D2. Making Healthy Choices
Specific Expectations
Healthy Eating
D2.1
use Canada’s Food Guide to identify food and beverage choices that contribute to healthy eating patterns
- Teacher prompt: “The term ‘eating pattern’ refers to what you eat and drink on a regular basis, and helps support your overall health. Here are pictures of a week of school lunches. What variety of foods do you see? Do they support healthy eating patterns? What might make these lunches healthier?”
- Student: “Healthy eating patterns can be developed by regularly eating vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods, and protein foods, and choosing protein foods that come from plants more often, if possible. Most of the lunches here include a variety of healthy foods. They could contribute to an even healthier eating pattern if they included water more often.”
D2.2
demonstrate an understanding of how to make healthy food choices for meals and snacks, considering the factors they can and cannot control (e.g., the food that’s available in the home; the food that’s available when eating out; energy needed at different times of day; allergies; food guidelines associated with medical conditions such as diabetes or celiac disease; food safety related to food preparation, storage, handling, and cleanliness) [A1.3 Motivation, 1.6 Thinking]
- Teacher prompt: “What are some things to consider when choosing a snack?”
- Student: “A snack should give me energy and it should be safe to eat. Snacks with less sugar – like vegetables and fruit – are better for my teeth. Also, some foods need to be kept cold to be safe to eat.”
- Teacher: “What can you do if you are going to be somewhere where there are only a few healthy choices or none at all?”
- Student: “I could try to make the healthiest choice I can, like having a salad instead of fries at a fast-food restaurant. Or I can go ahead and eat what is available. It’s okay to eat some things that are less healthy sometimes, knowing that I don’t do this regularly or too often. If I’m not hungry, though, I can wait to eat something healthier at my next meal or snack. I can try to bring a healthy snack from home next time, or if my school has a healthy snack program, I can have a snack at school.”
Personal Safety and Injury Prevention
D2.3
explain the importance of consent and demonstrate the ability to stand up for themselves and others, to enhance well-being and safety (e.g., speaking confidently; stating boundaries, whether in person or online; saying no; respecting the right of a person to say no and encouraging others to respect that right also; reporting exploitative behaviours, such as improper touching of their bodies or others’ bodies) [A1.1 Emotions, 1.2 Coping, 1.4 Relationships]
- Teacher prompt: “Why is standing up for yourself and showing respect for others important in a friendship?”
- Student: “It helps you when you can say what you think or what you need. Friends should listen to each other and show respect. When someone tells a person to stop, that person should stop. For example, if someone teases me about my allergy to nuts, I can tell them to stop and let them know that contact with nuts could make me stop breathing.”
- Teacher: “What can standing up for yourself look like?”
- Student: “You can hold your head up high, make eye contact, and speak strongly. You can say what you feel and think in a polite but firm way and refuse to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
- Teacher: “In some cultures, making eye contact is considered disrespectful. What can you do then?”
- Student: “You can stand up for yourself in other ways, such as speaking firmly to say what you are or are not comfortable with.”
- Teacher: “If someone touches you in an inappropriate way, or asks to touch you, or asks you to touch them, in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, confused, or unsafe, how can you stand up for yourself?”
- Student: “I can say no and move away. My body is mine. I can tell someone – like a parent, a teacher, a doctor, or an adult that I trust – that I need help. I can keep telling until I get help.”
Human Development and Sexual Health
D2.4
demonstrate an understanding of and apply practices that contribute to the maintenance of good oral health (e.g., brushing, flossing, going to the dentist regularly for a checkup) [A1.3 Motivation, 1.5 Self]
- Teacher prompt: “How should you care for your teeth when you lose a tooth?”
- Student: “I should make sure my hands are clean when I touch my teeth and remember to brush the gap between the teeth.”
- Teacher: “It is important to brush your teeth after eating, but if you can’t, what else can you do?”
- Student: “I can rinse my mouth with water.”
Mental Health Literacy
D2.5
explain how understanding and being able to name their feelings (e.g., happy, relaxed, calm, uncomfortable, sad, angry, frustrated, scared, worried) can help in knowing when they might need to get help [A1.2 Coping, 1.3 Motivation, 1.5 Self]
- Teacher prompt: “We’ve talked about things you might do to feel better when things are difficult or scary. Sometimes you can help yourself. Sometimes you might need to get help. You might also want to help a friend who is worried or upset. What can you do to get help if you or your friend needs it?”
- Student: “I can talk with an adult that I can trust. It could be a parent or someone at school or someone else in my family.”
- Teacher: “Why might it be important to ask for help from a trusted grown-up?”
- Students: “Sometimes I don’t know what to do to make myself feel better.” “Sometimes I’m not sure what to do and talking to my teacher helps me figure it out.” “Sometimes it’s hard to tell if someone is in trouble, so it’s best to get help from a grown-up.”