Grade 8 Health and PE Curriculum

Students will:

• Identify safe practices for improving physical fitness.
• Complete a self-assessment of health-related fitness and develop a comprehensive personal fitness plan, including: 
  • SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals
  • Action plan that incorporates the FITT (frequency, intensity, time, and type) principle
  • A timeline
  • Documentation of activities inside and outside of school
  • Roadblocks/barriers and solutions
  • Mid-year and end-of-year assessments
  • Reflection on progress for improving at least three self-selected components of health-related fitness
• Use a variety of resources, including available technology, to evaluate, monitor, and record activities for fitness improvement.
• Describe a Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale.
• Calculate resting heart rate (RHR) and describe its relationship to aerobic fitness and an RPE scale.
• Explain the concept of active transportation.
• Analyze the physical and mental health benefits of active transportation.
• Design and promote safe walking and bike routes to and from school or another location in the community.

Students will:

• Describe and demonstrate strategies for dealing with stress, such as deep breathing, guided visualization, and aerobic exercise.
• Identify positive mental and emotional aspects of participating in a variety of physical activities
• Describe how participation in physical activities creates enjoyment.
• Explain the connection between an RPE scale and heart rate, and the body’s response to physical activity.
• Identify the body’s physical and psychological responses to stress.
• Recognize the impact of disappointment or adversity on physical, social, and emotional health and how to cope effectively and change one’s feelings.
• Describe situations that can cause a range of emotions and feelings and describe how to recognize these feelings and emotions and predict how long they may last.
• Define depression and describe the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors for anxiety and depression.
• Analyze and explain the benefits of emotional flexibility, stress management, and stress-reduction techniques for physical and emotional health.
• Develop strategies for coping with disappointment, stress, anxiety, anger, and adversity.
• Develop healthy ways to identify, express, and respond to emotions and identify resources for help and support.
• Explain when mental illnesses and mental challenges require support or assistance (e.g., when they affect one’s relationships, responsibilities, and involvement in activities).
• Develop achievable goals for handling stressors in healthy ways.
• Promote strategies for coping with disappointment and adversity.
• Promote help-seeking for mental health concerns.
• Demonstrate healthy verbal, nonverbal, written, and visual communication skills.
• Identify personal, family, school, community, and healthcare professional resources that can help oneself and others with mental illnesses and challenges.

Students will:

• Demonstrate basic abilities and safety precautions in recreational pursuits (e.g., in-line skating, orienteering, hiking, cycling, ropes courses, backpacking, canoeing, rock climbing).
• Identify safe practices for improving physical fitness.
• Apply safety procedures, rules, and appropriate etiquette in physical activity settings by self-officiating modified physical activities/games.
• Explain the impact of weather- or climate-related physical conditions on individuals, including allergies, asthma, sunburn, dehydration, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, and hypothermia.
• Identify potential safety issues related to babysitting, caring for younger siblings, being alone at home, in the neighborhood (e.g., water sports, recreation areas, shopping areas), and being online.
• List the characteristics of and how to contribute to a positive (i.e., emotionally safe) school climate.
• Describe the role of empathy in preventing bullying and cyberbullying.
• Explain the myths and facts about gangs and gang-related behaviors.
• Describe ways to prevent weather- or climate-related physical environmental conditions, such as allergies, asthma, sunburn, dehydration, heatstroke, heat exhaustion, and hypothermia.
• Explain the importance of recognizing harmful and risky behaviors related to personal safety.
• Explain how violence, bullying, and harassment affect personal health and school safety.
• Explain why it is important to be able to identify bullying behavior to prevent bullying and cyberbullying.
• Explain why people may join gangs, including the relationship between self-image and gang-related behaviors.
• Determine strategies to protect against the harmful effects of the sun, heat, and cold.
• Describe ways to maintain a safe and healthy environment at school, in the community, at home, and online.
• Assess your school’s safety protocols and recommend suggestions for improvement to your school’s safety.
• Create a campaign to prevent/stop bullying or cyberbullying.
• Create strategies to promote awareness of consequences associated with gang involvement and healthy alternatives to gang involvement.

Students will:

• Demonstrate offensive strategies and tactics, to include creating open space, skilled movement, speed, accuracy, and selection of appropriate skill/tactic to gain offensive advantage.
• Apply safety procedures, rules, and appropriate etiquette in physical activity settings by self-officiating modified physical activities/games.
• Create guidelines and demonstrate how to solve problems and resolve conflicts in activity settings.
• Explain the importance of cooperating with classmates and demonstrate supportive behaviors that promote the inclusion and safety of others.
• Demonstrate effective communication skills by providing feedback to a peer, using appropriate tone and other communication skills.
• Identify the characteristics of healthy interpersonal relationships.
• Identify healthy verbal, nonverbal, written, and visual communication.
• Explain how empathy, compassion, and acceptance of others support healthy relationships.
• Describe the relationship between healthy communication skills and healthy relationships.
• Design ways to demonstrate empathy, compassion, and acceptance for others to support healthy relationships.

Students will:

• Complete a self-assessment of health-related fitness and develop a comprehensive fitness plan.
• Use a variety of resources, including available technology, to evaluate, monitor, and record activities for fitness improvement.
• Analyze the relationships among physical activity, caloric intake, and body composition.
• Define and describe the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems.
• Identify the nutrients needed for optimal aerobic and anaerobic capacity and for muscle strength and endurance.
• Create a snack plan including foods and beverages consumed before, during, and after a self-selected vigorous physical activity addressing nutrition needs for each phase and explaining the impact on and relationship to RDA, portions, macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, hydration, sugar, and salt.
• Explain the importance of sleep for energy balance.
• Explain energy balance and how it leads to a healthy body.
• Describe the value of nutrient-dense foods, define nutrient-dense foods as foods with a high amount of nutrients relative to the amount of calories, and analyze the caloric value of foods and beverages.
• Describe the benefit of eating foods to meet recommendations for iron, calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and dietary fiber.
• Identify decision-making steps for selecting healthy foods and beverages.
• Explain how allergens cause an allergic reaction.
• Evaluate the impact of sleep and rest on physical, social, and emotional health and on cognitive performance.
• Define disordered eating and describe types of eating disorders.
• Analyze the effects of nutrition on daily performance (i.e., mind and body).
• Explain the cognitive and physical benefits of eating a healthy breakfast.
• Use a decision-making process to evaluate daily food intake and nutritional requirements.
• Discuss the concept of an allergen-safe zone.
• Compare current personal sleep and rest habits with recommended guidelines for teenagers.
• Describe warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors for eating disorders.
• Encourage nutrient-dense food choices at home, school, restaurants, and nutrient-dense snacks that can be consumed at home and school.
• Educate peers and family members on the importance of eating a healthy breakfast and being physically active.
• Explore opportunities to engage with local school wellness policy committees to advocate for nutritional food and beverage choices for all school-sponsored events.
• Promote understanding of the importance of handwashing, not sharing food, and allergen safe-zones.
• Create a personal plan to meet recommended sleep and rest guidelines.
• Identify school and community resources for help with eating disorders.

Students will:

• Identify the “core muscles,” to include pelvis, lower back, hips, gluteal muscles, and abdomen, and explain their role in stabilizing movement.
• Apply biomechanical principles (e.g., center of gravity, base of support) to understand and perform skillful movements.
• Compare and contrast aerobic and anaerobic capacity and muscle strength and endurance.
• Create and implement an activity plan to meet guidelines of 60 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
• Identify and describe structures of the circulatory system.
• Describe how the school and the community can impact personal health practices and behaviors, including the availability of physical, emotional, and social health services; emergency response systems; healthcare products; and recreational and leisure opportunities.
• Identify government agencies that provide consumer protections for health products and services.
• Describe human behaviors that contribute to air, water, soil, and noise pollution.
• Describe the benefit of healthy food choices and physical activity and the impact on the circulatory system.
• Identify resources in the community dedicated to promoting health.
• Identify state and federal laws that provide consumer protections.
• Explain how environmental health is essential to personal and community health.
• Promote strategies for maintaining a healthy circulatory system.
• Define public health and describe the associated health and medical careers and the training required for these occupations.
• Evaluate and promote a healthcare product or service for students, families, schools, or communities that will help others to make positive health choices.
• Demonstrate ways to conserve and promote natural resources.

Students will:

• Describe and demonstrate how movement is stabilized, to include balance (center of gravity and center of support) and planes of movement.
• Demonstrate the movement learning progression (practice, self or peer assess, correct, practice at a higher level, and reassess) for a specific skill or activity.
• Describe the planes of motion in which movement occurs, to include sagittal plane, frontal plane, and transverse plane.
• Analyze skill patterns and movement performance of self and others, detecting and correcting mechanical errors and describing balance in the planes of movement for selected movements.
• Explain link between addiction to ATOD and engaging in risky behavior as well as leading to chronic diseases.
• Define prescriptions, controlled substances, nicotine vaping products, hemp, and marijuana-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products, and explain their uses.
• Identify the types of behavior associated with drug use and abuse that reflect positive norms (e.g., drug use is not cool, drunken driving is stupid, most teens do not use drugs).
• Explain that addiction is a compulsive physiological need and use of a habit-forming substance.
• Explain the purpose of the Food and Drug Administration and differentiate between FDA-approved and non-FDA approved substances.
• Identify short term, social and negative consequences of engaging in risky behaviors, including the use of alcohol, tobacco, nicotine products, marijuana, and other drugs.
• Identify ways to promote a drug-free lifestyle.
• Create strategies to identify types of advertising techniques used in a variety of media, including social media that may influence adolescents’ decisions concerning alcohol, tobacco and nicotine products, and other drugs.
• Identify and demonstrate strategies and skills for avoiding alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, and other harmful substances (e.g., effective refusal skills)

Students will:

• Demonstrate and apply mature movement forms and skill combinations competently in a variety of cooperative and tactical activities that include dynamic and unpredictable situations.
• Create and demonstrate movements appropriate to a variety of rhythm patterns in selected folk, social, world, country, square, contemporary, and line dances.
• Complete a self-assessment of health-related fitness and develop a comprehensive personal fitness plan, including SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goals, action plan that incorporates the FITT (frequency, intensity, time, and type) principle, timeline, documentation of activities inside and outside of school, roadblocks/barriers and solutions, mid-year.
• Use a variety of resources, including available technology, to evaluate, monitor, and record activities for fitness improvement.
• Describe how participation in physical activities creates enjoyment.