Grade 2 — Health and Physical Education
The Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum helps students learn the skills and knowledge they need to lead healthy, active lives and make healthy and safe choices.
There are four parts to the curriculum:
- Healthy Living
- Active Living
- Movement Competence
- Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills.
The learning for each is summarized below, along with some things you can do help to support your child's learning.
Healthy Living (including Mental Health Literacy)
Students learn how to solve problems, make decisions and set goals that are directly related to their own health and well-being. As they explore health concepts and learn how to make healthy choices, students make connections between themselves and the world around them. While mental health literacy is a distinct topic, students learn how mental health is connected to overall health across this entire section and the whole HPE curriculum.
| Area of Focus | What Students Learn About |
|---|---|
| Healthy eating |
Healthy eating patterns Food choices (snacks, meals) |
| Personal safety and injury prevention |
Personal safety — at home, online and outdoors Food allergies Consent, standing up for yourself and others Relating to family, caregivers and others |
| Substance use, addictions and related behaviours |
Prescription / non-prescription medicines Medication, healthy alternatives |
| Human development and sexual health |
Stages of development Appreciating how the body works and what it can do Oral health (for example, brushing and flossing) |
| Mental health literacy |
Body and brain — responses and feelings Knowing when to seek help |
Active Living
Through active participation, students build a foundation for lifelong healthy active living while learning what makes physical activity enjoyable.
| Area of Focus | What Students Learn About |
|---|---|
| Active participation |
Participation in a variety of activities Enjoyment of activity (individual and small group activities) Reasons for participating in physical activity every day |
| Physical fitness |
Daily physical activity — moderate to vigorous activity, 20 minutes per day, including warm-up and cool down Activities to improve heart and lung health Exertion, self-assessment Personal and group goal setting related to physical activity |
| Safety |
Behaviours and procedures that maximize safety of self and others, including preventing concussions Safety precautions for self and others, including those with medical conditions |
Movement Competence
Through exploration and participation in a variety of activities, students develop skills, strategies and tactics for moving while building confidence in their own physical abilities.
| Area of Focus | What Students Learn About |
|---|---|
| Movement skills and concepts |
Balancing while staying still — using different body parts, levels, shapes, working with equipment and with others, making transitions Moving in different directions, and stopping safely Sending (for example, throwing, kicking) and receiving (for example, catching, stopping) objects |
| Movement strategies |
Understanding the rules and practising the skills needed to participate in individual and small-group activities Learning simple tactics to increase success in physical activities |
Social-Emotional Learning Skills (taught across the HPE curriculum)
This new section of the curriculum helps students foster their own overall health and well-being, positive mental health, resilience and ability to learn and thrive. Students develop social-emotional learning skills to help them with identifying and managing emotions, coping with stress, having positive motivation, building relationships, deepening their sense of self and thinking critically and creatively.
Students apply these everyday skills as part of their learning across the other three parts of the curriculum, and in their experiences at school, at home and in the community.
| Skills in | Examples of What Students Learn to Do |
|---|---|
| Healthy Living |
Talk to friends and classmates positively and encourage others to do the same [build relationships] Build resiliency skills by trying different ways to deal with teasing (for example, walking away, telling the person to stop, telling the person how teasing makes them feel, getting help) [coping with stress] |
| Active Living |
Take a moment to breathe deeply and refocus if they feel upset before starting a physical activity [managing emotions] Notice how their body responds and how they feel during physical activity [sense of self] |
| Movement Competence |
Recognize body language as they copy a partner's movements in a mirroring activity [build relationships] Show awareness of how others are feeling as they make adjustments to help all participants feel comfortable when throwing and catching different objects (for example, choosing a bigger ball or an object with soft edges) [managing emotions] |
Supporting your child's learning
Parents and schools both have important roles in supporting student learning and well-being. Here are some ways to help:
- Support healthy growth and development by maintaining a bedtime routine that helps your child sleep for at least 10 hours most nights.
- Encourage physically active play and limit the time your child spends in front of a screen.
- Spend time together practising strategies that encourage them to be aware of how they are feeling – like taking some deep breaths when upset to feel calmer.
- Promote good dental health habits by brushing your teeth together with your child.