Bell Ringer
1. Pick up the half sheet of paper from the front table.
2. Answer the two questions using the information that you took notes on last
class.
a. Answer the questions without using your notes from last class.
b. Please make sure that when you define total health it is a definition that you create
and not the one that I gave you in class.
Health Literacy
Objectives
• Content Objective: The students will be able to self-assess where their
health falls on the wellness continuum through the use of guided questions
on a worksheet.
• Language Objective: Given three definitions, students will be able to
distinguish the definition of literate that would best be used to define literate
in the term ‘health literate.’
Total Health Review
• What are the three components of the health triad? Can you give one
example for each?
• Talk to a partner: What do you need to achieve total health?
• What behaviors influence your health?
What is the Wellness Continuum in your
Opinion?
• What does the word continuum mean? What other continuums do you know?
• How did we say wellness is different from health?
• What do you think the wellness continuum will range from?
• Do you think it is possible to change your position on the wellness continuum?
Wellness Continuum
• Definition: Shows the range in
quality of life from optimal
wellness to premature death.
Wellness
Continuum
• Optimal Wellness: Means that a
person is living at a very high level
of health status with few, if any,
risk factors.
• Optimal wellness is something you
can work towards because you are
ultimately responsible for your
health.
Wellness is a process, never a static state.
Being health literate will help you achieve or move toward optimal wellness on the continuum.
Complete the worksheet, “how healthy are
you?”
• Please assess your health honestly
• The ability to self-assess is an essential life skill
• We will use this worksheet later in the class.
Think About
• How did we define health?
• Definition: The quality of life that
includes physical, mental-emotional
and family-social health.
• What do you think the definition of
literacy is?
• Definition: 3 in dictionary
• 1. The quality or state of being literate,
especially the ability to read or write.
• 2. Possession of education
• 3. A persons knowledge of a particular
subject or field
Which definition do you think we are referring to
in order to define health literacy?
Given our Definitions of Health and
Literacy…
• Define Health Literacy
• Definition (according to the CDC): The degree to which an individual has the capacity
to obtain, communicate, process and understand basic health information and services
to make appropriate health decisions.
Column Work
• In your column, on one sheet of paper
• Take turns writing down a reason it is important to be health literate.
• Which group can come up with the most reputable reasons in two minutes?
Health Literacy Importance
Health Literacy Skills
Provide Health Info to Others
• Find information and services
• Communicate your needs and preferences
• Help people find information and services
• Communicate about health and healthcare
• Understand how to provide useful info
in terms of health services and info
• Process the meaning and usefulness of the
information and services
• Decide what information and services
match your needs
and series
• Decide what info and services work best
to help others in various situations
National Action Plan to Improve Health
Literacy
• Provides everyone with access to accurate and actionable health information
• How can you access accurate health information
• Online: cdc.gov, health.gov, fda.gov, nih.gov - Need to be able to access the information that you read online for
accuracy. Look for .gov sites when possible.
• Doctors, Textbooks, Healthcare Professionals
• Delivers person-centered health information and services
• Who delivers person-centered information and how?
• Mainly doctors, healthcare professionals
• Supports lifelong learning and skills to promote good health
• Who provides lifelong learning?
• Teachers (why we have health in school) and you
How can YOU become Health Literate?
• Express your health knowledge, beliefs and ideas
• Can do this through – sharing workouts, ways to exercise, teaching others athletics,
debating with others in regards to health topics while using accurate information to
defend your position.
• Self-Directed Learning
• Can do this by - Personally gather information by reading magazines, newspapers,
watching videos, accurate websites
How can YOU become Health Literate?
• Critical Thinking
• Can do this by – Making responsible
decisions, evaluating the facts
• Responsible Citizenship
• Can do this by – Behaving in ways to
improve home, community and
school, advocate for health
• Taking care of your environment
Assignment
• Identify one statement from the “how healthy are you” worksheet that you
can improve in order to move closer to optimal health on the wellness scale.
• Using what we discussed with health literacy, list three steps you can take to
achieve improvement in the statement that you chose to work on.
Assignment Example
• Area to Improve: I recycle
• Health Literacy Steps for Improvement
• 1. Identify recycle centers in my area – one place to start is through the app irecycle
• 2. Create an organization system of bins for separating products that can be recycled in
my home.
• 3. Advocate to members of my community the importance of recycling. One way I
can promote recycling in my community is to provide recycling bins for everyone to use