• Eighth-Grade Health Learning Objectives
     
    The eighth grade curriculum promotes healthy decision-making and advocating for one’s own health through various lessons. This curriculum includes information on alcohol (immediate and long-term effects on the body & risks of binge drinking) and alcohol use disorder. Adolescent brain development is discussed and emphasized throughout this unit as well. The unit over “Other Drugs” includes over-the-counter drugs, supplements/vitamins, energy products, and cannabis. The focus of these units is on how the substances affect our bodies, the addiction process, and decision-making.  The mental wellness unit teaches about stress & anxiety, depression & suicide. Within all of these topics, we discuss how to recognize the signs and how to help someone. Finally, students will be taught lessons about sexual health education (healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, consent, sexually transmitted disease/infections overview, and internal & external condoms). These lessons promote abstinence as the safest choice for teenagers and young adults.  A letter will be sent home prior to this unit of study. 


    Students will:

    • Recognize how mental health affects an individual's wellness.
    • Take appropriate action when they recognize signs and symptoms of stress, depression and suicide in themselves or others.
    • Recognize signs and symptoms of stress, depression and suicide in themselves or others.
    • Understand the reasons that the drinking age is 21.
    • Recognize the signs/symptoms of alcoholism.
    • Describe how alcohol physiologically affects the various body systems, and psychologically affects individuals and society.
    • Internalize the information necessary to aid an individual who is under the influence of alcohol, to prevent any illness/injury/death related to alcohol consumption.
    • Describe dangers associated with over the counter drugs, herbal products and dietary supplements, and abuse of prescription drugs.
    • Differentiate between foods, medicines and drugs and explain which are safe and under what conditions.
    • Describe how various drugs physiologically affect the various body systems, and psychologically affect individuals.
    • Recognize the signs/stages of addiction and discuss how it affects people's lives.
    • Discuss strategies and resources to avoid consequences of being drugged (club/date rape drugs).