The nine tick and tick-borne disease prevention activities in this package align with the Virginia Standards of Learning for Health and Physical Education for 3rd to 5th grade. Topics include, but are not limited to: how to identify a tick, proper tick-borne disease prevention techniques, and safe tick removal. These active learning activities are presented in a lesson plan-type format and can be used alone or in combination to easily create lessons or a unit. They can be easily modified for use with older school-age students and adult populations.These educational resources were developed by a Health and Physical Educator and a Master Certified Health Education Specialist in support of Virginia House Bill 850. The bill requires the development of school-age-appropriate educational resources for schools and public libraries by 2028 to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.  

This package of resources is made available to educators in response to the Code of Virginia.  Please adapt the resources for the age of your students.   § 22.1-206.1. Lyme disease; instructional resources and materials. The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Resources and the Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, shall develop instructional resources and materials to assist school boards and local and regional public libraries in establishing an education and awareness program to protect children from Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. Such instructional resources and materials (i) shall be appropriate for individuals of school age; (ii) shall provide information on the identification of ticks, recommended procedures for safe tick removal, and best practices to provide protection from ticks; (iii) may include video productions, pamphlets, and demonstration programs to illustrate the sizes of various ticks, including sizes before and after each variety, has become engorged, to assist with the identification of a tick and the reaction on the skin that may result from a tick bite; and (iv) shall be made available to school boards and local and regional public libraries upon request at no charge.