Planning

Key Messages

1. Wellness 10 features the integration of health education and physical education (see here).

2. Throughout the semester or year, 60–75 class periods involve physical activity and fitness (see pages here, and here).

3. In Unit 2, 12 hours is allocated to the key understandings and skills of each of the strands of wellness. Physical activity is the primary vehicle through which the key understandings and skills are practised, reinforced, and/or explored (see here).

4. Physical activity and fitness is also incorporated in Units 4 and 5 (see here).

5. Wellness 10 can be planned as a semesterized program; there is, however, considerable merit to offering it as a year-long program.

Semester Planning

In this section, you will find two examples of how a Wellness 10 teacher might plan for 100 hours of instruction over the course of a semester or year. The Teacher A sample applies to a fall semester while the Teacher B sample applies to a winter semester.

The purpose of the two sample schedules, or plans, is to:

Planning for Physical Activity

As indicated in the sample semester schedules, students are actively engaged in physical activity during a large portion of the Wellness 10 course. The Sample Wellness 10 Winter Semester Plan, shows that students are physically active in each class period except those marked (Classroom). Physical activity during the Wellness 10 course, however, is not limited to what is done during class time. A substantial portion of the physical activity that students engage in during the semester will occur outside the 100 hours of scheduled class time. Reasons for this have to do with students’ action plans, a shift of responsibility to students, and physical activity beyond the Wellness 10 course.

Student safety is an important factor to consider when planning for physical activity. Consult your school’s copy of Saskatchewan Physical Education: Safety Guidelines for Policy Development, April 1998, or access it at www.sasked.gov.sk.ca and search using this title.

Students’ Wellness Action Plans: One part of the wellness action plan that students prepare and implement during the semester focuses on the Physical Activity and Fitness strand of
Wellness 10. Although students can use the physical activities they engage in during class time to meet their action plan goals, students are expected to also participate in physical activities outside of scheduled class time. The intention is to help students become less dependent on the physical activities provided in the Wellness 10 course to attain and maintain optimal wellness.

Shift Responsibility to Students: A major purpose of Wellness 10 is that of enabling students to take responsibility for monitoring and evaluating their own wellness. For some students, this may be the last class taken at school that provides regular opportunities to engage in physical activity. It is, therefore, particularly important for students to become more independent and able to take charge of their wellness outside the school environment. Having students use the decision-making process to prepare an action plan that emphasizes participating in physical activities outside of class shifts some of the responsibility for wellness away from the teacher and to the students.

Physical Activity Beyond Wellness 10: Some students are already quite physically active outside of school and will continue participating in these activities during the school year.

Sample Activity Area Plan

To meet the foundational objectives of Wellness 10, teachers need to plan for activity in 60-75 class periods throughout the semester. In order to provide students with a “balanced menu” of physical activity during the Wellness 10 course, a certain percentage of the total time devoted to physical activity needs to be allocated to each of the activity areas. The recommended percentages (shown with their respective class periods) that appear in the following chart are reflected in both sample semester plans.

The chart below shows how Teacher B has started to plan for a balanced menu of physical activity.

To ensure that an appropriate facility is available, it is advisable to identify the classes that will be held in locations that need to be reserved ahead of time. This may be a classroom, multi-purpose room, skating rink, racquetball courts, swimming pool, curling rink, etc. In the sample schedule for Teacher B, a classroom has been reserved for the days marked (Classroom).

Health-related Events

When planning for the semester or year, it is helpful to consider provincial and national health-related events. A listing of health-related events can be found at Health Canada’s web site (www.healthcanada.ca). Some of the health-related events that apply to Wellness 10 are listed below.

Wellness teachers are encouraged to work with the wellness and health promotion contact person within the health region to share resources and to plan for instruction that will co-ordinate student learning within the school and community in timely and meaningful ways.