It's "Funner" to be a Runner
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/Project1/Runner.html
Unit Authors
This unit was developed by Pete Saccone and has been delivered to second through fifth graders at Meridian Elementary School since 1980.
Content Areas
This unit is anchored in physical education with strong ties to mental, social and emotional health. It involves math, geography, language arts and science to a slightly lesser extent.
Organizing Theme
The organizing theme of the unit is the physical conditioning and sense of well-being that are realized through a program of running.
Implementation
This unit can be implemented as a full-year PE. program with older children, or can be used a s a unit for a number of weeks, or it can be used during half of the PE. period during the year. The teachers that implement this unit as the full year program make it part of their curriculum every day, and integrate the running information into other content areas such as math, geography, language arts and science. It can easily be an interdisciplinary unit when integrated with nutrition in a science class, graphing and calculating mileage, in math, and filling out forms for race applications in language arts.
At the beginning of every school day, the students who are in the "runner" classrooms go out to the field and spend 20 - 45 minutes walking and running (depending on their age). These students are required to keep a log of their laps they run each day.
Outline of Activities
Map/Country Research:
Students choose a map of a country or continent, check the mileage scale indicated, and use class running totals or personal totals to map the distance they have traveled. Once they have located an area, students pick different cities and plan a trip to that city. They must research the city, its history, its current geographical layout and its places to visit. A written report is produced, with illustrations.
Student Logs:
As mentioned above, each student keeps a log of their own mileage and progress. At the end of the week, they total the number of laps run and, as three laps around the field is equal to one mile, divide that number by three to arrive at the number of miles run that week. The month's total is logged and indicated on a graph, which shows the student's progress since the beginning of the year. More mathematical lessons are included with finding averages, range, and modes from the data. Students are also instructed on how to measure their heart rates and they include this data in their logs. Other math lessons can center around the metric system. Since many running events are metric races, conversion and laying out the field using the metric system is a natural tie-in. Along with the mathematical data, the students are required to keep a journal and write at least once a week about their running experience.
Race Events:
When the students choose, they enter weekend race events. Usually the registration fee is lowered when the race director is contacted by the teacher. It is still the parent's responsibility to transport the student to the race, but the students meet at the race and run together. In this process, each student experiences filling out the registration form, a language arts lesson. Every Monday following a race, thank you letters are written to the race director, and if a student doesn't go, some other sort of letter is written about their running experience. These letters go through a revision process and may include illustrations. Also at race events, the students pick up trash, showing community responsibility and values.
Nutrition:
Lessons on good nutrition and healthy eating habits are continual during this program. Learning the basic food groups and what foods are where on the food pyramid are good introductory lessons that should be followed with more specific needs of a physically fit body. More information on physiology, body chemistry and personal hygiene are integrated into the curriculum.
Student Products
Students keep logs of their running progress, create graphs, write letters, write reports and illustrate.
Thinking Skills Engaged
This program promotes problem-solving and critical thinking as the students make choices about their own lives and how they spend their time. When they get involved in this running program, they begin to feel much better about themselves, and they start to compare their choices against those of students (and adults) who do not take care of their bodies. The map research project is very open-ended and gives each student room to develop a creative travel brochure.
Lessons Learned
Pete Saccone has been teaching this unit for over 16 years and has not changed it in that time. His motto is to keep it simple and fun.
This description was written by Sue Crane. Last updated on March 6, 1996.
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