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Students organise a race with solidarity aims (selection of charity purpose, measurement of the route, design of race bibs, ...)
Problems to be tackled:
Students will be given the challenge of designing, organising and carrying out a solidarity race in which students (and other members of the educational community) may participate
Real world motivation
In ancient Greece, it was customary to organise races to celebrate various events, from a funeral to a holiday. From there came the Olympic Games celebrations, which are held in different cities. The races were a source of personal effort and self-improvement, with athletes seeking to better their results.
It has been shown that sport is a healthy and very beneficial activity for the body and mind, and can also be a means of achieving dreams.
The motivation of the activity will be to organise and carry out a sporting activity with a view to developing solidarity.
Skills
Domain-general:
- Taking initiative, being responsible, making decisions, solving problems, ... (to organise a solidarity race as good as possible)
- Social skills (being willing to help others, working together, ...)
- Communicating (reclame)
- Planning (defining a strategy to organise a charity run)
Mathematics:
- Drawing and describing a sketch with an itinerary for the race.
- Measuring magnitudes: using objects and instruments to measure lengths (such as ropes or tape measures).
- Comparing numbers in familiar contexts (the cost of food).
- Identifying euro coins and notes and establishing equivalences between them.
- Placing and organising tasks in a calendar.
Science:
- Identifying healthy foods and healthy lifestyle habits, and their benefits to the body.
- Controlling and managing the recycling of generated waste.
- Carrying out small-scale research in daily life, collecting and saving data systematically (selecting a charity purpose)
Technology - Engineering:
- Planning the organisation of a race and its dissemination.
- Detecting relevant actions, managing the process and decision-making.
- Designing and creating bibs to identify the runners.
- Making the most of the material and human resources available at the school in the planning and organisation of the race.
Knowledge
Mathematics:
- Sketches and itineraries. Straight and curved lines.
- Natural numbers. Simple operations and estimation of quantities.
- Measurement of magnitudes: length, capacity, mass, and time. Performing measurements.
- The euro. The value of the most common banknotes and coins.
- Data collection and data management.
Sciences:
- Healthy habits: diet, balanced diet and benefits of sports activity.
- Control and treatment of waste, recycling.
Society:
- Social values: responsibility, social awareness and solidarity.
Presentation of the challenge
Whole class work. Present the context or real motivation to the kids. The teacher should focus on awareness-raising. The class should start searching for possible charities to give the collected funds to. Potential sponsors should be discussed.
Healthy habits
Healthy habits through nutrition and sport. Science content should be discussed about what our body needs to exercise. Healthy eating habits and sport as a way to keep our bodies fit are presented.
Let's plan the race
Children should get a calendar and plan the best date for the race. They should keep in mind all their other activities, school holidays and the like, as well as preparation for the race. Registration should be considered and, if possible, arranged with the help of the centre secretariat, who will be responsible for collecting registrations and fees.
Dissemination of the race (poster, video)
Students, in small groups prepare posters and signs to present to the race to the school community. Short videos with the children presenting the activity may be prepared and uploaded to youtube so that families can also be aware of the event.
Exploring our environment
Children look for possible routes. They can use Google Maps or similar tools to measure distances, inside or outside the school, possible spectators, etc. Introduction to length measurement can also be done with the help of ropes in a manipulative way at the actual location of the race.
Race bibs
Identifying the runners, giving them numbers, and showing all spectators what the race is about is very important to make an impact in the community. Children should discuss their outfits or the bibs that they will create for the occasion and create them.
Feed the runners
Provisioning of the refreshment points for the race is important to keep the runners healthy and energetic. Children should discuss what to provide the runners based on health, cost analyses, economic benefits, etc.
Provisioning
Provisioning schedule: where (compare costs, brochures of neighbouring stores) and how much (depending on the participants). Estimate the cost and requirements according to price/person/units per kg (in case of fruits). Water bottles (1 l, 1/2 l)
Preparation of the race
Organisation immediately prior to the race: delimit the race track, provide the bibs and prepare the provision of refreshment points. Atmosphere (music, decoration)
Celebration of the race.
Run! Enjoy! Have fun!
Conclude
Children can prepare a short video or speech (2 or 3 minutes) with the conclusions: What have you learned?, why is it important?, what else would you like to learn about this topic?
Watch the videos or have all groups do their presentations and gather ideas to conclude the activity with a reflection on all the math that has been involved in the solution to the problem.
Materials
- Cards/stickers to make the bibs
- Ropes, tape measures
- Tapes or cones to mark the route
- Furniture for leaving the food and drinks at the refreshment points during the race
- Strong A3/A4 paper for constructing the map.
Grouping
Children should work in groups of 4 to 5 students. All groups will be encouraged to have members with different skills, such as: spatial orientation, fine motor skills, creativity, ICT skills and verbal communication.
Useful questions
- Have you ever taken part in a solidarity race? What was the cause of that race?
- Is it advisable to run just after eating? It is advisable to drink when you are playing sports?
- What happens to your body when you do sport?
- How do you feel after doing sport? Do you sleep better when you have done sport?
- How long do you think it will take to get around the school? If we do two laps around the school, will it take double the time?
- Will it take the same time for our teacher to go around as one of us?
- What kind of food helps you to stay healthy and be faster in a race?
- What do we need to organise a solidarity run?
- What do we need to take part in the race?
Adaptations
The adaptation of the activity will be marked by the greater or lesser responsibility that can be placed on the students, according to their age and abilities. If students are very young (6-7), and they do not know about charities, the teacher may suggest that they look for information. During the planning, the teacher can also suggest necessary actions that students may not have noticed, and select actions that students can take the lead on or have decision-making power over. For dissemination, younger students (6-7) can draw pictures as a poster about the race to be disseminated in the school or in the neighbourhood; older students (8-9) could organise the recording of a video for dissemination in the school, or both forms of dissemination could be combined according to the abilities of the students. When taking measurements, the youngest students will use a familiar object (e.g. ropes, which can even be created by the teacher and have a certain measurement, such as one metre), or a tape measure. In the cost analyses, the teacher will prepare the information for the younger pupils (6-7), transforming the numerical value of the price into the coins that you need to complete the payment; older pupils will be able to compare the quantities directly (although always with the support of the concrete material of the coins for those who need it). Something similar will happen for estimation of the amount of food needed (fruit, drinks), especially if the number of participants in the race is large and can reach numbers with a magnitude that students cannot master. In that case, the race could have more restricted participation (or students could manage a portion of the participants) to make the activity comprehensible to them.
Assessment
Teacher’s assessment
- Planning (sequencing and timing): All groups have been able to complete the scheduled activity on time.
- Planning (groupings): The initial grouping was adequate and there were no problems in the groups.
- “Coaching”: Motivation has been adequate and students participated enthusiastically in all activities.
- “Coaching”: Members of the different groups respected and valued each other's abilities, working together to ensure that everyone achieved the proposed goal.
- “Coaching”: The teacher acted as a guide in the development of the sessions.
Student's assessment
The 5-level scale for students’ assessment should include whether:
- They understand the need to help people in need.
- They decide which participants are going to take part in the race, justifying their answer.
- They understand what healthy eating is.
- They understand the health benefits of healthy eating and of doing sport.
- They plan events and calculate time periods in the calendar.
- They estimate lengths with suitable instruments and units.
- They design and elaborate materials for the diffusion of the programmed event.
- They estimate an economic budget and the relationship between income and expenditure.
- They distribute and organise spaces for development of the event.
- They select the right setting for the celebration of the race.
Tips & tricks
Students will decide the participants in the race, the cost of the registration and the possible presence and location of the public during the race.
We believe that the registration process should be carried out by an adult with the possible collaboration of the centre's management team.
A proposal for expansion is to create a lovely atmosphere in the moments before/after the race. This could include a performance by some students using percussion instruments, body percussion, recycled-material musical instruments, etc.