Education

HEALTH STANDARDS

November 30, 1994 10 min read
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GRADES K-4

1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.

Students will:

  • Describe relationships between personal health behaviors and individual well being
  • Identify indicators of mental, emotional, social, and physical health during childhood
  • Describe the basic structure and functions of the human body systems
  • Describe how the family influences personal health
  • Describe how physical, social, and emotional environments influence personal health
  • Identify common health problems of children
  • Identify health problems that should be detected and treated early
  • Explain how childhood injuries and illnesses can be prevented or treated

Standard 2. Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.

Students will:

  • Identify characteristics of valid health information and health-promoting products and services
  • Demonstrate the ability to locate resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information
  • Explain how media influences the selection of health information, products, and services
  • Demonstrate the ability to locate school and community health helpers

Standard 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.

Students will:

  • Identify responsible health behaviors
  • Identify personal health needs
  • Compare behaviors that are safe to those that are risky or harmful
  • Demonstrate strategies to improve or maintain personal health
  • Develop injury-prevention and management strategies for personal health
  • Demonstrate ways to avoid and reduce threatening situations
  • Apply skills to manage stress

Standard 4. Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology, and other factors on health.

Students will:

  • Describe how culture influences personal health behaviors
  • Explain how media influences thoughts, feelings, and health behaviors
  • Describe ways technology can influence personal health
  • Explain how information from school and family influences health

Standard 5. Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.

Students will:

  • Distinguish between verbal and nonverbal communication
  • Describe characteristics needed to be a responsible friend and family member
  • Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings
  • Demonstrate ways to communicate care, consideration, and respect of self and others
  • Demonstrate attentive listening skills to build and maintain healthy relationships
  • Demonstrate refusal skills to enhance health
  • Differentiate between negative and positive behaviors used in conflict situations
  • Demonstrate nonviolent strategies to resolve conflicts

Standard 6. Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal- setting and decisionmaking skills that enhance health.

Students will:

  • Demonstrate the ability to apply a decisionmaking process to health issues and problems
  • Explain when to ask for assistance in making health-related decisions and setting health goals
  • Predict outcomes of positive health decisions
  • Set a personal health goal and track progress toward its achievement

Standard 7. Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Students will:

  • Describe a variety of methods to convey accurate health information and ideas
  • Express information and opinions about health issues
  • Identify community agencies that advocate for healthy individuals, families, and communities
  • Demonstrate the ability to influence and support others in making positive health choices

GRADES 5-8

Standard 1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.

Students will:

  • Explain the relationship between positive health behaviors and the prevention of injury, illness, disease, and premature death
  • Describe the interrelationship of mental, emotional, social, and physical health during adolescence
  • Explain how health is influenced by the interaction of body systems
  • Describe how family and peers influence the health of adolescents
  • Analyze how environment and personal health are interrelated
  • Describe ways to reduce risks related to adolescent health problems
  • Explain how appropriate health care can prevent premature death and disability
  • Describe how lifestyle, pathogens, family history, and other risk factors are related to the cause or prevention of disease and other health problems

Standard 2. Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.

Students will:

  • Analyze the validity of health information, products, and services
  • Demonstrate the ability to utilize resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information
  • Analyze how media influences the selection of health information and products
  • Demonstrate the ability to locate health products and services
  • Compare the costs and validity of health products
  • Describe situations requiring professional health services

Standard 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.

Students will:

  • Explain the importance of assuming responsibility for personal health behaviors
  • Analyze a personal health assessment to determine health strengths and risks
  • Distinguish between safe, risky, and harmful behaviors in relationships
  • Demonstrate strategies to improve or maintain personal and family health
  • Develop injury-prevention and management strategies for personal and family health
  • Demonstrate ways to avoid and reduce threatening situations
  • Demonstrate strategies to manage stress

Standard 4. Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology and other factors on health.

Students will:

  • Describe the influence of cultural beliefs on health behaviors and the use of health services
  • Analyze how messages from media and other sources influence health behaviors
  • Analyze the influence of technology on personal and family health
  • Analyze how information from peers influences health

Standard 5. Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.

Students will:

  • Demonstrate effective verbal and nonverbal communication skills to enhance health
  • Describe how the behavior of family and peers affects interpersonal communication
  • Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings
  • Demonstrate ways to communicate care, consideration, and respect of self and others
  • Demonstrate communication skills to build and maintain healthy relationships
  • Demonstrate refusal and negotiation skills to enhance health
  • Analyze the possible causes of conflict among youth in schools and communities
  • Demonstrate strategies to manage conflict in healthy ways

Standard 6. Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal- setting and decisionmaking skills that enhance health.

Students will:

  • Demonstrate the ability to apply a decisionmaking process to health issues and problems individually and collaboratively
  • Analyze how health-related decisions are influenced by individuals, family, and community values
  • Predict how decisions regarding health behaviors have consequences for self and others
  • Apply strategies and skills needed to attain personal health goals
  • Describe how personal health goals are influenced by changing information, abilities, priorities, and responsibilities
  • Develop a plan that addresses personal strengths, needs, and health risks

Standard 7. Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Students will:

  • Analyze various communication methods to accurately express health information and ideas
  • Express information and opinions about health issues
  • Identify barriers to effective communication of information, ideas, feelings, and opinions about health issues
  • Demonstrate the ability to influence and support others in making positive health choices
  • Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively when advocating for healthy individuals, families, and schools

GRADES 9-11

Standard 1. Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention.

Students will:

  • Analyze how behavior can impact health maintenance and disease prevention
  • Describe the interrelationships of mental, emotional, social, and physical health throughout adulthood
  • Explain the impact of personal health behaviors on the functioning of body systems
  • Analyze how the family, peers, and community influence the health of individuals
  • Analyze how the environment influences the health of the community
  • Describe how to delay onset and reduce risks of potential health problems during adulthood
  • Analyze how public health policies and government regulations influence health promotion and disease prevention
  • Analyze how the prevention and control of health problems are influenced by research and medical advances

Standard 2. Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid health information and health-promoting products and services.

Students will:

  • Evaluate the validity of health information, products, and services
  • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate resources from home, school, and community that provide valid health information
  • Evaluate factors that influence personal selection of health products and services
  • Demonstrate the ability to access school and community health services for self and others
  • Analyze the cost and accessibility of health-care services
  • Analyze situations requiring professional health services

Standard 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and reduce health risks.

Students will:

  • Analyze the role of individual responsibility for enhancing health
  • Evaluate a personal health assessment to determine strategies for health enhancement and risk reduction
  • Analyze the short-term and long-term consequences of safe, risky, and harmful behaviors
  • Develop strategies to improve or maintain personal, family, and community health
  • Develop injury-prevention and management strategies for personal, family, and community health
  • Demonstrate ways to avoid and reduce threatening situations
  • Evaluate strategies to manage stressss

Standard 4. Students will analyze the influence of culture, media, technology, and other factors on health.

Students will:

  • Analyze how cultural diversity enriches and challenges health behaviors
  • Evaluate the effect of media and other factors on personal, family, and community health
  • Evaluate the impact of technology on personal, family, and community health
  • Analyze how information from the community influences health

Standard 5. Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.

Students will:

  • Demonstrate skills for communicating effectively with family, peers, and others
  • Analyze how interpersonal communication affects relationships
  • Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings
  • Demonstrate ways to communicate care, consideration, and respect of self and others
  • Demonstrate strategies for solving interpersonal conflicts without harming self or others
  • Demonstrate refusal, negotiation, and collaboration skills to avoid potentially harmful situations
  • Analyze the possible causes of conflict in schools, families, and communities
  • Demonstrate strategies used to prevent conflict

Standard 6. Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal- setting and decisionmaking skills that enhance health.

Students will:

  • Demonstrate the ability to utilize various strategies when making decisions related to health needs and risks of young adults
  • Analyze health concerns that require collaborative decision making
  • Predict immediate and long-term impact of health decisions on the individual, family, and community
  • Implement a plan for attaining a personal health goal
  • Evaluate progress toward achieving personal health goals
  • Formulate an effective plan for lifelong health

Standard 7. Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Students will:

  • Evaluate the effectiveness of communication methods for accurately expressing health information and ideas
  • Express information and opinions about health issues
  • Utilize strategies to overcome barriers when communicating information, ideas, feelings, and opinions about health issues
  • Demonstrate the ability to influence and support others in making positive health choices
  • Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively when advocating for healthy communities
  • Demonstrate the ability to adapt health messages and communication techniques to the characteristics of a particular audience

Reprinted with the permission of the Joint Committee for the National School Health Education

Standards from the draft document, The National School Health Education Standards, 1994.

A version of this article appeared in the November 30, 1994 edition of Education Week as HEALTH STANDARDS

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