Health and Physical Education
What the domain tests
The Health and Physical Education domain covers movement competence, physical activity, nutrition, safety, hygiene, and social-emotional learning in early childhood settings. You must classify movement skills and choose inclusive, developmentally appropriate activities.
Core concepts
- Locomotor skills: walk, run, jump, hop, skip, gallop, slide, and leap.
- Nonlocomotor (axial) skills: bend, twist, stretch, push, pull, and balance.
- Manipulative skills: throw, catch, kick, strike, dribble, and roll.
- Fundamental movement patterns develop through practice and mature over time; children need repetition, not early sport specialization.
- Physical activity: preschoolers need active play throughout the day; school-age children aim for about 60 minutes daily.
- Health: handwashing, dental care, sleep, nutritious foods, and safety rules; avoid labeling foods “good” or “bad.”
- SEL: turn-taking, cooperative play, and resolving conflict.
Worked example
A 5-year-old’s skipping looks like a gallop with an uneven rhythm. The reasoning: skipping is a complex locomotor pattern that combines a step and a hop on alternating feet; it typically emerges later than hopping or galloping. The teacher should not mark the child as “failing” skipping. Instead, the teacher breaks it down: practice hopping on one foot, then step-hop, then alternate. The child watches a peer and uses a rhythm cue. The assessment target is progress toward the pattern, not a perfect performance.
Traps
Confusing locomotor with manipulative skills costs marks; throwing is manipulative, not locomotor. Do not use elimination games that leave less-skilled children inactive. Avoid punishing a child for motor delays or for not having equipment at home. Do not treat physical activity as a reward for good behavior or a punishment for misbehavior.