Page 40 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised

maintain, and enjoy healthy living as well as to solve problems, make decisions, and set goals that are directly related to their personal health and well-being. Learning how to establish, monitor, and maintain healthy relationships is a key part of this strand.
The focus of the learning in this strand is not merely on health knowledge but rather on higher-level thinking connected to the application of skills for healthy living. Students are learning about health broadly as a resource for living. The emphasis is on why they are learning about healthy living and on what they need to understand about healthy development in order to make informed personal choices and take responsibility (within the extent possible) for their health now and for the rest of their lives. They are also encouraged to make connections beyond themselves to understand how their health
is connected with that of others and is affected by factors in the world around them.
Current thinking views health as a holistic phenomenon and students are therefore encouraged to make connections between various aspects of their well-being, including physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects. Health professionals also recognize that an emphasis on health promotion will pay greater dividends over the long run than an emphasis on disease treatment alone. For that reason there is a significant focus in the curriculum on learning about the connections between healthy choices, active living, and chronic disease prevention.
Living skills are also tightly linked to this strand. Because students in secondary school are further developing their sense of self, learning to interact positively with others, and learning to make connections with the broader world, it is important that they acquire strategies for coping, adapting, and managing, for communicating and relating positively
Topic
C1. Understanding Health Concepts
C2. Making Healthy Choices
C3. Making Connections for Healthy Living
Healthy Eating
C1.1 Connection to holistic health: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual [PS, CT ]
C2.1 Healthy eating plans [PS, CT ]
C3.1 Food and beverage choices – environmental, social factors [IS, CT ]
Personal Safety and Injury Prevention
C1.2 Technology – benefits and risks, safe use [IS, CT ]
C3.2 Mental health concerns – warning signs and responses [PS, IS]
C3.3 Responding to bullying/ harassment (including sexual harassment, gender-based violence, homophobia, racism) [PS, IS, CT ]
Substance Use, Addictions, and Related Behaviours
C1.3 Resilience – protective and risk factors [PS, CT ]
C3.4 Social influences; decision-making, communication skills [IS, CT ]
Human Development and Sexual Health
C1.4 Preventing pregnancy and STIs
C1.5 Factors affecting gender identity and sexual orientation; supports [PS]
C2.2 Relationships – skills and strategies [PS, IS]
C2.3 Thinking ahead about sexual health, consent, personal limits [PS, CT ]
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | Health and Physical Education
Horizontal learning by topic
Vertical learning across topics, connecting to broader ideas as represented in overall expectations
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