About
The following stand-alone lessons, handouts, and activities were selected from high-quality curricula and resources, featured on the Health Native Youth website. Stand-alone resources aim to connect Native youth to culture, while covering important topics, like healthy relationships, drug and alcohol misuse, suicide prevention, internet safety, and bullying.
As health educators, we respect curriculum design and encourage you to select a full-length curriculum and implement it from start to finish. Then, consider using the lessons and activities below to broaden and enhance your existing programming.
Top Three Activity Guides
Jump to a topic:
Alcohol, Tobacco & Drug Misuse
- Alcohol, Tobacco, & Other Drugs Lesson (Middle/High School)
- On substance use and how to get help. Includes a PowerPoint.
- Drugs and Alcohol Lesson (Middle/High School)
- On identifying support and making healthy decisions.
- Sacred Circle of Tobacco Lessons (Teens)
- Encourages youth to keep tobacco sacred.
- Fentanyl & Opioid Response Toolkit for Schools (All)
- Supports educators, administrators, school nurses, students, and families in responding to opioid overdoses and deaths in Oregon.
- Drug Flashcards are a set of medically accurate drug and alcohol flashcards.
- Porky’s Party is PSA and discussion guide to use when talking to youth around substance misuse. It follows a group of friends during a party where they learn skills to navigate substance misuse and a drug overdose.
Mental Health & Self-Care
- My Self-Care Plan Activity (Middle/High School, Young Adults)
- 35-minute activity where youth create a self-care plan that includes selecting positive self-talk statements.
- My Self-Care Plan for Elders & Adults (Adults)
- Activity where Elders and adults create a self-care plan that includes selecting positive self-talk statements.
- Help Seeking Behaviors & Strategies Lesson (Middle/High School, Young Adults)
- Centers on introducing youth to ‘help seeking behavior’ strategies to facilitate self-care.
- Circle of Trust Handout (Middle/High School)
- Encourages youth to identify the people in their life that they can turn to when needed.
- Feelings Pie Chart Handout (Middle/High School)
- Encourages youth to reflect on the emotions they felt during the day.
Native Identity
- Culture & Tradition Lesson (High School)
- About the importance of culture and tradition in our lives and well-being.
- Indigenous Leadership Skill Building Activity (Middle/High School)
- 35-minute activity that explores Indigenous leaderships styles and skills, and helps youth identify which they possess and which they’d like to develop.
- Changemakers Lesson Plan
- Amplifies the voices of contemporary Native peoples.
- Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative
- Provides educators with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures through educational materials, virtual programs, and teacher training.
- Honor Native Land Guide
- Offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.
- Attla Viewer Discussion Guide
- A viewer discussion guide designed for K-12 educators that focused on connecting youth with their community, identity, place, and culture.
Sexual Health & Healthy Relationships
- How to Use a Condom Video (All)
- Demo on how to use a condom.
- How to Use a Dental Dam Video (All)
- Demo on how to use a dental dam.
- Healthy Relationships Lesson (High School)
- Focuses on recognizing the signs of an unhealthy relationship, practicing skills to communicate, setting boundaries, and where to get help.
- HIV/AIDS Lesson (Middle/High School)
- Teaches the basics about HIV/AIDS and corrects common misconceptions.
- Get the Facts About HIV Testing Handout (Middle/High School)
- Provides basic information about HIV risk and testing.
- Safer Snagging Lesson (High School)
- Provides information about reducing risky sexual behaviors.
- Get the Facts About STIs Handout (Middle/High School)
- Provides basic information about STI risk, common signs, and info on STI testing.
Fitness & Nutrition
- Native Fitness (All)
- Offers guidance for teaching a variety of Indigenous fitness activities.
- Native Plants & Foods Curriculum Portal (All)
- Includes several educational toolkits devoted to native plants and foods in the Pacific Northwest.
- Cedar Box Experience (All)
- The Cedar Box Experience is an interactive educational resource which draws from the Tend, Gather and Grow Teaching Toolkit, the Cedar Box Toolkit, and the Swinomish 13 Moons Curriculum.
Social Media & Media Literacy
- Concerning Messages Youth Lesson (Middle/High School, Young Adult)
- On what to do when you see a concerning message online.
- Media Literacy with We R Native Lesson (Middle/High School)
- Introduces media literacy concepts and the We R Native website.
Career Pathways
- CDC NERD Academy Curriculum (Middle/High School)
- An educational resource to teach students about public health, epidemiology, and related careers.
- Public Health 101 Handout (For those working with Middle School)
- Public Health 101 Handout (For those working with High School)
- Public Health 101 Handout (For those working with College Students)
- Tribal Public Health Pathways
- A list of pathway programs across the country tailored for AI/AN students.
Other Educational Resources
- Story Maker (Middle/High School, Young Adults)
- Projects, lessons, and resources for supporting youth voices in media creation.
- Bingo Data Collection Activity
- Use bingo to collect community-based data.
- Holistic Health Checklist Worksheet
- Worksheet that encourages facilitators to develop holistic health programming.
- Ice Breakers
- Provides educators with a list of icebreakers that can be used in a variety of educational settings.