What your child is learning

In Grade 4, your child develops knowledge, skills and attitudes for being active and healthy in these areas:

Movement

• using basic movement skills and showing understanding of movement, effort  and space awareness when participating in physical activities
• understanding rules and strategies for simple and lead-up games and activities
• playing fairly  

Fitness

• participating in physical activities and keeping track of personal progress in a particular fitness activity

Safety

• following safety rules when doing physical activities
• knowing safety rules for fire, school buses, water activities, etc.
• identifying common injuries and ways to help an injured person

Personal and Social Management

• making personal goals, getting along with others and ways to deal with stressful situations

Healthy Lifestyle Practices

• making a plan for personal health, daily physical activity and healthy eating

To find out more about what your child is learning, talk to the teacher. You may also refer to the K-4 PE/HE: A Foundation for Implementation document.

Your child’s progress in Physical Education/Health Education will be reported in three areas:

Physical Education

• Movement:  How well your does your child use basic movement skills and understanding of games/activities during physical activities?
• Fitness management: How does your child able to keep track of and keep up personal effort during energetic physical activities?

Health Education

• Healthy lifestyles: How well does your child understand personal daily habits and ways to relate with others that promote healthy living?

 The teacher will report on your child’s progress three times a year. The information from each report helps you to support your child’s learning. You can use it to talk with your child and your child’s teacher about results, strengths, challenges and what your child will be doing next.

Resources

At the Heart of Education: A Parent Report on What's New in Physical Education/Health Education
This parent report highlights the concept of physically active and healthy lifestyles for all students as shown in the new combined K-12 PE/HE Curriculum.

Healthy Schools is Manitoba’s school health initiative designed to promote the physical, emotional and social health of school communities. It is based on the belief that good health is important for learning and that schools are in a unique position to have a positive influence on the health of children, youth and their families.

Active role models. Active kids. Find out how you can get “in motion” with your family.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my child need to be an athlete to succeed in physical education? No. While some children are better than others in certain sports or physical activities, the focus of physical education is not to develop athletes. During Early Years (Kindergarten to Grade 4) students learn about basic movement skills and ways to keep fit while taking part in a variety of games, physical activities and environments. Through guided practice, they improve at their own rate and learn to get along with others.

My child is generally inactive and doesn’t seem to be very fit. How can I get him OR her to be more active? You might try organizing family outings such as biking, hiking, swimming, skiing, bowling and skating. You can also play games with your child. Dance, skip, play catch, shoot hoops with him or her.

Do we have a choice to whether our child receives instruction on topics such as human sexuality or is it mandatory? You have a choice. You may choose to have your child participate in the school-based program or choose an alternative delivery (e.g., home, church, professional counselling) when the content is in conflict with family, religious and/or cultural values.