Setting personal fitness goals
Students start the year by checking their current fitness and picking goals they want to work toward. They learn how to warm up safely and how to track their own progress.
What does a student learn in
This is the year P.E. shifts from learning the rules to building a fitness plan students can keep after graduation. Students refine their skills in sports, dance, and workouts, and they start to understand why a warm-up, a target heart rate, or a rest day matters. Class also pushes leadership, fair play, and clear communication with teammates. By spring, students can design and follow a personal fitness routine they would actually use as an adult.
- Personal fitness plans
- Lifelong wellness
- Skill refinement
- Heart rate and exercise
- Teamwork and leadership
- Healthy choices
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
- 1
- 2
Skills for lifetime activities
Students practice the movements behind activities they can keep doing as adults, such as tennis, weight training, hiking, or yoga. The focus is on form and steady improvement, not winning.
- 3
Teamwork and fair play
Students work in small groups and full teams during games and challenges. They practice clear communication, encouraging teammates, handling disagreements, and including everyone in the activity.
- 4
Building a personal fitness plan
Students put the year together by building a fitness plan they can actually stick with. They pick activities they enjoy, set a weekly routine, and learn how exercise connects to long-term health.
Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 11.
Physical Education
Physical Education
- High School Level 2
Develop a variety of motor skills, including locomotor, non-locomotor
Students practice a mix of movement skills, from running and jumping to throwing and catching, that they can carry into sports, workouts, and everyday activity long after high school.
- High School Level 2
Apply knowledge related to movement, performance
Students use what they know about how the body moves and stays fit to make better choices during physical activity, like adjusting effort, pacing themselves, or correcting form to perform well.
- High School Level 2
Develop social skills through movement, including respect for self and others…
Students practice working with others during physical activities: listening, taking turns, resolving disagreements, and supporting teammates. The focus is on how students treat each other, not just how well they move.
- High School Level 2
Develop personal skills, identify personal benefits of movement
Students reflect on how regular movement makes them feel and set personal goals for staying active. The focus shifts from required gym class to habits they can keep for the rest of their lives.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Develop a variety of motor skills, including locomotor, non-locomotor High School Level 2 | Students practice a mix of movement skills, from running and jumping to throwing and catching, that they can carry into sports, workouts, and everyday activity long after high school. | OH-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 better choices during physical activity, like adjusting effort, pacing themselves, or correcting form to perform well. | OH-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, resolving disagreements, and supporting teammates. The focus is on how students treat each other, not just how well they move. | OH-PE.3.hs-level-2 |
| Develop personal skills, identify personal benefits of movement High School Level 2 | Students reflect on how regular movement makes them feel and set personal goals for staying active. The focus shifts from required gym class to habits they can keep for the rest of their lives. | OH-PE.4.hs-level-2 |
Common Questions
What does Physical Education look like at this level?
Students keep building movement skills in sports, fitness, dance, and outdoor activities, but the focus shifts toward lifelong habits. They learn how to plan their own workouts, track their fitness, and pick activities they actually enjoy and will keep doing after graduation.
How can I support an active lifestyle at home?
Find one activity students like and make it part of the week. A walk after dinner, a bike ride on Saturday, lifting weights, or shooting hoops all count. The goal is showing that staying active is a normal part of adult life, not just something that happens in a gym class.
What if students say they are not good at sports?
At this level, the class is less about team sports and more about personal fitness. Students can succeed through running, yoga, weight training, hiking, or dance. Help them find one form of movement that fits their body and interests, and skill in a traditional sport stops being the main thing.
How should the year be sequenced across units?
Many teachers open with fitness testing and goal setting so students have a baseline. From there, rotate through team activities, individual and lifetime activities such as yoga or strength training, and a planning unit where students design their own fitness routine. Close the year by retesting and reflecting on progress.
Which skills usually need the most reteaching?
Heart-rate zones, the difference between strength and endurance training, and how to read a workout plan trip students up most often. Many also need help setting a realistic fitness goal instead of a vague one like getting in shape. Plan short reteach blocks before any unit that asks them to design their own routine.
How is a grade earned when athletic ability varies so much?
Grades come from effort, participation, personal improvement, and knowledge of fitness concepts, not from how fast a student runs or how far they throw. A student who shows up, tries, and works toward personal goals can earn a strong grade even without being athletic.
How do students learn cooperation and responsibility in this class?
Group activities, partner workouts, and team games give students daily practice with communication, fair play, and handling conflict. Teachers often grade these behaviors directly, so respect for classmates and equipment matters as much as physical performance.
How do I know a student is ready for life after this class?
By year's end, students should be able to plan a basic weekly workout, explain why each part matters, and name two or three activities they would keep doing on their own. If they can do that and show steady effort, they are set up to stay active as adults.