• Everything in life involves and affects health and wellness.
• Personal choices and decisions affect one’s health and the health of others.
• There are effective coping mechanisms to deal with stress in a healthy way.
• Common mental disorders can be matched with possible treatment.
• Teen depression and suicide when understood can be avoided.
• There are discernable signs of depression and suicide.
• There are effective prevention strategies to use with suicidal friends or family members.
• Healthy adult relationships require knowledge of STD education, prevention, and treatment.
• Healthy lifestyles require knowledge of drug education, prevention and treatment.
• Puberty is part of the transition to reproductive maturity.
• Health concerns associated with sexual maturity.
• Changes from childhood to adulthood may occur physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially at different times for different individuals.

Essential Questions

• What in my life affects my health and wellness?
• How do my personal choices and decision affect me and others?
• How does my family influence me? How do I influence or affect my family?
• What does it mean to be mentally/emotionally healthy? How can I be mentally/emotionally healthy?
• What are treatment options for emotional stress and depression?
• What are the signs of depression and suicide?
• What should a person do to be a physically healthy person?
• What is health and wellness?
• What does a healthy relationship look like?
• How can I know the choices i make are best for me?
• How do I protect myself from contracting communicable diseases and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).?
• What are the reasons for the epidemic growth of STDs?
• How could the various psychoactive drugs affect me presently and in the future?
• How does drug abuse affect families and communities?
• How do I stay drug free?

Standard 3: Students understand the relationship of family to individual health.
Indicators: Students will:

• Demonstrate knowledge of diverse family forms
• Demonstrate knowledge on the personal impact of family relationships on individual health
• Develop problem solving skills to help deal with family troubles

Standard 4: Students know how to maintain mental and emotional health.
Indicators: Students will:

• Identify relationship between mental/emotional health and personality
• Identify factors that influence personality development
• Understand self-esteem and its direct impact on mental/emotional health 

Standard 6: Students understand essential concepts about nutrition, diet, and fitness.
Indicators: Students will:

• Identify nutrients the body needs for optimum health
• recognize the purpose and benefit of the Food Pyramid
• Identify negative effects of poor nutrition and diet practices
• Recognize and practice components of physical fitness and types of exercise.
• Recognize the importance of sleep

Standard 7: Students know how to maintain and promote personal health.
Indicators: Students will:

• Understand different areas of health and the relationship between those areas
• Understand characteristics of healthy vs. violent or abusive relationships
• Understand effective means of communication and conflict resolution
• Apply strategies to make healthy choices

Essential Skills
Identify personal risk factors that affect health
Evaluate personal level of wellness
Find needed information and resources
Communicate with others in healthy way
Risk factor for violence

Standard 8: Students know how essential concepts about the prevention and control of disease.

Essential Skills:
Identify high-risk behaviors for contracting a STD
Common symptoms for all STDs
Know the most effective ways to protect oneself from STD infection
Treatment
Short and long term consequences
Knowing the difference  between myths & Facts
Differentiate between viral and bacterial infections

Standard 9: Students understand the aspects of substance use and abuse.
Indicators: Students will:

• Identify adverse consequences due to the abuse of alcohol and other drugs
• Understand common psychoactive drug categories and their effect on the central nervous system
• Identify legal drug misuse and abuse
• Know and practice effective refusal skills
• Understand treatment options for drug misuse and abuse
• Understand the benefits of abstaining from drug experimentation

Essential Skills
Identify short and long term effects of all psychoactive drugs.
Identify drug abuse impact on the user, the family and society.
Demonstrate ways to refuse drugs.
Know how to get help.

Standard 10: Students understand the relationship of family to individual health.
Indicators: Students will:

• Understand the lifecycle from fertilization/ birth through young adult
• Identify functions of the female and male reproductive systems
• Identify common concerns of reproductive systems
• Understand pregnancy prevention techniques
• Understand the benefits of sexual abstinence

Essential skills:
Explain how the reproductive systems function.
Understand the changes of growth and development.
Identify gender specific health concerns or issues.
Define tasks of young adulthood.

Sample Units

• Introduction to Health and Wellness Unit - (@ 10 days) Making Healthy Choices
• Human Sexuality Unit - Reproduction and Heredity, Pregnancy and Birth, Childhood and Adolescence, AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Benefits of Abstinence
• Mental Health Unit - Personality and Self Esteem. Managing Mental Disorders and Suicide
• Fitness and Nutrition Unit - Food and Nutrition, Movement and Coordination, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health, Exercise, Rest and Recreation
• Building Healthy Relationships Unit - Preventing Violence, Bully Curriculum Lessons – Alcohol, Hate Crimes and Gun Violence
• Preventing Drug Abuse Unit - Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs