8th Grade Health

PURPOSE

This is a semester course that is designed to focus on the health and wellness issues facing teenagers today. Instruction and assessments will be directed toward developing students’ skills and knowledge necessary to become health literate individuals. Students will study health concepts and develop literacy skills, practice interpersonal skills, design goals, learn decision making skills, and become familiar with how to advocate for personal, family, and community health.


UNIT TOPICS


HEALTH

  • Alcohol, Nicotine and Other Drugs

  • Relationships

  • Sexuality

  • Mental & Emotional Health

  • Injury & Disease Prevention

EXPECTATIONS


  1. We have high expectations for both academic achievement and appropriate classroom behavior for our students.

  2. All policies and rules established by the Smith Middle School Handbook apply in this classroom and will be reinforced.

  • Cell-phones ARE NOT TO BE USED in the classroom.

3. An effective learning environment is created through mutual cooperation and respect. In that spirit, students are expected to:

  • Be on time to class (in your seat when the bell rings)

  • Come to class with any required materials and be ready to work.

  • Complete all assignments on time.

  • Write or type assignments neatly, using complete sentences and correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.


REQUIRED MATERIALS

  • iPad

  • AIRPODS/earbuds/headphones

  • Writing utensil (pen or pencil)


EXCUSED ABSENCES

Students are expected to turn in assigned work and projects ON TIME. Late work due to excused absences will be accepted for full credit within two classes of returning to school. It is the student’s responsibility to ask for any missed assignments and make up this work. Homework and other assignments will be written on classroom boards and updated on the teacher's website. Homework assignments can be emailed to the student upon request.


ACADEMIC INTEGRITY


Each student is expected to do his/her own work.* In order to eliminate any confusion about what academic dishonesty includes, the following definitions apply:

  • Knowingly providing your work/answers to another student for them to copy as their own.

  • Knowingly copying another student’s work/answers and submitting them as your own.

  • Using illicit or banned materials during a test/quiz situation.

  • Knowingly submitting work completed by another student as your own.

  • Plagiarizing anything from books, magazines, the Internet or any other source already published.


*Students will receive a “0” on any assignment/project/test where cheating has occurred and will also receive a referral.


GRADING POLICY


  • Tests, quizzes, projects, and homework will all have an assigned point value. Your grade will be based on a cumulate percentage of points earned.

  • Homework assignments are often used to prepare for quizzes, tests, and/ or the previous or next lesson. It will be to your advantage to complete the assigned work on time.

  • Late assignments will result in a letter grade deduction per class late.