This is Lesson 1 of the Using Data to Understand and Improve Health Outcomes Unit.

High school students, as scientists, ask questions and identify patterns in data to answer the following driving question: Why are there differences in case numbers and health outcomes of respiratory disease at the country, state, and county levels? Students watch a Public Service Announcement about the health risks posed by exposure to air pollution. To begin investigating air pollution’s potential health effects, students evaluate information about different categories of respiratory diseases. From there, students analyze data about the Top 10 Causes of Death Globally by Income Group between 2000 and 2019, and note that respiratory diseases are in the top five causes of death across income categories, but the order and specific type of disease differ by income group and geography. To begin to explain these differences, students decide to look at data at a smaller scale – states and counties in the United States. This data introduces additional disparities in both case numbers and health outcomes. Next, students investigate their initial questions about the health effects of air pollution. Finally, students will create an individual initial model to explain the differences in respiratory disease case numbers and health outcomes observed in the data. Students will share these initial models to look for similarities and differences, and to help them surface questions they need to answer to explain the phenomena.

Click the Download PDF button above for the complete Lesson Plan.

Student Materials

• HDW Unit L1 Student Guide
• HDW Unit L1: Respiratory Disease Data for Several US Communities

Teacher Materials

• Using Data to Understand and Improve Health Outcomes Front Matter
• Using Data to Understand and Improve Health Outcomes Storyline Outline
• Using Data to Understand and Improve Health Outcomes Model Tracker
• HDW Unit Extension Resources