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Course Description — Grade 1

This is the Grade 1 section of the Health Education intelligent textbook. It is one of 8 parallel grade-band sections (see the site-wide Course Description); each band has its own concept list, learning graph, chapters, quizzes, MicroSims, and infographics at a matching reading level. Source: 2025 Minnesota K-12 Health Academic Standards, Commissioner Approved (see references.md). Benchmark codes below (e.g. 1.1.1.1) are <grade>.<strand>.<anchor>.<seq>.

Reading Level & Cognitive Demand

Early elementary (beginning independent readers, with read-aloud support still expected). Benchmarks shift from Kindergarten's pure identify/name toward identify and explain why, and toward simple demonstration (e.g., saying "no" to unwanted touch).

Audience

Grade 1 students (age ~6-7) and their teachers. Short sentences, high picture-to-text ratio; independent reading is emerging but not assumed for comprehension of nuance.

Prerequisites

Kindergarten benchmarks in the same 5 content strands (food groups, recognizing feelings, daily personal-care habits, safety rules, correct body part names) and the Kindergarten skill benchmarks (identifying trusted adults, recognizing influences, naming a personal goal).

Bridging Concepts for Students New to This Band

A student arriving directly at Grade 1 without the Kindergarten section should be briefly introduced to these ideas before Grade 1 content, since Grade 1 benchmarks build on them without re-teaching them:

  • What a food group is, and that food/water keep the body running.
  • Feelings have names, and it's healthy to talk about them.
  • A trusted adult is someone at home, school, or in the community you can ask for help.
  • Basic hygiene actions (handwashing, covering coughs) stop germs from spreading.
  • Every body part has a correct name, and your body belongs to you.
  • Simple safety rules exist at home, school, and in the community, and there are safe places to go in an emergency.

Topics

Food and Nutrition

  • Why eating a variety of food from all food groups matters (1.1.1.1)
  • Different drink types and their benefits (1.1.1.2)
  • Why breakfast is important (1.1.1.3)
  • Safe practices for storing, preparing, and handling food (1.1.1.4)

Human Growth and Development

  • Characteristics of healthy peer relationships (1.2.1.1)

Mental and Emotional Health

  • Identifying feelings and why talking about them matters, while honoring cultural practices for support (1.3.1.1)
  • Common signs someone may be struggling emotionally (1.3.1.2)
  • How valuing your own and others' uniqueness strengthens caring relationships (1.3.1.3)
  • How different situations affect the way people feel and respond (1.3.1.4)
  • How kindness and unkindness affect relationships and belonging (1.3.1.5)

Personal Health and Wellness

  • How daily personal-care practices, cultural traditions, and community practices support health (1.4.1.1)
  • Benefits of regular physical activity for health, learning, and emotions; enjoyable ways to be active daily (1.4.1.2)
  • Common ways germs spread and simple actions to prevent illness (1.4.1.3)

Personal Safety and Violence Prevention

  • Using technology safely and respectfully, including asking permission to use devices/share information (1.5.1.1)
  • Safe and unsafe behaviors at home, school, and in the community, and knowing when to ask a trusted adult for help (1.5.1.2)
  • Types of school emergencies and how safety drills keep everyone safe (1.5.1.3)
  • Keeping one's body safe; saying "no" to unwanted touch (1.5.1.4)

Skill Standards

  • How various influences affect health practices and behaviors (1.7.2.1)
  • When and how to seek help from others at home, school, or in the community (1.7.3.1)
  • Recognizing and naming one's own and others' feelings; communicating thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs in healthy ways (1.7.4.1)
  • Recognizing when help is needed and who can support a health-related decision (1.7.5.1)
  • Demonstrating and tracking practices/behaviors that support health and wellbeing (1.7.7.1)
  • Ways to ask for help from others in making safe, health-promoting choices (1.7.8.1)

Key Vocabulary

food group, breakfast, food safety, peer relationship, uniqueness, belonging, hygiene, germs, physical activity, permission, unsafe touch, safety drill, influence, communication, health decision

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes below are grouped by Bloom's Taxonomy level and traced to their source benchmark codes.

1. Remember

By the end of Grade 1, the student will be able to:

  1. Recall different drink types and the benefits they provide (1.1.1.2).
  2. Recall safe practices for storing, preparing, and handling food (1.1.1.4).
  3. Recall common signs that someone may be struggling emotionally (1.3.1.2).
  4. Recall the benefits of regular physical activity for health, learning, and emotions (1.4.1.2).
  5. Recall common ways germs spread (1.4.1.3).
  6. Recall safe and unsafe behaviors at home, school, and in the community (1.5.1.2).
  7. Recall different types of school emergencies (1.5.1.3).
  8. Recall the ways various influences affect health practices and behaviors (1.7.2.1).
  9. Recall when and how to seek help from others at home, school, or in the community (1.7.3.1).
  10. Recall ways to ask for help from others in making safe health-promoting choices (1.7.8.1).

2. Understand

  1. Explain why eating a variety of food from all food groups is important (1.1.1.1).
  2. Explain why eating breakfast matters (1.1.1.3).
  3. Describe characteristics of healthy peer relationships (1.2.1.1).
  4. Explain why talking about feelings is important, while honoring cultural practices for support (1.3.1.1).
  5. Describe how valuing your own and others' uniqueness strengthens caring relationships (1.3.1.3).
  6. Describe how different situations can affect the way people feel and respond (1.3.1.4).
  7. Explain how kindness and unkindness affect relationships and belonging (1.3.1.5).
  8. Describe how daily personal-care practices, cultural traditions, and community practices contribute to health and wellbeing (1.4.1.1).
  9. Describe simple actions that prevent illness (1.4.1.3).
  10. Explain how to use technology safely and respectfully, including asking permission before using devices or sharing information (1.5.1.1).
  11. Explain how safety drills help keep everyone safe during an emergency (1.5.1.3).
  12. Describe ways to keep one's body safe (1.5.1.4).
  13. Recognize when help is needed and who can support a health-related decision (1.7.5.1).

3. Apply

  1. Demonstrate saying "no" to unwanted touch (1.5.1.4).
  2. Demonstrate communicating thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs in healthy ways (1.7.4.1).
  3. Demonstrate and track practices and behaviors that support health and wellbeing (1.7.7.1).

4. Analyze

  1. Distinguish safe from unsafe behaviors at home, school, and in the community (1.5.1.2).
  2. Distinguish which people or situations positively or negatively influence a health practice or behavior (1.7.2.1).

5. Evaluate

Grade 1 benchmarks do not yet include a compare-options or judge-evidence task. The closest emerging skill is recognizing when a situation calls for outside help (1.7.5.1, listed under Understand above). True evaluative reasoning (comparing choices using evidence) begins at Grade 2-3.

6. Create

Grade 1 benchmarks do not yet include a design/construct task. Tracking a practiced behavior over time (1.7.7.1, listed under Apply above) is the closest precursor to the goal-design outcomes that begin at Grade 2.