The Ontario Grades 1-8 Health Curriculum is organized in four general topics:
Healthy Eating - analyzing food choices and eating patterns and then making decisions and setting appropriate goals
Personal Safety and Injury Prevention - recognizing, assessing, and managing potentially dangerous situations as well as reducing safety risks
Substance Use, Addictions, and Related Behaviours - examining the relationship between substance use and abuse, addictive behaviours, and mental health and finding healthy alternatives for coping with stressful situations
Human Development and Sexual Health - understanding sexual development, as appropriate to the child's age and stage of development, and developing skills for healthy realtionships
Unit 1: Healthy Eating
Nutrients - Demonstrate an understanding of different types of nutrients (e.g., macronutrients and micronutrients) and their functions. Inquiry Question: “Different kinds of nutrients are needed to achieve optimal health and prevent disease. Nutrients can be divided into two types – macronutrients and micronutrients. What are these, and why is each kind of nutrient needed for good health?”
Food Choices Criteria - Evaluate personal food choices on the basis of a variety of criteria, including serving size, nutrient content, energy value, and ingredients (e.g., fats, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals, calories, additives, allergens), preparation method, and other factors that can affect health and well-being. Inquiry Questions: “Why is paying attention to nutrients more valuable than counting calories?” “Serving size is one thing to consider when making food choices. How many servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended for teenagers?” “If you do not eat breakfast, how does that affect how you feel during the day?”
Promoting Healthy Eating - Identify strategies for promoting healthy eating within the school, home, and community (e.g., implementing school healthy food policies, launching healthy-eating campaigns, choosing healthy food items to sell in fundraising campaigns, getting involved in family meal planning, learning food preparation skills, urging local restaurants to highlight healthy food choices). Inquiry Question: “How could you promote healthy eating at home?”