The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: Health and Physical Education docx

The Ontario Curriculum

Grades 1-8

Ministry of Education

and Training

1998

Health and

Physical Education

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Curriculum Expectations and Achievement Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Healthy Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Fundamental Movement Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Active Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Explanatory Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Une publication équivalente est disponible en français

sous le titre suivant : Le curriculum de l’Ontario de

la 1re à la 8e année – Éducation physique et santé, 1998.

This publication is available on the Ministry of

Education and Training’s World Wide Web site at

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca.

Note:This version of the document was updated on October 6, 2005,

to incorporate the requirement for participation in sustained moderate

to vigorous physical activity for a minimum of twenty minutes daily.

These changes are being made available only in the versions of this

document that are on the ministry’s website, and are effective

as of October 6, 2005.

2

Introduction

The Purpose of The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8: Health and Physical

Education, 1998

Healthy active living involves a combination of physical activity and appropriate lifestyle

choices. Students should begin early on to acquire basic knowledge about a wide variety of

health-related topics and to develop relevant skills. They need to understand how their actions

and decisions affect their health, fitness, and personal well-being, and how to apply their

learning to make positive, healthy decisions in all areas of life and personal development. The

school environment can profoundly influence students’ attitudes, preferences, and behaviours.

Through the health and physical education curriculum, students will develop:

• an understanding of the importance of physical fitness, health, and well-being and the fac￾tors that contribute to them;

• a personal commitment to daily vigorous physical activity and positive health behaviours;

• the basic movement skills they require to participate in physical activities throughout their

lives.

The achievement of the objectives of the health and physical education program will not only

enhance each student’s life but will also result in a healthier population. Students’ knowledge

of the importance of daily vigorous physical activity will also help them understand how such

activity combats health risks such as obesity and heart disease.

A comprehensive approach to health and physical education emphasizes the shared responsi￾bility of parents, peers, schools, health-care systems, government, the media, and a variety of

other institutions and agencies. Meaningful health and physical education also requires safe,

health-promoting environments, support services from the community, and a school curricu￾lum that makes health a priority in the school.

This document replaces the sections of The Common Curriculum: Policies and Outcomes,

Grades 1-9, 1995 that relate to health and physical education. All health and physical education

programs for Grades 1 to 8 will be based on the expectations outlined in this document.

The Role of Parents

Studies show that students perform better in school if their parents are involved in their edu￾cation. Parents therefore have an important role to play in supporting their children’s learning.

By reading the curriculum, parents can find out what their children are learning in each grade

and why they are learning it. This knowledge of the curriculum will enable parents to discuss

their children’s work with them, to communicate with teachers, and to ask relevant questions

about their children’s progress. Their knowledge of the expectations in each grade will also

help parents interpret their children’s report cards and work with teachers to improve students’

learning. For this reason, parents are urged to read the expectations for all grades rather than

just the particular grades their children are in.

INTRODUCTION 3

Parents can also participate in parent conferences, work on school councils, and become

involved in physical activities with their children. They should support classroom activities,

promote and participate both in special events held within the school and in interschool activ￾ities, and promote healthy active living through their own habits and practices. They should

also support healthy eating and take responsibility for developing their children’s self-esteem.

The Role of Teachers

Teachers and students have complementary responsibilities. Teachers are responsible for devel￾oping a variety of appropriate instructional strategies that will involve students actively in the

curriculum and at the same time address different student needs. They should bring enthusi￾asm to the classroom and should model healthy active living in their own lives to encourage

students to recognize the value and relevance of what they are learning.

The Role of Students

Students have responsibilities with regard to their own learning, which increase as they

advance through elementary and secondary school. Those willing to make the effort required

and able to apply themselves soon learn that there is a direct relationship between achievement

and hard work. Such students become motivated, self-directed learners.

Some students, however, find it more difficult to take responsibility for their learning because

of special challenges they face. For these students, the attention, patience, and encouragement

of teachers can be extremely important factors for success. Regardless of their circumstances,

learning to take responsibility for their own progress and learning is an important part of edu￾cation for all students.

Strands in the Health and Physical Education Curriculum

The curriculum’s major areas of knowledge and skills are organized around three strands:

• Healthy living includes healthy eating, growth and development, personal safety and injury

prevention, and substance use and abuse.

• Fundamental movement skills include locomotion/travelling, manipulation, and stability.

• Active participation includes physical activity, physical fitness, living skills, and safety.

These strands combine the living skills (e.g., personal, interpersonal, communication, conflict￾resolution, goal-setting, organizational, time-management, problem-solving, and decision￾making skills) that all students require.

The Importance of Safety

Schools must develop procedures to ensure the highest possible level of safety, while allowing

students to engage in a broad range of challenging activities. Safety guidelines should outline

the practices to be followed for each activity, addressing questions related to equipment, cloth￾ing, facilities, special rules and instructions, and supervision. They should also reflect school

board policies on how to conduct activities, and they should be reviewed on a regular basis.

While all physical activity involves an element of risk, participants have an obligation to mini￾mize that risk.