a “Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds” talk: sleep, food, movement, hygiene, and feelings.
• Ask: “What healthy habit could make you feel better—body, mind, or both?”

2. 7 min — Model the challenge (teacher demonstration)

• Show a simple challenge template (Habit, When I will do it, How I will track, Benefit).
• Model one example: “Drink water at lunch” (When: lunch time; Track: 5/5 days; Benefit: energy, focus, body care).
• Emphasise: choose one small habit that is realistic for Year 2/3.

3. 8 min — Choose a habit (individual then quick teacher check)

• Students circle or write one habit from teacher-provided options or their own ideas.
• Options suitable for this age:
• Wash hands before eating
• Brushing teeth twice (or after breakfast)
• Drink water at lunch
• Move for 10 minutes a day
• Eat one fruit/vegetable each day
• Get ready for sleep routine (same bedtime routine steps)
• Teacher circulates to confirm the habit is safe, specific, and trackable.

4. 10 min — Plan and track system (paired planning)

• Students complete the template using a visual tracker:
• 7-day tally marks or smiley icons (✅, 😊, 🌟 depending on class system)
• “I will do this…” (time/place)
• “This helps me because…” (one sentence starter)
• Partner check: “Is your habit clear? Can we track it easily?”

5. 7 min — Teach “how to explain benefits” (mini-lesson)

• Provide sentence frames on the board:
• “This habit helps my ___ because ___.”
• “When I do it, I might feel ___ and my body ___.”
• Briefly discuss examples: “Movement helps my heart and helps me concentrate” or “Handwashing helps keep germs away.”

6. 5 min — Share and commit (whole class)

• 3–4 volunteers share their habit and benefit.
• Class does a “Habit pledge” (teacher-led): students say their habit quietly and take their template home.

7. 3 min — Close and next steps (exit check)

• Students complete an exit check orally or with a thumb signal:
• “My habit is…”
• “I will track it by…”
• “It helps me because…”

Resources

• Habit challenge templates (7-day tracker with simple boxes)
• Habit option cards with pictures (water, fruit/veg, brushing teeth, handwashing, moving, sleep routine)
• Sentence frame strips for benefits
• Coloured pencils/markers for visuals
• Teacher example template (model)
• Small sticker sheet or reward chart for effort (not competition)
• Partner checklist card: “Clear habit, clear time, clear tracking, clear benefit”
• Dyslexia-friendly writing supports: larger font, highlighted lines, minimal text on templates
• Optional: pre-cut strips for students to assemble sentences (“This habit helps… because…”)

Assessment

• Formative: teacher listens during planning and sharing to check habit clarity and benefit explanation.
• Collect: templates to confirm each student’s chosen habit, tracking method, and a benefit statement.
• Oral check at the end (thumb signals or quick conference) to ensure understanding.

Differentiation

• Support for ADHD/learning challenges:
• Offer a limited set of habit options with pictures to reduce choice overload.
• Provide a “Plan buddy” and keep tasks in short chunks (choose → plan → track).
• Use timers and quick transitions; allow movement during independent work (standing at table edges).
• Support for dyslexia:
• Use templates with large font, icons, and only essential writing.
• Provide sentence frames and allow verbal responses for the “benefit” if needed (teacher records).
• Offer reading support by reading habit options aloud and using repetition.
• Extension for advanced learners:
• Students write a second benefit (“This habit also helps my mind because…”).
• Create a “If I miss a day, I will…” recovery plan (e.g., try again next day, keep calm, restart routine).
• Add a second small habit challenge if teacher approves (must still be trackable).
• EAL learners / students needing language scaffolds:
• Provide visual word banks and gesture-supported sentence frames.
• Pair with a supportive buddy; encourage pointing and matching pictures as part of explaining benefits.

Extension (optional)

Create a poster to encourage peers.

• If time is available or for homework: students design a simple poster showing their habit, when to do it, and one benefit.
• Include a slogan and a visual tracker image (one picture per day).
• Students share posters in pairs next class or display in the hallway for community encouragement.