Health, Disease, and Personal Hygiene

Grade 7 · General Science

Semester 2 | Period 4 | Week 19

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Subject: General Science

Semester: 2

Period: 4

Week: 19

School Name:
Teacher’s Name:
Subject: General Science
Grade Level: Grade 7
Date:
Week 19 Lesson Duration: 45 minutes
Week & Period: Week 19, Period 4
Topic: Health, Disease, and Personal Hygiene
Sub-topic: Definition of Health, Types of Diseases, and Disease Prevention

Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

  1. Define health, disease, and personal hygiene.
  2. Differentiate between communicable and non-communicable diseases.
  3. Describe methods of preventing and controlling common diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and malaria.

Previous Knowledge
Students already know:
• Basic understanding of the human body and daily hygiene practices
• Common illnesses in their environment

Instructional Materials
• Textbook: General science textbooks for Grade 7
• Teaching aids: Charts showing disease transmission, models of body hygiene, videos or pictures of sanitation practices
• Students' notebooks and writing materials

Lesson Development – ABC Model

A – Anticipation (Warm-up / Starter)
Time: 5–10 minutes
Activity: The teacher will ask the class:
• What do you understand by the term “health”?
• Can you name some diseases that affect people in your community?
The teacher will record their responses on the board.
Teacher’s Role: Guide a short brainstorming session and correct misconceptions.
Learner’s Role:
• Share their existing ideas about health, disease, and hygiene.
• Respond verbally and participate in warm-up discussion.

B – Building Knowledge (Main Lesson Body)

Time: 25–30 minutes

Teacher’s Role:

  • Begin by defining health as a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. Explain that a healthy person can work, play, and interact happily with others in society. Give examples like a farmer strong enough to farm, a student able to study without constant sickness.
  • Define disease as a condition in which the normal functioning of the body is disturbed. Stress that disease can make a person weak, unable to work, and sometimes can cause death if untreated. Use local examples: cholera outbreak in communities, malaria in rainy season, and diabetes in older adults.
  • Define personal hygiene as the practice of keeping oneself clean to maintain health and prevent disease. Explain with practical examples: bathing daily, brushing teeth, washing hands before eating, cutting nails, wearing clean clothes. Connect to real-life—students coming to school clean, families using soap, and handwashing campaigns during Ebola and COVID-19.
  • Classify diseases into:
  1. Communicable Diseases – Spread from person to person (e.g., malaria, cholera, diarrhea, tuberculosis, COVID-19).
  2. Non-communicable Diseases – Do not spread from person to person (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cancer).
    Use a chart or table to show differences (cause, spread, prevention).
  • Explain causes, symptoms, and prevention methods of common communicable diseases in Liberia:
    Diarrhea
    • Cause: Contaminated water and food, dirty hands, poor sanitation.
    • Symptoms: Frequent watery stool, dehydration, weakness.
    • Prevention: Boil or filter water, wash hands with soap, safe food storage, oral rehydration therapy when infected.
    Cholera
    • Cause: Infection by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, spread through contaminated water or food.
    • Symptoms: Severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, can kill within hours if untreated.
    • Prevention: Proper sanitation, clean drinking water, avoid open defecation, vaccination, community health awareness.
    Malaria
    • Cause: Plasmodium parasite transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes.
    • Symptoms: Fever, chills, headache, sweating, weakness.
    • Prevention: Sleep under insecticide-treated nets, drain stagnant water, use mosquito repellents, early treatment with ACT drugs.
  • Use demonstrations with locally available materials:
    • Show clean vs. dirty water in bottles to illustrate diarrhea/cholera risk.
    • Display a mosquito net in class to show malaria prevention.
    • Demonstrate handwashing with soap and clean water.
  • Emphasize that good hygiene and sanitation are key to preventing disease. Link it to community efforts in Liberia: handwashing campaigns, construction of boreholes, use of pit latrines, malaria awareness programs.

 

Learners’ Activities:

  • Observe teacher’s explanations, demonstrations, and charts.
  • Share experiences: students describe times they had diarrhea or malaria and how it was treated.
  • Participate in group discussions: classify given diseases into communicable or non-communicable.
  • Demonstrate proper handwashing in class.
  • Suggest local ways their families prevent diseases (boiling water, using mosquito nets, sweeping compounds).

 

Assessment Checks:

  • Ask students to classify diseases mentioned by the teacher as communicable or non-communicable.
  • Pose oral questions: What causes malaria? How can we prevent cholera?
  • Give scenarios: If a child drinks dirty water and begins to stool frequently, what disease may he have? How can it be prevented?
  • Quick written exercise: fill in blanks with “communicable” or “non-communicable.”

 

Notes (Expanded & Detailed):

  • Stress the link between hygiene and health: “Cleanliness is the cheapest medicine.”
  • Reinforce that many diseases in Liberia (especially in rural areas) can be prevented through simple hygiene practices and safe water.
  • Highlight relevance: Liberia faces malaria as the leading cause of sickness, while diarrhea and cholera are common in rainy season due to poor sanitation.
  • Encourage students to become health ambassadors in their homes and communities by practicing hygiene and sharing knowledge.

 

C – Consolidation (Conclusion & Assessment)
Time: 5–10 minutes
Summary:
• The teacher will ask the students to recall:

  • Definitions of health, disease, and personal hygiene
  • Types of diseases and examples
  • Methods to prevent and control diarrhea, cholera, and malaria
    Evaluation Method (Expanded):
    • Exit slip/quiz: Students will write short answers to:
  1. Define health and disease.
  2. Give two examples each of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
  3. State three ways to prevent malaria.
    Teacher will collect and quickly review for understanding
    • Provide oral feedback before class ends

Assignment (Expanded): Follow-up Activity:
• Observe hygiene practices at home or school and write a short report on measures that help prevent diseases.
• Make a poster showing methods to prevent communicable diseases common in Liberia.

Differentiation / Inclusive Strategies
• Struggling Learners: Use simple language, visual aids, and real-life examples of hygiene practices.
• Advanced Learners: Research emerging diseases in Liberia and present prevention strategies.
• Students with Disabilities: Provide tactile charts, peer support, and visual demonstrations.

Teacher’s Reflection (After Class)
• What worked well? ______________________________________________________
• What needs improvement? _________________________________________________
• Students’ engagement level: □ High □ Medium □ Low