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Fitness: The Different Ways to Be Strong

Students learn that fitness is more than one thing — heart-and-lung endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and balance all matter, and different activities build different parts.

Grades 3–5Fitness45 minutes1 class periodPE / HealthExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name several components of fitness.
  • ✓Match activities to the fitness they build.
  • ✓Explain why variety matters.
  • ✓Choose activities for a fitness goal.
Essential Question

Some people can run far, some can lift a lot, some can bend and balance. What are the different kinds of fitness — and how do you build each one?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Fitness Explorer · Interactive

The Fitness Explorer

Project this and tap each component of fitness. Have students record what it is and an activity that builds it.

💪 Explore the parts of fitness — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Move · Learn · Practice · Play

45 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Different Strengths

5 min

Who’s “fit” — the runner, the lifter, or the gymnast?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show athletes with different strengths.
  • Ask who is “fit” (all of them!).
  • Set the goal: components of fitness.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Compare the athletes.
  • Guess who is fittest.
  • Predict the components.
2

Learn — Four Kinds of Fitness

10 min

Teacher teaches components.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Use the Fitness Explorer.
  • Name endurance, strength, flexibility, balance.
  • Match activities to each.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each component.
  • Record an activity for each.
  • See the variety.
3

Practice — Try Each One

12 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Lead a station for each component.
  • Have students try each briefly.
  • Notice which body parts work.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Try each fitness type.
  • Feel the difference.
  • Name the component.
4

Play — Fitness Circuit

13 min

Students play.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Run a mini fitness circuit.
  • Rotate through all four components.
  • Keep it fun and inclusive.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Move through the circuit.
  • Do all four types.
  • Encourage others.
5

Cool-Down — Cool-Down

5 min

Students reflect.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Cool down with stretches (flexibility).
  • Ask why variety matters.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Stretch and cool down.
  • Explain variety.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the SHAPE America National Standards for Physical Education and Health.

SHAPE
S3

Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.

SHAPE
S1

Demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.

SHAPE
NHES.1

Comprehend concepts related to fitness and physical activity.

SHAPE
NHES.6

Set a personal fitness goal.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Picture cards of activities by component.
  • Sentence frame: “___ builds my ___.”
  • Demonstrate each component with movement.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Focus on strength and flexibility first.
  • Provide activity choice per station.
  • Use visuals for each component.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Design a fitness circuit for all four.
  • Set and track a personal fitness goal.
  • Explain warm-up’s role in flexibility.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Health notebooks
  • 💻The Fitness Explorer
  • 👟Open space + mats
  • 🗂️Station cards
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

fitnesshow healthy and strong your body isendurancemoving for a long timestrengththe power of your musclesflexibilityhow far you can bend and stretchbalancestaying steady and in controlcardioheart-and-lung exercisecomponentone part of somethinggoalsomething you work toward
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name two components of fitness.
Any two of: endurance (heart & lungs), muscular strength, flexibility, balance.
QUESTION 2
What kind of fitness does stretching build?
Flexibility.
QUESTION 3
Why is it good to do different kinds of exercise?
Each kind builds a different part of fitness — variety keeps your whole body strong and healthy.

Going deeper? Design a fitness circuit.

Have students create a four-station circuit with one activity for each component of fitness, then lead a group through it. A printable circuit-planning card is in the PE & Health library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Fitness ComponentsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Fitness ComponentsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Fitness ComponentsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: balance, cardio, component, endurance, fitness, flexibility, goal, strength
  1. heart-and-lung exercise
  2. the power of your muscles
  3. how far you can bend and stretch
  4. moving for a long time
  5. how healthy and strong your body is
  6. staying steady and in control
  7. something you work toward
  8. one part of something

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name two components of fitness.
  2. What kind of fitness does stretching build?
  3. Why is it good to do different kinds of exercise?
Answer key — Part A: 1) cardio · 2) strength · 3) flexibility · 4) endurance · 5) fitness · 6) balance · 7) goal · 8) component
Part B: 1) Any two of: endurance (heart & lungs), muscular strength, flexibility, balance. 2) Flexibility. 3) Each kind builds a different part of fitness — variety keeps your whole body strong and healthy.