What if you could challenge your 10th graders to develop a product or process that helps people embrace diet and exercise and has a positive impact on society? With this volume in the STEM Road Map Curriculum Series, you can!

Healthy Living outlines a journey that will steer your students toward authentic problem solving while grounding them in integrated STEM disciplines. Like the other volumes in the series, this book is designed to meet the growing need to infuse real-world learning into K–12 classrooms.

This interdisciplinary, three-lesson module uses project- and problem-based learning to help students build their knowledge about health from the varied perspectives of a cell biologist, nutrition scientist, biochemist, physiologist, public health practitioner, and consumer. To support this goal, students will do the following:

Explain how diet and exercise affect an individual’s health at a cellular level.
Explain the extent to which certain foods (plant, animal, or industry-produced) are beneficial for health.
Critically evaluate media messages and scientific research about healthy lifestyles.
Analyze the effects of individuals’ health choices on the community.
Interview community stakeholders about factors that harm or enhance health.
Use an engineering design process to create a prototype that individuals can use to manage their nutrition or exercise regimen.
Create a video documentary demonstrating their understanding of a healthy lifestyle.


Healthy Living can be used as a whole unit or in part to meet the needs of districts, schools, and teachers who are charting a course toward an integrated STEM approach.