UNITY POINT TROJANS

7th Grade Health Curriculum Units

Unit 1 - Looking Good

* This unit focuses on recognizing how day-to-day health decisions impact a person's physical appearance.  The lessons will lead students in examining how short-term health choices can lead to long-term consequences.  A variety of topics are covered with an emphasis on nutrition, exercise and personal hygiene.

Unit 2 - Feeling Good

* This unit's lessons will spotlight ways for students to recognize feelings and emotions. Students will learn ways to reduce stress by addressing the root causes of these feelings.  We will be discussing the mood swings common during the middle school years and will be looking at ways to deal with these feelings appropriately.

Unit 3 - Getting Along Better with Others

* The main theme of this unit is cooperation.  We we be examining how decisions and behaviors effect interpersonal relationships.  The students will be investigating such topics as speaking skills, listening skills, conflict resolution, goal setting and skills for coping with a loss.

Unit 4 - Influences

* The main theme of this unit is understanding what influences our decision making.  We we be

examining how the people around us impact how we think about things.  Students will investigate how

the way we were raised, the things that we value and even advertisements in the media affect the

choices that we make everyday.

8th Grade Health Curriculum Units

Unit 1 - Long-Term Health Risks

* This unit will provide students with an in-depth look at major health risks impacting adolescents and adults.  The students will recognize how knowledge, skills and attitudes work together to enable people to behave in health-enhancing, risk-reducing ways.  Some of the topics covered will include heart disease, cancer, stroke, accidents, eating behaviors and steroid use.

Units 2 and 3 - Human Reproduction

* This topic is separated into two distinct units centered on human reproduction.  They include information on puberty, male and female anatomy and physiology, pregnancy, childbirth, parental responsibility, sexually transmitted infections and birth control methods.  All of the information is kept clinical in nature and abstinence is stressed throughout.  I want you to be comfortable with the information that will be shared with your child, so please contact me with any questions or concerns.  I would be more than happy to discuss the unit in greater detail with you.

Unit 4 - Watching Out For Me

* In this final unit, the students will be learning about the harsh consequences of drug use.  Curiosity about drugs and subsequent experimentation often begin in the middle school years.  Often, young people have very little understanding about what they are risking by engaging in this type of behavior.  Included topics in this unit: tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, "designer" drugs and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.