Office of Health Education

Middle School Health Education

In Maryland, health education is required for all students each year in grades K-8. By the end of grade 8, students are to have developed content knowledge, skills, and strategies regarding mental health; tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, personal/consumer health; nutrition and fitness; safety and injury prevention (including violence prevention); family life and human sexuality; and disease prevention and control.

National research indicates that the benefits of curricula increase when students receive at least three consecutive years of health instruction with a minimum of 50 hours instruction time annually.

Grade 6 Indicators

Students will:


  1. review factors that contribute to healthy behaviors, communication, decision making, and goal setting to recognize ways that individuals can take responsibility for developing and maintaining mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social well-being
  2. explain how stressful events affect one's health and interaction with others to identify and use appropriate behaviors, skills, and resources for coping with these stressors

All Units

  1. review and practice the decision-making process to demonstrate the ability to apply the process both individually and collaboratively to health issues and problems

Tobacco Use Prevention

  1. identify the properties of tobacco products, the reasons why they are used, and the consequences of their use to develop strategies to help themselves and others resist the pressures to use

Human Development

  1. explore the physical, social, and psychological changes that occur during puberty to determine how they impact behaviors, communication, and decision making
  2. examine the structure and function of the human reproductive systems to identify the processes involved in reproduction and use appropriate terminology to explain these processes

Violence and Injury Prevention

  1. identify threats to personal safety, and demonstrate the ability to access resources and apply skills and strategies to avoid and/or reduce threatening situations and relationships

Disease Prevention

  1. investigate health issues, past and present, to identify the influence of culture, public health, and medical/technical advances on personal and family health
  2. identify risk factors and behaviors that affect the health of the individual, family, and society to determine appropriate health practices for disease prevention

Revised 11/02


Grade Seven Indicators

Students will:

Growing With Family and Friends

  1. examine change, growth, and conflict in relationships to determine ways to effectively address these issues with peers, family, and others.
  2. identify ways to express care, consideration, and respect for self and others to build positive relationships.
  3. explore positive stress management and other strategies to cope with change.

Helping Your Body Grow

  1. investigate the relationship among personal health behaviors, which include cleanliness, sleep, nutrition, and physical activity, to determine how these impact health promotion and disease prevention.
  2. use nutrition and physical activity guidelines to develop and implement a personal health plan
  3. investigate health information, products, and services to determine their validity and usefulness.

Alcohol Use and Abuse

  1. consider situations and choices involving alcohol to select and apply skills to avoid use.
  2. examine the physical, psychological, and social issues of alcohol use and abuse to identify positive ways to address its impact on the individual, family, and society.

Injury Prevention and First Aid

  1. identify behaviors and settings that threaten personal safety to apply strategies to reduce the risk of injury to self and others.
  2. use knowledge of first aid procedures to respond to emergency illness and/or injury situations.

Any Unit

  1. utilize various communication methods to convey accurate health information, messages, and ideas.


Grade Eight Indicators

Students will:

Taking Charge

  • identify the personal behaviors needed and motives for achieving positive and lifelong physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being to develop a plan for personal health

Drug Awareness

  • examine the properties of psychoactive drugs to determine their effects on personal health
  • examine the social, legal and economic consequences of drug use and abuse to determine why it is important to make healthy decisions regarding drug use
  • examine the stages and patterns of drug dependency to determine how it effects the individual and the family analyze the messages/pressures from peers, adults, and the media to determine how these influence decisions and behaviors
  • review and demonstrate skills and examine resources to effectively prevent, intervene, or seek treatment for tobacco, alcohol, or other drug use

Relationships and Human Sexuality

  • apply communication skills and coping strategies to maintain positive interpersonal relationships and address stressful events
  • examine the structure and function of the human reproductive systems, conception, fetal development, birth, and infant care to make informed decisions
  • identify factors that influence an individual's sexual behavior to determine what knowledge and skills are necessary to address those factors
  • compare unprotected intercourse, the use of contraceptive protection, and abstinence to assess the physical, social, and emotional consequences of sexual activity for adolescents

Communicable Disease Prevention

  • examine the impact of disease on the individual, family and society to determine how health decisions can have an immediate as well as lifelong effect
  • assess situations requiring personal or professional health care to be able to locate and utilize appropriate information, products, and services from home, school, and community
  • identify ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases that can be transmitted through sexual contact to determine how responsible health behaviors can decrease the transmission of and harm caused by these diseases

Revised 12/02

