Vermont K–6 health standards

Standard 1: Students comprehend functional health knowledge to enhance health.

Recognize that health has several dimensions — physical, social, emotional, and intellectual.

Identify benefits of practicing health-promoting behaviors.

Identify possible consequences of unhealthy behaviors.

Identify safe and unsafe situations, people, and events.

Identify practices that prevent or reduce health risks, such as handwashing.

List ways to take part in healthy practices, such as brushing teeth daily.

List ways to prevent common childhood injuries and health problems (bike helmets, water instead of sugary drinks).

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

Identify how family influences health behaviors.

Explain how school staff — teachers, custodians, bus drivers, food-service workers — influence health behaviors.

Identify ways media, social media, and technology (TV, movies, games, ads, apps, screen time) influence health behaviors.

Recognize positive influences on personal health behaviors.

Recognize negative influences on personal health behaviors.

Standard 3: Students demonstrate health literacy by accessing valid and reliable health information, products, and services to enhance health.

Use reading, writing, and speaking to find trustworthy health information.

Locate a trusted adult in the school building who can help you reach valid health services.

Talk with a trusted adult to get valid and reliable health information.

Describe the role trusted adults play in clinics and community settings.

Discuss reasons for going to a health appointment (eye doctor, dentist, pediatrician).

Read health and safety signs and symbols at school.

Standard 4: Students demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills to enhance health.

Identify how good communication benefits personal health and well-being.

Demonstrate listening skills and non-verbal communication skills, such as paying attention.

Identify and communicate needs, wants, and feelings in healthy ways.

Tell a trusted adult when feeling threatened, harmed, or unsafe.

Use refusal skills — say no firmly and move away from unsafe people or situations.

Communicate kindness, empathy, compassion, and care toward others.

Ask for permission and respond appropriately — share, compromise, accept "no".

Standard 5: Students demonstrate effective decision-making skills to enhance health.

Identify situations that call for a health decision.

Decide when help is and is not needed to make a health decision.

Explain how family, peers, and trusted adults can affect a health decision.

Predict the outcome of a health decision that leads to a healthy behavior.

Choose the health-promoting option when making a decision.

Reflect on the healthy and unhealthy consequences of a decision.

Standard 6: Students demonstrate effective goal-setting skills to enhance health.

Identify a realistic short-term health goal with help from a trusted adult.

Identify the benefits of reaching a short-term health goal.

Identify people, information, and resources that help you reach a health goal.

Develop a basic plan for reaching a personal health goal.

Take steps toward a health goal — track progress, set reminders, take small steps.

Recognize that effort, willpower, and resilience help you reach a health goal.

Standard 7: Students demonstrate observable health and safety practices.

Demonstrate age-appropriate observable health and safety practices.

Reflect on your ability to carry out observable health and safety practices.

Explain how health and safety practices become habits.

Standard 8: Students advocate for behaviors that support personal, family, peer, school, and community health.

Make requests that promote personal health and safety, such as asking others for help avoiding secondhand smoke.

Encourage family and peers to make healthy choices, such as following safety rules.

List examples of the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual dimensions of health.

Describe benefits of practicing health-promoting behaviors.

Explain possible consequences of unhealthy behaviors.

Compare and contrast safe and unsafe situations, people, and events.

Describe practices and behaviors that prevent or reduce health risks, such as eating vegetables and fruit daily.

Explain ways to take part in healthy practices and behaviors, such as daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

Explain ways to prevent common childhood injuries and health problems, such as swimming safety or managing emotions.

Examine how family and culture influence health behaviors.

Describe how peers influence health behaviors.

Describe ways schools and neighborhoods influence health behaviors.

Explain how media, social media, and technology influence health behaviors.

Identify positive internal and external influences on personal health behaviors.

Identify negative internal and external influences on personal health behaviors.

Use reading, writing, and speaking skills to find valid and reliable information about health behaviors.

Read health messages presented as words, pictures, numbers, or gestures in print or electronic materials.

Discuss which trusted adults and community helpers — doctor, dentist, nurse, firefighter, elders — can provide credible health help.

Talk with a trusted adult or health professional about health information in order to be a well-informed patient.

Read a variety of print material from valid health resources to build health knowledge.

Interpret graphs, figures, tables, and charts to understand a health product.

Write about a health-related product that supports a health decision or habit.

Evaluate healthy and unhealthy messages shown in media and advertising.

Explain how effective communication benefits personal health and well-being.

Demonstrate verbal and nonverbal interpersonal communication skills.

Identify and communicate needs, wants, and feelings in healthy ways.

Ask for help to support personal health.

Use refusal skills to avoid or reduce health risks.

Communicate kindness, empathy, compassion, and care toward others.

Identify ways to respect another person's consent or non-consent, including personal space.

Explain how to use collaboration and negotiation skills that support healthy relationships.

Demonstrate healthy ways to manage and resolve conflict.

Identify the steps in a decision-making process.

Assess when help is and is not needed to make a health decision.

Explain how family, peers, trusted adults, and media can affect a health decision.

Identify the options available when making a health-related decision.

Predict the potential consequences of each option.

Choose a health-promoting option that fits your values when making a decision.

Reflect on the outcome of a health decision.

Set a realistic personal health goal.

Explain the health benefits of reaching a personal health goal.

Develop a basic plan for achieving a personal health goal.

Describe people, information, and resources that help you achieve a health goal.

Determine potential barriers to achieving a personal health goal.

Use strategies toward achieving a health goal — tracking progress, reminders, small steps, getting past barriers.

Explain that effort, determination, and resilience help you reach a health goal.

Demonstrate age-appropriate observable health and safety practices.

Reflect on your ability to carry out practices that promote health and reduce the risk of disease and injury.

Explain why turning health and safety practices into habits matters.

Persuade others to make healthy choices, such as persuading others not to bully.

Persuade others to make positive health choices, such as avoiding all tobacco products.

Describe how physical, social, emotional, and intellectual health affect one another.

Analyze the benefits of practicing health-promoting behaviors.

Analyze the risks and consequences of unhealthy behaviors.

Assess the risk of situations, people, and events that lead to unhealthy outcomes.

Explain why it matters to take responsibility for your own health behaviors.

Analyze how personal practices and habits reduce or prevent health risks.

Explain how personal attitudes, values, and beliefs influence health behaviors.

Analyze the influence of family and culture on health behaviors.

Analyze how peers influence health behaviors.

Explain how perceptions of social norms and expectations shape healthy and unhealthy behaviors.

Analyze how media, social media, and technology influence health behaviors.

Explain how school rules, community norms, and government policies and laws influence health behaviors.

Decode health information presented visually, textually, or through gesture and language.

Hold a conversation about a health product or technology in order to make an informed decision.

Interpret numerical and graphical information to make an informed health decision.

Analyze whether health information in print and electronic sources is valid, using set criteria.

Analyze health messages in print and electronic materials to judge their credibility.

Examine how effective communication benefits personal health and well-being.

Use verbal and nonverbal communication skills that enhance well-being.

Identify and communicate needs, wants, and feelings in healthy ways.

Ask for assistance to improve personal health.

Use refusal skills to avoid or reduce health risks.

Communicate kindness, empathy, compassion, and care for others.

Show respect for another person's consent or non-consent.

Use collaboration and negotiation skills that support healthy behaviors and relationships.

Demonstrate effective ways to manage and resolve conflict.

Examine situations when the steps of a decision-making process are needed.

Distinguish when a health decision should be made alone and when with help from others.

Explain how family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors can affect a health decision.

Analyze how personal beliefs affect decisions about a health behavior.

Discuss alternatives when making health decisions.

Assess your own health practices.

Set a specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound (SMART) personal health goal.

Predict the health and life benefits of reaching a personal health goal.

Develop a detailed plan, with a timeline, for reaching a personal health goal.

Assess the barriers to achieving a personal health goal.

Demonstrate age-appropriate practices that promote health and prevent or reduce the risk of disease and injury.

Assess your ability to carry out observable health and safety practices.

Document personal health and safety habits across a variety of settings and situations.

Use valid and reliable information to identify advocacy positions that meet personal, family, peer, and school health needs.

Create an advocacy message about a position, backed by valid and reliable information, that supports the health of self and others.

Collaborate with others to advocate for personal, family, peer, school, and community health.