GRADE 5 HEALTH SYLLABUS

5th Grade Health Syllabus parent acknowledgement

5th Grade Health Education

To Parents & Students

Welcome to the Health Education Program. This program for middle school students provides the opportunity to develop and demonstrate health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Physical, mental, and social dimensions of wellness are integrated throughout the curriculum. The course of study will enable students to thrive, persevere, and maintain a positive attitude through preadolescent and adolescent development.   

The focus of this curriculum is to promote health and wellness, and not merely to prevent disease and disability. Each grade level will include topics that will be presented through a variety of teaching styles and techniques. During the middle school years the students will investigate six of the fourteen units identified in the Massachusetts Health Curriculum Frameworks.  

Grade 5

This course offers a variety of Health topics to Fifth Grade students. One unit covers growth and development and includes an Introduction to the changes that occur during Puberty. The other content topics include a unit on Nutrition and the importance of Physical Activity in maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. This course is part of the Allied Arts rotation and runs for six weeks. Each unit includes note taking, discussions, handouts and assessments. Students are responsible for providing a pocket folder for this course.

Topics to be covered include:           

• Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits:
• Key nutrients and their functions
• Understanding and interpreting Food labels        
• USDA Recommended Food Allowances          
• The importance of calcium in preventing Osteoporosis
• The importance of Physical Activity in maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle
• Practices of good personal hygiene
• Normal growth and development                                                       
• Body changes during puberty

*Due to the sensitive nature of some of our topics, please alert your health education teacher if there is any information they should know prior to teaching that could help your son/ daughter process the subject matter most effectively.                                                                    

If you have any questions pertaining to any of the topics, please do not hesitate to email your health education teacher at:

• Ms. Kelley Maguire
• Alison McDonald