This is the year physical education shifts from learning skills to building a lifestyle students can keep after graduation. Students refine the movement skills they will actually use as adults, from team sports to fitness routines, and learn how training choices affect their bodies. They practice working with others, handling competition, and taking responsibility for their own habits. By spring, students can design and stick with a personal fitness plan that fits their goals.
Students start the year by sharpening the basic movement skills they will use all year, like running, jumping, throwing, and catching. They also set personal fitness goals and learn how to warm up safely before activity.
Students apply their skills in team games and group activities. The focus shifts to working with others, communicating on the field or court, and respecting teammates and opponents during play.
Students dig into how the body responds to exercise and what different workouts actually do. They learn about strength, endurance, and flexibility, and how food, sleep, and activity work together.
Students explore activities they could keep doing as adults, from hiking and yoga to weight training and recreational sports. They reflect on what they enjoy and build a plan for staying active after high school.
Students practice moving, balancing, and handling equipment with enough skill to stay active for life. The focus is on building a range of physical abilities that hold up outside of gym class.
Students use what they know about how the body moves and stays fit to make smarter choices during workouts and games. That means adjusting effort, form, and pacing to get more out of physical activity.
Students practice working with others during physical activities: listening, taking turns, and handling wins or losses with class. These habits show up in games and group challenges, not just in how students move.
Students reflect on what kinds of movement feel good to them and build a personal plan for staying active beyond school. The focus is on finding habits that last, not just meeting a class requirement.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Develop a variety of motor skills, including locomotor, non-locomotor High School Level 2 | Students practice moving, balancing, and handling equipment with enough skill to stay active for life. The focus is on building a range of physical abilities that hold up outside of gym class. | PA-PE.1.hs-level-2 |
| Apply knowledge related to movement, performance High School Level 2 | Students use what they know about how the body moves and stays fit to make smarter choices during workouts and games. That means adjusting effort, form, and pacing to get more out of physical activity. | PA-PE.2.hs-level-2 |
| Develop social skills through movement, including respect for self and others… High School Level 2 | Students practice working with others during physical activities: listening, taking turns, and handling wins or losses with class. These habits show up in games and group challenges, not just in how students move. | PA-PE.3.hs-level-2 |
| Develop personal skills, identify personal benefits of movement High School Level 2 | Students reflect on what kinds of movement feel good to them and build a personal plan for staying active beyond school. The focus is on finding habits that last, not just meeting a class requirement. | PA-PE.4.hs-level-2 |
Students move beyond learning skills and start applying them in real activities like team sports, fitness routines, dance, or outdoor recreation. They also learn how to plan their own workouts and make choices that keep them active outside of class.
Pick one activity students enjoy and protect time for it a few days a week. Walks after dinner, weekend bike rides, or a pickup game all count. The goal is building a habit students will keep on their own.
Physical education at this level is about lifelong wellness, not competition. Hiking, yoga, lifting, swimming, and dance all build the same fitness habits. Help students find one or two activities that feel good to them.
Start with a fitness baseline so students know where they are, then rotate through units that build different skill types: team activities, individual activities, and lifetime activities like hiking or strength training. End the year with student-designed fitness plans.
Students can join an unfamiliar activity, apply the right skills, and keep themselves at a healthy intensity. They can also explain why they chose a workout and how it fits into a weekly routine.
Group activities give students daily practice with communication, fair play, and handling disagreement. Rotate team roles often so students lead, follow, and give feedback. Name the social skill being practiced, not just the game.
Track a few simple measures over the year, such as resting heart rate, a timed walk or run, or how long students can hold steady activity. Improvement in any of these is real progress, even when the gains feel small.
Aim for about an hour of movement most days, mixing cardio, strength, and flexibility across the week. It does not need to happen all at once. Three twenty-minute blocks works just as well as one long session.