Middle School Health
Bend-La Pine Schools provides middle school Health instruction through a year-long PE/Health class in grades 6-8.
Health classes focus on developing students' health literacy, health skills, and self-efficacy. These three abilities can be applied to any health topic or issue.
- Health literacy is a person's ability to find and understand basic health information and services, and their ability to use information to enhance their health.
- Health skills are a person's ability to translate knowledge into actions that enable them to deal with social pressures, avoid or reduce risk-taking behaviors, enhance and maintain personal health, and promote the health of others. Standards #2-8 below are the main health skills taught in Health classes.
- Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their ability to learn and/or perform specific tasks needed to achieve their desired goals and influence the events that affect their life. Students build self-efficacy by practicing those specific tasks and getting feedback from adults and peers to help them improve their skills.
Health classes also encourage or help students to:
- Talk to their family, or other trusted adults, about health and their values related to health
- Reflect on their own personal goals and values related to health
- Learn about how to access local resources and services to enhance their health
Standards
Oregon’s Health Education standards are focused on health literacy and health skills, and can be applied to any health topic or issue.
- Standard 1: Comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health
- Standard 2: Analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors
- Standard 3: Access valid information, products, and services to enhance health
- Standard 4: Use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks
- Standard 5: Use decision-making skills to enhance health
- Standard 6: Use goal-setting skills to enhance health
- Standard 7: Practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks
- Standard 8: Advocate for personal, family, and community health
In Oregon, the Health Education Standards are applied to these 9 topic areas:
- Wellness and Health Promotion
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use Prevention
- Social, Emotional, and Mental Health
- Safety and First Aid
- Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Affirming Identities and Anti-Oppression
- Healthy Relationships and Violence Prevention
- Growth and Development
- Sexual Health
Oregon’s Health Education Standards are being revised at the state level and will change in the next 2 years. The Oregon Department of Education website provides more details on the state Health Education Standards.