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The fourth perek of Taanit introduces us to the a number of new concepts:
(1) The Ma'amadot (Mishnayot 1-4): What's a little (a lot?) confusing here is that the Mishnayot are actually referencing two slightly different things when using the word ma'amadot. Here's how it breaks down:
(a) In broad terms a ma'amad (singular) was a pre-designated group of Israelites that roughly twice a year, for a week each time, represented all of their fellow Israelites as the Kohanim brought the national Daily Offerings in the Bet HaMikdash. Altogether there were 24 ma'amadot.
(b) Now, the members of the ma'amad who lived or otherwise happened to be in the greater Jerusalem area literally went to the Bet HaMikdash to stand and represent. Mishna 4 in particular is referring to this group, and the way in which the service of prayer and Torah reading that the "men of the ma'amad" generally performed would occasionaly get pre-empted by other things going on in the Temple.
(c) The members of the ma'amad who lived far from Jersusalem, symbolically (and spiritually) joined the others by praying, reading Torah, and fasting in their home towns. The very end of Mishna 3 is in particular referring to these members of the ma'amad.
The particular choice of Torah Reading that the people of the ma'amad did reflects the idea that worship of the one true God is one of the things that keeps the created world functioning, and which gives it the potential to thrive. The sentiment is not dissimilar to the one expressed in Pirkei Avot, that the world stands on Torah, Worship, and the Performance of Kindness.
(2) Mishna 5 introduces us to the practice that carried on throughout the Second Temple period, in which 8 particular families were honored with the privilege of providing the Temple with the large quantities of wood that were necessary to keep the fire upon the altar eternally lit, not to mention the wood that was regularly consumed as offerings were placed on the altar. As both the end of Mishna 4 and Mishna 5 make clear, the families also brought a special offering on the occassion of their annual donation of wood.
(3) The balance of the perek covers pretty familiar ground, finally reaching the fast days that we are ourselves most familiar with. Don't be surprised when you discover, in Mishna 6, that the precise identity of some of events ascribed to the 17th of Tammuz are not exactly known. But the symmetry of 5 events on each of the summer fast days was clearly a long-standing tradition. Mishna 7 discusses traditions that we associate with the "nine days" or even the "three weeks", though the Mishna is only actually discussing "the week in which Tisha B'av falls". The extension to the entire 9 days and even earlier is a later-developing trend, and a conversation for another time!
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