Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
Health Promotion, Illness Prevention and Safety
State Goal 22A
Stress Management
 List stressors
 Describe different types of stress
 Describe behaviors/choices that reduce health risks
 Recognize and explain the possible consequences that prolonged
exposure to stress may have on the body
Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases
 State the signs and symptoms of illness
 Discuss the benefits of early detection of illnesses
 Recognize that some diseases can be controlled more easily than
others
 Discuss the difference between a bacteria and a virus
 Describe the signs and symptoms of illness that indicate a person
should seek medical treatment
 Describe signs and symptoms of common childhood illnesses
 List early detection methods of diagnosing illnesses
 Distinguish the difference between communicable and noncommunicable diseases
 Indicate behaviors/choices that may increase risks to one’s health
 Describe and name STD’s
 Identify the signs and symptoms of STDs
 Demonstrate basic knowledge of H.I,V. and A.I.D.S.
 Explore ways that technology can be used to impact health and safety
 Determine the signs and symptoms of the top three chronic diseases
(cancer, heart disease, and diabetes)
Abuse
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Discuss behaviors that may be considered to be abusive
Know what to do if abusive behavior is suspected or discovered
Recognize abusive behaviors
Practice methods to follow when abusive behavior is suspected or
discovered
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Explain the importance of vaccinations
Identify types of vaccinations used to maintain health
Predict the consequences of not being immunized
Describe behaviors/choices that reduce health risk.
Drugs
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 1
Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
First Aid
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Apply basic first aid procedures to injuries
Health Among Individuals, Groups, and Communities
State Goal 22B
Introduction to Health
 Tell others how they influence other people’s health choices/behaviors
 Use a decision-making process to make a healthy choice in a peer
pressure situation
 Discuss how peers influence health-related choices/behaviors
 Discuss how to evaluate health-related information
Drugs
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Know where to go for health care and medicines
Discuss how peoples’ productivity( at school, at work, at home) is
affected by health
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Recognize emergency situations that can impact health and well-being
Recall actions and procedures that need to be taken in order to lessen
the impact of emergencies on a person’s health
First Aid
Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases
 Recognize the seriousness of signs and symptoms of illnesses
Structures and Functions of the Human Body and How They Relate
State Goal 23A
Drugs
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Explain how nerves and the brain work together
Recognize personal health behaviors and choices that help or hinder
the functioning of the body’s systems
Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases
 Recognize that all of the body’s systems interrelate and impact each
Other
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 2
Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
Stress Management
 Describe the effects of stress on the body’s systems
 Predict the impact that a person’s health behaviors and/or choices
may have on the body’s systems
Physical Activity
 Analyze the effects of different forms of exercise on the body’s
systems
 Investigate ways and behaviors that can improve or maintain the
functioning of the body’s system
Health Related Actions on the Body Systems
State Goal 23B
Drugs
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List the effects of drugs on the body’s system
List the negative influences of drugs on the body
Analyze the effects of drug use, misuse, and abuse on health status
Stress Management
 Describe the short term and long term effects of stress on the body
Physical Activity
 Recognize the positive effects of physical activity on the body’s
systems
 Recognize the negative effects physical activity on the body’s systems
 Identify the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic activities on the
body’s systems
 Recognize the importance of establishing an ongoing exercise plan in
order to sustain the health of the body’s system
Legacy Project
 List choices that have a positive influence on health
 List choices that have a negative influence on health
 Analyze how behaviors can impact the maintenance of health and/or
the prevention of disease
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 3
Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
Factors that Affect Growth and Development
State Goal 23C
Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases
 Explain how and which hereditary traits are passed on from the
parent to child
Introduction to Health
 Identify the roles significant people in an individual’s life play in
providing a mental, emotional and social support system
 Describe how peers influence one’s life
 Investigate the impact that significant people have on the health
choices/lifestyles of others
Legacy Project
 Describe situations and/or choices affecting the use, misuse or abuse
of substances that will affect physical, mental, emotional, and social
growth and development
 Recognize social forces and norms that exert positive or negative
influences on health practices, including fitness and diet
Abstinence
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Discuss physical, mental, emotional and social changes that occur
during puberty
Investigate the relationships of, and the disparities among, physical,
mental, emotional, and social changes occurring during puberty
Conflict Resolution
 Identify and develop effective coping skills
 Practice conflict resolution skills
Stress Management
 Identify situations that cause stress
 Recognize stress management techniques
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 4
Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
Decision Making Skills Related to the Promotion and Protection of Individual
Health
State Goal 24B
Introduction to Health
 Compare and Contrast consequences for good and bad choices
 Discuss how individuals can control their response to other people’s
choices
 Identify barriers that can affect the decision making process
Legacy Project
 Give examples where and when a decision making process can be
used
 Identify options available to make a decision
 Select a health problem and give examples of choices and
consequences
Abstinence
 Analyze consequences for poor health choices
 Discuss how emotional and social changes that occur during puberty
affect decision-making
 Explain how choices one makes now can affect one’s health in the
future
 Explain how adolescent health problems can affect others
 Analyze option choices and determine the impact each could have on
successfully solving a health-related problem or making a healthrelated decision
Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases
 Formulate a plan to solve a health-related problem
 Explain the value of identifying options to solve health-relate
problems
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 5
Ridgeland School District 122
8th Grade Curriculum
12 week course
Skills Essential to Enhancing Health and Avoiding Dangerous Situations
State Goal 24C
Abuse Prevention
 Recognize situations that can cause children to feel uncomfortable
 Identify ways to seek assistance when uncomfortable
 Find school and community health-related resources available for assistance
when in need
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Introduction to Health
 Identify characteristics of peer pressure
 Use decision-making skills to determine personal health goals
Legacy Project
 Practice using refusal skills
 Employ refusal skills and negotiating skills to avoid becoming involved in
potentially harmful situation
 Identify personal health goals
Drugs
 Demonstrate refusal skills within the context of dangerous situations (drugs)
 Discuss peer pressure in terms of needing to use refusal skills
 Identify barriers that could limit achievement of personal health goals
Physical Health
 Describe the components of a well-written goal (is specific, is
measurable, has an action plan, is realistic, has a timeframe)
Ridgeland School District 122
Trimesters are approximately 12 weeks of instruction.
Revised 2011
Page 6