The 1998 Ontario Health and Physical Education Curriculum is less explicit than the revised edition. In the 1998 curriculum, Grade 1 students are only required to learn “the major parts of the body,” but not the proper names of genitalia. In Grade 3, students must outline “the basic human and animal reproductive processes.” There is no reference to learning about gender identity or sexual orientation in any of the grades.
The 1998 curriculum discussed puberty in Grade 5, while the 2010 edition moved it to Grade 4. There is also no reference to vaginal lubrication or masturbation in Grade 6 in the previous curriculum. The student is expected to only “relate the changes at puberty to the reproductive organs and their functions.”
In Grade 7, the old curriculum mandated explaining “the term abstinence as it applies to healthy sexuality.” The newer version changed it to “the importance of having a common understanding with a partner about delaying sexual activity until one is older,” followed by a teacher prompt that unhelpfully states “the term abstinence can mean different things to different people.” There is no reference in the 1998 elementary grade health curriculum to the use of contraception. In the 2010 curriculum, though, it must be taught in Grade 7 as a way to prevent STI transmission and pregnancy.
