Grade 11 - C

Key Concepts for Student Learning

Classroom Activites and Lesson Ideas

Grade 11 -Health For Life (PPZ3C)

B2. Implementing a Personal Wellness Plan

By the end of this course, students will:

B2.1 demonstrate the ability to use a variety of appraisal tools* and guidelines to assess their current health behaviours and acquire information for use in the development of a personal wellness plan

B2.2 identify ways of overcoming challenges that might inhibit making changes to health-related behaviours

‍B2.3 develop and implement a personal plan that contributes to healthy living by addressing selected dimensions of wellness

‍C1.2 identify factors that may lead to food-related ailments, and describe measures for avoiding their occurrence

‍C1.3 describe factors that influence personal choices of health products and services, and assess the impact of these factors on their own choices of health products and service

Key Concepts for Student Learning:

Throughout this course, it is important to emphasize the complexity of health and how health is shaped largely by the social determinants of health. Individual health behaviours are only one part of health. It is also important to note that achieving “health” is not possible for everyone (i.e., those with chronic health conditions). Reflect on how the definition of health might exclude some individuals. Individuals have varying abilities to engage in health behaviours, and those that choose to engage in any particular health behaviour are not superior to those who do not.

Wellness is multifaceted and individual, consider behaviours/habits to improve overall health and wellbeing such as managing stress, sleep. Ensure blame is not placed on individual behaviour, recognize the intersections of the social determinants of health.
Healthy eating looks different for everyone. Canada’s Food Guide outlines one way of eating that promotes health.
Safe food handling reduces the risk of food borne illness.
When setting health related goals, use the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Time-bound) template. For nutrition related goals, consider a nutrition by addition approach rather than thinking about what you need to remove from your diet. For example, adding foods to your plate to get more nutrients.
*NOTE: Advise against having students assess their eating habits or using tracking apps due to risk of causing harm.

NOTE: Educators should be aware that food guide messages may not be appropriate for all students including those who are neurodivergent and/or have health, sensory or other exceptional needs that impact their relationship with food and eating. SMHO Resource on Mental Health Promotion at Schools: Classroom Considerations – Supporting Mental Wellness Amongst Students with Special Education Needs offers tips that can be applied to support learning about food and eating at school.

Classroom Activities and Ideas

Review Canada’s Food Guide. Critique the food guide as a class; what people might feel excluded from the foods depicted on the food guide? Is the food guide useful to First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities? How might the social determinants of health influence someone’s ability to follow the food guide?
- Resource: CFG Plate Guided Discovery_Student_Grade9_EN.pdf
- Learn about the history of Canada’s Food Guide and how it was developed. Resource: The dark history of Canada's Food Guide: How experiments on Indigenous children shaped nutrition policy | CBC Radio
Have students reflect on if there is an area they would like to work on related to meeting Canada’s Food Guide recommendations (e.g., mindful eating, eating with others, cooking more often, choosing whole grains, drinking more water), and introduce the concept of SMART goals so students can work through overcoming challenges and making a plan. Use a nutrition by addition approach. Setting SMART GOALS
Class Discussion: What are the social determinants of health? How might each of the social determinants of health contribute to an individual's ability to afford food and their food choices? What is food insecurity? What are potential solutions to food insecurity?
- Resource: Monitoring Food Affordability
- Resource: Youth Action on Food Insecurity Toolkit
Review safe food handling practices (C1.2). Search the news or list of food recalls in Canada to learn about a food borne illness and the food that caused it (i.e., lettuce with salmonella, listeria in cheese). Discuss the difference between expiry dates and best before dates.
Discuss and critique food and beverage policies, describe what makes up a food environment and how it can impact food access for a community/school (C1.3)

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