• Where can I find more H&PE Resources?
• What sort of information is available to assist us in "activating" the elementary school where I work?
• Smoking is a big issue at our school. What resources do you have that could help?
• I’d like information about Substance Use and Abuse resources. What can you offer?
• What resources do you have in French?
• I would like to get information on up-coming workshops and/ or conferences on sexuality and puberty education.
• I am a Grade 6 teacher and I am going to teach the Growth and Development Unit 4. Where or how do I get the videos "Everything you wanted to know about Puberty for Boys/Girls"?
• I would like to purchase folk dance music that is on CD. Where would I find this?
• I'm a grade 7 teacher teaching physical education for the first time. While I have the Ophea binder and find it very useful, I am looking for some suggestions of further drills, etc. Could you tell me how I would use your website to locate further resources on teaching volleyball, for instance?
• Does Ophea offer workshops? How much do they cost?
• Do you have any resources for Winter Activities?
• What resources are available for a parent who is home schooling their children?
• I have found that the kids spend most of their time at their 'play' day in June waiting in line for their turn. If you could also direct me to active, cooperative outdoor activities for elementary children, that would be great.
• Where can I get copies of the Ministry of Education Integrated and Split Grade Elementary Units?
• I want to make playground equipment bags for the classes in my school. Is there a list of what equipment is good to include?
• Do you have a list of books that could be used to teach health topics and reinforcing literacy?
• Where can I take an Additional Qualifications course for H&PE?
• Where can I get a rubber chicken?
• What are some other good resources for innovative activities?
• Do you have ideas for finding inexpensive and interesting equipment to use for activity in the gym and classroom?
• I’m looking for more resources to for grade 7 and 8 teachers. What can you suggest?
• Where can I find information about what is taught re: sexuality in Ontario/Canadian curriculum?
• I’m looking for more resources for teaching PAF30 – a HALE course with a fitness focus. I’m also looking for some rubrics for to use for assessment.

Where can I find more H&PE Resources?

For additional resources, look on the Teacher Resources page to see profiled resources, find links to Ministry policy documents and search for additional resources using the resource search to find resources by grade, and strand.

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What sort of information is available to assist us in "activating" the elementary school where I work?

To assist in "activating" the school where you work, we suggest:

• Check out the Active Schools section. If your school is not already registered, register to become an active school. You will receive ongoing information and support about ways to involve the whole school community in increasing activity levels.
• Order the new, improved free activ8 resource. It is an excellent resource that can be used for motivating all students to be active.
• Look in the Ontario H&PE Curriculum Support: K-10 resource that should be in your school. Have a look at Appendix D which includes a list of several ideas for increasing the amount of activity in a school (e.g., school-wide events, timetabling, recess buddies...)
• If you're looking for new ideas, using the resource search in the Teacher Resource section, select the Active Participation strand and search for resources that support that curriculum strand. The Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA) has some excellent resources for getting large groups moving.

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Smoking is a big issue at our school. What resources do you have that could help?

For Tobacco-specific resources, Lungs are for Life curriculum-based resources are available free for grades JK-12. These resources provide lesson plans and concrete information for helping kids say no to tobacco and other harmful drugs such as cannabis and alcohol.

In addition, ACTION is a free resource directed at grades 7 and 8 that supports school and community involvement in substance use and abuse prevention. As a part of the “Take Action” initiative, a kindergarten resource has been developed and is currently being field tested. A grade 1-3 resource is also in development.

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I’d like information about Substance Use and Abuse resources. What can you offer?

ACTION is a free resource directed at grades 7 and 8 that supports school and community involvement in substance use and abuse prevention. As a part of the “Take Action” initiative, a kindergarten resource has been developed and is currently being field tested. A grade 1-3 resource is also in development.

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What resources do you have in French?

The following Ophea resources are available in French:

• TAKE ACTION
• Lungs Are For Life
• Active Schools

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I would like to get information on up-coming workshops and/ or conferences on sexuality and puberty education.

You can find information about the workshops offered by Ophea on the Workshops & Consultation page. Ophea offers a general health workshop that includes principles for teaching sexuality education, using the H&PE Curriculum Support documents as the basic support.

In addition, Ophea hosts an annual Kids Health Conference each October. For more information, visit the Kids’ Health Conference section. There will be sexuality/puberty workshops offered there.

Finally, check out the Always Changing Program and Vibrant Faces which provide free resources for teaching puberty/sexuality education.

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I am a Grade 6 teacher and I am going to teach the Growth and Development Unit 4. Where or how do I get the videos "Everything you wanted to know about Puberty for Boys/Girls"?

You can order the videos from website: www.magiclantern.ca ; email: service@magiclantern.ca ; phone: East 1.800.263.1717 OR West 1.800.263.1818 .

• "Everything You Wanted to Know About Puberty for Boys," Produced by: Disney Educational Productions, Product code: 401-31-527, PPR Price: $49
• "Everything You Wanted to Know About Puberty for Girls," Produced by: Disney Educational Productions, Product code: 401-31-521, PPR Price: $49

In Ontario you can also order the free Always Changing Program.

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Is there a CD I can purchase to use with the Ophea H&PE Binders to teach dance?

There is not one CD that you can purchase to use with the Ophea H&PE binders. The writers tried to include dances that could be done with some traditional folk dance music and also with a variety of generic music with a strong beat.

There are lots of copyright challenges involved with getting CD's made for each of the grades of the documents. There is information in the Unit Overviews of the dance units (see grade 4, 5 or 6, Unit 14 Overview) for music suggestions. Can Ed Media is listed there. They have a few compilation folk dance CD's. The number for Can Ed Media is 416-445-9976.

Some suggestions include using music suggestions from students. Of course, suggestions should be screened to make sure they are appropriate. Soundtracks from movies are often good for classroom use because they often have familiar tunes and have a mix of types of music.

Elementary Folk Dance Division I and II are two CD's that are produced by Can Ed Media which has the music for some of the traditional folk dances that are included in the documents. Those CD's are quite affordable - $27.95 for both. Other CD's you might consider from Can Ed Media are:

• Everybody Dance
• All Time Favourite Dances
• Kids in Motion

The folk dance ones are a good collection of traditional and popular folk dance songs. Everybody Dance has upbeat, well-known but not really current songs. All-time Favourites has a mix of folk and novelty dances. Kids in Motion is a good primary CD with action songs. I would suggest using these with a combination of other music selections.

The following are some CD’s used in Ophea workshops:

Where can I get copies of the Ministry of Education Integrated and Split Grade Elementary Units?

Look on the “What’s New” page in the H&PE Curriculum Support section of Ophea.net. New H&PE integrated and split grade units have been posted on the Ministry of Education curriculum planner site. These units were developed by teachers from across Ontario. Twenty-nine new H&PE Units have been posted on the Curriculum Planner site (http://www.ocup.org) These are:

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I want to make playground equipment bags for the classes in my school. Is there a list of what equipment is good to include?

Some health units (Kawartha Pine Ridge Health Unit, Thames Valley and Kingston) have put together classroom activity kits. Check with your local health unit to see if they have done anything locally. Also, Sports Equipment of Toronto sells "Class Playground Bags". They have primary, junior and intermediate bags ranging in price from $49 to $52.00. The equipment in each of the bags varies according to age. Their number is 1-800-925-0002.

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Do you have a list of books that could be used to teach health topics and reinforcing literacy?

Check out the Resources and Materials page in the H&PE section of Ophea.net to download a list of books that can be used to reinforce health topics while focussing on literacy. This list of books was compiled as a part of a Masters Thesis entitled, “A Literature Based Approach to Health Education – Developing Resiliency Skills through Literature”. The books are all Canadian, were published from 1990 onward and were selected based on how they could be used as examples of resiliency skills with students. Links were made to the the healthy living curriculum expectations and to the language curriculum expectations. The codes refer to curriculum expectations. The list of codes for the curriculum expectations is available from this site: http://www.ocup.org/units/checksheets.php  See the article on ophea.net in the Articles section (Education articles) entitled, "Developing Resiliency Skills through Literature".

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Where can I take an Additional Qualifications course for H&PE?

The Ontario College of Teachers promotes excellence in teaching by setting and maintaining standards for the teaching profession. For a listing of Health and Physical Education Additional Qualification (AP) courses offered through the Ontario Collect of Teachers, look at the list compiled on their website site

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Where can I get a rubber chicken?

Rubber chickens and a resource book for using chickens - Zany Activities with a Rubber Chicken – is available from CIRA http://www.mohawkc.on.ca/external/cira/resource.html
Rubber chickens are also available from Wintergreen 1-800-268-1268.

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What are some other good resources for innovative activities?

50 Ways to Use Your Noodle by Chris Cavert and Sam Sikes ISBN 0-964541-1-3
Also - See CIRA's home page for a picture of noodles in action http://www.mohawkc.on.ca/external/cira/home.html

Project Adventure is a good source for innovative and creative resources. Check out their resources at: http://www.pa.org/publications.asp

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Do you have ideas for finding inexpensive and interesting equipment to use for activity in the gym and classroom?

• For "Trash Balls" - use vegetable bags from a grocery store. Stuff with lightly crunched newspaper. Wrap up using masking tape around the outside.
• Tennis balls in Nylons - use as "foxtails" for throwing and catching.
• Nylon tops - tie the top of the nylons (that you cut off for the ball in nylons) into a knot. Use for throwing, catching, striking in classroom. 
• Pool noodle - use for numerous activities. Cut into small slices to use for balancing, throwing, catching in the classroom.
• Tie rubber bands in holes to of Whiffle Balls to create balls that will roll more slowly along the floor. Order Whiffle Balls from any equipment supplier.

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I’m looking for more resources to for grade 7 and 8 teachers. What can you suggest?

• Here are some resources that come to mind for Grade 7/8.

Daily Vigorous Physical Activity Resource Guide (Intermediate) from York Region. Stand up flip book includes enough DVPA ideas for every day of the school year. Booklets for primary and junior also available. Contact their Learning Resources Centre 905-969-7170 ext.3373

• From Human Kinetics 

Teaching Children Physical Education by George Graham
ISBN: 0736033351 

• This book focuses on the teaching process—the skills and techniques that successful teachers use to make their classes more interesting and developmentally appropriate. It includes material on performance assessment based on current research and methods.

Student-Centered Physical Education by Smith and Gestaro
ISBN: 0880115904 

• This book presents over 100 fun physical activities that not only promote student fitness and skill development but also build the foundation for a physically active life. The authors' modular approach allows teachers to mix and match activities in order to achieve specific goals, creating multiple opportunities within each class period for students to succeed.

Teaching Sport Concepts and Skills by Griffin, Mitchell and Oslin
ISBN: 0880114789 

• This book provides a comprehensive, applied plan for using a tactical approach to teach games and sport. This approach lets students experience the excitement of actual play before they begin practicing specific skills and allows students to first develop an overall sense of the sport, then take a problem-solving approach to mastering skills. When students understand why each skill is important, they can apply the skills effectively during game play.
• This book fully explains the principles of tactical teaching and provides a wealth of practical material for teaching and assessment. Each of the 168 lesson plans includes 
  
• • a tactical problem, 
  • a lesson focus, 
  • objectives, 
  • appropriate games, 
  •  problem-solving questions, and
  • practice tasks.
    
• While this book specifically addresses soccer, basketball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, softball, and golf, it also gives you the foundation you need to successfully apply a tactical approach to any sport.

Teaching Middle School Physical Education by Bonnie Mohnsen
ISBN: 0736043810 

• This book provides practical information that’s flexible enough to use in a variety of settings. Written by a veteran middle school physical educator, it’s packed with exciting ideas, proven strategies, and complete standards-based units that cover all aspects of planning, implementing, and teaching middle school physical education:
• • Selecting instructional units
  • Integrating with other subject areas
  • Developing unit and lesson plans
  • Assessing and grading students
  • Motivating students
  • Demonstrating positive teaching behaviors
  • Selecting teaching styles and strategies
  • Choosing instructional materials
  • Incorporating technology effectively

Play Practice by Alan Launder
ISBN: 0736030050

• This book presents a clear alternative to traditional approaches that will revitalize your own teaching and coaching. It replaces mindless games and mechanistic training methods with creative and enjoyable practice that improves students’ skills and enhances their tactical understanding. It focuses on teaching game play first instead of technique and skill—an approach that sets it apart from other games-approach texts. It provides answers to many of the problems that sports educators face, such as motivating reluctant or resistant students.
• This book will challenge your thinking about how sports should be taught, help you reassess your own methods, and provide a new and versatile model you can apply with great success—one practice, one game at a time.

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Where can I find information about what is taught re: sexuality in Ontario/Canadian curriculum?

Find the expectations in the Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum - grades 1-8 (Look at growth and development under Healthy Living)
grades 9-10 (Look at healthy growth and sexuality under healthy living)
grades 11 -12 (Look at healthy growth and sexuality under healthy living)

Also look at the Planned Parenthood which researched Canadian Curriculum across the country when producing their online resource, "Beyond the Basics".

Another good source, Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECAN)

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I’m looking for more resources for teaching PAF30 – a HALE course with a fitness focus. I’m also looking for some rubrics for to use for assessment.

We do not have specific resources for PAF30 - a fitness focus course for the PPL30
(Grade 11 HALE). The best place to start with our resources would be the Grade 9/10 fitness stuff but a fitness focus course would go beyond that. You could check the Teacher resource database for Human Kinetics fitness resources or the Human Kinetics website. They have lots of fitness resources.

Re: rubrics, some rubrics from the 10 public course profile 4A - movement skill, 4B - game strategy + participation, safety, social skills rubrics would be good places to start.

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