Investing In Your Health wellbeing lesson plan
A wellbeing lesson for Years 6 to 8 that helps Australian teachers introduce healthy habits and practical choices for everyday living, through a structured, ready-to-teach lesson. Students explore habits around movement, sleep, nutrition, hygiene and self care, and practise thinking about the everyday choices that support their own health and wellbeing.
Physical Wellbeing & Healthy Living
Snapshot
Investing In Your Health
This lesson gives teachers a structured way to introduce healthy habits and everyday choices that support students' physical wellbeing. Feedback: 4.2/5 from 42 teacher ratings
Prep time:
5 to 10 minutes
Lesson length:
45 to 50 minutes
Key Focus
Building healthy habits for everyday wellbeing
Lesson Format
Teacher-led discussion and structured activities
What students will learn
By the end of the lesson, students will be supported to:
Recognise
recognise the everyday habits that support physical health, such as movement, sleep, nutrition and hygiene
recognise how habits such as screen time, diet and rest can affect energy, mood and concentration
recognise that healthy habits can look different for different people
Understand
understand why consistent routines around sleep, movement and nutrition support wellbeing over time
understand that small, realistic changes are more sustainable than strict rules
Practise
practise identifying one or two habits they could realistically build into their own routine
practise talking about health choices using respectful, non judgemental language
practise setting a simple, achievable personal health goal
Who this lesson is for?
This lesson is designed for students in Years 6 to 8 who are building independence around their own health habits and daily routines.
It is suitable for:
secondary and upper primary wellbeing lessons
Health or PDHPE teaching
pastoral care or advisory sessions
health and physical education units on healthy lifestyles
personal development or life skills programs
Suitability should be based on more than age alone. Teachers should consider the lesson focus, student maturity, cohort needs, classroom culture, existing discussion norms and available support pathways.
Best used when
Use this lesson when students need clear, practical language for recognising unkind behaviour and knowing what to do next.
Introducing healthy lifestyles Use when students are beginning to explore habits such as movement, sleep, nutrition and hygiene.
Starting a health and wellbeing unit Use as a warm up lesson before a broader PDHPE or Health unit on healthy living.
Reinforcing self care routines Use when revisiting expectations around sleep, movement and daily routines.
Supporting transition to secondary school Use when students are adjusting to new routines, timetables and independence around their own health choices.
Building goal setting skills Use when students are ready to set simple, realistic personal health goals.
Creating a structured wellbeing discussion Use when you want a calm, teacher led discussion about everyday habits and choices.
The lesson can be used proactively with the whole class. It does not need to follow a specific incident.
Why this lesson matters
Students are becoming more independent in the choices they make about sleep, movement, food and daily routines, often without much guidance on how these habits connect to how they feel and function each day. Investing In Your Health gives students a chance to think about their own habits in a practical, low pressure way. Rather than presenting one ideal way to be healthy, the lesson helps students notice patterns in their own routines and consider small, realistic changes. This kind of early, proactive thinking about health habits can support students to make more informed choices as they take on more responsibility for their own wellbeing.
How this lesson supports wellbeing
This lesson supports student wellbeing by building practical social and emotional skills students can use in everyday school life. It helps students develop:
Capability How the lesson supports it
Self awareness Students notice patterns in their own sleep, movement, nutrition and hygiene habits.
Self care Students consider practical ways to look after their own physical wellbeing.
Decision making Students think through the choices behind everyday habits, rather than following fixed rules.
Body awareness Students build a respectful understanding of how habits affect energy, mood and concentration.
Personal responsibility Students consider their own role in building consistent, realistic routines.
Goal setting Students practise setting a simple, achievable personal health goal.
For teachers and school leaders, the lesson contributes to broader wellbeing, respectful relationships, child safety and pastoral care goals in Australian primary schools.
Teaching notes & Delivery Considerations
This lesson includes content about unkind behaviour, exclusion and asking adults for help. It should be taught with calm, clear discussion norms.
Before teaching
Remind students not to share personal or family details about food, weight or home routines
Frame discussion around general habits and examples, not individual students' bodies or choices
Make clear there is no single right way to be healthy, and habits can look different for different people
Be prepared to follow your school's child safety, wellbeing or child protection procedures if a student discloses harm or says they feel unsafe.
During delivery
Use general, everyday examples such as sleep routines, screen time and movement rather than personal disclosures
Keep language body respectful and avoid comments about weight, appearance or specific foods being good or bad
Give students time to reflect individually before group discussion
Reinforce that small, realistic changes are more useful than strict rules
Supporting safe discussion
Use privacy and respectful discussion as the classroom norm rather than promising confidentiality
Ask students to use general examples rather than naming classmates or sharing personal stories
Direct any concerns about home circumstances to a trusted adult after the lesson
Adaptation options
Use partner or small group discussion for students who are less comfortable speaking to the whole class
Adjust examples to suit your school context, such as focusing more on sleep or movement depending on student needs
Extend the goal setting activity for students ready to plan habits over a longer timeframe
