The Physical Education: Personal Fitness Self-Paced course is designed for students to practice and develop skills in personal health-related fitness to help maintain physical health throughout their lives. Students will demonstrate and assess fitness levels by performing exercises or activities related to each fitness component, and establish personal goals for a healthier lifestyle.
In this course, students will explore 3 themes critical to understanding the role of fitness in life:
(1) Importance of setting up regular exercise routines and goals
(2) Healthy living and lifestyle choices
(3) Benefits of exercise for one’s physical, mental, and social health
By designing their fitness programs, students will improve cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, and muscular endurance. This course focuses on healthy living and lifestyle choices, emphasizing the role of physical activity. This course aligns with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education 2023 standards. Students can be exempt from certain activities based on religious preferences or health impairments as needed.
Students will explore principles of exercise and complete fitness logs that incorporate weekly activities correlated to the week's learning. By the end of the course, students will evaluate the benefits that regular exercise can provide for a person’s mental, physical, and social health with the ultimate goal of promoting healthy habits and exercise routines now and into the future.
About the Self-Paced Course Model
Self-Paced courses are comprehensive courses designed for students who need or desire more flexibility in their academic schedule. VHS Learning teachers will regularly interact with students in asynchronous discussions, will host weekly office hours, and will invite students to monthly 1-on-1 progress meetings. Teachers will support students, answer questions, and provide feedback on work. Students will work independently on course activities; the course does not include class discussion assignments or other collaborative work.
This course is open enrollment; students may register and begin at any time. Students must maintain enrollment for a minimum of 6 weeks and have up to 20 weeks to complete all assignments in the course. It is expected that students will work for approximately 95 hours to complete this course, though the amount of time may vary depending on a student’s work habits and comfort with the material.
Course Essential Questions:
- What are the benefits of participating in different types of physical activities?
- How can physical activity contribute to a healthy lifestyle?
- How can we develop a lifelong habit of being physically active?
Course Learning Objectives:
- Apply a variety of physical activity skills in different movement patterns.
- Analyze the benefits of regular participation in physical activities.
- Create and assess fitness goals by applying the metrics of health-related fitness.
- Identify the role of physical activity within the health triangle.