Student Orientation

Okay, it's time to get active! That's a choice we can make at any point in our lives. How do we get started? We just "Start", that's all. We wake up one day and say to ourselves, " This is going to be the day that I get active!" And we do it.

This curriculum provides the "how" and the "what" to do. Hopefully it leads to a positive attitude towards being physically active, so the "when" part of the equation is taken care of. What you are expected to learn are a variety of life skills that will help you lead an active, healthy lifestyle.

Great Expectations? Sure. The idea is to achieve your best in life and create a positive future. Having a sound knowledge, the right skills and a good attitude towards physical activity will help you reach your full potential in life. It doesn't take a genius to figure out there's a connection between the body and the mind.

How to stay motivated?

You're not alone in this. The curriculum is set out as a guide for your benefit. The objective is to encourage you to be active and enjoy physical activity. There's some flexibility in how this can be done.

Your teacher, parents, siblings, recreation centre instructors, friends, grandparents, dog, this web site, the Internet, magazines, T.V., can all be part of your program. It's mostly a matter of time and desire management. When's best for you? What interests you? What do you like doing? Who can you do it with? When is a convenient time for them? As I said earlier, the main thing is just "Do it!". The how and when will happen if the desire is there. The more you participate and enjoy participating, the more you will want to participate again.

Why take physical education?

The connection between health and an active lifestyle is obvious. Things that stand still, stand still. To be an active person for life, you need to acquire certain skills, attitudes, behaviours and knowledge. You don't suddenly wake up with these one day. You have to learn them, think about them, do them over time. The younger you start the better. This curriculum has been designed to guide you towards a lifelong involvement in physical activity, and as a result, a better life.

The objective of this resource is to help you learn the value of physical activity, and how to intergrate it into your daily lives. This is achieved through an emphasis on active living.

What is active living?

Active living encompasses the entire experience of movement including physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions. It places physical activity within the broader perspective of total fitness and well-being.

What is a Learning Outcome?

A learning outcome is the term used in the Alberta program to describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you need to achieve so you can lead and active way of life. Throughout this site you will see four icons that describe the general outcomes for the program.

	A.	Students will acquire skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities; in an alternative environment; i.e. aquatics and outdoor pursuits; and dance, games, types of gymnastics and individual activities.
	B.	Students will understand , experience, and appreciate the health benefits that result from physical activity.
	C.	Students will interact positively with others
	D.	Students will assume responsibility to lead an active way of life.

You will have opportunities to achieve these outcomes as you participate in the suggested activities, and others assigned by your teacher. When you go to the explore dimensions link, you will see these icons and clicking on each of them will lead to activities that will help you achieve the general learning outcome.

Let's get started ...