Essential Health Skills for High School, 5th Edition

Essential Health Skills for High School provides the skills and information students need to make responsible decisions and promote a lifetime of health and wellness. This fifth edition features cutting-edge, contemporary health topics, such as public health, social justice, opioids, social media, mindfulness, empathy and resilience, health disparities, and much more. Two companion texts that include information about human development, relationships, and sexual health are also available. Content and skills align to the National Health Education Standards.

• Each module contains skills-based activities that align to each health skill area in the National Health Education Standards. These activities were created by award-winning health instructors. Each health and wellness topic focuses on the skills students can use to make healthy decisions and promote health.
• Up-to-date terminology and new topics make Essential Health Skills for High School the most current text available. Extensive supplements include customizable lesson plans, skills-based activities, parent/other trusted adult engagement assignments in English and Spanish, performance assessments for differentiation with rubrics, workbook activities in English and Spanish, videos, audio summaries, and content updates. All handouts are editable Word DOCX files that provide greater flexibility in their use.
• High-interest special features encourage deeper thinking about health topics. Features such as Health in the Media connect concepts to experiences with media, including social media. Local and Global Health features help students analyze social determinants of health and apply skills in their own communities and globally. Skills for Health and Wellness features demonstrate how health skills can be used in real-life situations.

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Products	Pages	ISBN	Retail Price	Order Quantity
Text 979-8-88817-883-6	544	979-8-88817-883-6	$93.28*
Essential Health Skills for High School provides the skills and information students need to make responsible decisions and promote a lifetime of health and wellness. This fifth edition features cutting-edge, contemporary health topics, such as public health, social justice, opioids, social media, mindfulness, empathy and resilience, health disparities, and much more. Two companion texts that include information about human development, relationships, and sexual health are also available. Content and skills align to the National Health Education Standards.
Workbook 979-8-88817-934-5	128	979-8-88817-934-5	$28.00*
Organized to follow the textbook on a module-by-module basis, providing questions to help the student review the material presented in the module. This supplement is a consumable resource, designed with perforated pages so that a given module can be removed and turned in for grading or checking.
Human Development and Relationships Companion Text 979-8-88817-937-6	176	979-8-88817-937-6	$32.00*
This softcover companion text covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12.
Bundle (Text + Human Development and Relationships Companion Text) 979-8-89118-328-5		979-8-89118-328-5	$119.00*
Bundle includes a copy of the Student Textbook and the Human Development and Relationships Companion Text. The Human Development and Relationship Companion Text covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12.
Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Companion Text 979-8-88817-938-3	219	979-8-88817-938-3	$37.28*
This softcover companion text covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence plus additional information about pregnancy prevention and sexuality, including gender identity and sexual orientation. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12
Bundle (Text + Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Companion Text) 979-8-89118-330-8		979-8-89118-330-8	$124.00*
Bundle includes a copy of the Student Textbook and the Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Supplement. The Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Supplement covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence, plus additional information about pregnancy prevention and sexuality, including gender identity and sexual orientation. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12.
*Qualified schools may be eligible for a 25% discount.

Products		ISBN	Retail Price	Order Quantity
Online Learning Suite, 6yr. Classroom Subscription (min. 15) 979-8-89118-096-3		979-8-89118-096-3	$115.28*
The Online Learning Suite offers a complete learning package that is accessible through any Internet-enabled device, including computers, smartphones, and tablets. Students can study in the classroom or on the go: whenever or wherever it is most convenient.
Bundle (Text + Online Learning Suite, 6yr. Classroom Subscription) (min. 15) 979-8-89118-097-0		979-8-89118-097-0	$147.92*
Bundle includes a copy of the Student Textbook and Online Learning Suite 6yr. Classroom Subscription. Minimum quantity of 15 must be purchased.
Bundle (Text / OLS, 6 yr. + Human Development and Relationships Comp. Text) (min 15) 979-8-89118-329-2		979-8-89118-329-2	$179.92*	Call to Order‡
Bundle includes a copy of the Student Textbook, the Human Development and Relationships Companion Text, and Online Learning Suite 6yr. Classroom Subscription. Minimum quantity of 15 must be purchased. The Human Development and Relationship Companion Text covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12.
Bundle (Text / OLS, 6 yr. + Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Comp. Text) (min 15) 979-8-89118-331-5		979-8-89118-331-5	$185.20*	Call to Order‡
Bundle includes a copy of the Student Textbook, the Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Companion Text, and Online Learning Suite 6yr. Classroom Subscription. Minimum quantity of 15 must be purchased. The Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Companion Text covers human development, puberty, reproduction, healthy relationships, and violence, plus additional information about pregnancy prevention and sexuality, including gender identity and sexual orientation. Content is objective, factual, and age appropriate—and aligns to the National Sexuality Education Standards for grades 9 through 12.
*Qualified schools may be eligible for a 25% discount.
‡To order this item, please call 800.323.0440.

Products		ISBN	Retail Price	Order Quantity
Teacher's Edition 979-8-88817-933-8		979-8-88817-933-8	$188.00*	Call to Order‡
The Teacher's Edition provides all the information from the student textbook and the National Health standards that correspond with each lesson. Reading strategies, differentiated learning, assessments, pacing charts, and other helpful instructional strategies are included also.
Online Instructor Resources, 6yr. Indv. Subscription, Free with Qualified Purchase 979-8-88817-936-9		979-8-88817-936-9	$928.00*	Call to Order‡
The Online Instructor Resources 6yr. Subscription provides 6 years of individual access to the classroom materials used most—all in one convenient location. This provides instructor access to all student content, as well as Instructor Resources, Instructor’s Presentations for PowerPoint®, and Assessment Software with Question Banks.  Ready to preview or receive a quote? Submit your request here!
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*Qualified schools may be eligible for a 25% discount.
‡To order this item, please call 800.323.0440.

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Table of Contents

Essential Health Skills for High School

Module 1: Health Fundamentals and Skills

• Lesson 1.1: What Are Health and Wellness?
• Lesson 1.2: Individual Factors Affecting Health and Wellness
• Lesson 1.3: Environmental Factors Affecting Health and Wellness
• Lesson 1.4: Making Decisions and Setting Goals
• Lesson 1.5: Using Health Information
• Lesson 1.6: Accessing Health Services
• Lesson 1.7: Advocating for Community and Public Health
• Lesson 1.8: Communicating Effectively
• Lesson 1.9: Resolving Conflicts
• Lesson 1.10: Resisting Pressure

Module 2: Building Mental and Emotional Health

• Lesson 2.1: Mental and Emotional Health and Well-Being
• Lesson 2.2: Embracing Your Identity
• Lesson 2.3: Building Your Self-Esteem
• Lesson 2.4: Improving Your Body Image
• Lesson 2.5: Expressing Your Emotions
• Lesson 2.6: Establishing a Positive Mind-Set
• Lesson 2.7: Developing Empathy and Resilience

Module 3: Stress, Mental Health Conditions, and Coping Strategies

• Lesson 3.1: Understanding Stress and Other Adverse Events
• Lesson 3.2: Coping Strategies for Stress and Other Events
• Lesson 3.3: What Are Mental Illnesses?
• Lesson 3.4: Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
• Lesson 3.5: Getting Help for Mental Illnesses
• Lesson 3.6: Preventing Suicide and Coping with Grief

Module 4: Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity

• Lesson 4.1: What Is Nutrition?
• Lesson 4.2: Having a Healthy Eating Pattern
• Lesson 4.3: Choosing and Preparing Healthy Foods
• Lesson 4.4: Understanding Physical Activity and Fitness
• Lesson 4.5: Getting Enough Physical Activity

Module 5: Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drugs

• Lesson 5.1: Safe Medication Use
• Lesson 5.2: Medication Misuse and Abuse
• Lesson 5.3: Health Effects of Vaping and Tobacco
• Lesson 5.4: Health Effects of Alcohol
• Lesson 5.5: Other Drug Misuse
• Lesson 5.6: Preventing and Treating Substance Use, Misuse, and Abuse

Module 6: Safety

• Lesson 6.1: Preventing Accidents and Injuries
• Lesson 6.2: Performing First Aid
• Lesson 6.3: Handling Dangerous Situations
• Lesson 6.4: Being Safe on the Internet
• Lesson 6.5: Understanding the Environment
• Lesson 6.6: Protecting Your Environment

Module 7: Personal Health and Wellness

• Lesson 7.1: Personal Hygiene
• Lesson 7.2: Sleep
• Lesson 7.3: What Causes Diseases?
• Lesson 7.4: Recognizing Communicable Diseases
• Lesson 7.5: Preventing and Treating Communicable Diseases
• Lesson 7.6: Cardiovascular Diseases
• Lesson 7.7: Cancer
• Lesson 7.8: Other Noncommunicable Diseases

Module 8: Social Health

• Lesson 8.1: Qualities of a Healthy Relationship
• Lesson 8.2: Supporting Family and Community Relationships
• Lesson 8.3: Developing Peer Relationships

Human Development and Relationships Companion Text

Module 9: Development, the Human Life Cycle, and Relationships

• Lesson 9.1: The Male Reproductive System
• Lesson 9.2: The Female Reproductive System
• Lesson 9.3: Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth
• Lesson 9.4: Understanding Development
• Lesson 9.5: Adolescence and Puberty
• Lesson 9.6: Understanding Romantic Relationships
• Lesson 9.7: Practicing Sexual Abstinence

Module 10: Violence

• Lesson 10.1: Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Lesson 10.2: Sexual Harassment and Assault
• Lesson 10.3: Abuse and Neglect
• Lesson 10.4: Violence in the Community

Module 11: STIs and Pregnancy

• Lesson 11.1: Common STIs
• Lesson 11.2: HIV/AIDS
• Lesson 11.3: Preventing and Treating STIs
• Lesson 11.4: Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood

Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health Companion Text

Module 9: Development, the Human Life Cycle, and Relationships

• Lesson 9.1: The Male Reproductive System
• Lesson 9.2: The Female Reproductive System
• Lesson 9.3: Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth
• Lesson 9.4 Understanding Development
• Lesson 9.5: Adolescence and Puberty
• Lesson 9.6: Understanding Romantic Relationships
• Lesson 9.7: Practicing Sexual Abstinence

Module 10: Violence

• Lesson 10.1: Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Lesson 10.2: Sexual Harassment and Assault
• Lesson 10.3: Abuse and Neglect
• Lesson 10.4: Violence in the Community

Module 11: STIs and Pregnancy

• Lesson 11.1: Common STIs
• Lesson 11.2: HIV/AIDS
• Lesson 11.3: Preventing and Treating STIs
• Lesson 11.4: Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood

Module 12: Sexual Health

• Lesson 12.1: Aspects of Sexuality
• Lesson 12.2: What Is Contraception?
• Lesson 12.3: Barrier Methods
• Lesson 12.4: Hormonal Methods
• Lesson 12.5: Natural Methods and Sterilization

Look Inside

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Text

Front Matter (PDF, 1.45 MB)

Lesson 1.5 (PDF, 1.35 MB)

Lesson 5.3 (PDF, 1.83 MB)

Lesson 5.4 (PDF, 2 MB)

Correlations

HECAT

2025 Essential Health Skills for High School + Human Development and Relationships (PDF, 795.68 KB)

2025 Essential Health Skills for High School + Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health (PDF, 793.71 KB)

Indiana

Health and Wellness - Grades 9 – 12 (PDF, 634.51 KB)

National Standards

Essential Companion Text: Human Development and Relationships (PDF, 240.24 KB)

Essential Companion Text: Human Development, Relationships, and Sexual Health (PDF, 241.03 KB)

Essential Health Skills for High School (PDF, 201.34 KB)

About the Author(s)

Catherine Sanderson - Catherine A. Sanderson is the Poler Family Professor and Chair of Psychology at Amherst College. She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a specialization in Health and Development, from Stanford University, and received both master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from Princeton University. Professor Sanderson’s research examines how personality and social variables influence health-related behaviors. Her research also examines the development of persuasive messages and interventions to prevent unhealthy behavior and predictors of relationship satisfaction. This research has received grant funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Professor Sanderson has published more than 25 journal articles and book chapters; four college textbooks; high school and middle school health textbooks; and a trade book, The Positive Shift, which examines how mind-set influences happiness, health, and even how long people live. Her latest book, Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels, examines why good people often stay silent or do nothing in the face of wrongdoing. In 2012, she was named one of the country’s top 300 professors by the Princeton Review.

Mark Zelman - Mark Zelman is a Professor of Biology at Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology at Rockford College, with minors in chemistry and psychology. He received a PhD in microbiology and immunology at Loyola University of Chicago, where he studied the molecular and cellular mechanisms of autoimmune disease. During his postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, he studied aspects of cell physiology pertaining to cell growth and cancer. Dr. Zelman supervises undergraduate research on streptococcal and staphylococcal infections, and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance. He teaches science education courses for high school teachers. He has published articles on microbiology, infectious disease, autoimmune disease, and biotechnology, and he has written two college texts on human diseases and infection control. Dr. Zelman works with the West Africa AIDS Foundation in Ghana and other public health projects in the US and abroad. He is an officer of the Illinois State Academy of Sciences and Editor-in-Chief of the Academy’s scientific journal, Transactions.

Diane Farthing - Diane Farthing received her bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials from Kent State University in Ohio and has been teaching health education for 38 years. In 2010, she became a National Board Certified Teacher. Diane’s teaching career includes 16 years at a continuation high school and five years at the middle school level. Since 2004, she has been teaching health education and anatomy and physiology at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, California. She spent seven years as part of the Bay Area Physical Education-Health Subject Matter Project leadership team designing and delivering professional development institutes. In 2014, she took on the role of Health Program Director for the Health and Physical Education Collaborative (H-PEC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teachers develop physical and health literacy in their students. Diane was a member of the CDE’s Framework and Evaluation Criteria Committee and helped write the Health Education Curriculum Framework for California Public Schools. She is the 2019 California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (CAHPERD) Health Teacher of the Year and the 2020 Western District Teacher of the Year.

Melanie Lynch - Melanie Lynch is an experienced teacher with more than 25 years in the classroom. She spent the first 21 years of her career specializing in teaching only health education. She now teaches health and physical education in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at North Allegheny Intermediate High School. She has served as Vice President of Health Education for SHAPE Pennsylvania for five years and served as their President in 2016. Also in 2016, SHAPE America named Melanie the National Health Education Teacher of the Year. Melanie’s love of working with students and her creative, skills-based lesson ideas have taken her all over the country, where she has spoken to thousands of teachers. Melanie is grateful to work, learn, and grow with so many amazing teachers.

Melissa Munsell - Melissa Munsell has worked as an instructional specialist in the Physical Education and Health Department at North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, and served as the K–12 Health Education Lead for the district. Melissa received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from The University of Texas at Austin and is certified to teach Physical Education K–12 and Health Education 6–12, among other endorsements, in the state of Texas. She has 28 years of teaching and administrative experience, including six years teaching health education at the high school level. She has also served as vice president of the Health Division and General Division of the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD) and presents workshops and lectures on various health topics locally and statewide.