What Ontario grade 6 students learn in health and physical education

Your child will learn to recognize and handle their own feelings during physical activities, which will help them better understand how others are feeling too. For example, they will explore how their emotions affect their enjoyment of different activities and how feelings can influence their food choices.

Your child will learn to recognize what causes them stress and how to deal with challenges, including asking for help, as they participate in physical activities and health lessons. This will help them build resilience, which is their ability to bounce back from difficulties.

Your child will learn to develop a positive attitude and keep trying even when things are difficult, which helps them feel hopeful and optimistic. For example, they'll learn to find creative ways to be active, understand their strengths and weaknesses in sports, and see how healthy eating improves their energy and self-esteem.

Your child will learn how to build strong relationships, understand other people's feelings, and communicate well with others during health and physical education activities. This will help them create healthy relationships, feel like they belong, and respect people from different backgrounds.

Your child will learn to understand their own strengths and feelings, which helps them feel good about themselves and like they belong, especially when participating in physical education activities. For example, they might think about what makes them want to be active, how well they catch a ball, or how stereotypes affect how they see themselves.

Your child will learn to think carefully and creatively during health and physical education activities. This helps them connect ideas, understand problems, and make good decisions, like knowing what to do for a minor injury or how to play well in a game.

Your child will be able to actively join in many different physical activities, like games, dance, and fitness, while showing good sportsmanship and being ready to participate. This means they will be engaged, use their time well, be open to trying new things, and play fairly with others.

Your child will understand what makes physical activity enjoyable for them, such as playing in groups of different sizes, using various equipment, or having choices in activities. They will also learn to appreciate the physical and artistic parts of movement.

Your child will be able to explain what makes them want to be physically active every day, both at school and during their free time, and what helps them choose which activities to do.

Your child will take part in at least 20 minutes of exercise each day that gets their heart rate up, making sure to warm up their body before and cool down afterwards.

Your child will understand how being active helps their body stay healthy. For example, they'll learn that activities like running or swimming make their heart and lungs stronger, and stretching can help prevent injuries.

Your child will learn to understand their own fitness levels, including how strong they are and how long they can do activities, by noticing how their body feels during different exercises. They will also track how their fitness improves over time, for example, by comparing their results from the beginning to the end of the school year.

Your child will learn to create and follow a fitness plan that helps them reach their personal health goals, based on their current fitness levels and what they enjoy doing. This includes activities that improve their heart health, muscle strength, and flexibility.

Your child will learn how to stay safe and prevent injuries during physical activities, including understanding how to avoid concussions. This involves knowing the rules, checking equipment, and wearing proper safety gear like helmets when needed.

Your child will learn how to properly treat small injuries that might happen during physical activity, like putting ice on a bump or cleaning a cut.

Your child will be able to smoothly shift their weight while moving, whether they are dancing, using exercise equipment, or working with a partner to balance. This includes understanding how to keep their balance when standing still (static balance) and when moving (dynamic balance).

Your child will be able to move in many different ways, like running, hopping, or skipping, and combine these movements. They will also learn to change their speed and direction while moving around other people or objects, such as in a fitness circuit.

Your child will be able to throw and catch different objects, like balls or beanbags, adjusting how hard and far they throw based on the object and where it needs to go. They will also learn to get ready to catch, absorb the impact of a fast-moving object, and follow through when throwing to improve their aim.

Your child will be able to hold onto an object while moving in different ways and at different speeds, even when near other people or equipment. For example, they'll practice running with a football and using deceptive moves (like changing direction) to keep it, or quickly stickhandling a puck while looking up.

Your child will understand the basics of different physical activities, like how to move their body, the rules of games, and how to play fairly. They will then be able to use this knowledge when they participate in various activities, from team sports to dance and fitness exercises.

Your child will learn about different types of physical activities, like individual sports or team games, and understand what makes them similar or different. They will also learn about and use effective strategies while playing these various activities.

Your child will learn to use different strategies and plans during physical activities to improve their chances of success. This includes things like finding a good pace when running, working with a partner to strengthen muscles, or making smart moves in games like bocce or keep-away.

Your child will learn how to be inclusive, respectful, and accepting of others, and understand how these actions are good for everyone, including themselves.

Your child will learn about the different ways drugs like cannabis, prescription medications (like opioids), illegal drugs (like heroin or cocaine), and other intoxicating substances (like glue) can affect a person's body and mind.

Your child will understand how watching sexually explicit content, like pornography, can negatively affect their understanding of relationships, promote harmful ideas about gender, and create unrealistic body image expectations.

Your child will learn about people and places in the school and community, like family members, counsellors, or community centres, that can help when someone is struggling with their mental health or dealing with substance use. They will also understand how to reach out and get help from these supports.

Your child will understand how their thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected and how having a positive or negative outlook can affect their mental well-being.

Your child will learn how different things like allergies, personal preferences, stress, and even advertising can affect what they eat. They will use this knowledge to create their own plan for healthier eating.

Your child will learn to understand their body's hunger and thirst signals and how things like growing or being active affect how much they want to eat and drink. This will help them create their own healthy eating habits.

Your child will learn to use social-emotional skills, like understanding their own feelings and managing anger, to get along well with others and handle disagreements, whether in person or online. They will also practice good communication, including listening and speaking up for themselves respectfully.

Your child will learn how to make good choices about drugs like alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis, and activities like vaping. They will understand how things like personal beliefs, friends, media, and laws can influence these decisions, and how to decide not to use these substances or participate in these activities.

Your child will learn how understanding the physical changes (like their voice changing), social changes (like friendships shifting), and emotional changes (like stronger feelings) that happen during their teenage years can help them feel more secure and build good relationships.

Your child will learn to make good choices that show they respect themselves and others, and they'll understand what "consent" means (agreeing to something freely). This helps them build better relationships by using various social and emotional skills, like understanding their own feelings and thinking creatively. They will also learn from Indigenous teachings, such as the Seven Grandfather Teachings, which offer wisdom about how to live well.

Your child will learn how eating well and being active together make a person healthier both physically and mentally, and how to share these benefits with others. This includes understanding how these habits give you more energy, improve how you see yourself, help fight off sickness, and maintain a healthy weight.

Your child will learn about the responsibilities and potential dangers involved in taking care of themselves and others, such as when babysitting or staying home alone. They will also understand how to stay safe and what to do if a dangerous situation, like a fire or an allergic reaction, occurs.

Your child will learn how stereotypes (fixed ideas about groups of people) and assumptions about things like gender, race, or abilities can affect how someone sees themselves, how they fit in with others, and their friendships. They will also think of ways to challenge harmful ideas that can lead to negative attitudes like homophobia or racism.