Selected student-learning objectives from Manitoba’s Grade 6 health and physical education curriculum

Like most provincial health and physical education curricula, Manitoba’s has strands on fitness, movement, safety, healthy lifestyle practices, as well as personal and social management. For your interest, here are some of the learning objectives of the Grade 6 curriculum from three strands: fitness, movement and lifestyle. The full list of student-learning objectives is available from Manitoba Education.

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Fitness

• Recognize the health- and skill-related fitness components (e.g., agility, power, reaction time, speed, coordination…) that contribute to skill development.
• Identify the names of the main bones (e.g., humerus, ulna, radius, femur, tibia, fibula, scapula, clavicle, ribs, pelvis, skull…) and function (i.e., shape, support, protection) of the human skeletal system in the context of exercise and physical activity.
• Describe the effects of exercise and inactivity on the human skeletal system (i.e., increased/decreased bone density, increased/decreased bone mass).
• Participate in exercises/activities (e.g., juggling for developing coordination, moving through an obstacle course for agility…) designed to improve and maintain personal fitness associated with health-related and skill-related fitness components.
• Demonstrate proper technique (i.e., pacing) while participating in continuous aerobic activity for a sustained period of time, while maintaining target heart rate.
• Compare own heart rate during aerobic activity to the general target heart-rate zones (e.g., general health, basic fitness, healthy heart…).
• Compare own fitness results and physical activity participation over a period of time (e.g., beginning, middle, end of school year…) to check and revise personal goals.

Movement

• Perform extensions and/or variations of transport skills (e.g., sprinting, jumping, springing, rotating…), applying mechanical principles (e.g., speed is affected by body weight, range of motion, number of involved body segments, application of force…) for speed, height, and/or distance.
• Perform manipulation skills (e.g., throwing, kicking, catching…), applying mechanical principles (e.g., range of motion, number of body segments, application of force, absorption of force…) for accuracy and distance.
• Demonstrate dynamic balance (e.g., doing cartwheels, running backwards, kicking…), applying mechanical principles (i.e., lower centre of gravity, increase base of support, keep the line of centre of gravity at the edge of the base of support in the direction of force application) for stability.
• Apply functional use of selected movement skills (e.g., batting, dribbling, throwing and catching with an implement… ) to a variety of team games/sports, including multicultural games (e.g., modified lacrosse, kanga ball, modified basketball…).
• Apply functional use of selected movement skills and variations (i.e., transport and balance skills), using various equipment and in a variety of environments (e.g., skating, swimming, cross-country skiing, snow soccer…).
• Demonstrate functional use of combining two or more selected movement skills and applying movement concepts (e.g., combine travelling, rolling, balancing, and weight transfer into smooth flowing sequences; showing contrast in direction, speed, flow…) in gymnastic-type sequences/routines (e.g., ball gymnastics, stuntastics, pyramids, creative hand apparatus…).

Lifestyle

• Recognize the physical benefits (e.g., reduced risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes II, osteoporosis, colon cancer…) and the socio-emotional benefits (e.g., reduced anxiety and stress, enhanced sense of belonging, positive use of leisure time, opportunity to meet people…) of participating in daily physical activities.
• Identify responsible decisions (e.g., play outside rather than watch television or sit at a computer, invite friends to play, play safely, participate fully in physical education class, play community sports…) that promote daily physical activity.
• Identify food choices and types of physical activity for a healthy body (i.e., for bone development).
• Demonstrate an understanding of the combined benefit of daily healthy food choices and physical activity on a healthy body (i.e., for bone development during adolescence).
• Identify daily nutrition habits and fluid intake practices to support healthy participation in various types of physical activities.
• Develop a personal action plan for daily active living, including ways to adhere to the plan.
• Assess personal food intake and activity for a period of one to three days, based on daily recommended requirements.