Seventh Grade Health

Course Description

Health education provides students with the skills and functional knowledge to develop lifelong wellness.  Lifelong wellness is the ability to care for oneself within all dimensions of health; physical, mental/emotional, environmental, social, spiritual, intellectual, and occupational-making continuing adjustments throughout our lives.  Our goal is to encourage students to recognize that their choices impact lifelong health.  

Students will develop high-level comprehension and understanding in the areas of personal wellness, mental and emotional health, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, body systems and disease, nutrition and fitness, consumer and environmental health, and human sexuality.

Grade Level(s): Seventh Grade

Related Priority Standards (State &/or National):  

• K-12 Health Education Missouri Grade Level Expectations
• Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training for Missouri Students

Essential Questions

• What knowledge is necessary to promote health and prevent disease?
• How can one reduce their risk for disease?
• How can one set boundaries related to their sexual health and respect the boundaries of others?
• How do you know when you or a loved one needs help, and where do you go for that help?
• What makes a healthy relationship?
• What goals do you have, both short-term and long-term?
• Why are empathy and inclusion necessary for developing personal health and a safe and healthy community?   
• How do we reduce the stigma around health-related topics to empower students to advocate for themselves and their physical, social, and emotional needs?
• Who or what influences health-related decisions?
• What makes food more nutrient-dense? 
• How does one’s relationship with food influence health and wellness?
• How can one make informed health decisions using valid and reliable resources while recognizing their sources of influence?

Enduring Understandings

• Students will evaluate the presence of each dimension of wellness in their lives.
• Students will explain how their lifestyle choices affect their wellness.
• Students will set a personal goal and will monitor their progress toward that goal.
• Students will evaluate the effects of various influences on their health-related decisions.
• Students will evaluate their resources to ensure validity and relevance.
• Students will analyze various foods for their nutrient density. 
• Students will evaluate their relationship with food. 
• Students will analyze behaviors that minimize the risk of noncommunicable and communicable diseases.
• Students will identify the parts of the endocrine and reproductive systems, as well as how their body changes during puberty.
• Students will evaluate the importance of abstinence to avoid contracting STIs.
• Students will learn how to advocate for their personal health.
• Students will understand the importance of safely navigating the internet and technology. 

Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

• Unit 1: Concepts of Wellness

Students will learn about the different dimensions of wellness and how they interact with each other. They will find evidence of these in their lives and work toward a balance among them in order to thrive. *Components of fitness and the effects of exercise on the muscular, skeletal, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems will be taught in physical education. 

• Unit 2: Mental, Emotional, and Social Health & Goal Setting

Students will develop self-awareness around their own mental, emotional, and social health and learn about strategies to manage them. They will learn about various mental health disorders and recognize signs of them in themselves and others. Students will also practice the skill of goal setting to impact their own health positively. 

• Unit 3: Analyzing Influences & Decision Making

Students will learn how to recognize health influences and make decisions in the areas of wellness, mental, emotional, and social health, and goal-setting.

• Unit 4: Healthy and Safe Relationships

Students will learn about disease risk factors and prevention as well as how the immune system fights against them.  Students will learn how to be health advocates for themselves and others.  Using the latest medically factual and developmentally appropriate information, students will learn about the endocrine system and the reproductive system.

Students will be provided training that includes:

• • Instruction providing students with the knowledge and tools to recognize sexual abuse
  • Instruction providing students with the knowledge and tools to report an incident of sexual abuse
  • Actions that a student who is a victim of sexual abuse could take to obtain assistance and intervention
  • Available resources for students affected by sexual abuse

For additional information about this unit, including opt-out letters for families, please visit the Health Education website.

Date Last Revised/Approved: 2022