Development and health

Foggy Tokyo viewed from a tall building

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The study and understanding of human wellbeing provides a framework with which to compare the lives of people within individual countries and across the globe. Exploring the link between development and wellbeing can help students understand why the lives of the world's people unfold differently, and how the regional context of physical and human factors affects the way people live.

Understanding how people live in different parts of the world is key to understanding the world. The year 10 geography unit Geographies of human wellbeing is designed to give students that frame of reference. This resource provides teaching sequences and learning activities to support the unit.

The four parts of the resource follow the principles of inquiry-based learning. Each provides a key investigation, along with activity guidelines and recommended resources. Curriculum details and learning objectives are included, with a special emphasis on a particular geographical skills focus. Two parts include extension activities; others provide links to additional historical sources beyond the key digital resource, the BBC's Development and health website.

The Development and health website uses both factual information and interactive exercises to explore the relationship between economic development and wellbeing elements that relate to human health. Subsections explore human and physical factors and social and economic indicators, and provide links to case studies that explore the health issues of malaria, cholera and developed lifestyles. Each section includes statistical data, graphical representations and interactive exercises. The resource also provides links to useful websites and a revision section.

Teaching sequence

  1. Part 1: where in the world is wellbeing located?
  2. Part 2: signs and signals
  3. Part 3: richer or poorer
  4. Part 4: here and there