Elementary Curriculum Overview

K-5 Physical Education

The Arlington Public Schools uses SPARK as it's baseline physical education curriculum. Units in Grades K-2 focus on building foundations by introducing movement concepts, skill themes, locomotor & Non-locomotor skills, with an emphasis on various wellness concepts and social-emotional learning.  Units in Grades 3-5 build upon the foundations set in grades K-2 and include various dynamic instructional units. Each curricular component is presented in scope and sequence via daily lesson plans that are aligned to SHAPE America's National Standards & Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education. Students in grades K-5 attend physical education classes 2 days per week for the entire school year.

K-5 Health Education

The Arlington Public Schools currently uses The Great Body Shop as it's baseline health education curriculum. Other resources are also utilized when developing lesson plans for the various topics introduced in each of the grades as shown below. Students in grades K-3 attend health education classes approx. 10-12 classes in a calendar year. Students in grades 4-5 will participate in health education classes approx. 4-6 time in a calendar year. The topics presented in each grade are listed below.

KINDERGARTEN HEALTH TOPICS

Safety (playground, home, community)

Systems of the Body (the five senses, what they are, how they are used, what happens when they don’t work, understanding people’s differences)

Nutrition (healthy foods, food groups)

Families (different types, growing/changing families, understanding differences, responsibilities in a family)

Physical Health (body parts, taking care of our bodies, safe/unsafe touching, consent related to touching)


GRADE 1 HEALTH TOPICS

Safety (playground, home, community)


Physical Health (organs, bones, muscles, personal hygiene, seat belts, exercise)


Nutrition (healthy foods, food groups, what foods do for our body, nutrients, digestive system)


Medicines (What are medicines, types, what they do, who can administer them)

Mental/Emotional Health (types of feelings, managing feelings, my body is private, consent to touching, refusal skills)


GRADE 2 HEALTH TOPICS

Safety (playground, home, community, internet safety)


Systems of the Body (the brain, taking care of the brain, understanding differences)


Nutrition (healthy foods, food groups, what foods do for our body, nutrients, what nutrients do, digestive system, influences, food safety, how to make healthy choices)


Physical Health (the heart, exercising your heart, heart rate, taking care of your heart, be kind to others)


Mental/Emotional Health (types of fears, managing fears, breathing techniques, how our bodies react to fear, recognizing danger, safe/unsafe touching, teasing and bullying)


GRADE 3 HEALTH TOPICS

Safety (playground, home, community, internet safety, fire safety plan, bullying, refusal skills)


Systems of the Body (the eye, parts of the eye, problems with the eye, understanding/accepting differences)


Nutrition (healthy foods, food groups, what foods do for our body, nutrients, what nutrients do, digestive system, influences, food safety, how to make healthy choices, food labels)


Families (different types, inherited traits, personal safety with unsafe touching)


Mental/Emotional Health (positive/negative attitudes, values and goals, how attitudes affect actions and decision making, bullying)


GRADE 4 HEALTH TOPICS

Human Growth and Development (Puberty) Stages of Development, Growing Up, Sex Assigned at Birth, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Changes During Puberty, Products Used When Puberty Begins


GRADE 5 HEALTH TOPICS

Human Growth and Development (Puberty) Grade 4 Topics Reviewed, Pituitary Gland, Hormones, Reproductive Organs