Life Skills
jump to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4-5th, Middle
School
Kindergarten
The overall goals of the health program are to facilitate
an understanding of fundamental health concepts and disease prevention.
It also strives to promote the health and well-being of one’s
self and others, and to promote acceptance of personal responsibility
for health enhancing behaviors and the reduction of health risks through
the use of critical thinking skills.
Skills that are introduced and developed in kindergarten encourage
the students to:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
• Develop their self worth as well as their mental and emotional health.
• Practice safety procedures and develop an awareness of community health.
PHYSICAL
• Learn how to prevent injuries and illness through knowledge and critical
thinking.
• Begin to develop an understanding of the functions of the body, growth
and development, and the cycle of family life.
First Grade
The overall goals of the health program are to facilitate an understanding
of fundamental health concepts and disease prevention. It also strives
to promote the health and well-being of one’s self and others,
and to promote acceptance of personal responsibility for health enhancing
behaviors and the reduction of health risks through the use of critical
thinking skills.
Skills that are introduced and developed in first grade encourage the
students to:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
•
Develop their self worth as well as their mental and emotional health.
•
Practice safety procedures and develop an awareness of community health.
PHYSICAL
•
Learn how to prevent injuries and illness through knowledge and critical
thinking.
•
Begin to develop an understanding of the functions of the body, growth
and development, and the cycle
of family life.
Second Grade
The health program is designed to develop an understanding of healthy
behaviors, including physical fitness, eating habits, safety, and body
systems. Students learn through activities that require critical thinking,
problem solving, decision making, role playing, and communication.
Skills that are introduced and developed in second grade encourage the
students to:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
• Show respect and empathy for themselves and for others.
• Demonstrate awareness of non-verbal cues and respond appropriately.
• Practice strategies for coping with peer pressure.
PHYSICAL
• Make healthy decisions for fitness and safety.
• Use knowledge of the Food Pyramid to make responsible food choices.
Third Grade
The health program is addressed in two ways. The social and emotional
aspects of health are addressed in classroom activities designed to help
teach empathy, impulse control, and anger management. Communication,
decision making, and critical thinking are emphasized. The physical aspect
of health is addressed in science class. Students participate in lab
activities that help them develop an understanding of healthy physical
fitness, eating habits and food content, and body systems.
Skills that are introduced and developed in third grade encourage the
students to:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
•
Use compromise and negotiation to solve conflicts.
•
Recognize feelings in themselves and others and respond appropriately.
•
Practice strategies for dealing with peer pressure.
PHYSICAL
•
Make healthy decisions for fitness and safety.
•
Use knowledge of food content and the Food Pyramid to make responsible
choices for snacks and meals.
back to K-3 Curriculum
Grades 4 and 5
In the 4-5 Division, social and emotional health issues and
skills are regularly addressed and taught using the
Second Step curriculum. This curriculum is designed to help foster a healthy
climate for developing and using
pro-social skills successfully. Second Step sequentially addresses the three
parts of children’s social responses:
emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. The curriculum encourages students to develop
empathy skills, impulse control,
and anger management through practice and application of real life situations.
Regular
study skills instruction is provided to help our students organize, prioritize,
and manage their time and
workloads effectively in order to maintain high levels of academic achievement.
Skills that are introduced and developed in fourth and fifth grade encourage
the students to:
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL
• Identify a growing array of emotions and recognize the physical signs
that may be associated with emotional distress.
• Learn to empathize with others’ emotional experiences.
• Recognize that different people can react with different emotions to
the same situation and that one person can experience
multiple emotions simultaneously.
• Construct and use problem-solving and calming-down strategies to successfully
manage emotional responses.
STUDY SKILLS
• Organize, prioritize, and manage academic assignments, goals, and expectations.
• Apply learned study strategies to specific academic tasks.
back to 4-5 Curriculum
Grades 6, 7, and 8
The Middle School Life Skills program is devoted to offering students opportunities
for improvement in and reflection on their lives as students, individuals,
and members of a community. The class meets once a week. The program is seen
as a progression of introduction and review over the three years of Middle
School. Generally, each grade level includes three
components: Study Skills, Social Skills, and Health. As students progress through
the Middle School years, the content and duration of each component is adjusted
to meet age appropriate needs. For example, 6th grade students will spend more
time engaged in the introduction of Study Skills than will 7th and 8th grade,
who will be better served in more of a review style at the onset of each year.
Or, Human Sexuality at the 8th grade level will focus more on social issues
and pressures, while the 6th grade program will deal with the basics of gender
differences and appreciation.
Topics that make-up the Middle School Life Skills program include:
STUDY SKILLS: personal management, organization, goal setting, study
habits, listening skills, reading strategies, test taking
strategies, note taking, learning style identification.
SOCIAL SKILLS: self-image, making decisions, coping with anxiety, anger management,
communication skills, assertiveness,
conflict resolution, being responsible, peer pressure.
HEALTH: nutrition, disease and disorders, human sexuality.
back to Middle School Curriculum
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