Unit Plan 24 (Grade 4 PE): Fitness Stations & Personal Goal Setting

Focus: Build understanding of fitness components, help students set realistic personal activity goals, and strengthen skills for monitoring progress through structured fitness challenges.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Physical Education (Personal Fitness • Goal Setting • Progress Monitoring)

Total Unit Duration: 1 core session + 2 optional sessions (1–3 weeks), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students explore fitness as something they can measure, reflect on, and improve over time. In this unit, students begin with a light jog and a flexibility-focused warm-up for the hamstrings, hip flexors, and shoulders so they can prepare their bodies and notice how movement feels. They then move into fitness challenges such as laps, curl-ups, push-ups, and jump rope, using simple personal goal cards to set targets, record effort, and track progress. Throughout the unit, students focus on staying active, recognizing body signals, understanding what different fitness activities develop, and learning that realistic goals can help improvement feel manageable and motivating.

Essential Questions

• How can I set a realistic fitness goal that helps me improve?
• What body signals can help me understand how hard I am working?
• What are the main components of fitness, and which activities help build them?
• How can tracking progress help me stay motivated and make better activity choices?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Participate actively in fitness stations and challenge activities for most of class time.
2. Use simple body-signal tools such as breathing awareness, the talk test, or effort ratings to describe exercise intensity.
3. Identify major fitness components and connect them to the correct station activities.
4. Set a simple personal fitness or activity goal and track progress over time.

Standards Alignment — 4th Grade (SHAPE America-based custom)

• PE:S3.4a – Active Participation in MVPA Participate actively in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for most of the class, minimizing off-task time.
  • Example: During fitness circuits, stations, or games, students remain engaged and moving rather than standing and watching others.
• PE:S3.4b – Monitoring Intensity & Body Signals Use simple methods (talk test, perceived exertion, heart rate checks) to monitor exercise intensity and recognize when activity is light, moderate, or vigorous.
  • Example: Students perform short running intervals, then describe whether they can talk easily, talk with effort, or need a pause to breathe.
• PE:S3.4c – Components of Fitness (Knowledge & Examples) Identify and give examples of major fitness components (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility), and connect them to specific activities.
  • Example: Students explain that continuous jogging improves endurance, curl-ups build muscular endurance, and stretching develops flexibility.
• PE:S3.4d – Planning & Goal-Setting for Activity Set a simple fitness or activity goal (e.g., number of laps, jump rope turns, or planks held) and track progress over time.
  • Example: Students record how many curl-ups they can complete at the start of a unit and then reassess at the end to see improvement.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can stay active and keep trying during fitness stations.
• I can describe how my breathing, effort, or body feels during activity.
• I can match a station to the fitness component it helps build.
• I can set a goal that is realistic for me and track how I improve.