STUDENTS WILL:

• Understand and explain the difference between healthy and  unhealthy habits
• Demonstrate how to make decisions in their best interests
• Practice and refine language and communication skills

SUPPLIES AND PREPARATION:

• Chart paper
• Tape
• Healthy and unhealthy habits sentence strips (see page 3 of PDF)
• Make copies of the student handout My Healthy
• Habits Chart (see page 4 of PDF)

REVIEW.

Start by reviewing the use of present tense to discuss habitual action, as in “I run every day.” Have students practice by each sharing one thing they do every day, using this format.

EXPLAIN.

Introduce the activity by telling students that the class will be looking at personal habits and sorting out those we believe are healthy from others that are not.

SORT HABITS.

Divide the board in half. Label half “Healthy Habits” and the other half “Unhealthy Habits.” Have each student choose several sentence strips (listed on page 3 of PDF) from a bag and tape them to the appropriate side of the board.

Compare and contrast the choices as a class, moving strips when necessary.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS.

As a class, define and rephrase the terms “healthy habit” and “unhealthy habit.” Next, ask students to provide additional examples of each.

Discuss ways to add more healthy habits to their day. Explore motivations for doing more healthy things, and why we do unhealthy things, even when we know they’re bad for us.

EXTEND THE LESSON.

Give students a copy of the chart (page 4 of PDF). Explain that they will use this chart to track three healthy habits they can do each day for one week.

Remind students about their chart each day. Provide incentives for students to complete the full chart, such as a special sticker or badge. After a week, discuss how doing those healthy things makes them feel each day, and over time.

HOME CONNECTION.

Encourage parents to get involved by signing off on their child’s chart and stating that they also completed the activity as a family.