Draw a simple outline of a body in the space below. Label these parts and write one thing each part DOES:
| Body part | One job it does | One thing it needs to work well |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | ||
| Heart | ||
| Lungs | ||
| Stomach | ||
| Muscles | ||
| Bones |
Color each food group a different color and write one food you like from each group:
| Food group | What my body uses it for | One food I like from this group | Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fruits and vegetables | Vitamins and minerals — help me fight sickness | ||
| Grains (bread, rice, oats) | Energy — fuel for my brain and muscles | ||
| Protein (beans, meat, eggs, nuts) | Building and repairing muscles | ||
| Dairy or calcium-rich foods | Strong bones and teeth | ||
| Water | Everything — no body process works without water |
Feelings happen in the body. Match each feeling to where you notice it in your body:
When I am nervous, I feel it in my: _______________________________________________
When I am happy, my body feels: _______________________________________________
When I am tired, my body tells me by: _______________________________________________
When I am angry, I notice: _______________________________________________
Name one thing that helps your body feel calm again when you are upset: _______________________________________________
| Day | Hours slept | Glasses of water | Movement (what and how long) | One word for how I felt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | ||||
| Tuesday | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
| Thursday | ||||
| Friday |
Recommended sleep for ages 6-12: 9-12 hours. My average this week: _______ hours. Did I meet the recommendation? _______
Charles Drew (1904-1950) was a Black surgeon and researcher who developed techniques for preserving blood and created the first blood banks — his documented work saved thousands of lives in World War II. Name one part of your body that blood travels to, and write one sentence about why Dr. Drew's work matters:
| Body system | Main function | What disrupts it | What supports it | Connection to another system |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circulatory | ||||
| Respiratory | ||||
| Digestive | ||||
| Nervous | ||||
| Immune |
Analyze a meal you ate this week:
Meal: _______________________________________________
| Food in this meal | Primary macronutrient it provides | Micronutrient(s) if known |
|---|---|---|
Was this meal balanced? What was well-represented? What was missing? _______________________________________________
| Emotional regulation strategy | How it works in the body (the science) | When I have used or could use this |
|---|---|---|
| Deep, slow breathing (diaphragmatic) | Activates the parasympathetic nervous system — "rest and digest" — lowers heart rate and cortisol | |
| Physical exercise | Releases endorphins; reduces cortisol; improves sleep quality | |
| Writing or journaling | Engages the prefrontal cortex (reasoning brain), helping regulate the amygdala (emotional brain) | |
| Sleep | Brain clears metabolic waste during sleep; consolidates memory; regulates emotional response | |
| Social connection | Releases oxytocin, which reduces cortisol and blood pressure |
Recommended sleep (CDC documented standards): Ages 6-12: 9-12 hours. Ages 13-18: 8-10 hours. Adults 18+: 7-9 hours.
During sleep, the brain cycles through documented stages: light sleep, deep sleep (slow-wave sleep), and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Each stage has a function — deep sleep repairs tissue and strengthens immune function; REM sleep consolidates memory and regulates emotion.
My average sleep this week: _______ hours. Do I meet the recommendation for my age? _______
Name one documented way sleep deprivation affects learning (research: CDC, NIH, or American Academy of Sleep Medicine):
Documented fact: The American Heart Association (2023) reports that Black Americans are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than white Americans, and approximately 55% of Black adults have hypertension (high blood pressure). This is not genetic destiny — it is documented as the result of chronic stress (from racism, economic inequality, and housing instability), food access disparities, and lower rates of healthcare access. This is called "weathering" — documented by Dr. Arline Geronimus, a public health researcher. Name one body system that chronic stress disrupts (based on what you learned in Part 1) and explain the connection to the documented health disparity data above:
Design a one-week exercise program using the FITT principle for your age group:
| Day | Type of exercise | Intensity (light/moderate/vigorous) | Duration | Why you chose this |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | ||||
| Tuesday | ||||
| Wednesday | ||||
| Thursday | ||||
| Friday | ||||
| Saturday | ||||
| Sunday |
Total moderate + vigorous minutes per week: _______ Does this meet the CDC recommendation? _______
Find the nutrition facts label for a food you eat regularly. Record the data:
| Nutrient | Amount per serving | % Daily Value | Adequate / Over / Under? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | |||
| Saturated Fat (limit) | |||
| Sodium (limit — goal: under 2,300mg/day) | |||
| Total Carbohydrate | |||
| Dietary Fiber (goal: 25-38g/day) | |||
| Added Sugars (limit — goal: under 25-36g/day) | |||
| Protein |
Serving size listed: _______ How many servings do you typically eat at once? _______ Multiply all values by _______ for your actual intake.
Is this food something you would recommend to a younger sibling? Make a specific evidence-based claim: _______________________________________________
Choose one documented health disparity and research it using the CDC (cdc.gov), NIH (nih.gov), or American Public Health Association (apha.org):
Disparity you researched: _______________________________________________
Documented rate in Black/Brown community vs. white community: _______________________________________________
Source (URL or publication name): _______________________________________________
Name two documented social determinants of health that researchers have linked to this disparity (not genetics — documented social conditions):
1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
Write one claim about what this documented disparity tells you about the relationship between structural inequality and individual health outcomes:
Based on everything you have learned, complete an honest self-assessment:
| Health domain | Current documented habit | Target (evidence-based goal) | One specific change for the next 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep | avg _____ hrs/night | _____ hrs (age-appropriate) | |
| Physical activity | _____ min/week | _____ min/week (CDC) | |
| Water intake | _____ glasses/day | 8+ glasses/day | |
| Fruit and vegetable intake | _____ servings/day | 5+ servings/day | |
| Stress management | Current strategy: | Evidence-based strategy: |
Dr. Harriet Washington documented in her book "Medical Apartheid" (2006) that Black Americans have been subjected to documented non-consensual medical experimentation throughout American history — from enslaved people used in surgical practice without anesthesia, to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), in which Black men with syphilis were deliberately denied treatment so the federal government could study the untreated disease progression. This documented history has produced documented medical mistrust in Black communities — a rational response to documented harm. Write one paragraph: how does documented medical mistrust intersect with documented health disparities? What responsibility do public health institutions have to address that history before asking communities to trust them? Make a specific claim supported by at least one documented fact: