Planning Guide

Planning Guidelines

Planning for instruction may be approached in different ways by different teachers. Various factors, including individual preferences, influence this process. The guidelines in this section are intended as suggestions to assist teachers in yearly planning and unit planning.

Determining Priority Topics

Health-related issues differ widely from one area to another, or from one community to another. The health education program should remain flexible enough to allow for local decision-making when it comes to the identification of issues, within the framework of topics, which should be given priority at the local level.

Health education in the classroom should not occur in isolation. The responsibility for health education is shared by the total school, the home, the community and health care agencies.

Ideally then, the program for the year should be planned in consultation with all the groups who share in this responsibility in order to address local needs and to facilitate coordinated planning of programs or activities offered by these groups. The local liaison committee might provide a forum for the school to consult with the community and health care agencies.

Decisions made through this consultation process would then impact on yearly planning for individual teachers, as selection of priority content within the framework of topics might already have been determined to a certain extent.

Time Allotment

The time allotment for health education at the elementary level is 80 minutes per week.

In order to alleviate time constraints, this curriculum guide encourages and facilitates linkages between health education and other areas of study. The sample units and suggested activities in this document model integration between subject areas.

Scheduling at the elementary level should be flexible enough to allow for such integration.

Yearly Planning

When planning the program for the year, it is suggested that teachers:

• consider the topics suggested under each strand: A Healthy Body, Social Relationships, Safety, Self-esteem;
  

• determine the topics they will address over the year, making sure to draw content from all four strands in the framework;
  
• determine topics suitable for integration within a unit of study (e.g., a teacher may choose to address nutrition, physical activity and individual rates of growth and development within the same unit in order to focus students’ attention on how these aspects of healthy living relate to one another);
  
• determine areas, topics, and objectives from other Required Area of Study which are suitable for integration (e.g., "respect for individual rates of growth and development", within the Self-esteem strand at the grade one level is linked to units in various curriculum guides, such as Unit 1, Module 1 in social studies, the "All About Me" sample unit in language arts, and the "Me" sample unit in mathematics. These units share some common objectives. Teachers might teach them within the same time period in order to capitalize on linkages and to avoid duplications;
  
• record these preliminary planning ideas on a grid such as the one on Figure 3, to prepare an overview of the program for the year.

It is suggested that a total number of approximately six units be taught during a year. However, this number may vary depending on factors such as the grade level taught (grade one units tend to be shorter than grade five units) or how much content is incorporated into each unit.

Sequencing of Units

Each year of health education should begin with the introduction or review of the Decision-making Process.

There is no specific order for teaching other units. Some teachers may want to address topics related to self-esteem or social relationships early in the year, in order to establish a safe climate as well as a routine in the classroom. Others might place a higher emphasis on pedestrian and bus safety so that students learn about safety rules early in the school year, and design plans to apply those rules.

Decisions related to the sequencing of units may depend on national, provincial and local programs or activities:

• teachers might plan to address fire safety in November, to coincide with fire safety week, which is the last week of November. This period precedes the holiday season and fire hazards specific to that time of the year might then be addressed in a meaningful context.
  

• Some communities offer a bicycle safety program at a specific time of the year. Teachers might plan to teach bicycle safety around the same time.

One of the functions of the local liaison committee is to establish a link between the school and the community in order to coordinate programming.

Figure 3: Yearly Planning Grid

Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Health Education
Social Studies
Arts Education
Physical Education

Unit Planning

Sample Units as Models

Sample units for each grade level are provided in this document. These are intended to serve as models for designing a sequence of lessons based on the objectives of this curriculum and on the Decision-making Process it advocates. Sample units also model the use of a variety of instructional and evaluation methods.

Incorporating the Decision-making Process into Units of Study

The Decision-making Process represents an organizational framework for any unit of study. The content of a unit is taught and evaluated through this process and its levels and steps guide the sequencing of lessons within the unit.

In most units however, students will only practise using the process rather than actually apply it to real life contexts. The expectation is that all students actually make a decision related to a health topic, and that they design, carry out and evaluate an action plan within at least one unit at each of grades one and two, and within at least two units at the grades three, four and five levels, as illustrated in this table:

Actual application of all three levels of the Decision-making Process in real life situations Grades 1 and 2: at least one unit per year Grades 3, 4 and 5: at least two units per year

Selection of the topic(s) within which the three levels are implemented in a real life context should be guided by students’ individual or collective needs. The following examples describe factors which might determine the topics for individual or collective decisions and action plans:

• A student who has asthma or another condition might benefit from making a decision to control his or her disease and design an action plan to implement this decision (as illustrated in the grade 3 sample unit on controlling diseases).
  

• Bullying might be a concern in the school. Conflict resolution might then be a topic within which students would make a group decision and design an action plan to deal with conflict situations in a constructive manner (the grade 3 sample unit entitled Let’s Talk Things Over might serve as an example for addressing this issue).
  
• Students might make a personal decision and design an individual action plan to adopt healthier eating habits or to achieve a better balance between their food intake and their level of physical activity. The grade 2 unit on nutrition illustrates how this might be done.

The sample units are meant to present thorough models. Therefore, they usually provide examples of "real life" activities and projects for all three levels of the Decision-making Process. However, the students will use levels B and C of the Decision-making process in real life situations within only one or two units per year. For the other units, they will instead practise making decisions and designing action plans in fictitious contexts or simulated situations such as a response to literature, a role play or a case study.

Students should have frequent opportunities to practise various skills related to decision making, such as:

• distinguishing between positive and negative pressures which influence decisions
  

• resisting negative pressures
  
• seeking help from a trusted adult.

Teachers should watch for opportunities to naturally incorporate such skills in their units of study throughout the year.

Teachers are advised to refer to the examples provided in the sample units for developing level B and C activities within other contexts.

Collections of suggested activities within each strand are provided for each grade level. Teachers might use these as a basis for developing units of study.

Unit Planning Checklist

Teachers may draw from the collections of suggested activities in this curriculum, as well as ideas from various other sources, to plan other units in their program. The sample units in this document and the following checklist should assist teachers in planning units of study.

I have:

• Planned a sequence of lessons designed to extend students’ knowledge on the topic of the unit.
  

• Planned a sequence of lessons in which students will practise making decisions (or will actually make a decision) related to the topic of the unit.
  
• Planned a sequence of lessons in which students will practise designing action plans (or will actually design, carry out and evaluate an action plan) to implement a decision related to the topic of the unit.
  
• Set appropriate learning objectives for each lesson of the unit.
  
• Included a variety of instructional methods that are designed to achieve the learning objectives of the lessons.
  
• Included activities which develop objectives for the Common Essential Learnings.
  
• Considered activities or materials that reflect Indian and Métis content and perspectives.
  
• Considered Gender Equity in the selection of activities and materials.
  
• Selected a range of resources that reflect the variety of students’ needs and interests.
  
• Considered links with activities, programs or resources available in the community (teachers might use the chart on Figure 4 for this purpose)
  
• Considered evaluation at all three levels of the Decision-making Process.

Figure 4: Links With Activities, Programs and Resources in the Community