Definitions

Curriculum is the framework of physical activities that will provide learning experiences for your students. Most physical education curriculums are comprised of units. Health education units are usually called content areas.

Units are a group of related activities. The activities may be developed around a theme such as throwing. The activities may be developed around a basic skill such as ball handling. The duration of a unit of instruction may be one to four weeks. Once content areas for health are determined the amount of emphasis depends upon the health needs and interests of the students.

Scope is the yearly content of a curriculum. It is the horizontal articulation of the curriculum. Basically this means there should be enough units so that students will learn about most of the available types of physical activity. In health education it means the difficulty or depth of the material to be covered throughout the grade levels.

Sequence is the order in which the units are presented. It is the vertical articulation of the curriculum. This order will insure that skill development is built on previously learned skills. In health education it is the grade level it is to be covered.

Balance is ensuring that all units have the correct amount of emphasis. A balanced curriculum will address all the goals and meet the needs of all the students.