Health and nutrition in middle school: 12-week course in health and nutrition for seventh and eighth grade

Many students eligible for free and reduced lunch are receiving their primary source of nutrition from meals they are served at school, it is vital that they are given the tools they need in order to make wise choices when it comes to their nutritional intake. Students at the middle school are becoming increasingly obese. Enabling them to design and implement a daily physical activity routine would be a step to reducing the number of obese students. This project is a 12-week standards based curriculum designed to address the above issues in a user-friendly manner that incorporates projects and activities that are of high student interest. Information was obtained from educational, nutritional, and health journals and publications; government agencies including the Center for Disease Control, Sacramento County Office of Education, and the California Department of Education; and the authors' own experience in developing age and subject appropriate lessons and activities. This project was founded on the belief that it is imperative that educators provide students every opportunity to improve their lives. It is our goal to do everything in our power to assist them in becoming healthy, happy, productive adults. Providing students with the tools to nourish and care for their own bodies is the first step in achieving that goal. Strategies to ensure success will include activities that hold high interest for middle school students, include technology in the curriculum, and provide students with the ability to make healthy choices on their own.