Health and Physical Education

In this unit you will dig into what motivates you (intrinsic and extrinsic reasons), build habits and find lifelong activities. You will learn how activity changes your heart, lungs, muscles and bones, use the training principles (specificity, overload, progression, rest and reversibility), compare continuous and interval activity in your 20-minute DPA, and set, track and revise a SMART fitness goal. You will think like a safety leader: judging risk, responding when someone might be hurt or have a concussion, and supporting a friend's recovery.

Then you will put movement skills together: routines that link balances, travelling and rhythm; sending, striking and receiving with the right force and a lead pass; and keeping control with both sides using shielding and fakes. Finally, you will learn the etiquette and conventions of different activities, take a turn as official, design your own game, and use tactics that transfer between games: transition, support, base position and covering. Social-emotional skills are woven in throughout: managing feelings, coping under pressure, perseverance, healthy relationships, a positive sense of self, and critical and creative thinking.

Most practice is Do it and check: try the move, then compare it with what a good attempt looks like. Activities are designed for home, a yard or a park. You will need some open space, soft balls (or rolled socks), a beach ball, a flying disc or paper plate, a skipping rope, a few markers (shoes or cones), a timer, a measuring tape, and a grown-up or friend to play with.

Curriculum expectations covered: A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A1.6, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2 (Ontario Health and Physical Education, Grades 1–8, 2019, Grade 6).

In this unit you will explore the medical, emotional, practical and societal factors that shape what you eat, learn to read your body's hunger, fullness and thirst cues, and see how healthy eating and active living work together. You will practise being inclusive and respectful, handling conflict in person and online while staying safe online, and taking on new responsibilities like babysitting or staying home alone, including what to do in emergencies. You will learn the effects of cannabis and make safe choices about alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and vaping, including the choice to abstain. You will connect thoughts, emotions and actions and learn where to find mental health support. Finally, you will learn about the changes of adolescence, consent and healthy relationships, the impact of sexually explicit media, and how to challenge stereotypes such as those behind homophobia and racism.

Some topics in this unit are sensitive. Each lesson has a note for parents. Lessons 9, 10, 11 and 12 are part of Ontario's human development and sexual health expectations; they follow the Grade 6 wording, are kept factual and age-appropriate, and parents may request an exemption from this instruction at school.

Curriculum expectations covered: D1.1, D1.2, D1.3, D1.4, D1.5, D2.1, D2.2, D2.3, D2.4, D2.5, D2.6, D3.1, D3.2, D3.3, plus social-emotional learning skills A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A1.6 (Ontario Health and Physical Education, Grades 1–8, 2019, Grade 6).