Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 07 — Where Health Information Comes From

Learners begin the unit's second objective by learning five questions that open any health claim — who made it, why, for whom, what evidence, and what is left out — and practice them on mixed real-world examples.

D03 P2: Physical & Somatic Awareness D03.S4 50 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

How do I tell who made a piece of health information, why they made it, and whether the evidence backs it up?

sourceauthorpurposeaudienceevidenceopinionauthoritycorroboration

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

A five-question checklist for judging health information — who made it, why, for whom, what evidence, what is left out — with a magnifying-glass motif
A five-question checklist for judging health information — who made it, why, for whom, what evidence, what is left out — with a magnifying-glass motif

Lesson 7 — Where Health Information Comes From

Summary

Learners begin the unit’s second objective by learning five questions that open any health claim — who made it, why, for whom, what evidence, and what is left out — and practice them on mixed real-world examples.

Objectives

  • Evaluate sources of health information, including online, peer, and marketing sources, for accuracy and bias. (D03.S4.10.02)

Connection

Imagine two people hand you the same medicine. One is a pharmacist who explains the dose and the side effects. The other is selling it and promises it will “change your life.” The medicine is identical — but the information is not, because the people have different purposes. Every health claim comes from someone, for some reason, to some audience. Reading that — before you believe or share — is a skill you already use with prices and promises; now you sharpen it for health.

Materials

  • Source questions worksheet
  • Health-claim samples

Preparation

  • Copy the source questions worksheet and health-claim samples.
  • Retrieval (spiral): from Grade 9, evaluating body-image messages in media; from Grade 7, evaluating food marketing claims. Today: the same skill, broadened to all health information.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). Land the five questions (framed by NAMLE’s key media questions, S-151, and Common Sense’s news/media-literacy habits, S-063): (1) Who made this? (an author, a company, an anonymous account); (2) Why was it made? (to inform, to persuade, to sell, to scare, to entertain); (3) For whom? (an audience whose attention or money is wanted); (4) What evidence? (a study, a source, or only assertion); (5) What is left out? (risks, costs, alternatives, who disagrees). Model one worked example aloud before learners practice.

Sensitive-topic guidance: health claims in this unit’s samples may include sexual-health products and body claims; keep samples non-graphic and treat every claim as material to analyze, never to try. Learners may opt out. If a sample triggers a disclosure or concern, respond privately and follow your safeguarding procedure to a trusted adult or health service.

The ethics lens: using true information — not fear or deception — is the honest way to influence a health decision. The egalitarian lens: those with less access to education are targeted by weak or false claims, so the skill of checking is a form of protection for everyone. The global lens: health claims look different in different markets and languages, but the five questions work everywhere. The technology lens: the internet multiplies claims and anonymizes their sources, which makes the questions more necessary, not less.

Procedure

  1. Retrieve (5 min). From Grade 9: what did you learn about media images and body image? From Grade 7: how did you tell a food ad’s claim from evidence? Say one idea.
  2. Meet the five questions (10 min). Learn them by heart: who made this, why, for whom, what evidence, what is left out. Say them as a group.
  3. Worked example (10 min). Follow a model: a post claims a drink “boosts your immunity instantly.” Who? a brand account. Why? to sell. For whom? worried people. Evidence? none cited. Left out? that no drink does this. Watch how the claim falls apart under the questions.
  4. Practice on samples (15 min). In small groups, run all five questions on each sample. Mark each: inform, persuade, sell, scare, or entertain — and say what evidence is missing.
  5. Share one finding (5 min). Each group shares one claim and the question that cracked it.
  6. Reflect (5 min). Write: “The question I will always ask about a health claim is…”
  7. Close (5 min). Next: the internet makes sources feel closer than they are. Tomorrow, how to check them for real.

Differentiation

  • Support: Start with clearly labeled examples (an ad, a clinic flyer); focus on the first two questions.
  • Extension: Take a real claim from your own feed (screen-captured, personal info removed) and run all five questions, then write a one-paragraph verdict.

Assessment

  • Formative (peer + self): Can the learner name the five questions and apply them to a sample to identify its purpose and its missing evidence?
  • Artifact (portfolio): The “question I will always ask” reflection.

Home connection

If it feels safe, watch or read a health claim with a trusted adult and ask the five questions together. If not comfortable, practice on your own with any ad you see. No home conversation is required.

Resources