Using environmental health tracking programs in middle and high school curricula

We developed an 8th grade environmental health curriculum based on the Maryland state environmental literacy standards. This project was conducted through the state's health department and specifically, their Environmental Health Tracking (EPHT) Program. This program, funded by the Centers for Disease Control, provides resources and data on the connections between the environment and health. Our objective was to create three lesson plans that secondary school teachers in the state can use to satisfy their environmental health education needs. The lessons are on 1) general environmental health, 2) air quality and health and 3) water quality and health. We provide lesson plans, background information, PowerPoint presentations, vocabulary sheets for students, and ideas for student projects and evaluations of learning. We also provide short (5-10 minute) videos on environmental health featuring Maryland children learning about their environment and engaging in outdoor activities as well as teachers and other experts exploring an aspect of environmental health. The 3 topics of these videos are water quality, air quality and the built environment. These videos are intended as a supplement to the lessons or as a stand-alone video available online. Our presentation will discuss the development, content and applications of environmental health curriculum modules and outreach to educators to encourage use of these lessons. We will also present ideas for using environmental health tracking resources in an educational setting, as well as opportunities to improve content and usability of state and federal environmental health tracking data.