Cultural health learning objectives clearly define what elementary students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with theSHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and promotes lifelong well-being.

The Goal: Students will build an understanding of what culture is and how it influences their lives and the lives of others. Through stories, food, and hands-on experiences, students will explore their own cultural identity while developing empathy and appreciation for cultures around the world.

✅ Understand what culture is and identify key aspects of their own culture, including food, traditions, clothing, language, and behaviors.

→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge

✅ Learn about different cultures around the world and explore similarities and differences through books, food, and classroom activities.

→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standard: #8 Advocacy

✅ Recognize how culture can shape how people feel, think, and act, and begin building respectful, inclusive communication across cultural differences.

→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standards: #2 Analyze Influences and #4 Use Communication Skills

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts elementary students need to understand in order to build awareness of how cultural and cultural health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡What Culture Is

Culture is the way a group of people live, including their food, clothes, language, holidays, and traditions.

💡What Empathy Means

Empathy is understanding and caring about how someone else feels, even if their life is different from yours.

💡The Platinum Rule

Treat others the way they want to be treated, not just how you want to be treated.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help elementary students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of culture and cultural health. Each learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore the functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Culture Sorting Activity
Students sort pictures or icons representing different cultures and match them to the correct country.
→ Connects to: Understand what culture is and identify aspects of personal cultural identity.

🔎 Sharing Culture Through Food
Invite parents, family members, or local community members to share foods and traditions from their cultures through presentations, cooking demonstrations, or storytelling.
→ Connects to: Experience different cultures through food, stories, and shared traditions.

🔎 Holiday Highlights
Throughout the year, introduce and celebrate different holidays from around the world, helping students learn the meaning, traditions, and cultural significance behind each celebration.
→ Connects to: Learn about global cultures and recognize how traditions and celebrations reflect cultural identity.

These cultural health project-based learning assessments are designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their cultural health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each financial health assessment idea aligns with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 "I Am, I Celebrate" Poem
Students write a simple poem about themselves focusing on the parts of their culture they are proud of and how it makes them feel.
→ Assesses: Understanding what culture is and identifying key aspects of personal culture, including food, traditions, clothing, language, and behaviors. (SHAPE America Standard #1)

📚 Culture Quilt Square
Students create a quilt square that represents an element of their own culture or a culture they are studying. When displayed together, the quilt showcases the diversity within the classroom and beyond.
→ Assesses: Learning about different cultures and recognizing cultural similarities and differences through shared classroom activities. (SHAPE America Standard #8)

📚 Book Reflection
After reading a book about a different culture, students reflect by drawing or writing about something they learned and how it is similar to or different from their own experience.
→ Assesses: Recognizing how culture shapes how people feel, think, and act, and practicing respectful, inclusive reflection across cultural differences. (SHAPE America Standard #2, #4)

Cultural health learning objectives clearly define what middle school students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and promotes lifelong well-being.

The Goal: Students will deepen their understanding of cultural identity and develop the skills to respectfully engage with diverse perspectives. By exploring how culture shapes beliefs, behaviors, and choices, students build empathy, strengthen communication, and become more inclusive members of their communities.

✅ Recognize how their personal culture influences their beliefs, behaviors, and choices in everyday life.→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standards: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #2 Analyze Influences

✅ Explore a variety of cultural perspectives and experiences different from their own through books, discussions, and shared activities.→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #4 Interpersonal Communication Skills

✅ Build skills for navigating cultural differences with empathy, respect, and an open mind.→ Relates to SHAPE America Health Standard: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #4 Interpersonal Communication Skills

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts middle school students need to understand in order to build awareness of how cultural and cultural health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡Deeper Understanding of Culture

Culture includes the traditions, beliefs, behaviors, celebrations, foods, and social norms that shape how people live, think, and act.

💡 How Culture Influences Health and Decision Making

Cultural values and traditions impact health choices like diet, physical activity, emotional health, communication styles, and ideas about wellness.


💡 What Empathy Means and How to Practice It

Empathy is the ability to understand and respect how someone else feels and experiences the world, even when their life is different from your own.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help middle school students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of culture and cultural health. Each learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore the functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Books and Movies for Cultural Awareness
Students read stories and watch films that highlight different cultural perspectives. They practice noticing traditions, values, and behaviors, building empathy and understanding for lives different from their own.
→ Connects to: Explore a variety of cultural perspectives and experiences different from their own through books, discussions, and shared activities.

🔎 Walk in Their Shoes (Peer Exploration Activity)
Students pair up and explore how they and a peer might view the same health issue (like food choices, stress, or family responsibilities) differently based on their cultural backgrounds. Focus is on listening, learning, and understanding multiple perspectives.
→ Connects to: Build skills for navigating cultural differences with empathy, respect, and an open mind.

🔎 My Culture, My Health (Personal Reflection)
Students reflect on and identify key elements of their own culture. They examine how these elements influence their health, happiness, daily routines, and decision-making.
→ Connects to: Recognize how their personal culture influences their beliefs, behaviors, and choices in everyday life.

These cultural health project-based learning assessments are designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their cultural health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each financial health assessment idea aligns with theSHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 This Is Me Project

Students create a visual or written art piece that honors their identity and culture, highlighting how their background shapes their health choices, happiness, and values.

→ Assesses: Recognize how their personal culture influences their beliefs, behaviors, and choices in everyday life. (SHAPE America Standards #1 and #2)

📚 Decision-Making Map of Influence

Students create a visual map showing how different cultural influences (family expectations, community beliefs, traditions, values) impact their personal decision-making related to health, relationships, or daily habits.

→ Assesses: Recognize how their personal culture influences their choices and analyze the cultural factors that shape decision-making. (SHAPE America Standards #2 and #5) 

📚 Cultural Presentation

Students research and present on an aspect of their own culture or a culture they’re curious about. Presentations may include traditions, beliefs, food, language, or health practices. Students practice communicating with empathy and respect while sharing and learning from one another.

→ Assesses: Explore a variety of cultural perspectives and build skills for navigating cultural differences with empathy, respect, and an open mind.

Cultural health learning objectives clearly define what high school students will know and be able to do as a result of each lesson. These objectives focus on developing functional health knowledge, building understanding related to the dimensions of health, and applying essential health skills to real-life situations. Every objective is designed to align with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards, ensuring that instruction is comprehensive, skills-based, and promotes lifelong well-being.

The Goal: Students will develop a deeper understanding of the role culture plays in shaping health, identity, and equity. Through critical reflection and meaningful dialogue, students will explore how cultural beliefs and societal systems impact well-being and begin building the advocacy skills needed to promote inclusive, healthy communities.

✅ Develop a deep understanding of culture by identifying and reflecting on the many elements of culture that shape their daily lives, beliefs, and behaviors.
→ Related SHAPE America Standards: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #2 Analyze Influences

✅ Recognize how personal culture can create biases and blindspots, and develop skills and practices to confront bias and build greater cultural understanding. → Relates to SHAPE America Standards: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge, #2 Analyze Influences, and #4 Use Communication Skills

✅ Understand the relationship between culture and health equity, including how societal structures, traditions, and cultural norms influence access to health and well-being.
→ Relates to SHAPE America Standards: #1 Build and Apply Functional Knowledge and #2 Analyze Influences

✅ Begin developing advocacy skills to support cultural shifts that promote health equity and create more inclusive, healthy communities.
→ Relates to SHAPE America Standards: #8 Advocacy

Functional knowledge refers to the essential health concepts high school students need to understand in order to build awareness of how cultural and cultural health shows up in their lives. This knowledge helps students make informed choices and lays the foundation for managing this aspect of their well-being with intention and confidence.

💡 Understanding Elements of Culture
Key elements of culture include food, clothing, language, celebrations, family roles, religion, health practices, communication styles, and views on education, gender, and authority.

💡 What is Bias

Understand what bias and cultural blindspots are, how they develop, and how they impact relationships, decision-making, and health outcomes.

💡 Health Equity
Health equity means giving everyone a fair and just opportunity to live a healthy life. Students will explore how factors like culture, race, language, income, and access to resources affect health outcomes, and how systemic barriers create unfair differences in health between groups.

💡 Community Health
Community health focuses on the well-being of groups of people rather than just individuals. Students will examine how cultural norms, public health policies, access to services, and social support systems influence the health of communities as a whole.

💡 What Advocacy Is
Advocacy is speaking up, taking action, and working to create change to support the health, well-being, and equity of individuals and communities. Students will learn how advocacy can challenge unfair cultural norms, promote health equity, and build healthier, more inclusive communities.

Activities are health education learning engagements that help middle school students explore, interact with, and build deeper understanding of culture and cultural health. Each learning activity is designed to support a skills-based health approach and provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore the functional knowledge and practice the health skills.

🔎 Bias and Blindspot Exploration
Students explore the concept of bias and cultural blindspots by analyzing the same scene from different points of view. For example, students are asked to draw a famous structure (i.e. the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty) but each receives a different angle to replicate. The activity prompts discussion about how perspectives are shaped by what we see and what we don't, leading to deeper reflection on bias and interpretation.
→ Connects to: Understand what bias and cultural blindspots are and recognize how personal culture can create biases and blindspots.

🔎 Elements of Culture Scavenger Hunt
Students participate in a scavenger hunt (physical or digital) to find examples of cultural elements like food, language, traditions, beliefs, behaviors, and clothing, in their school, community, or media. They reflect on how these elements shape their daily experiences and values.
→ Connects to: Develop a deep understanding of culture by identifying and reflecting on the many elements of culture that shape their daily lives, beliefs, and behaviors.
 

🔎 Health Equity Research
Students research a health equity issue (e.g., access to mental health services, food insecurity, or maternal health disparities) and investigate how cultural norms, traditions, and systemic structures influence access to care and outcomes.
→ Connects to: Understand the relationship between culture and health equity.

🔎 Cultural Habits and Health Audit (Community Focus)
Students select a specific community or subculture and analyze how common habits or norms (like alcohol use at celebrations or emotional suppression) affect personal and public health. Students evaluate both positive and negative impacts.
→ Connects to: Develop a deep understanding of culture and assess how it influences health-related decisions and behaviors.

🔎 Health Advocacy at Work
Students explore real-world examples of health advocacy projects that address cultural health disparities or promote inclusion (e.g., anti-racism campaigns in healthcare, culturally responsive sex ed, Indigenous health initiatives). They reflect on how advocacy can create cultural shifts and advance health equity.
→ Connects to: Begin developing advocacy skills to support cultural shifts that promote health equity and create more inclusive, healthy communities.

This cultural health project-based learning assessment is designed to measure both what students understand and how well they can apply their cultural health knowledge and health skills in meaningful, real-world ways. Each financial health assessment idea aligns with the SHAPE America National Health Education Standards and offers students a practical, hands-on learning experience. By actively using health skills to navigate realistic scenarios, students demonstrate their ability to think critically, make informed decisions, and take ownership of their well-being.

📚 Health Equity Advocacy ProjectIn this culminating project, students will select a health equity issue impacting a specific cultural group or community. They will research the cultural context and lived experiences of that community, identifying elements of culture that influence beliefs, behaviors, and access to health. Students will then uncover biases and blindspots, both internal and systemic, that contribute to ongoing health disparities. Finally, students will develop and present an advocacy plan designed to promote equity and create culturally responsive change, demonstrating their ability to communicate with empathy, propose actionable solutions, and amplify underrepresented voices.

→ Assesses:

Deep understanding of how culture influences health and well-being

Recognition of personal and systemic biases and blindspots

Analysis of a health equity issue within a cultural context

Development of a thoughtful, culturally informed advocacy plan

→ Relates to SHAPE America Standards: #1, #2, #4, #8