A wide variety of tactics can help students deal with stress, including which of the following?

The Healthy Living strand helps students develop an understanding of the factors that contribute to healthy development, a sense of personal responsibility for lifelong health, and a respect for their own health in relation to others and the world around them. Students will develop health literacy as they acquire the knowledge and skills they need to develop, maintain, and enjoy healthy living as well as to solve problems, make decisions, and set goals that are directly related to their personal health and mental health and well-being. Learning how to establish, monitor, and maintain healthy relationships is a key part of this strand.

The focus of the learning in this strand is not merely on health knowledge but rather on higher-level thinking connected to the application of skills for healthy living. Students are learning about health broadly as a resource for living. The emphasis is on why they are learning about healthy living and on what they need to understand about growing and healthy development in order to make informed personal choices and take responsibility (within the extent possible) for their health now and for the rest of their lives. They are also encouraged to make connections beyond themselves to understand how their health is connected with that of others and how it is affected by factors in the world around them.

Current thinking views health as a holistic phenomenon and students are therefore encouraged to make connections between various aspects of their well-being, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social aspects, as well as sense of self, or spirit. Health professionals also recognize that an emphasis on health promotion will pay greater dividends over the long run than an emphasis on disease treatment alone. For that reason there is a significant focus in the curriculum on learning about the connections between healthy choices, active living, and chronic disease prevention.

Social-emotional learning skills are also tightly linked to this strand. Because students  in elementary school are still developing their sense of self, learning to interact positively with others, and learning to make connections with the broader world, it is important that they acquire strategies for identifying and managing emotions, recognizing sources of stress and coping, persevering, building relationships, developing self-awareness and confidence, and thinking critically and creatively when making life choices and responding to the world around them. The learning in this strand provides many opportunities for students to learn how to limit risk and to build the protective factors that will increase their resilience as they confront life’s challenges (see “protective factors”, “resilience”, and “risk factors” in the glossary).

The organization of the Healthy Living strand provides an opportunity for learning about different health topics, which can be reinforced from different perspectives and with different focuses as students learn and grow, thus providing opportunities for recursive learning at different ages and stages. Students are encouraged to make connections between concepts in different content areas. If, for example, students learn refusal strategies when choosing not to smoke, they can learn to apply those same strategies when making choices about taking care of their bodies and minds or choices connected to substance use, sexual health, physical activities, and personal safety.

The specific expectations are organized around three overall expectations, which are based on the application of health knowledge, and are cross-referenced to five health content areas (see Health Topics, below). In general, it is expected that health instruction will be planned in an integrated way, helping students make connections between health topics with an overall focus on the broad learning concepts described in the overall expectations. There may be times where some specific, health-topic–focused learning is also helpful. As shown in the chart below, the organization of health content and application of knowledge provides teachers with the option of using either a “vertical learning” approach, in which the overall expectations are the central organizing element and specific health content is linked to them, or a “horizontal learning” approach, in which instruction is organized around the health content areas but still captures the application emphases articulated in the overall expectations.

Some topics within the Healthy Living strand need to be approached with additional sensitivity, care, and awareness because of their personal nature and their connection to family values, religious beliefs, or other social or cultural norms. These topics can include but are not limited to human development and sexual health, mental health, body image, substance abuse, addictions, violence, harassment, child abuse, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, illness (including HIV/AIDS), and poverty. It is important that both teachers and learners have a comfort level with these topics so that information can be discussed openly, honestly, and in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

When addressing all topics, but especially ones that can be challenging to talk about, it is important to give students an opportunity to explore all sides of the issue to promote understanding. Educators should also reflect about their own bias and need for support and/or reliable information. Facts should be presented objectively, and students given the information they need to make informed decisions. It is important to set ground rules so that discussion takes place in a setting that is accepting, inclusive, and respectful of all.

With the integration of social-emotional learning skills and mental health concepts throughout the curriculum, and through the mental health literacy expectations in the Healthy Living strand, the topic of suicide may arise in discussions with students. This topic needs to be approached with additional caution. Learning about suicide is best approached through structured, developmentally appropriate, adult-led instruction. It is important to conclude discussions with stories of hope, and information about seeking help. Among students who are vulnerable, thoughts of suicide can be triggered by offhand comments or even by general information shared in large-group settings. Educators may wish to consult with mental health staff for additional support, as needed, and for guidance on the suitability of the materials, resources, and approaches used in addressing this topic.

Supporting Minds: An Educator’s Guide to Promoting Students’ Mental Health and Well-being, 2013 is a resource designed to help educators understand more about mental health in order to promote the mental health of all students. It provides information to help educators recognize students who may be experiencing distress, and strategies for supporting them on the path to receiving the care they need.

Health Topics

The health content in this strand is divided into five content areas: healthy eating; personal safety and injury prevention; substance use, addictions, and related behaviours; human development and sexual health; and mental health literacy. These topics have been chosen because they are fundamentally connected to students’ daily lives.

Healthy Eating. This component of the Healthy Living strand equips students with the knowledge and skills they need to make the healthiest eating choices they can. Students learn to examine their own food choices and eating patterns and develop personal guidelines for healthier eating, while working within parameters that they can control. Major topics include Canada’s Food Guide, nutrition, food choices, factors influencing eating habits, skills for healthy eating, food trends, oral and dental health, food systems, and connections between eating choices, chronic disease prevention, and the health of the environment.

The learning in this topic area emphasizes the importance of student involvement in making food choices and preparing meals and snacks. The objective is to encourage students to make connections between what they learn in the classroom and their own lives and to develop a sense of personal responsibility for taking care of themselves and making healthy food decisions. Hands-on experiences with food help students make real connections between what they learn in the classroom and their own lives. This topic also provides a point of contact with healthy school policies relating to food.

Connections to the home are important. Students bring their learning home to their families, and they have variable amounts of control over the food they eat at home and the food they bring to school. Teachers need to consider these realities and be aware of issues such as poverty, food allergies and sensitivities, eating disorders and weight preoccupation, and social and cultural practices in order to ensure that the learning is presented with sensitivity. Using a flexible and balanced approach and avoiding rigidity regarding food rules and guidelines can reduce potential triggers to body image and eating concerns. Sensitivity regarding weight and shape and personal values regarding “what is healthy” are important when considering instruction. What can always be stressed, however, is that healthy eating and regular physical activity are essential requirements for maintaining good health over the long term.

Personal Safety and Injury Prevention. Learning in this content area is intended not only to reduce adolescents’ injuries but also to equip them to recognize, assess, and manage potentially dangerous situations, including online situations. Personal safety topics focus on developing skills to identify, prevent, and resolve issues in areas such as bullying (including  cyberbullying), peer assault, child abuse, harassment, and violence in relationships. These skills can be applied in both face-to-face situations and online environments. Injury prevention topics focus on areas such as road safety (including pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle safety); concussion prevention, identification, and management; seasonal safety rules; sun and UV protection; home safety; fire safety; safety when volunteering and working; and first aid.

The expectations address the knowledge and skills needed to reduce safety risks at home, at school, online, and in the community. Risk taking is a natural and important part of maturation for students, especially adolescents. Having the confidence to take risks is essential to enjoying and achieving in both learning and life. Having the ability to manage risk for both themselves and others, however, is essential to physical safety and mental health and well-being. To develop their risk management skills, students will engage in skill-building activities and thoughtful discussion about ways to minimize harm in real-life situations.

Students will also become familiar with the support available to them within their families as well as through agencies and services that provide support and help within the community. However, knowledge alone is not enough: students require the skills necessary to respond appropriately to situations that threaten their personal safety and well-being. Skills such as self-advocacy, conflict resolution, anger management, and decision-making skills, as well as the ability to use assertiveness, resistance, and refusal techniques, will help them respond safely and effectively to these situations.

Substance Use, Addictions, and Related Behaviours. Education is one critical strategy that can help prevent problematic substance use. Parents, guardians, educators, and society at large – all have key roles to play in educating students about substance use, misuse, and abuse.

Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis are the drugs most readily available to Ontario students, and smoking is a leading cause of preventable illnesses, disabilities, and premature deaths in Canada. The learning expectations related to substance use respond to these facts by focusing on an understanding of the effects of drugs – prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other intoxicating substances – and the consequences of their use. Students also learn about the effects and risks of vaping. This knowledge is integrated with the development of a variety of skills that help students make and maintain healthy choices.

This strand also addresses addictions and related behaviours that can lead to addictions or compulsive behaviour, such as online gambling or excessive screen time. It includes discussion of the relationship between problematic substance use and mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. The development of a number of social-emotional learning skills, such as recognizing sources of stress, developing skills to cope with challenges in healthy ways, and developing self-awareness and self-confidence, are closely tied to this area of learning. Students also learn about support systems and ways to access help, if needed.

Human Development and Sexual Health. Human development and sexual health education is more than simply teaching young people about the anatomy and physiology of reproduction. Sexual health, understood in its broadest sense, can include a wide range of topics and concepts, from sexual development, reproductive health, choice and sexual readiness, consent, abstinence, and protection, to interpersonal relationships, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, affection, love, pleasure, body image, and gender roles and expectations. Sexual development is one component of overall human development, and learning about healthy human development begins at an early age. It is important for that learning to be appropriate to children’s age and stage of development.

Younger children learn the names of body parts, begin to understand how their bodies work, and develop skills for healthy relationships, which include understanding consent and demonstrating respect for others. As students grow and develop, they build an understanding of the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes, and the further development of sense of self and identity, that they will experience at puberty. Their learning about human development – and their understanding of its many, interrelated aspects – deepens as students get older and as the nature of their relationships changes. They learn more about self, others, and identity; peer, family, and romantic relationships; personal safety; and decision making. Acquiring information and skills and developing attitudes, beliefs, and values related to identity and relationships are lifelong processes.

The overall and specific expectations in this strand are developmentally appropriate and should be addressed with sensitivity and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. Students should have the knowledge and skills needed to make sound decisions about matters affecting their physical and mental health and well-being before they experience real-life situations in which decisions have to be made.

Depending on the particular needs of the students in the class or school, it may be helpful to plan for instruction in groupings and/or settings that are most conducive to this learning – including small groups, groups separated by sex, and co-educational groupings. Principals and teachers must follow their board’s policy that allows for students to be exempted, at their parents’ request, from instruction related to the Grade 1 to 8 human development and sexual health expectations in strand D.

Mental Health Literacy. Curriculum expectations related to this topic provide a specific progression of learning across the grades that is designed to develop students’ mental health literacy. This learning is integral to the development of social-emotional skills and the understanding of connections between physical and mental health that are incorporated across the curriculum. 

Within this health topic, students learn that “mental health” is distinct from mental illness – that it is something all people have and that it is a significant contributor to overall health. Students learn to explore the connection between thoughts, emotions, and actions and to see how they can impact mental health. Students learn to identify when help is needed – for themselves and for others – by learning to recognize signs of stress and by developing an understanding of the body and brain’s response to stress. They learn to recognize feelings and environmental factors that contribute to stress and other challenges. Students also learn how and where to get help, and that there are limits to the help they can give to others. They come to understand the role of professional helpers. 

Students learn about the difference between mental health and mental illness in developmentally appropriate ways, gradually gaining an understanding of the impact that the stigma associated with mental illness can have. They learn to support their own and others’ mental health by developing a range of skills and strategies and by making healthy choices with respect to mental health.

In addition to this explicit learning, mental health concepts and/or social-emotional learning skills are included within all content areas of the Healthy Living strand. In fact, students today have opportunities to learn about mental health across the full curriculum, in this and other disciplines.

Positive mental health and well-being are closely related to the development of psychological and emotional resilience. Resilience involves being able to recover from difficulties or change – to function as well as before and then move forward. It is often referred to as the ability to “bounce back” from difficulties or challenges. Resilience is enhanced by healthy, active living, but it also depends on many other things. Our lives are affected by a variety of individual characteristics, family circumstances, and community and environmental factors, some of which increase our resilience by protecting us from emotional and psychological harm and some of which reduce it by exposing us to emotional, social, and psychological risks.

See Appendix D for a quick-reference summary of learning in the Healthy Living strand.