Kindergarten Health Curriculum
Family-facing version of the kindergarten health curriculum
Quarterly Overview of Kindergarten Health
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Lessons and Details
NOTE: Lessons with * are part of the Emotional and Social Health (ESH) unit of the Family Life Education (FLE) curriculum and will be included within the health grade. Parents or guardians may choose to opt their child out of any or all lessons in the ESH unit.
Students will:
- Describe bus safety practices.
- Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
- Describe common safety rules and practices.
Students will:
- Describe pedestrian safety practices.
- Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
- Describe common safety rules and practices.
Students will:
- Describe the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch).
- Identify situations that require the use of the five senses.
- Describe ways to protect the five senses.
Students will:
- Identify major body parts (e.g., head, torso, arms, legs, hands, feet, muscles, bones).
- Describe how the body’s parts work together to move.
- Describe the different body parts involved in one movement (e.g., jumping, walking, biking).
Students will:
- Identify the MyPlate food groups and a variety of foods and beverages.
- Explain what it means to have a food allergy.
- Describe healthy meal choices from the MyPlate food groups.
- Identify foods that most often cause allergies.
- Explain that not all products advertised or sold are healthy or safe.
- Create a shopping list that includes foods from each MyPlate food group.
- Describe how to help people with food allergies.
Students will:
- Describe different types of physical activity and recognize the need for regular physical activity.
- Recognize the importance of a regular bedtime routine and enough sleep.
- Identify physical activities and the benefits of physical activity.
- Describe alternatives to screen time.
- Describe ways to participate regularly in physical activities inside and outside of school.
- Describe ways to calm down before bedtime to prepare for sleeping.
Students will:
- Describe the function of teeth, how to take care of them, and the health professionals that help care for teeth (e.g., dentist, hygienist).
- Discuss the benefits of personal hygiene (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, hand washing, grooming).
- Demonstrate how to brush and floss teeth correctly.
Students will:
- Define germs and describe how germs (e.g., bacteria, viruses) may cause common diseases (e.g., cold, flu).
- Explain how washing hands helps remove bacteria and viruses that can make people sick, and describe situations where it is important to wash hands.
- Discuss the benefits of personal hygiene practices (e.g., tooth brushing, flossing, hand washing, grooming).
- Demonstrate proper hand washing.
Students will:
- Identify medicine and its uses and effects.
- Describe how medicine and other substances can be helpful or harmful.
- Describe the consequences of taking medications unsupervised.
- Discuss why medicines should be taken under adult supervision.
Students will:
- Describe how medicine and other substances can be helpful or harmful.
- Identify household products that are harmful or poisonous.
- Identify the meaning of signs, symbols, and labels.
- Identify adults to ask for help with harmful and unknown substances.
- Explain that some household products are harmful.
Students will:
- Recognize that everyone is a member of a family and identify members of their individual families.
Students will:
- Identify positive ways in which family members and friends show love, affection, respect and appreciation for each other.
Students will:
- Identify elements of good and bad touches by others.
Students will:
- Demonstrate how to say “no” to inappropriate behaviors from family members, neighbors, strangers, and others.
Students will:
- Identify a variety of feelings.
- Describe how feelings can influence actions.
- Demonstrate how to use words to express feelings.
Students will:
- Describe what it means to be a friend.
- Identify strategies for making friends and how to show kindness.
- Demonstrate strategies for making friends and showing kindness.
Students will:
- Recognize that classroom rules are important for school (e.g., sharing, respecting others).
- Explain how classmates can support one another at school.
- Demonstrate acceptable behavior in classrooms and during play, including showing respect for the personal space of others.
Students will:
- Describe personal space.
- Identify ways to tell someone they are entering one’s personal space and when to ask an adult for help.
- Demonstrate how to tell someone they are entering one’s personal space.
Students will:
- Describe bike and playground safety practices.
- Identify how safety choices can prevent injuries.
- Describe common safety rules and practices.
Students will:
- Describe emergency and non-emergency situations.
- Identify people who can help in emergency and non-emergency situations.
- Describe why it is important to ask adults for help in an emergency, how to ask for help, and how to call 911.
Students will:
- Identify community members who safely use guns.
- Identify safety rules for making a good choice when a gun is found.
Students will:
- Identify items and materials that can be reused (e.g., grocery bags, paper, water bottles, other containers).
- Describe ways to reuse items and materials in the classroom.
- Share the importance of reusing items and materials with school and family.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for the next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), kindergarten tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.