Unit Plan 15 (Grade 4 PE): Personal Fitness & Healthy Habits

Focus: Connect physical activity to overall health by helping students understand fitness, notice body signals, and identify healthy daily choices such as sleep, nutrition, hydration, and balanced screen time.

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: Physical Education (Personal Fitness • Healthy Habits • Wellness Awareness)

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

I. Introduction

Students explore how daily choices affect energy, fitness, mood, and overall well-being. In this unit, students begin with a jog/walk progression where they pay attention to changes in breathing and heart rate so they can better understand what exercise feels like in their bodies. They then move through fitness stations focused on endurance, strength, and flexibility, with a short healthy habit reflection at each station connected to topics such as sleep, nutrition, hydration, and screen time. Throughout the unit, students learn that physical activity is only one part of health and that everyday choices can support stronger bodies, better focus, and improved feelings.

Essential Questions

• How can I tell when my body is working at a light, moderate, or vigorous level?
• What are the main components of fitness, and what activities help build them?
• How do healthy habits like sleep, hydration, and balanced screen time support physical activity?
• How can regular movement improve physical health, mood, and relationships with others?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Participate actively in fitness activities for most of class time with strong effort and minimal off-task behavior.
2. Use simple body signals such as breathing, heart rate, and the talk test to describe exercise intensity.
3. Identify major fitness components and connect them to activities such as jogging, strength work, and stretching.
4. Describe daily healthy choices that support physical health, such as regular activity, sleep, hydration, and balanced screen time.
5. Explain how regular physical activity can improve physical health, mental well-being, and social connection.

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:S3.4e – Healthy Lifestyle Choices Describe daily choices that support physical health, such as regular physical activity, adequate sleep, hydration, and balanced screen time.
  • Example: Students list being active at recess, walking a pet, and limiting screen time as part of a healthy daily routine.
• PE:S5.4b – Health, Mental, and Social Benefits Explain how regular physical activity can improve physical health (strength, endurance, healthy weight), mental well-being (reduced stress, improved mood), and social connections (friendships, teamwork).
  • Example: Students describe feeling happier and calmer after active play and note that games help them make friends.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can stay active and keep trying during fitness activities.
• I can describe how my breathing or heart rate changes when I exercise harder.
• I can name fitness components and connect them to activities we do in class.
• I can explain healthy choices that help my body feel ready and strong.
• I can describe how activity helps my body, mood, and relationships with others.