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Stretch or Strengthen

Fourth graders learn that some exercises make the body more flexible while others make it stronger, discover what each does, and sort common activities into stretching and strengthening.

Grade 4Stretch or Strengthen45 minutes1 class periodSHAPEExplicit teaching4 StandardsSHAPE
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Know what stretching does.
  • ✓Know what strengthening does.
  • ✓See why you need both.
  • ✓Sort each activity.
Essential Question

Touching your toes and doing a push-up both help your body, but one builds flexibility and the other builds strength. How can you tell which an activity does?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort the Activities · Interactive

Sort the Activities

Project this and sort each activity into stretch or strengthen — tap an activity, then tap where it belongs.

🤸 Sort each activity: stretch or strengthen?Try it
🤸 Stretch (flexibility)
💪 Strengthen (muscle)
Tap an activity, then tap whether it mainly stretches a muscle or strengthens it.
The Lesson · Health & PE Flow (Warm-Up · Learn · Practice · Apply · Cool-Down)

45 minutes, five moves

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

1

Hook — Bendy or Strong

5 min

Touching your toes and doing a push-up both help your body, but in different ways. One makes you more flexible, the other makes you stronger. How can you tell them apart?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a stretch and a push-up.
  • Ask what each builds.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Sort the Activities

12 min

Students sort activities into stretch and strengthen.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Sort the Activities.
  • Drop each one.
  • Explain each choice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Explain.
3

Modify — Name the Benefit

13 min

Students match each to its benefit.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick an activity.
  • Say if it stretches or strengthens.
  • Say what it helps.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Say.
  • Say.
4

Create — Balanced Routine

15 min

Students plan a mix.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick two stretches.
  • Pick two strengtheners.
  • Put them in a short routine.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Pick.
  • Plan.
5

Reflect — Why Do Both

5 min

Students reflect on balance.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • What does stretching build?
  • Why do you need both kinds?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

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

SHAPE
PE.3

Distinguish flexibility activities from strength activities.

SHAPE
PE.3

Explain what stretching and strengthening do for the body.

SHAPE
PE.4

Perform stretches and strength moves with safe form.

SHAPE
PE.5

Value a mix of flexibility and strength for fitness.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Activity picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ is a stretch / a strengthener.”
  • Sort two activities at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with toe-touch vs push-up.
  • Try one of each together.
  • Sort the stretches first.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add moves that do both.
  • Match each to a body part.
  • Build a full warm-up and strength set.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🖼️Activity cards
  • 💻Sort the Activities
  • 🧍Open space to move
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

stretchinglengthening a muscle to build flexibilitystrengtheningworking a muscle against resistance to build itflexibilityhow far a joint and muscle can movemusclethe body tissue that pulls to create movementresistancea force a muscle works against, like weightrange of motionhow far you can move a jointplanka strength hold for the core musclesbalanced routinea plan that mixes stretching and strengthening
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
What does stretching build?
Flexibility, which is how far your joints and muscles can move.
QUESTION 2
What does strengthening build?
Muscle, by working against resistance like your body weight or a light weight.
QUESTION 3
Why do you need both stretching and strengthening?
Stretching keeps you flexible and strengthening makes you strong, so a mix keeps your body fit and helps prevent injury.

Create: a balanced routine.

Have students pick two stretches and two strengtheners and put them into a short routine, so they practice balancing flexibility and strength. A printable stretch-or-strengthen worksheet 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.

🃏 Stretch or StrengthenFlip
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.

📝 Stretch or StrengthenQuiz
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.

🖨️ Stretch or StrengthenPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: balanced routine, flexibility, muscle, plank, range of motion, resistance, strengthening, stretching
  1. the body tissue that pulls to create movement
  2. a force a muscle works against, like weight
  3. a strength hold for the core muscles
  4. a plan that mixes stretching and strengthening
  5. how far a joint and muscle can move
  6. how far you can move a joint
  7. lengthening a muscle to build flexibility
  8. working a muscle against resistance to build it

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does stretching build?
  2. What does strengthening build?
  3. Why do you need both stretching and strengthening?
Answer key — Part A: 1) muscle · 2) resistance · 3) plank · 4) balanced routine · 5) flexibility · 6) range of motion · 7) stretching · 8) strengthening
Part B: 1) Flexibility, which is how far your joints and muscles can move. 2) Muscle, by working against resistance like your body weight or a light weight. 3) Stretching keeps you flexible and strengthening makes you strong, so a mix keeps your body fit and helps prevent injury.