Liver Good Life
Lesson Plan (Short)
Time allocation:
Themes:
Trigger warnings:
about 25 minutes.
biology, health, well-being.
alcoholism, sexual health, obesity, drug-use.
Materials required:
 Assembly PowerPoint presentation
 Rugby ball
 Stopwatch
 Score-board (whiteboard/blackboard)
 Fast-food packaging, empty fizzy drinks cans or bottles, empty sweet packets,
etc...
 What’s My Score? – Self scoring sheet for students to take away at the end.
Learning outcomes:
1. I know what the liver does, and why it’s so vital to my life.
2. I know how to keep my liver healthy and avoid putting it (and myself) at risk.
3. I understand the importance of a healthy diet, exercise and 2 - 3 alcohol-free
days a week as an adult.
(PowerPoint: Slide 1)
Introduction: what’s this?
(2 minutes)
Introduce the liver (without saying what it is) either by handing out a life-size model
of a liver and passing it round or by using a human-biology model at the front of the
assembly.
 Hands up who has one of these.
 What is it?
 Where is the liver? What does it do?
Entrance ticket
(2 minutes)
Hand out entrance tickets to all students and ask them to discuss in pairs, with each
student filling in one ticket to return to at the end of the lesson.
(PowerPoint: Slide 2)
General knowledge: organ diagram
(2 minutes)
Can somebody identify the liver among these organs?
Some facts about the liver:
 It’s 96% water.
 It’s the body’s factory, with over 500 functions.
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320
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It is the largest internal organ in the human body.
Without the liver, we cannot survive.
Liver disease is the 5th biggest killer in the UK, and the only one on the
increase.
You’ve only got one liver.
An adult liver is about the size of a rugby ball…
ACTIVITY OPTION 1 (TO BE DONE INSTEAD OF, NOT IN ADDITION TO, OPTIONS 2/3)
Video: Liver Good Life & debrief quiz
(6 minutes)
Link: http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/liver-information/looking-after-your-liver/livergoodlife-film/
Play “Liver Good Life” film from British Liver Trust website. Allow students to take
brief notes if they want. Then go through ten questions (see Appendix 1) as a whole
class, testing their memory of the video’s key facts.
ACTIVITY OPTION 2 (TO BE DONE INSTEAD OF, NOT IN ADDITION TO, OPTIONS 1/3)
(PowerPoint: Slide 3)
Activity: rugby ball game – six volunteers needed
(6 minutes)
Request two volunteers to come to the front; explain that they’re going to throw the
rugby ball to one another. Give the pair a minute to see how many catches they can
get in that time. (Have a third student time this and tell them when to stop, and a
fourth keep score.)
Comment on how well they’re working together and “functioning” – like an organ in
the human body. Thank the pair and have them sit down.
Request another two pairs of volunteers; this time as the first pair begin to throw
and catch the rugby ball, have the second pair “The distractions” wave different
items in their path – fast-food packets, fizzy drinks cans, empty sweet packets, etc.
with the intention of trying to hinder their progress.
Each time someone misses a catch, pause the timer and have them pay a forfeit, in
this order, before proceeding:
1. Go down on one knee.
2. Down on both knees.
3. Hold one hand behind their back.
4. Close one eye.
When the minute is up, ask everyone to sit down and check which pair did best (it
should be the first!) and congratulate them.
Ask the students if this was fair. Which pair had the best chance of “functioning”
well? What prevented the second pair from functioning? Ask the students to
comment on what they saw happening. What else in life can this relate to? (e.g. our
health, body functions…)
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320
The key learning point is that there are organs within our body that function with
ease – and without us even realising they’re working. However, we sometimes place
stress on those organs e.g. by taking things into our bodies like sweets/fatty
foods/fast foods which prevent them working as effectively as they could. Over time
this can lead to severe impairment of core functions within our body. The liver is a
major organ that we need to keep healthy and not place under undue stress.
ACTIVITY OPTION 3 (TO BE DONE INSTEAD OF, NOT IN ADDITION TO, OPTIONS 1/2)
The Silent Killer – Edinburgh College of Art project
(6 minutes)
Link: http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/about-us/campaigns/silent-killer-edinburghcollege-art-project/
In 2014 the British Liver Trust and Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems
published the results of Edinburgh College of Art students’ ideas for an alcohol
related liver disease awareness-raising campaign. The goal was to challenge the
taboos associated with the disease, drawing attention to them through the media of
fashion.
Split into four groups, have students read one of the four case studies and report
back to the class, summarising. Encourage them to discuss the issues raised and the
effectiveness of the campaigns in tackling them.
If there’s enough time left over, have students brainstorm their own ideas for similar
campaigns that could incorporate fashion as a means to raise awareness of liver
disease.
(PowerPoint: Slides 4–8)
Biology: what does a liver do?
(2 minutes)
1. Filtration – it cleans and filters harmful substances that are either made by the
body (metabolic waste) or taken into the body such as alcohol, drugs and other
chemicals; this prevents harmful substances reaching the blood stream.
Q: What would happen if the liver stopped doing this?
A: An Important job of the liver is to remove harmful substances from the
body. However, when the liver is damaged and unable to function fully these
‘’toxins’’ start to build up in the bloodstream. They can enter the brain and
other organs, often affecting both the mental and physical condition of the
patients, commonly causing jaundice, ascites and HE (Hepatic
Encephalopathy) which can present similarly to dementia. In more serious
cases it can cause brain swelling, permanent nervous system damage, blood
poisoning, multiple organ failure and loss of life.
2. Digestion – it produces bile which breaks down fat from the food we eat and helps
aid digestion.
Q: What would happen if the liver stopped doing this?
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320
A: Our bodies would be unable to breakdown the fat we eat causing a
disruption in our digestive system and resulting in the inability to be able to
excrete waste. It could also facilitate the build-up of cholesterol in the body.
3. Storage – stores vitamins and minerals (like iron) and releases them into the blood
stream as and when needed.
Q: What would happen if the liver stopped doing this?
A: Either our bodies would not retain some of these vitamins or minerals
which would cause us to become deficient in them, leading to other illnesses
such as osteoporosis – a condition where your bones become brittle and
break easily – a contributing cause can be a lack of calcium and vitamin D.
Alternatively, if our liver did not release or remove the vitamins and minerals
as and when needed but instead they built up in our bloodstream, our bodies
would become ‘’overloaded’’ with vitamins and minerals, which can have
poisonous effects.
4. Metabolism – the process of converting food into energy.
Q: What would happen if the liver stopped doing this?
A: If our bodies did not breakdown food or transform it in to energy we would
not be able to function. We get the energy we need to do the things we see
like walking, running and moving generally. However, we also need it to be
able to do the things we do not see like thinking, growing or fighting off
infections or other illness.
5. Coagulation – it creates blood-clotting substances to help form scabs and stop
bleeding.
Q: What would happen if the liver stopped doing this?
A: If our bodies did not perform this process, when we cut our selves or had an
operation we would not be able to stop bleeding and this could lead to life
loss.
Also, if our bodies could not form scabs on the cuts we have it would take a
very long time for any wound to heal and there is a significantly higher risk
that the wound would become infected which can cause a lot of health
problems.
(PowerPoint: Slide 9)
Liver disease is increasing
(1 minute)
Show graph that shows increase in deaths from liver-damage, plus statistics. Stress
that it’s becoming a young person’s disease and a “silent killer” (often symptomless
at first).
(PowerPoint: Slides 10, 11, 12)
Protect your liver!
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320
(3 minutes)
1. Live well
 Eat healthily. Try to include 5 portions of fruit and veg a day (5-a-day).
 Avoid too much sugar, fatty foods and junk foods.
 Take regular exercise. Build it into your routine or hobbies.
 When travelling abroad ensure you have your travel vaccinations and follow
good hygiene regimes – never eat raw, unwashed foods such as salad items
and avoid drinking water from the taps in countries where water sanitation is
not good.
2. Alcohol
 Not drinking puts the liver at far less risk.
 Drinking over the recommend guidelines, and binge drinking, can damage the
liver.
 There are the hidden ‘empty’ calories in alcohol.
 Taking at least 2–3 consecutive days off a week will give the liver a rest.
3. Viral hepatitis
 Using a condom can prevent viral hepatitis being passed on.
 Sharing equipment which could have been contaminated with blood or body
fluids such as; razors, tweezers, nail scissors, hypodermic needles, tattoo
needles or cocaine straws, can pass on the virus.
 Get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B.
 When travelling abroad ensure you have your travel vaccinations and follow
good hygiene regimes – never eat raw, unwashed foods such as salad items
and avoid drinking water from the taps in countries where water sanitation is
not good.
4. Non-Lifestyle related causes of liver disease.
 Autoimmune conditions such as PBC (primary biliary cirrhosis), PSC
(primary sclerosing cholangitis) and AIH (autoimmune hepatitis).
 Nutrient overload disorders such as haemochromatosis (iron
overload) and Wilson’s (copper overload) which can be hereditary.
 Pregnancy related conditions such as OC (obstetric cholestasis).
 Some tumours, cancers and syndromes such as gilberts (higher than
normal levels of bilirubin in the blood).
What can you do differently? / Exit ticket
(5 minutes)
Class discussion
Ask students to revisit their entrance ticket and fill in an exit ticket, to compare their
knowledge at the end of the lesson with that at the start.
End.
Takeaway: self-scoring "What’s my score?" liver-disease risk sheet.
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320
Liver Good Life
Appendix 1 – Activity 1 questions and answers
1. Where is the liver?
Under your ribs on the right hand side.
2. What is the size of an adult liver?
About the size of a rugby ball.
3. Name three functions of the liver:
 Cleans the blood – gets rid of waste and harmful substances.
 Stops you bleeding.
 Produces bile – aids digestion.
 Converts food into energy.
 Stores vitamins and minerals.
 Helps fight infections.
4. What does the liver do with the food we eat?
Breaks it down and changes it into the energy we need.
5. Liver disease is the…
a) 1st biggest killer in the UK
b) 5th biggest killer in the UK
c) 10th biggest killer in the UK
6. How many causes of liver disease are there?
Over 100.
7. What is fatty liver disease?
The build-up of fatty deposits in the liver.
8. How can you ‘pick up’ hepatitis A?
 From contaminated food and water.
 Faecal-oral transmission. Hygiene.
9. Which two types of hepatitis can you be vaccinated against?
Hepatitis A & B
10. How are hepatitis B and C passed on?
Through blood to blood contact (BBV’s) for example:
 Sharing tattoo and drug equipment (including cocaine straws.)
 Unprotected sex.
 Sharing razors, tweezers or other personal items.
British Liver Trust
Registered Charity 298858 England and Wales, SC042140 Scotland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 01425 481320