Debating Policy to Improve Population Health: A Case Study and Simulation of the Marshall Islands (pdf)  
LESSON PLANS by Jamie D. Brooks and Larry Adelman for California Newsreel, 2009

How should limited public resources be deployed to tackle inequities in health? This lesson plan uses a real health crisis in the Marshall Islands and a parliamentary simulation to help students assess the strengths and weaknesses of different health promotion policies. By the end of this activity, students will be able to argue and defend different approaches to tackling the root causes of health inequities and will better understand how the making of social policy is often influenced by political and economic factors that may have little to do with the merits of the proposals themselves.

In Word (doc) format

Disease and Social Policy in the American South: A Case Study of the Pellagra Epidemic (pdf)  
LESSON PLANS by Joan Brodsky Schur for California Newsreel, 2008

These lesson plans use the series and the examination of primary source documents to guide students in understanding the social, economic, and political contexts of two epidemics in American history: pellagra and Type II diabetes. In six activities, students reflect on their own conceptions about the factors that influence health and longevity, learn about the socioeconomic conditions in the post-bellum South that led to the pellagra epidemic of the early 1900's, propose legislative solutions to the crisis, and finally use what they have learned about pellagra to inform their understanding of the Type II diabetes epidemic among the Pima and Tohono O’odham Indians of southern Arizona today.

The lesson plan includes worksheets, links to primary sources, evaluation rubrics, and references to relevant standards.

In Word (doc) format

Students investigate their own neighborhoods and gain practice in research and analysis while drawing connections between health and a neighborhood's physical, social, service, and economic environments.

In Word (doc) format

KQED-TV has developed lesson plans for use with ESL/ESOL students, using clips from UNNATURAL CAUSES and other media to broaden students' understanding of factors affecting health.

Lessons using the series:
Stress: The Bigger Picture ("Not Just a Paycheck" / "When the Bough Breaks")
This Place Matters: The Impact of Neighborhood on Health ("Place Matters" and online video)
Living in the United States: Is It Good for Our Health? ("Becoming American" / "In Sickness and In Wealth")
Food Pyramids: What We Eat and Who We Are ("Becoming American")

Other ESL lesson plans by KQED explore health literacy, the social contexts of drug and alcohol addiction, stress management, and cultural differences in medical practice.