7 MAC Pt. 200
2019 Mississippi
Cite as 7 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. 200
Mississippi
Alternate
Academic
Achievement
Standards for
Health Elements
Effective Date: 2019-2020 School Year
7 Miss. Admin. Code, Part 200
2019 Mississippi
Alternate Academic Achievement
Standards for Health Elements
Carey M. Wright, Ed.D., State Superintendent of Education
Nathan Oakley, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer
Robin Lemonis, State Director of Special Education
Mississippi Department of Education
Post Office Box 771
Jackson, Mississippi
39205-0771
Office of Special Education
601.359.3498
www.mdek12.org/ose
The Mississippi State Board of Education, the Mississippi Department of Education, the
Mississippi School for the Arts, the Mississippi School for the Blind, the Mississippi School for the
Deaf, and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science do not discriminate on the basis of
race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, or disability in the provision of educational programs
and services or employment opportunities and benefits. The following office has been designated to
handle inquiries and complaints regarding the nondiscrimination policies of the above-mentioned
entities:
Director, Office of Human Resources
Mississippi Department of Education
Table of Contents
5 Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
The Mississippi Department of Education gratefully acknowledges the hard work of the following
individuals for their involvement in developing the Mississippi Alternate Academic Achievement
Standards (MS AAAS) for Health Elements:
Marla Adams
Lee County School District
Dayna Clark
Pass Christian School District
Sharon Strong Coon
Mississippi Department of Education
Angelitta Darden
Gulfport School District
Whitney Drewrey
Lafayette County School District
Alicia Dunigan
Senatobia School District
Margaret Ellmer, Ph.D.
Mississippi Department of Education
Doris Flettrich
Pass Christian School District
Kellie Fondren
Mississippi State University
Pasteia Garth
Nettleton School District
Madelyn Harris
Mississippi Department of Education
Sadie Harris
Mississippi Department of Education
Jordan Helton
Madison County School District
Jan Houston
Starkville Oktibbeha School District
Karen John
Petal School District
Ginger Koestler
Mississippi Department of Education
Teresa Laney
Mississippi Department of Education
Lydia Lankford
Madison County School District
Summer Lewis
Rankin County School District
Misty McMahon
Ocean Springs School District
Myra Pannell, Ph.D.
Mississippi State University RCU
Allison Paige Pigott
Mississippi School for the Blind/Deaf
Kim Ray
Nettleton School District
Bobby L. Richardson
Mississippi Department of Education
Amye Rowan
Pearl School District
Connie Smith
Laurel School District
Denise Sibley
Mississippi State University RCU
Susan Stampley
Senatobia School District
Elizabeth Testa
Vicksburg/Warren School District
Jaicia Thomas
Lamar County School District
Stacey Todd
Ocean Springs School District
Mary West
Lincoln County School District
Tiffany Withers
Rankin County School District
MISSISSIPPI ALTERNATE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS for HEALTH ELEMENTS
6 Introduction
Introduction
The Mississippi Department of Education is dedicated to student success, which includes improving
student achievement and establishing communication skills within a technological environment.
The Mississippi Alternate Academic Achievement Standards (MS AAAS) for Health Elements
provides a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to know and be able to do
by the end of the course. The MS AAAS for Health Elements was developed to provide secondary
students with the most significant cognitive disabilities with functional health information that is
relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that students need to develop healthy
behaviors.
In special education, prompting is often used to mean a system of structured cues to elicit desired
behaviors that otherwise would not occur. In order to clearly communicate that teacher assistance is
permitted during instruction of the MS AAAS and is not limited to structured prompting
procedures. Guidance and support during instruction should be interpreted as teacher
encouragement, general assistance, and informative feedback to support the student.
Purpose
The purpose of the MS AAAS for Health Elements is to provide a common framework for teachers
of students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) to use in curriculum development and
instructional delivery. To ensure that students with significant cognitive disabilities receive health
instruction on par with national standards, the MS AAAS for Health Elements is aligned to the
National Health Education Standards for grades 9-12. The standards are grouped into seven
domains: health promotion and disease prevention, influences on health behaviors, health
information, interpersonal communication, decision making, goal setting, and advocacy.
Implementation
The Mississippi Alternate Academic Achievement Standards for Health Elements will be piloted
during the 2019-2020 school year.
MISSISSIPPI ALTERNATE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS for HEALTH ELEMENTS
7 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
2019 Mississippi Alternate
Academic Achievement
Standards for Health Elements
MISSISSIPPI ALTERNATE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS for HEALTH ELEMENTS
8 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
Research and Background Information
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is committed to creating a world-class
educational system that prepares all students to be successful beyond high school. Success for all
students includes those with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD). This MS AAAS for Health
Elements course is designed to provide high school students with significant cognitive
disabilities the skills and knowledge they need to promote personal, family, and community
health. The MS AAAS for Health Elements is aligned to the National Health Education Standards
(NHES) for grades 9-12. Practitioners in the field of education also played a key role in the
development of the alternate standards.
The accompanying teacher resource guide will use scaffolding to optimize student learning and
meet each student at his or her ability level.
Core Elements in the Use and Design of the MS AAAS for Health
Elements
The MS AAAS for Health Elements was developed for students with significant cognitive
disabilities. This document does not dictate a manner or specific methods of teaching. The
standards in this document are not sequenced for instruction and do not prescribe classroom
activities, materials, or instructional strategies. Rather, these standards are end-of-course
expectations. The standards are intended to drive relevant and rigorous instruction that
emphasizes student knowledge of both disciplinary core ideas (concepts) and the application of
knowledge and skills needed to promote personal, family, and community health.
The following domains were identified as being the most significant in contributing to a healthy
lifestyle for a student progressing into adulthood: health promotion and disease prevention,
influences on health behaviors, health information, interpersonal communication, decision
making, goal setting, and advocacy. The performance objectives in each domain were written
with consideration of students with significant cognitive disabilities. A brief description of each
domain is presented below:
1. Health promotion and disease prevention: Focuses on providing students with a
foundation for promoting health-enhancing behaviors.
2. Influences on health behaviors: Focuses on identifying and understanding how health is
impacted by a variety of positive and negative influences within society.
3. Health information: Focuses on how to identify and access valid health information and
health-promotion products and services that are critical in the prevention, early detection,
and treatment of health problems.
4. Interpersonal communication: Focuses on how effective communication enhances health
and avoids or reduces health risks.
MISSISSIPPI ALTERNATE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS for HEALTH ELEMENTS
9 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
5. Decision making: Focuses on developing the decision-making skills needed to identify,
implement, and sustain health-enhancing behaviors.
6. Goal setting: Focuses on applying goal-setting skills that are essential to helping students
identify, adopt, and maintain healthy behaviors.
7. Advocacy: Focuses on developing advocacy skills to help students promote healthy
norms and healthy behaviors.
Structure of the Standards Document
The content strands are organized into seven domains: (1) health promotion and disease
prevention, (2) influences on health behaviors, (3) health information, (4) interpersonal
communication, (5) decision making, (6) goal setting, and (7) advocacy.
Disciplinary core ideas: The disciplinary core ideas represent content from the standard that is
the main focus of the domain.
Conceptual understanding: These are statements of the core ideas for which students should
demonstrate an understanding.
Mississippi Alternate Academic Achievement content standard: The MS AAAS for Health
Elements is a general statement of what students with significant cognitive disabilities should
know and be able to do because of instruction.
Disciplinary Core Idea
Mississippi Alternate
Academic Achievement
Standard (MS AAAS)
Performance
Objectives
MISSISSIPPI ALTERNATE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS for HEALTH ELEMENTS
10 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
Support Documents and Resources
The MDE Office of Special Education aims to provide local districts, schools, and teachers with
documents to construct standards-based instruction and lessons, allowing them to customize
content and delivery methods to fit each student’s needs. The support documents may include
suggested resources, instructional strategies, sample lessons, and activities. There are many ways
in which skills and concepts can be incorporated based on each student’s individual learning
styles and needs. Professional development efforts will be aligned to the MS AAAS for Health
Elements and delivered in accordance with teacher resources to help expand expertise in
delivering student-centered lessons.
References
Centers for Disease Prevention. (1996). National standards for health education. National
Academies Press. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/sher/standards/index.htm.
Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. (n.d).
CPALMS. Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University. Retrieved from
http://www.cpalms.org/Public/search/Standard.
11 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: HEALTH PROMOTION AND DISEASE PREVENTION
Health promotion and disease prevention focuses on the concepts related to health promotion and
disease prevention to enhance health, such as healthy habits, preventing communicable diseases,
and understanding how emotions and environment are related to health.
Basic Health Concepts
Conceptual understanding: The acquisition of basic health concepts and functional health
knowledge provides a foundation for promoting health-enhancing behaviors among youth. This
standard includes essential concepts that are based on established health behavior theories and
models. Concepts that focus on both health promotion and risk reduction are included in the
performance indicators.
NHES.1
Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention in order to enhance health.
AA.NHES.1
Identify and practice ways to promote good health and prevent diseases
AA.NHES.1.a
Identify healthy habits that help prevent disease and illness (e.g., wellness
checkups, healthy food selections, vaccinations, regular physical exercise)
AA.NHES.1.b
Identify ways to prevent communicable diseases and injuries (e.g., wash hands,
cover mouth when coughing, wear a seat belt, comply with helmet laws)
AA.NHES.1.c
Describe how emotions and environment are related to health (e.g., sexual
activity, good housekeeping, dealing with grief, stress, second-hand smoke)
AA.NHES.1.d Identify the effects of engaging in unhealthy behaviors (e.g., consequences for
unhealthy behaviors, drug use, using inhalants, not wearing a seatbelt, smoking)
12 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: INFLUENCES ON HEALTH BEHAVIORS
This domain focuses on identifying and understanding how health is affected by a variety of
positive and negative influences within society, such as family, peers, and social media.
Factors that Impact Health Behaviors
Conceptual understanding: Health is affected by a variety of positive and negative influences
within society. This standard focuses on identifying and understanding the diverse internal and
external factors that influence health practices and behaviors among youth, including personal
values, beliefs, and perceived norms.
NHES.2
Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology,
and other factors on health behaviors.
AA.NHES.2
Describe ways in which family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other
factors influence healthy behaviors
AA.NHES.2.a
Explain how the family influences the health of individuals (e.g., nutritional
management of meals, health insurance status, family medical history)
AA.NHES.2.b
Explain how peers influence healthy and unhealthy behaviors (e.g., drinking,
pressure to be sexually active, engaging in sedentary activities such as TV and
gaming)
AA.NHES.2.c
Identify ways the media may impact lifestyle choices (e.g., social media,
commercials, TV shows, magazines, deceptive advertising, email SPAM)
AA.NHES.2.d Identify laws that influence health promotion and disease prevention (e.g., no
smoking, underage drinking, legal vs. illegal drugs, insurance, speed limit,
driver’s license)
13 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: HEALTH INFORMATION
Health information focuses on identifying valid resources necessary for personal health care needs,
obtaining access to reliable health products and services that are critical in the prevention, early
detection, and treatment of health problems, as well as identifying situations that require
professional health services.
Health Resources
Conceptual understanding: Access to valid health information and health-promoting products and
services is critical in the prevention, early detection, and treatment of health problems. This
standard focuses on how to identify and access valid health resources and to reject unproven
sources. Application of the skills of analysis, comparison, and evaluation of health resources
empowers students to achieve health literacy.
NHES.3
Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and
services to enhance health.
AA.NHES.3
Demonstrate ways to access valid information, products, and services regarding
personal health care needs
AA.NHES.3.a
Demonstrate ways to access valid information, products, and services regarding
personal health care needs
AA.NHES.3.b
Identify ways to access reliable health products and services (e.g., pharmacist,
health department, local health care providers, school nurse)
AA.NHES.3.c
Identify situations that require professional health services (e.g., distinguish
between emergency and non-emergency situations, depression, toothache,
earache, high temperature, situations requiring a tetanus shot, prenatal care, STDs,
ingesting poison, consistent pain, bites, sores)
14 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal communication focuses on skills that are effective in enhancing health and avoiding or
reducing health risks, such as healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings.
Interpersonal Interactions
Conceptual understanding: Effective communication enhances personal, family, and community
health. This standard focuses on how responsible individuals use verbal and non-verbal skills to
develop and maintain healthy personal relationships. The ability to organize and convey information
and feelings is the basis for strengthening interpersonal interactions and reducing or avoiding
conflict.
NHES.4
Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills
to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
AA.NHES.4
Demonstrate how to effectively communicate with others to improve health or
avoid health risks
AA.NHES.4.a
Demonstrate the necessary communication skills to enhance health and to avoid or
reduce health risks (e.g., refusal, negotiation, collaboration, say “no” to drugs,
peer pressure)
AA.NHES.4.b
Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, and feelings (e.g., respect for
others, expressing emotions)
AA.NHES.4.c
Demonstrate ways to respond in an unwanted, threatening, or dangerous situation
(e.g., bullying, assertive communication)
AA.NHES.4.d
Demonstrate how and when to ask for assistance to enhance the health of self and
others (e.g., when to seek help, what warrants assistance)
15 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: DECISION MAKING
This domain focuses on developing the decision-making skills needed to identify, implement, and
sustain health-enhancing behaviors that impact quality of life, such as taking medication as
prescribed and choosing healthy foods.
Health-Related Decisions
Conceptual understanding: Decision-making skills are needed to identify, implement, and sustain
health-enhancing behaviors. This standard includes the essential steps needed to make healthy
decisions as prescribed in the performance indicators. When applied to health issues, the decision-
making process enables individuals to collaborate with others to improve their quality of life.
NHES.5
Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making skills to enhance
health.
AA.NHES.5
Apply decision-making skills to make healthy choices
AA.NHES.5.a
Identify situations when a health-related decision is needed (e.g., taking
medication)
AA.NHES.5.b
Differentiate between healthy and unhealthy alternatives when making a decision
AA.NHES.5.c
Identify healthy options when given a situation
AA.NHES.5.d Identify barriers that can hinder healthy decision making (e.g., limited resources,
money, transportation)
16 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: GOAL SETTING
This domain focuses on applying goal-setting skills to setting and achieving healthy goals, such as
getting enough sleep or limiting unhealthy foods.
Setting Healthy Goals
Conceptual understanding: Goal-setting skills are essential to help students identify, adopt, and
maintain healthy behaviors. This standard includes the critical steps that are needed to achieve both
short-term and long-term health goals. These skills make it possible for individuals to have
aspirations and plans for the future.
NHES.6
Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.
AA.NHES.6
Apply goal-setting skills to set healthy goals
AA.NHES.6.a
Identify good personal health practices (e.g., balanced nutritional diet, regular
exercise)
AA.NHES.6.b
Develop a personal health goal that addresses strengths, needs, and risks (e.g.,
eating healthy, having better sleeping habits, limiting unhealthy foods, addressing
depression)
AA.NHES.6.c
Identify strategies and monitor progress in achieving a personal health goal (e.g.,
keeping a journal)
17 Overview MS AAAS for Health Elements
DOMAIN: ADVOCACY
This domain focuses on applying advocacy skills to promote healthy norms and behaviors and
express opinions on health issues, such as encouraging others to make healthy choices.
Health Advocacy
Conceptual understanding: Advocacy skills help students promote healthy norms and healthy
behaviors. This standard helps students develop important skills to target their health-enhancing
messages and to encourage others to adopt healthy behaviors.
NHES.8
Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and
community health.
AA.NHES.8
Demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health
AA.NHES.8.a
Identify ways to encourage others to make positive health choices
AA.NHES.8.b
Express opinions and give accurate information about health issue
7 Miss. Admin. Code, Part 200
18 MS AAAS for Health Elements