Page 31 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised

to interact positively with others, collaborate effectively in groups, and build healthy relationships. They are critical to interactions in everyday life, and they help students develop a sense of belonging and respect for others as they learn to find their own place in the world.
Critical and Creative Thinking
The ability to think critically and creatively will help students make healthier choices in all aspects of their lives. The health and physical education program gives students many opportunities to develop higher order thinking skills, to explore without fear of making mistakes, and to learn from their mistakes. Students will be able to apply these skills in many ways – to solving problems, thinking creatively, resolving conflicts, making decisions, and setting goals. By helping students achieve personal goals and aspirations, these skills contribute to a sense of “becoming”– a sense of personal growth.
In a variety of situations, in the context of inquiry-based learning in both physical education and health education settings, students will learn to use their critical thinking skills to develop a plan, generate and organize information and ideas, and then focus and clarify those ideas. They will learn and practise using a process to analyse, synthesize, and evaluate ideas and information. When they have arrived at a decision, goal, or solution, they will have opportunities to present the information in a variety of ways. Finally, students will learn to reflect on and evaluate the entire process, thinking about what went well, what could have been done differently, and what should be done next.
Strand A – Active Living
The Active Living strand helps students develop the skills and knowledge needed to participate regularly and safely in physical activity, while enjoying being physically active and learning how to develop and enhance their own personal fitness. As they participate in a wide range of activities, students also learn about the benefits of physical activity for mental health. Learning through physical activity helps to enhance students’ physical literacy.
The three subgroups within this strand, corresponding to the three overall expectations, are Active Participation, Physical Fitness, and Safety, with living skill expectations integrated as appropriate.
Active Participation
Participation in physical activity provides students with a variety of opportunities for increasing their self-esteem and self-confidence and developing positive interpersonal skills and attitudes, including practices of fair play and respect for others. All students, individually and in groups, should be strongly encouraged to participate daily in a wide variety of physical activities, such as dance, games, sports, fitness, individual, and recreational activities, and to become increasingly responsible for their own daily physical activity. By participating in a wide range of physical activities, including those that reflect the diversity of the students’ cultural backgrounds, they will learn what activities they enjoy most and what factors contribute to their success in participating
in physical activities. This understanding can help them develop and sustain a commitment to healthy, active living throughout their lives.
THE PROGRAM IN HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
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