Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

Here's the personal side of AIDS, told from an international perspective in an MTV-style presentation that should hold the attention of teens and other students. Combining facts with personalities, the site offers facts, opportunities for action, and examples of other teens' experiences. Share this one with your students; it's available in several languages.

tag(s): difficult conversations (57), diseases (66), hiv/aids (15)

The US Department of Health and Human Services offers this online catalog of drug and alcohol information for teens. Many of these publications are available online, and they may prove helpful to parents, students, or guidance counselors grappling with substance abuse issues. HHS also offers additional catalog sections targeted specifically to children.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28), red ribbon week (10)

The Exploratorium does it again with this new look at the science behind cooking. There are lots of areas to explore, from what makes pickles pickle to the crystal structures of the sugar in your candy. Narrated Flash animations tell many of the stories.

tag(s): cooking (33)

The University of Illinois Extension developed this site to help young people understand the problems and issues that confront the elderly. The site uses a collection of hands-on activities to demonstrate the issues and challenges that older people confront in living their daily lives. Health classes will find these an interesting way to examine life style differences, and the site could also be used to help students work more closely with older people in their community.

tag(s): parents (54)

The National Cancer Institute now offers this venerable site as an encouragement to make fruits and vegetables a central part of the American diet. Though not designed specifically for students, the site includes complete resources - recipes, promotional ideas, local contact information, etc. - and could be useful for health and nutrition classes.

tag(s): nutrition (140)

Tips for parents on how to spot signs of depression in their children.

tag(s): behavior (43), emotions (53)

The information on this site was originally developed for limited literacy Spanish and English speaking patients. It offers basic health, nutrition, and lifestyles information in a context which may be suitable for either students or parents in certain specific settings. Lots of illustrations and minimal use of text help make these resources easy to use.

tag(s): nutrition (140)

This is a collection of agencies and resources for those who need additional help or information regarding addictions and substance abuse. Some of the agencies listed also include specific web resources. Lots of toll-free numbers here for folks who need help.

tag(s): addition (127), drugs and alcohol (28)

This site offers a self-scoring quiz about behaviors and alcohol consumption designed to help users determine whether they might have a problem with alcohol use or addiction. The site scores questions and returns an answer on a new web page.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)

Cleveland Clinics' Inhalant Use Disorder shares an overview of inhalant use disorder. It includes the symptoms and causes, risk factors, complications, diagnosing, testing, management, treatment, prevention, outlook, and living with it. It also list several products used for this disorder.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)

This content is part of the larger Mental Health Net site. It offers detailed explanations of the origins, management, and treatment of eating disorders. The content is written at the professional level and is decidedly not for student use. This information could be useful for school guidance counselors, nurses, or teachers who suspect an eating disorder in one of their students. Note: the page opens up with an ad, but you can click to "skip this ad."

tag(s): eating disorders (6)

This site from Mental Health Net offers basic information on suicide in adults and young people, along with a long list of resources for help and guidance. Mental Health Net also maintains an on-line listing of treatment centers.

tag(s): psychology (65)

This article from the Mayo Clinic seeks to dispel a number of common misconceptions about the nature of suicidal persons, especially young people. It also provides specific strategies for recognizing and responding to warning signs of suicide.

tag(s): psychology (65)

Long a favorite that has grown immensely since its inception in 1995, PE Central is a massive resource created at Virginia Tech University for physical education teachers. The top menu includes drop-down links for Lesson Plans, Assessments, Best Practices, Professional Development, Class Management, Videos, and more. The body of the page has several helpful categories, such as Bulletin Boards, Skills and Fitness Challenges, Adapted PE, and others. There is more here than can be absorbed in one sitting, so be sure to bookmark this site. The videos are hosted on YouTube. If you district blocks YouTube they may not be viewable.

tag(s): adaptations (16), dance (33), fitness (39), nutrition (140), Special Needs (52), sports (85), video (267)

This site's purpose is to see a future free of death and diseases caused by tobacco. Learn about the reasons to not start smoking, one being that the Nicotine in cigarettes is a drug and therefore additive.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28), medicine (57)

This site includes a nice set of resources for all grade levels, including the recently-released report on smoking and women. There are also specific resources for coaches, school health professionals, and others who work with young people. Some of these tools can be downloaded directly.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)

This gateway site from the federal government aims to consolidate a wide range of consumer oriented nutrition information. The information could find various applications in health, consumer science, and nutrition classes.

tag(s): nutrition (140)

This is the PDF version of a National Institute for Drug Abuse publication. It contains factual information on marijuana and why not experimenting is the best strategy. Great site for teens to use in gathering accurate information on a topic replete with less-than-correct information.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)

KidsHealth is a creation of the A.I. DuPont Clinics and the Nemours Foundation, presenting information on pediatric health for both adults and children. The information for children includes simple descriptions of How the Body Works, Puberty and Growing Up, and discussions of concepts of hygiene and infection. For adults, there are more detailed discussions of health issues affecting children.

tag(s): hygiene (9), movies (56)

This organization's goal is to reduce the demand for drugs through prevention, education, treatment, law enforcement and community outreach programs. This site provides links to resources including publications available to order.

tag(s): drugs and alcohol (28)