Teaching Health - A Cry For Help

[mrwebb8825]

I've been tasked to teach Health in English to our MEP to M1, 2 and 3 students. My problem is, there are NO books, NO curriculum, NO syllabus, NO lesson plans, NO handouts and NO help.

This topic seems to have been sluffed off from teacher to teacher since it's introduction to MEP. I would like to do it properly so I'm asking here if anyone has any material and/or websites that can help me.

The school library has a copy of the Prentice Hall Teachers book for Health but it's an American Text written at American high school level and these students would never understand it.

I should add that I am in the provinces so do not have easy access to any of the great book stores of Bangkok.

I will keep trying to search the web in the meantime but thought it might be a good idea to ask here as well.

Thank you in advance for any helpful links and advice.

[brianp0803]

Are the previous health teachers still at your school ?

You plea suggests you want to do a good job.

I have seen teachers teach health as pure academics. Boring

Try to make it relevant.

I was give private tuition to a 12 year old boy because he thought something was wrong with his body.

The parents were going to take him to the hospital to explain he was starting puberty.

The kids had been researching this alone on the Internet.

I had a 14 year old boy tell me he will only have sex with a virgin because they can't get pregnant the first time.

We assume people have told them already but they learn a lot from inaccurate rumors

[harrry]

If your computer is good enough the free 3d human on https://www.biodigital.com/ may give a good start in showing body parts etc. A bit more interesting than a wall poster and a book. Do not forget the subject also includes reproduction. HIV awareness and contreception are probably important to include.

At the moment on the Chiangrai tessabahn 6 english program site there are a couple of movies their Science teacher Martin includes. I do not know him but a phone call may help get some advice on what he covers.

Edited October 26, 2014 by harrry

[Scott]

Probably the best thing to do is to sort of use the topic of Health as the format for teaching English, because my guess is that they don't know enough English to learn Health in an English format.

Pick out subjects like hygiene, diseases, symptoms and design your curriculum around it. Add some of the current things going on for a little spice and interest.

Hygiene would include vocabulary and phrases about soap, disinfectant, washing hands, sterilizing, etc.

Diseases would be common diseases in Thailand. Symptoms, are things like sneezing, coughing, fever, earache, stomachache etc.

Keep it simple and best of luck.

[mrwebb8825]

The female teacher that had these classes last term is gone (part of the Filipino clan) and her gay male counterpart handed me two pages, photocopied from the index of some mysterious book that doesn't seem to exist at school, as the "curriculum" that he/they "wrote" to conduct the classes. <- insert sarcastic tones)

I really dislike some of the out and out garbage that these kinds of people get away with, but that's another story.

M3 is supposed to cover "Puberty Through Adulthood" including pregnancy, prevention, diseases, emotional changes, peer pressure, etc. The M1 and M2 classes are supposed to cover subjects like hygiene, diseases, symptoms, peer pressure in relationship to drugs, nutrition, weight management, etc.

I'd really like to find material I can put in their hands and eventually create a "student book" for each level that will actually benefit the students in their education.

I can write up the vocabulary lists, definitions, curriculum and syllabus easily enough once I have all the core material organized. Just looking for help in locating material online for free (in keeping with the school budget).

Thank you harrry for the link - I will use it for the M3 and maybe even the M2 classes. Do you happen to have the link for the Chiangrai Tessabahn 6 English Program you mentioned?

Thank again folk for the assistance.

[lostinisaan]

I hope that you've got access to a projector and a screen? Most kids in grade 7, 8 and nine are still pretty poor in English.

I assume that you'll have them only an hour per week, teaching health? There's plenty of good stuff on the web.

Please sign up for busy teacher to be able to download worksheets, check boggles world as well.

Focus on healthy/unhealthy food, diseases,doctor/patient role plays, pollution and what it does to our bodies, etc... if you have access to a projector, create your own PowerPoint Slideshows, which is much more interesting for the kids.

Most of all, please keep it funny. There're usually only a few kids in a class who're a sort of good in English. Give them some extra work, that they don't get bored.

You'll find out that the majority of them already have huge problems with easy stuff. Once you found the right book, scan it in, put it on Power Point as well.

You'll also find a lot of good material on youtube. Don't make it too difficult, it's always better when they understand what you teach them, instead of just going through a whole book in one year, or term.

Please consider that you might have the current grade 7 students next year in grade 8.

And make sure that they understand what you're teaching them. Thai kids never say that they don't understand something. Good luck.

P.S. Just read your last post and understand that you'll have a hard time, as they might be used to baby English.

Edited October 26, 2014 by lostinisaan

[Eliot Rosewater]

Brainpop would be a good place to start; you can get a single membership very cheaply; tons of videos on the subject; you can also use the topics to create your own activities and lessons.

http://www.brainpop.com/health/seeall/