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Curriculum Focus

Students examine images of the different components of health and how such images develop and are perpetuated. They compare their own images with those of others and explore the effect these images have on personal health goals and on personal and group behaviour.

Arising from their analysis of the images of health, they set goals and plan strategies for achieving healthy and safe environments. They consider how behaviour influences health, what influences their decisions and behaviours, and how their local environment might foster better health. They consider appropriate action concerning global environmental health issues.

Students further develop their knowledge and understanding of personal safety, learning and practising skills and strategies needed for safety in a variety of situations. They learn about their right to be safe in the home, school and community, and the actions they can take if they fear for their safety. They learn about travelling safely on buses, trams, trains and bicycles. Through involvement in a range of recreation, leisure and sporting activities, they examine the responsibilities of individuals and groups for safe participation. They identify behaviours that put the safety of people at risk.

Students investigate how individuals, families and groups can access the range of community-based health services, facilities, products and information to meet health needs. They develop, implement and evaluate strategies that address individual and community issues related to food. They use models such as the healthy eating pyramid to classify foods they commonly eat and foods available at school, home and local shops, and consider any changes that would promote health. They consider factors that affect their own and others’ ability to access and effectively use health information, products and services in terms of ease of access, cost, and alternatives.

Examples of contexts and learning activities

• present an image of a ‘healthy person’ with key words and descriptors around it; compare this with other students and the thoughts of people from different age groups; discuss why these are important aspects of health
• describe images of health in the media and popular culture, such as sporting heroes, elite athletes, people with ideal body weight and size; comment on why they are considered to be ‘healthy’ and whether the images are realistic and achievable
• develop and implement strategies for optimising personal food choices based on identified nutritional needs for growth, energy and health
• create a collage, mural or poster showing a healthy local community, with both healthy people and a healthy environment
• participate in a bushwalk or hike in a natural environment and identify how this experience could link to physical health, to relationships with others, and to feelings about self and environment
• generate personal health goals based on your understanding of what it means to be healthy, and develop a plan to achieve these; for example, decide that, as a class, you would like to be involved in more games and physical activity, or that you will address a local environmental health issue
• use a food selection model to make judgments about the variety of foods in a particular meal, such as breakfast
• cooperate with others in sport or in undertaking adventure activities in a variety of environments, such as urban, rural or alpine, so that you achieve group goals and ensure each other’s safety
• use the Internet to find information on global environmental issues, such as depletion of the ozone layer and its impact on people’s health, and suggest actions to stop this environmental damage getting worse
• plan and implement a recycling program for glass, plastic and paper in the school
• take on a role as a ‘buddy’ looking after younger students, to ensure that the school is a safe and happy place for them to be
• interview family or friends to identify why they use particular health services in the community - what benefits they get from them; whether they have used different services in the past; whether they use traditional medicine, alternative medicine or both; whether they see any problems in getting help from any of the services
• develop and rehearse ways of telling a health care service worker what your concerns or questions are
• practise correct survival techniques, including sculling, treading water, floating and survival strokes in a pool or calm body of water
• throw a rope to a person from the side of a pool and pull the person to safety, using correct throw rescue technique
• explore the benefits, risks and reasons for legal drug use (tobacco, alcohol) and discuss strategies that promote safe and healthy choices.