The Physical Education Curriculum

Aim

Foundational Objectives

Through participation in physical education, students will develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to become physically educated persons. The characteristics that define physically educated persons form the Foundational Objectives of the curriculum.

The Physical Education curriculum incorporates three perspectives. The Foundational Objectives operate within these perspectives to develop physically educated persons as follows:

Students will:

• Exhibit a physically active lifestyle.
• Achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

• Demonstrate competency in many physical activities and proficiency in a few physical activities.
• Apply movement concepts and principles to the learning and development of movement patterns and skills.

• Behave in ways that are personally and socially responsible in physical activity settings.
• Understand and respect differences among people in physical activity settings.
• Understand that physical activity can provide enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, social interaction, work and leisure
  

Expected Outcomes

A physically educated student, by the end of Grade 5, should be able to:

• work toward achieving and maintaining physical fitness
• participate in appropriate assessment of personal fitness levels
• participate in health-enhancing quality daily physical activity, in and out of school
• understand the basic concepts of physical fitness and personal wellness and the relationship between the two
• recognize the safety factors associated with participating in physical activities in and out of physical education classes

• design, extend, refine and perform movement sequences that focus on the use of one or more variables of Body, Space, Effort and Relationships, when alone and with others
• modify performance of skills from each of the five Activity Areas using the movement variables of Body, Space, Effort and Relationships
• competently use individual Basic Movement Patterns in a wide variety of developmentally appropriate activities from each Activity Area
• design, extend, refine and perform movement sequences that use combinations of Basic Movement Patterns when alone and with others
• competently combine various Basic Movement Patterns in order to play or to design small-group games

• recognize the commitment and benefits associated with participation and improvement in physical fitness and skill development activities
• apply cues and principles to refine performance of specific movement skills
• apply strategies and rules necessary for safe and skillful involvement in physical activities, alone and with others

• exhibit respect and consideration toward the self and others as needed for successful participation in physical activities in and out of physical education class
• appreciate the relationships and benefits that result from working and participating with others in and out of physical education classes
• respect the role physical activity plays in achieving and maintaining personal fitness and well-being
• cherish the feelings that can result from regular and successful participation in physical activity, in and out of school
• recognize the opportunities for enjoyment, self-expression, work and leisure that can be found through participation in physical activities

Adapted from Outcomes of Quality Physical Education Programs. M. Frank, G. Graham, H. Lawson, T. Loughrey, R. Ritson, M. Sanborn and V. Seefeldt (the Outcomes Committee of NASPE, Reston, VA: National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 1992. 

1. Exhibit a physically active lifestyle.

The intent of this Foundational Objective is to establish patterns of regular participation in meaningful physical activity. What is done in the physical education class should connect with the lives of students outside of the class. While participation within the physical education class is important, what the student does outside the physical education class is critical to developing an active, healthy lifestyle. Students are more likely to participate if they have had opportunities to develop interests that are personally meaningful to them.

Young children should learn to enjoy physical activity. They should participate in developmentally appropriate activities that help them develop movement competence, and they should be encouraged to participate in vigorous and unstructured play. As students get older the structure of activity tends to increase and the opportunities for participation in different types of activity increase. Students should develop an awareness of those opportunities and they should be encouraged to participate in a broad range of activities.

Cognitive understanding develops from an initial awareness of activity's effects on the body to an increased understanding of the role of physical activity on the body and on social opportunities, relationships and emotional well-being. Students come to understand the meaning of a healthy lifestyle.

2. Achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

This Foundational Objective encourages the achievement of physical fitness for good health. Students should increase their basic fitness levels and physical competence. Health-related fitness components include cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility and body composition. Expectations for students’ fitness levels should be established on a personal basis, taking into account variation in entry levels rather than setting a single standard for all children at a given grade level.

For elementary children, the emphasis is on an awareness of fitness components and having fun while participating in health-enhancing activities that promote physical fitness. Middle school students gradually acquire a greater understanding of the fitness components, how each is developed and maintained, and the importance of each in overall fitness. Secondary students are able to design and develop an appropriate personal fitness program that enables them to achieve desired levels of fitness. The student thus should have both the ability and willingness to accept responsibility for personal fitness leading to an active, healthy lifestyle.

The purpose of this Foundational Objective is the development of movement competence and proficiency. Movement at a beginner to intermediate level (competency) implies the development of sufficient ability to enjoy participation in physical activities. It also establishes a foundation to facilitate continued motor skill acquisition and increased ability to engage in daily physical activities. The development of an advanced level of ability (proficiency) in a few physical activities gives the student the capacity for successful performance to further increase the likelihood of participation.

In the elementary years students develop maturity and versatility in the use of Basic Movement Patterns. Their use of Basic Movement Patterns is further varied, refined and combined during the middle years. The Basic Movement Patterns evolve into specialized skills (e.g., a specific dance step, chest pass, catching with a glove). They are also used in increasingly more complex movement contexts (e.g., more players or participants, rules, strategies) through the middle years. On the basis of interest and ability, secondary students select a few activities for regular participation within which proficiency will be developed. In preparation for adulthood, students should have acquired the basic skills to participate in a wide variety of leisure and work-related physical activities and they should have developed advanced skills in a least two or three of these activities.

This Foundational Objective concerns the ability of the learner to use cognitive information to understand and enhance motor skill acquisition and performance. During the early elementary years, emphasis is placed on establishing a movement vocabulary and on the understanding and use of movement concepts from each of the four categories of Movement Variables--Body, Space, Effort and Relationships. Students are also introduced to the principles governing the production, application and absorption of force, as well as those related to stability. Through the upper elementary and middle years an emphasis is placed on learning more and increasingly complex concepts. In addition, emphasis is placed on applying and generalizing these concepts to real-life physical activity situations (e.g., managing stress, effect of growth spurt on movement performance).

5. Behave in ways that are personally and socially responsible in physical activity settings.

The aim of this Foundational Objective is the achievement of self-initiated behaviour that promotes personal and group success in activity settings. Safe practices, adherence to rules and procedures, etiquette, cooperation and teamwork, ethical behaviour in sport and positive social interaction are expected. In the early elementary grades, students begin with recognition of classroom rules and procedures and a focus on safety. In the upper elementary grades, students learn to work independently, with a partner, and in small groups.

6. Understand and respect differences among people in physical activity settings.

The purpose of this Foundational Objective is to develop respect for individual differences through positive interaction among participants in physical activity. Differences include characteristics of culture, ethnicity, motor performance, disabilities, physical characteristics (e.g., strength, size, shape), gender, race and socio-economic status. Elementary school students begin to recognize similarities within differences and learn to participate cooperatively in physical activity.

7. Understand that physical activity can provide enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, social interaction, work and leisure.

This Foundational Objective is designed to develop an awareness of the intrinsic values and benefits of participation in physical activity. Physical activity can provide opportunity for self-expression and social interaction and can be enjoyable, challenging and fun. These benefits entice people to continue participation in activity throughout the life span. Elementary school children derive pleasure from movement sensations and experience challenge and joy as they sense a growing competence in movement ability.

A second intent of this Foundational Objective is to assist students in making connections between the physical education program and what is happening in the community and the workplace. Opportunities are provided to students to explore careers related to physical activity and develop basic employability skills, including teamwork, problem solving, leadership and effective communication.

From Moving into the Future: National Standards for Physical Education. A Guide to Content and Assessment, developed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education., Reston, VA, 1995. Adapted and reprinted with permission.