9th - 12th Grade Health Standards

Standard 1:
Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention to enhance health.

Bring Home the Blue, Not the Flu!: Using the context of a county fair livestock show, students investigate how diseases are spread. With a focus on zoonotic disease, students will complete simulations demonstrating the spread of illness and implementation of biosecurity measures, as well as complete an online module to deepen understanding of specific diseases and their prevention.

MyPlate, MyWin: Students will explore the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines, compare and contrast historical food guides, and discover how to apply principles of MyPlate into their diet to create a “MyWin.”

Nutrition Across the Lifespan: Students will trace the energy and nutrition requirements of the human lifecycle from beginning to end and identify the physical and cognitive growth happening in each phase of life.

Understanding Bacteria: This lesson introduces students to food safety, the 4 Cs of Food Safety, the Farm-to-Table Continuum, who’s responsible for keeping our food safe, and the link between food safety and other content areas. Students will also be challenged to hypothesize about where most bacteria are found and develop awareness that bacteria are everywhere and that various surfaces might have different levels of organisms.

What's On The Nutrition Facts Label?: Students will be introduced to the Nutrition Facts label, navigate and decipher the Nutrition Facts label, use food labels to determine nutritive value of foods, and define terminology found on the label such as calories, nutrients, and servings.

Benchmark 1-H-1:
Predict and analyze how healthy behaviors can affect health status, disease prevention, and potential severity of injury.

Benchmark 1-H-2:
Analyze how genetics, family history and environmental influences can impact personal health.

Chain of Food: Students will explore the path food takes along the Farm-to-Table Continuum. They will begin on the farm and investigate food safety issues during processing, transportation, at restaurants and supermarkets, and finally, in their own homes. Teams will identify how food can become contaminated along the continuum and develop and present strategies for preventing contamination at each step.

Standard 2:
Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and other factors on health behaviors.

Before the Plate: Students will view the 2018 documentary “Before the Plate” and follow Canadian chef John Horne as he journeys to the source of ten primary food ingredients used in his restaurant. Using critical thinking skills, students will explore the farm-to-table journey of food. This lesson covers a socioscientific issue and aims to provide students with tools to evaluate science within the context of social and economic points of view.

Evaluating Perspectives About GMOs: While many view bioengineered crops (GMOs) as a promising innovation, there is controversy about their use. This lesson provides students with a brief overview of the technology, equipping them with the ability to evaluate the social, environmental, and economic arguments for and against bioengineered crops (GMOs). This lesson covers a socioscientific issue and aims to provide students with tools to evaluate science within the context of social and economic points of view.

Herbs and Spices of the World: Students will recognize the difference between a spice and herb, learn how herbs and spices are grown on farms around the world, and participate in a culinary challenge to season popcorn for various cultural cuisines.

Looking Under the Label: Students will evaluate food package labels, determine their meaning, and use the claim, evidence and reasoning model to determine the value of the label in relation to food production practices, nutrition, health, and food safety. Students will engage in critical thinking to recognize the impact of food package labels in relation to marketing, consumer perceptions of food and farming practices.

Stacking Up Milk and Milk Substitutes: Students will compare and contrast milk and plant-based milk substitutes by learning their source from farm-to-table and discovering how they "stack-up" in nutritional value. Students will also explore food package labeling laws and consumer trends in milk consumption to think critically about the impact of labels in marketing and consumer perceptions of food.

Weighing in on Egg Labels, Supply, and Demand: Students will apply a basic understanding of the laws of supply and demand, learn about different types of egg laying farms, and recognize the impact labeling has on consumer choices.

Benchmark 2-H-1:
Analyze how family, peers, and the perception of norms influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors.

Benchmark 2-H-3:
Analyze how public health policies and government can influence health promotion and disease prevention.

Benchmark 2-H-4:
Evaluate the impact of technology and media on personal, family, community, and world health.

Standard 3:
Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.

Fruits and Vegetables: The Right Pick for Vitamins and Minerals: Students will describe the farm-to-table process of common fruits and vegetables, recognize the nutrients fruits and vegetables provide, and evaluate methods of food storage and preparation for preserving nutrients.

Benchmark 3-H-1:
Use resources from home, school and community that provide valid health information.

Benchmark 3-H-2:
Evaluate the validity of health information, products and services using a variety of resources.

Standard 5:
Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance health.

A Tale of Two Burgers: Beef and Plant-based Protein: Students will compare the components of beef and plant-based burgers by determining the production and processing methods of each product; evaluate the ingredients and nutritional differences between beef and plant-based products; and discuss different points of view in the agricultural industry concerning plant-based proteins and traditional beef. This lesson covers a socioscientific issue and aims to provide students with tools to evaluate science within the context of social and economic points of view.

Lactose Lab: Some Don’t Like It Sweet: Students will learn the chemistry and composition of milk, identify the difference between a monosaccharide and disaccharide, and carry out a laboratory activity testing the effect of the enzyme lactase on various milks.

Preservation Power of Honey: Students will expand their knowledge of microbial growth and scientific food preservation methods to learn how honey can serve as an antibacterial agent. Students will learn how honey may be used as a preservative of milk in areas without access to electricity or refrigeration and how this preservation method relies on elements found specifically in honey that cannot be replicated with other sources of sugar.

Benchmark 5-H-2:
Discuss barriers that can hinder healthy decision-making and how to apply thoughtful decision-making to health-related situations.

5-H-3.2:
Apply critical decision-making process to a personal health issue or problem.

Standard 6:
Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.

Benchmark 6-H-1:
Assess personal health practices and overall health status.

Standard 7:
Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.

Coliform Counts: This is an advanced level or honors lab. During this investigation, students will perform a coliform analysis of raw hamburger meat. They will collect, organize and interpret data while practicing safe lab techniques. In the end, they will apply the results of a coliform analysis to food safety.

Cooking Right: The Science of Cooking a Hamburger: Through a series of 4 Labs, students will explore the 4 Cs of Food Safety: clean, cook, chill and combat cross-contamination (separate.) Hamburger is used for the labs, as it is a food that students are familiar with and may be cooking at home. Lab 4 is a review and summary of what the students have learned about the 4 Cs and encourages them to apply these principles to their everyday life.

Don’t Forget the Eggs!: Students will discover the five culinary functions of eggs by completing a cooking lab comparing recipes with and without eggs. Students will see how eggs leaven, bind, thicken, coat and emulsify our foods.

Fast-Food Footwork: Students will explore how retail foodservice establishments ensure that food is safely stored, prepared and served. Through inquiry, they will also learn about local health regulations and how the 4 Cs of Food Safety apply to all aspects of foodservice.

Milk: The Scoop on Chemical and Physical Changes: Students apply their knowledge of physical science to dairy products to determine if the changes that take place when turning milk into cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, whip cream and other dairy products are physical or chemical changes.

Mystery Juice: Using an inquiry approach, students will develop an investigation to determine the difference between two juices. Food safety will be discussed in relation to the results of the investigations. Students will have the opportunity to discover how pasteurization reduces the number of microorganisms in a food such as juice.

Ultra High Pressure Treatment: Students will explore various ways that have been used to preserve food over the ages. They will also learn about techniques used to process food today and hypothesize about other methods scientists might use to process food safely in the future. Finally, students will conduct a simulation of high pressure treatment and discover how it destroys bacteria without crushing the food.

Benchmark 7-H-2:
Describe the role of individual responsibility for enhancing health.