Activities: lesson plans, schemes of work and projects
Research Project: Global Health
Carry out a pupil-led research project in your class into the topic of global health. Ask learners to research on the internet and look for case studies and information about global health programmes, such as the fight against Malaria. Ask them to consider how the Millennium Development Goals have helped in terms of better health for all, and to consider things that have not improved and why. How will the Sustainable Development Goals help going into the future from 2015?
Case Studies: Southern Africa – Crops for Health
Share the following case studies with your learners. Could you grow crops for health at your school?
In parts of South Africa, volunteers grow vegetables to make up vegetable boxes for the HIV/AIDS orphans to take home to help in provision of food and nutrition. This is part of a scheme that looks at the bigger picture of looking after children “affected or infected” by HIV. The Media in Education Trust – www.miet.co.za – is the organisation that implements the scheme, and they have identified vegetable plots as a way to help HIV victims. The vegetable plots are looked after by volunteers, not the children, as the scheme does not want the children to be stigmatised or that they felt that they had to work for their food.
In some other schools, the choice of vegetables grown in the school grounds was directly related to which vegetables would provide children with the vitamin and mineral groups which reportedly help boost the immune system and fight HIV. Amongst those vegetables are brassicas and beetroot.
As well as the issue of AIDS and HIV, some sectors of South Africa’s community have to try and grow enough food to eat in order to be self sustaining – coping with drought, the impact of climate change and difficult growing conditions, as well as little money to fall back on should their crops fail.
In Lesotho (a separate country surrounded by South Africa), they have developed ‘keyhole’ gardens as a technique to conserve soil, water, fertility and enable continued growth on a patch of land, providing a reliable, nutritious food supply all year round. For further information visithttp://www.dfid.gov.uk/casestudies/files/africa/lesotho-gardens.asp
Healthy Living Ghana: growing, cooking, playing…
A series of lessons encompassing the healthy living themes of growing, cooking and playing – all with a Ghanaian theme. Could be useful to compare and contrast with the same themes from a UK perspective in the next scheme of work. You could exchange this work with a school partnership in Ghana.
Healthy Living UK: growing, cooking, playing…
A series of lessons encompassing the healthy living themes of growing, cooking and playing – all with a UK theme. Could be useful to compare and contrast with the same themes from a Ghanaian perspective in the previous scheme of work. You could exchange this work with a school partnership in Ghana.