Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School
A guide for educators
November 3–7, 2008 November 2–6, 2009
Hon. Shirley Bond Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Early Learning and Literacy and Deputy Premier
John Furlong Chief Executive Officer Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC)
Carla Qualtrough President Canadian Paralympic Committee
As Minister of Education and Deputy Premier, it is my pleasure to join with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the Canadian Paralympic Committee in inviting schools across Canada to participate in the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program this fall and in the fall of 2009. This is a special opportunity for students across Canada to increase their appreciation of the outstanding contributions made by people with disabilities. This guide for educators is a great place to start, as you take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to expand awareness of people with disabilities and celebrate our great athletes. I wish you all a successful and exciting week. Let’s celebrate together!
The Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program provides a unique opportunity for Canadian students to be inspired by the Paralympic Movement. The Paralympic Games and the amazing abilities of Paralympic athletes offer a chance to prompt community celebration and pride, to foster unity, to embrace diversity and to instill a genuine spirit of excellence in all of us. Your support of the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program is an important step towards our goal of building a lasting legacy of positive perception in classrooms across Canada. The Games will make us nation builders — champions at work and at play — and better citizens of the world. They will inspire children and adults alike to do better, to be better and to stretch the limits of what is possible. They will be the time of our lives!
The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is enthusiastic and excited to be working with the British Columbia Ministry of Education and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program. We hope the program will expose students to the incredible sporting feats of Paralympic athletes and help them realize the value of active participation in sport and fitness activities for all Canadians. Less than 3 per cent of Canadians with physical disabilities regularly participate in organized sport, while the figure jumps to 31 per cent for able-bodied Canadians. Everyone should be given the opportunity to reap the benefits of physical activity and sport. The Paralympic School Week Program aims to shift the focus from disability to ability — to focus on the value of equality and the importance of access and inclusion in all areas of life. Exposure to the Paralympic Movement will hopefully encourage Canada’s youth to join us in feeling the rush and excitement of the Paralympic Winter Games.
Sir Philip Craven, MBE President International Paralympic Committee
David A. Walden Secretary-General Canadian Commission for UNESCO
One of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) strategic goals is to develop and realize education initiatives directed to building the awareness and understanding of the Paralympic values among youth and school children. The upcoming Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games are an ideal window of opportunity to create understanding and develop a positive attitude toward the Paralympic Movement among Canadian youth. We are happy to endorse the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program within Canada.
On behalf of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, I wish to commend and congratulate the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and the British Columbia Ministry of Education for organizing the Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program. We are convinced that the experience of this exciting and innovative program will prove to be a rewarding one that will enrich the lives of all participants, particularly students, helping to shape global citizens. We look forward to the celebration of a successful Paralympic School Week.
CONTENTS
Introduction
What is Paralympic School Week? When is Paralympic School Week? Why Participate in Paralympic School Week? School-wide planning
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4 5 5 7
Ideas for school-wide activities
1 School-wide theme 2 Paralympian as a motivational speaker 3 Mini-Paralympic Games 4 Daily announcements that complement the Paralympic focus 5 Creative or service project for individual students or groups
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8 8 10 11 11
Ideas for classroom-based activities
Adaptation for inclusion Primary (K–3) Grades 4–7 Grades 8–10 Grades 11–12
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13 14 15 16 18
Useful links and resources Appendices
A Arranging a timetable for Paralympic School Week events B Planning checklist C Did you know? — announcement ideas D Sample article for grades 8–10 classroom-based activity
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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INTrODUCTION
For 10 days in March 2010, Vancouver and Whistler BC will host the Paralympic Winter Games in celebration of the Paralympic spirit and ideals. Since the first Paralympic Winter Games were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1976, the Games have grown in both scope and public appeal, and now include a range of events for athletes with varying forms of physical disability, in five winter sport categories: • alpine skiing • biathlon • cross-country skiing • ice sledge hockey • wheelchair curling Canada will enter the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games not only as the Host Country, but as a strong contender in every Paralympic Games category, recognizing the commitment and excellence of its Paralympic athletes, and affirming the pride and support that Canadians from coast to coast to coast feel for their Paralympic sport programs. In anticipation of these Games, the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), in partnership with the BC Ministry of Education and the Canadian Paralympic Committee, is inviting and encouraging schools across Canada to join in the celebration of human aspiration and athletic excellence by participating in a Paralympic School Week in the fall of 2008 and again in the fall of 2009. Taking part in the program offers schools the opportunity to showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for Vancouver 2010 . Paralympic School Week is endorsed by the International Paralympic Committee and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.
WHAT IS PArALYMPIC SCHOOL WEEK?
The Pan-Canadian Paralympic School Week Program taps into the enthusiasm and interest associated with the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The week-long program adopts the ideals of the Paralympic Movement and the topic of people with a disability who are making a difference as a focus for school-wide community building and subject-related instruction. Support for this undertaking, in the form of materials for students, teachers and administrators (for example, guest speakers, online text, graphic and audio-visual resources), is being provided by VANOC, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the BC Ministry of Education and other partners. Further support information is provided in this guide.
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
WHEN IS PArALYMPIC SCHOOL WEEK?
Paralympic School Week is scheduled to take place: November 3–7, 2008 (with a focus on Paralympism in Canada) November 2–6, 2009 (with a focus on the international Paralympic Movement) Schools are encouraged to hold the Paralympic School Week during these times so as to celebrate along with schools across the country; however, they are by no means limited to the specified dates. Expanding the window of time may make it easier to schedule guest speakers, access specialized materials, conduct pre- and post-event activities and provide opportunity for students to reflect on the learning that takes place.
WHY PArTICIPATE IN PArALYMPIC SCHOOL WEEK?
The period leading up to the 2010 Winter Games presents an unparalleled opportunity to capitalize on students’ natural engagement with an event that will be receiving worldwide attention. A compelling, multi-faceted experience, the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games offer rich possibilities for students learning about many topics: • human physical function and capacity, athletics and the value of active participation in sport and fitness activities • positive social values (for example, volunteerism, teamwork, self-sacrifice and fair play, distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate ways of enhancing performance) • important contributors to personal, lifelong success in any field (for example, goal setting, perseverance, relationships) • social dynamics (for example, competition, strategic thinking, the role of media)
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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For more information on how instruction focused on Paralympism can contribute to student learning, see the Ideas for Classroom-Based Activities section in this guide.
Additionally, a focus on the Paralympic Games offers compelling opportunities for students to: • engage directly with Paralympians and learn about the origins, features and significance of the Paralympic Games
What qualifies someone to participate in the Paralympic Games? How are the Paralympic Games similar to the Olympic Games? How are they different? What are the five sports of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games and how are they played? Who are the athletes? What are their disabilities, their backgrounds, their personal stories?
• understand and appreciate a wide range of physical and health challenges • overcome stereotypes and preconceptions about the limitations and capacity of others • discover more about the role and possibilities of technology in helping people adapt to real situations and overcome challenges • reflect on the nature and significance of human interdependence, equity and fairness • recognize and celebrate a wider range of achievements and types of success (and developing a more sophisticated awareness of what constitutes success)
Educators who have participated in existing Paralympic education programs have found that students — especially younger ones — engage more readily with the topic of Paralympism than with many other topics.
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
SCHOOL-WIDE PLANNING
Although the idea of devoting an entire week of the school year to a single focus will seem ambitious both instructionally and administratively, Paralympic School Week is flexible enough to fit with the program in any school. Activities with such a focus can be readily implemented in various ways: • centred around a single day, with a limited amount of time on days preceding or following this day devoted to essential preparatory and follow-up activities (for example, a launch and/or a wrap-up event) • in discrete daily instructional blocks of between 20 and 40 minutes each, or longer See Appendix A: Arranging a Timetable for Paralympic School Week events for additional ideas on how timetables might be arranged to accommodate differing approaches to organizing a Paralympic School Week. An important contributor to the success of a Paralympic School Week will be having an individual or small group within the school’s administrative and/or instructional staff responsible for planning/coordinating school-wide activities and undertaking facilitative tasks such as: • communicating with the school staff • communicating with parents and students in advance of the week • contacting/arranging guest speakers (such as Paralympic athletes) • accessing facilities (for example, for field trip purposes) and/or materials (such as equipment to facilitate PE or other hands-on activities related to Paralympic sport) • compiling a calendar of events related to your Paralympic School Week • using non-instructional time (for example, at the beginning of the day, during lunch period, at the end of the day) to extend activities, perhaps with the involvement of the school’s parent committee
Paralympic School Week is flexible enough to fit with the program in any school.
A further step to consider might involve contacting local media to: • promote the event, and present stories and interviews on Paralympians and/or others with a disability who are involved in various walks of life (for example, advocacy, cultural pursuits and sustainability) • visit the school to take pictures and/or conduct interviews for release as local news or human interest items
See Appendix B: Planning Checklist for specific steps that your school’s planning leader or planning committee might take to prepare in the lead up to a Paralympic School Week.
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IDEAS FOr SCHOOL-WIDE ACTIVITIES
Depending on your school’s approach to organizing a Paralympic School Week, a number of community-building components can be built into the program. The following are five possibilities.
1 SCHOOL-WIDE THEME
Adoption of a school-wide theme associated with the Paralympic School Week can be an effective way to focus both instructional and non-instructional activities. Possible examples include: • meeting challenges — an examination of the challenges faced by:
anyone who lives with a disability or with some other form of significant limitation (health limitation, circumstantial limitation) any athlete engaged in competition or committed to the pursuit of excellence people in any demanding walk of life students themselves and their personal goals and aspirations
• expanding our horizons — a theme applied to:
the promotion of inclusiveness and empathy for others going beyond one’s existing preconceptions or stereotypes encouragement for students to set ambitious, yet realistic personal goals
In order to keep the focus from becoming too broad, keep in mind that the intent of having a Paralympic School Week in each of two successive years is to emphasize the Canada connection in the fall 2008 week and the international connection in the fall 2009 week.
2 PArALYMPIAN AS A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKEr
Having a Paralympian as a motivational speaker can be a good precursor, centerpiece, or follow-up activity for a Paralympic School Week. The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) maintains a list of possible candidates for school and other engagements . Another possible source of information is the CPC’s Feel the rush . Typically, Paralympians who participate in motivational speaking can be expected to cover topics such as: • how they got involved in their chosen sport • their sport, its rules, and the technological and other adaptations that athletes employ to participate (possibly including a demonstration or an accompanying media presentation) • their athletic competition experience and what they have taken from it (the inspirational lesson — handling defeat and victory) • the sacrifices, the qualities and the attitude required for success as a Paralympian (what keeps them motivated)
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
• how they balance athletics and other aspects of their lives (for example, their training regimen, how they meet their expenses, how they balance training with family, social life and other work) • the nature of their disability (how it came about and how it affected their lives)
• the support they receive (sponsors, coaches, family members) • issues and considerations associated with their sport (for example, drug testing)
Students might prepare for the presentation by contemplating questions to ask. When the presentation serves as a centerpiece or precursor activity, it becomes an effective benchmark for subsequent classroom-based activities (see Ideas for Classroom-Based Activities in this guide). The presentation can also be used by teachers wishing to explore students’ responses by using questions such as: • What did you find most interesting about the speaker’s presentation (for example, format, message, presentation style)? • In what ways were you inspired? • Can you think of a famous person (especially Canadian), or a character in a book or movie, with a disability? • Did the disability affect what this person/character did or achieved? • What did you think was the speaker’s main message? How, or to what extent, do you feel it might apply in your life or the life of someone you know?
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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3 MINI-PArALYMPIC GAMES
Organizing a mini-Paralympic Games as part of your school’s physical education program, or simply in support of an overall emphasis on frequent, moderate to vigorous physical activity for young people, can be a valuable adjunct to other learning, especially for younger students. A mini-Paralympic Games involves having students attempt physical activities that simulate those performed by Paralympians. This would involve providing students with access to a pool of wheelchairs, ice sledge hockey sledges on wheels, wheeled sit-skis, wheelchair curling equipment and more (with sufficient advance planning, such equipment might be obtained by a school district through contact with a local disability/adaptive sport program). Schools could schedule their mini-Paralympic Games on a different day of the week allowing equipment to be shared. Within a single school, successive classes and/or groups of students could be rotated through a set of stations set up in the gymnasium. Depending on the level of interest and availability of resources, a mini-Paralympic Games could be organized merely as a participatory event or as a competitive team event complete with timing/scoring and recognition for excellence. Alternatively, students could participate in activities with imposed limitations to simulate certain disabilities and Paralympic events such as: • curling from a chair (wheelchair curling) • traveling a set distance with the use of only one leg (races for amputees) • using floor scooters and mini-sticks or students’ hands to create a floor game (an adapted version of ice sledge hockey) • completing an obstacle course with a blindfold on while using a classmate for assistance (ski racing for blind athletes)
For additional information and programming ideas, download these resources: < http://paralympic.nortia.org/Groups/Lesson%20Plans/ HOP_LP_PE_46_ENGLISH_RD05.pdf > < http://paralympic.nortia.org/groups/lesson%20plans/ HOP_LP_PE_78_ENGLISH_RD08.pdf > Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the 2010 Winter Games. < www.vancouver2010.com/edu >
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
4 DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT COMPLEMENT THE PArALYMPIC FOCUS
Many schools broadcast daily announcements to all staff and students. Both in the lead-up to and during your Paralympic School Week, the daily announcement could include information or observations with a Paralympic focus as a way to further boost student awareness. Various websites cited throughout this guide provide material for any staff member or student wishing to compile announcements tailored to the age levels and interests of students. As a starting point, a collection of “did you know?” announcements has been provided in Appendix C: Did you Know? — Announcement Ideas.
5 CrEATIVE Or SErVICE PrOjECT FOr INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS Or GrOUPS
Organizing a service or creative activity linked to Paralympic School Week provides an excellent community-building opportunity for the entire school. Possibilities include: • having students produce display posters or a school mural related to what they learned about Paralympism and other approaches to overcoming disability, including inspirational messages. If organized as a contest, someone such as a Paralympian or prominent community member interested in accessibility issues could be invited to participate. • undertaking fundraising for a school or community accessibility initiative such as purchasing mobility equipment for youth with disabilities. • arranging for members of the school community to document what they are doing as part of their Paralympic School Week activities in the form of a slide show, written blog, podcast or video clip for sharing with the broader school community and possible uploading on /EDU .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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IDEAS FOr CLASSrOOM-BASED ACTIVITIES
Paralympic School Week and regular, curriculum-based instructional planning
Classroom-based activities are an important component of an effective Paralympic School Week. Whether they are conducted as preparation for school-wide activities or as follow up, they enable teachers to capitalize on the engagement created to help achieve more in-depth and individually focused curriculum-related learning. The concept of Paralympic School Week is broad enough to embrace a variety of activities within subject areas such as: • physical education • health/guidance/career education • English language arts • social studies • mathematics • science • visual arts • drama and/or dance
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
This section contains activity suggestions appropriate for each of the grade level clusters within the K–12 span. Some themes are identified to suggest the range of possibilities afforded by the topic. This list of themes includes one or two more detailed suggestions designed to support learning in the subject areas of English language arts, social studies, and health and guidance/career education, as the curriculum for these subjects offers particularly compelling opportunities to make connections with the themes that are opened up by a Paralympic School Week. These activity suggestions are just a starting point. Interested teachers of mathematics, science, the fine arts, and physical education, as well as English language arts, social studies, and health and guidance/career education will find additional materials online — such as the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s website, It’s the Real Deal: Paralympic Schools Program , which contains lesson plans for grades 4–8 in science, PE, mathematics, as well as ELA and social studies).
It may prove useful to introduce the concept of “invisible disability” to students — sometimes you can’t see the disability.
ADAPTATION FOr INCLUSION
In keeping with a Paralympic School Week focus of inclusion, respect and empathy, consider intensifying your use of inclusive teaching practices by implementing and explicitly drawing attention to adaptations such as: • providing adapted or modified texts (articles, media texts), questions and answers, peer helpers, and technological supports as needed to allow students with special needs to participate (for example, for people with vision impairment or who are otherwise print-restricted, consider using Braille materials, tactile materials, materials that contain colour contrast and/or materials containing easy-to-see fonts) • providing ESL students with the opportunity to work with a partner, or other supports they may need, to complete readings or participate in discussions
When doing these adaptations, it may prove useful to introduce the concept of “invisible disability” to students — sometimes you can’t see the disability. It will also be important to remain sensitive to the feelings of individual students who might experience discomfort if they feel singled out.
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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PrIMArY (K–3)
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS
Use age-appropriate stories such as Susan Laughs by jeanne Willis and Tony ross to introduce the idea of physical disability as a challenge that students might face. Follow up by having students represent their understanding of the main message of the story (for example, through retelling, dramatization or illustration) or respond to a prompt such as, “What I have learned about physical disability [about living with a physical disability] is”. When assessing, consider the extent to which students: • display a capacity for empathy and a willingness to be inclusive of others (specifically someone with a physical disability, but also, by extension, someone who speaks a different language, someone with different interests, someone with a different ethno-cultural background, and more) • demonstrate understanding of the story message and details
Possible topics and themes to focus on at this level
• Paralympic Games • the five Paralympic winter sports • athletes with disabilities • fairness, consideration • how communities work together (people helping one another) • technology — what it is, how it helps us
Further materials dealing directly or indirectly with the subject of physical disability can also be located using websites such as Edens Library at Columbia College . Other online sources may be found using search parameters such as “children’s literature + disabilities.” Teachers are reminded, however, that texts/materials must be selected in a manner consistent with the guidelines in effect in their educational jurisdictions.
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS AND VISUAL ArTS
Adapt the trading card activity as outlined for Grades 4–7 so that primary students focus on creating the image, while the salient facts for the back of the card have been provided by you for them to read.
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
GrADES 4–7
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS AND VISUAL ArTS
Have students create five sport trading cards with images and text to demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the five Paralympic sports: alpine skiing, ice sledge hockey, cross-country skiing, biathlon and wheelchair curling. Before beginning, provide some background material about the Paralympic sports. Use information on sports and athletes available on vancouver2010.com or on the International Paralympic Committee’s website . Engage the students in a discussion about the specific sports. Brainstorm with the students what each athlete needs to participate in the sport (for example, special chair, clothing, or a guide). Talk about where each sport takes place and how long the athletes train. Explain how the sport is played and draw a Venn diagram to compare the Paralympic sport to the Olympic sport. Once you feel that the students have a good understanding of the specific sport, tell them they are going to be creating a set of trading cards for each of the sports over a period of time. Let students know that once they’ve completed all five cards, they will be trading them at the end of the week with other children in the class or the school. Discuss the appropriate use of line, colour, background, layout and design. Depending on which materials you are using to create the cards, explain to the children how to use these (for example, pencils, paper, pencil crayons, felts, water colour pencils, chalk pastels, pastels, coloured construction paper). On the front of the card students are to create an image that represents the sport that has just been discussed. Each card should contain the name of the sport, an image of the sport and the location in which the sport takes place. On the back of the trading card students will be writing about the sport (history, rules, special equipment or adaptations, competing nations). Once you have helped students create their first card, have them research each of the other four Paralympic winter sports (students might be expected to complete one card per day during 45-minute sessions, throughout the week). At the end of the week, explain to them that they need to keep one of their own cards and then begin trading with their friends. Set an allotted amount of time for trading to take place. Once the allotted time has expired, the trading ends. Each child should end up with five trading cards.
Possible topics and themes to focus on at this level:
• Paralympic Games • the five Paralympic winter sports • athletes with disabilities • Canadian identity and the role of sport • benefits of active living • the scope and growth of the Paralympic endeavour — by the numbers (percentages, fractions, simple graphing) • rights and equity (inclusive society), with reference to the UN Convention on the rights of the Child, which addresses equity and disability
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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GrADES 8–10
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS
Have students read a newspaper article or view a television news article featuring a Paralympian (see Appendix D for sample article). As a focus for reading, ask students to identify the challenges that the athlete in the article faces. To assess student comprehension (including ability to draw inference and develop a personal response to text), discuss the article in Appendix D with the class and consider the extent to which students: • identify all the various challenges faced by the featured Paralympic athlete (including her disability, her subsequent health issues related to Chiari malformation, and the difficulties associated with competitive classification, small number of events, and limited number of competitors in her class; note that being parent to a six-year-old boy may be cited as a challenge as well by some) • can answer other comprehension questions (Can you cite an example of good sportsmanship from the article? How does Michelle Stillwell measure her success? What is the world record time for a 100-metre distance in women’s wheelchair racing?) • demonstrate an appreciation for the significance of the athlete’s accomplishments To follow up, have students visit Chantal Petitclerc’s website and create a T-chart comparing what they learn about Chantal Petticlerc with what they know about Michelle Stillwell.
Possible topics and themes to focus on at this level
• Paralympic Games • the five Paralympic winter sports • athletes with disabilities • stereotypes and the role of media/culture • athletic training — principles, methods • goal setting and overcoming challenges • meaning of success • origins of Paralympic sport; drivers behind growth • skills analysis — Paralympic sports and transferable skills (analyzing video of Paralympians in action) • the significance and role of volunteerism
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS AND HEALTH/CArEEr EDUCATION
Conduct a media analysis activity by having students view videocasts of Paralympic sporting events, including videocasts of team sports such as ice sledge hockey, which can be found at Paralympic Sport TV . As a focus for viewing, have students try to identify the qualities, attributes and behaviours that the telecasters or commentators implicitly and explicitly promote (or condemn) through their commentary. For example, athletes may be praised for their perseverance, unselfishness, reaction time, dedication or work ethic. Likewise, athletes may be condemned for loss of focus or attentiveness, lack of self-control or selfishness (such as in a team sport).
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
Debrief by having students share their findings. Extend the discussion to consider all telecasts of any team or individual sports that students may be familiar with (such as professional sports). Have students generate a class list of player qualities, attributes and behaviours that the telecasters comment on. Ask students to generate an oral or written response to questions such as, “To what extent do you see sports as a metaphor for life? What life lessons can we learn from sports? Is becoming an elite athlete a reasonable career goal for most people? Do you think training to become an elite athlete would help you in other walks of life? If so, how?” When assessing participants’ lists of qualities, look for them to identify qualities such as: • hard working, with ability to persevere in the face of challenges and setbacks • commitment • attention to detail • self-control (personal conduct) • consideration of the needs of others • ability to listen and willingness to take direction (for example, from coaches) • ability to set goals • dealing with stress • confidence without arrogance • ability to subordinate personal glory to the success of a group When assessing students’ responses to the questions, consider how well they recognize both strengths and limitations of sports as a metaphor for life (for example, the positive and less positive aspects of looking to athletes as role models, the differences between a structured activity governed by clear rules and expectations, and the more unexpected situations that life often offers up). Consider also the extent to which students provide details and examples to support their contentions.
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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GrADES 11–12
ACTIVITY IDEA — ENGLISH LANGUAGE ArTS
Have students conduct research using a specified number of varied sources related to Paralympism (for example, five or six websites, news articles, videos), and use their findings to debate the resolution: “Paralympic athletes are in every meaningful sense the equals of Olympic athletes and should be treated equally in terms of funding, media attention and public respect.” When assessing participants’ contributions to the debate, consider the extent to which they: • formulate coherent arguments • cite relevant evidence, where appropriate • develop points that are pertinent to the resolution • observe conventions of debate This might be best facilitated by student leadership groups such as Student Council, a Spirit Day Committee and PE Leadership.
Possible topics and themes to focus on at this level
• ergonomics — creation and use of technology that fits human needs (especially, assistive technology to enhance mobility and academic success) • psychology of success • motivational media
ACTIVITY IDEA — SOCIAL STUDIES
Given the proximity of the planned Paralympic School Week to remembrance Day, it might prove interesting and meaningful to make the connection between learning related to the awareness of a disability and: • the wartime sacrifices of the many individuals who experience(d) an amputation or other significant combat-related injury. • the fact that organized competitive sport for persons with a disability was developed following WWII due in large part to the existence and efforts of sizable numbers of war-wounded former soldiers. Use this discussion as a basis for having students undertake a written assignment on a subject such as “What factors have contributed to a growth in inclusiveness within Canadian social and public institutions since WWII? What degree of importance would you attach to each of the factors you have identified?”. Students might find information on websites such as CPC’s CF Soldier On program, an adaptive sport/rehabilitation program for injured Canadian servicemen/women and veterans .
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
When assessing students’ work on this assignment, consider the extent to which they: • identify a range of factors (for example, impact of the war experience on individuals, changing demographic patterns in Canada due to mobility and immigration, legally mandated changes in Canadian institutions and processes following repatriation of the Constitution, the efforts of particular groups or individuals, technological developments) • articulate a coherent and defensible definition of inclusiveness (for example, to be applicable to persons with disabilities, as well as other groups in society whose needs and interests might have been overlooked in the past) • cite specific examples to support their analysis • attach a plausible order of priority or importance to the various factors they identify in response to the question • develop reasonable arguments in support of their position
Schools can showcase their activities on /EDU, the Canadian school portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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USEFUL LINKS AND rESOUrCES
The following websites provide information and support when organizing your Paralympic School Week activities. Vancouver 2010, Education Programs www.vancouver2010.com/edu It’s The Real Deal, Paralympic Schools Program www.paralympiceducation.ca Paralympic Heroes www.paralympic.ca/heroes The Paralympic Heroes Program, operated by the Canadian Paralympic Committee, provides a helpful point of contact for finding and booking a Paralympic athlete as motivational speaker. Feel The Rush www.feeltherush.ca This website can be used to find athletes who might be willing to participate in a Paralympic School Week. The site contains an extensive list of sport organizations for athletes with and without disabilities, searchable by province and by sport. Chantal Petitclerc.com www.chantalpetitclerc.com This website was created and is maintained by a Paralympian. It can serve as a focus for media analysis activities for students at the grades 7–11 levels. Canadian Paralympic Committee www.paralympic.ca International Paralympic Committee www.paralympic.org The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities http://untreaty.un.org/English/ notpubl/IV_15_english.pdf http://untreaty.un.org/English/ TreatyEvent2001/pdf/03e.pdf The United Nations Convention on the rights of the Child (for a poster version that uses child-friendly language, see also Soldier On www.cfpsa.com/splashpages/SoldierOn The CPC’s CF Soldier On program is an adaptive sport/rehabilitation program for injured Canadian servicemen/ women and veterans. Paralympic Sport TV www.paralympicsport.tv A site offering a video archive of numerous Paralympic sport competitions.
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
APPENDIx A: ArrANGING A TIMETABLE FOr PArALYMPIC SCHOOL WEEK EVENTS
Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri
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A Paralympic Day For a one-day Paralympic activity, it may be best to emphasize schoolwide activities (for example, a guest speaker and video presentation, a mini-Paralympic Games).
A three-day Paralympic Week Perhaps begin your week with a guest speaker and video presentation. Follow up with some classroom-based activities (see Ideas for ClassroomBased Activities in this guide). The number offered can vary depending on time, interest level and support within the school community. Teachers can prepare each lesson or students can circulate, conferencestyle, through each classroom. This way, teachers only need to prepare one lesson that is repeated (as many times as needed). Depending on the configuration of your school, students could circulate as a class, or in multiage teams. On the last day, consider some sort of summative event that draws together students from various grade levels and/or classes (for example, information-sharing sessions, presentation of students’ Paralympic-related creative or service accomplishments, a mini-Paralympic Games).
A five-day Paralympic Week Follow the three-day plan, taking advantage of the added flexibility in your schedule with Paralympic afternoons. Add more workshops/ lessons depending on time/interest/ availability of staff.
LEGEND 45-minute activities 80–90-minute activities half-/full-day activities
Note: On these sample timetables, the mini-Paralympic Games happen at the end of the week, but they could occur on any day.
Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
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APPENDIx B: PLANNING CHECKLIST
FOr ELEMENTArY SCHOOLS
July/August order promotional materials at Feel The Rush : • Winter sports posters (ice sledge hockey and cross-country skiing); contact anna.parisi@cossette.com for 12 × 18 posters — 100 for $136.00 + shipping • DVD (English and French) • Wheelchair sports teaching resource at BC Wheelchair Sports — $10.00 per copy September gather resources for first staff meeting: • copy of this document, Celebrating Paralympic Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators • materials are available at vancouver2010.com/EDU • materials from The Canadian Paralympic Committee as well as from It’s the real Deal, Paralympic Schools Program introduce Paralympic School Week at first staff meeting: • discuss scheduling and format of Paralympic School Week — November 3–7, 2008 • provide hard copy resources and refer staff to the Useful Links and resources in this guide • establish a Paralympic School Week Steering Committee follow-up staff meeting (mid-September): • review and decide on Steering Committee recommendations regarding theme, format, et cetera • discuss possible guest speakers, community resources, field trip opportunities and connections to current school activities establish one day of the Paralympic School Week as Canada Day. The first day of the Paralympic School Week would be best, especially if there’s a guest speaker: • staff and students are encouraged to wear red, white, Canada clothing, Canadian flag/maple leaf tattoos, face painted, et cetera.
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
book a guest speaker through the Canadian Paralympic Committee , or a local disability sport organization (wheelchair sports, blind sports, CP sports, local sledge hockey/skiing associations) book sport-specific equipment, if needed introduce Paralympic School Week in the September school newsletter order any supplies/equipment necessary for Paralympic activities check school/public libraries for resources October investigate the possibility of linking with neighbourhood schools to share equipment, speakers, et cetera notify local newspaper identify an event photographer have Steering Committee propose format and agenda for school-wide assembly send a letter home for parents including a schedule for the Paralympic event and an invitation to drop in follow up with a reminder home to parents (note, newsletter) provide opportunity for teachers to prepare their materials for the week ahead purchase thank you gift(s) for guest speaker(s) look at necessary scheduling of facilities for activities (gyms, multipurpose rooms) consider opportunities for student leader roles: • make posters • read daily announcements and/or highlight a Canadian Paralympian from each sport on the daily announcements • introduce and thank guest speaker • participate in planning and assemblies to promote the week
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Paralympic School Week — November 3–7, 2008 or November 2–6, 2009 conduct final check for materials/equipment/speaker ensure photographer in place provide mechanism for daily feedback from staff and students collect photos/stories/artwork for school newsletters and submit the content to /EDU, the Canadian School Portal for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at reflect on the week and make recommendations for changes and improvements for the Paralympic School Week in 2009
FOr SECONDArY SCHOOLS
Although the process of planning for a Paralympic School Week would likely be quite similar for elementary and secondary schools, some age-appropriate adaptations are likely. The following are some suggestions: include Student Council members in the planning plan a Spirit Week to include all students ensure that the PE staff and their classes which involve peer leadership and peer teaching have the resources available to incorporate a focus on Paralympism into their classes
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
APPENDIx C: DID YOU KNOW? — ANNOUNCEMENT IDEAS
As a way to promote awareness and engagement of the Paralympic School Week within your school community, consider adopting or adapting any of the following for your daily announcements: 1 The Paralympic Games are a premiere sporting event for athletes with a physical disability. The Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will be the very first time in Paralympic Winter Games history that Canadian Paralympians will be competing on their home territory. The Paralympic Games were introduced by Dr. Ludwig Guttmann. He originally planned them as part of a rehabilitation program for people with spinal injuries and to help young disabled war veterans find engaging and meaningful activity and gain self-esteem. The first official Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960. Four hundred athletes and staff attended from 23 countries, with events limited to wheelchair sports. The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in 1976 in Sweden. The prefix para refers to the Paralympic Movement being parallel to the Olympic Movement. Blind and visually impaired sports were demonstrated for the first time in the 1972 Heidelberg Games, and became official sports four years later in Toronto, along with amputee events. The first Games to include athletes with cerebral palsy were in 1984. The Games were shared between New York and Stoke Mandeville, England. Since Seoul 1988, the Paralympic Games have been held in the same venues as the Olympic Games. Cities now have to bid for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Canada has competed at every Paralympic Games since 1968 and is seen as a world leader in sport for persons with a disability.
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10 Minor modifications are made to the rules of some Olympic sports to accommodate Paralympians’ disabilities. For example, visually impaired downhill skiers may use acoustic signals and guides to assist them, but ski the same courses as Olympians. 11 Athletes compete according to their type of disability and functional ability and only compete against others with similar disabilities. Athletes compete within the following categories: amputee, cerebral palsy, visually impaired, wheelchair and les autres.
12 There are 24 Paralympic sports — 19 summer and 5 winter. 13 The International Paralympic Motto is “Spirit in Motion.” 14 Some Paralympic records are extremely close to Olympic records. For example, Canadian Donovan Bailey’s Olympic record in the 100-metre track event is 9.84 seconds. Nigerian amputee Ajibola Adeoye holds the Paralympic record in the same event at 10.72 seconds. 15 At the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Canada placed 3rd with 72 medals. 16 At the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games, Canada placed 6th with 13 medals, five being gold. 17 Sumi, an animal guardian spirit, is the official mascot for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games. Sumi wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the strong, furry legs of a black bear. 18 The x Paralympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler, BC, from March 12 to 21, 2010. 19 During the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, approximately 600 athletes will compete in five sports and over 60 medal events. 20 Athletes attending the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will compete in alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.
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Celebrating Paralympic School Week in Your School: A Guide for Educators
APPENDIx D: SAMPLE ArTICLE FOr GrADES 8–10 CLASSrOOM-BASED ACTIVITY
LONELY AT THE TOP
PARALYMPICS Vancouver Island wheelchair racer’s only competitor is the clock
By Gary Kingston VANCOUVEr SUN Saturday, May 31, 2008
If you ask most medal prospect athletes headed to Beijing this summer, gold is the thing. For wheelchair racer Michelle Stilwell, it goes beyond that. It also highlights an issue that the Paralympic Games face as the movement struggles for a high-profile identity in the mainstream media: Not all athletes with a disability are created equal, not even those in the same class. Stilwell, a quadriplegic from Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, concedes she won’t be racing opponents in China as much as she’ll be racing the clock That’s what happens when you set a world record in the T52 Class, 100 metres, of 19.60 seconds – as Stilwell did a week ago in Switzerland – and you’re two seconds ahead of your chief rival, Pia Schmid of the host country. That’s two seconds, not 2/10ths of a second. Stilwell’s time bettered the 20.11 of Lisa Franks of Saskatoon and was nearly twoand-a-half seconds faster than the 22.15 she clocked in finishing second to Schmid (22.ll) at the 2006 world championships. She also won the 200 last week in a record 36.35, erasing Franks’ mark of 36.63. “I want both gold medals and records at the Paralympics,” the soft-spoken married mother of a six-year-old boy said in an interview from her home. “At the same time, all I’ve done is make the bar a little higher, challenged myself a little more than 100 days before Beijing. “My focus is on racing against the clock. I just want to better my time.”
In women’s wheelchair track racing at the Paralympic Games, there will be three classes. In addition to the T52, which will contest just the 100 and 200 with only six athletes qualified so far, there are two classes for paraplegics, T53 and T54. The latter has been dominated for the last decade by Quebecer Chantal Petticlerc, who owns world records in the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500. “You’re classified based on your level of function,” says StiIwell “For quads, there can be such a wide range. Some of the girls I’m racing against don’t have tricep muscles. I don’t have [full] wrist and hand function, so I’m still classified as a quad.” She could race as a T53 or T54, but based on current times she’d be three to five seconds off the pace in the sprints. Stilwell says she’d like to race against people that “are more like me,” but, internationally, there just aren’t that many female quadriplegics racing, let alone. competitive ones. Franks was partly responsible for that, by continually lowering the world marks that are used as qualifying standards. In fact, the chief reason the T52s will race the 100 and 200 in Beijing, as opposed to the 200 and 400 that were contested at Athens, is that Franks was a stunning 11 seconds ahead of the field in winning gold in the 400 in 2004 in 1:09.52. rob Needham, high-performance director for the Canadian Paralympic Committee, said the Paralympic Games are about “excellence and elite levels of performance.” And as performances keep ramping up, events for those with more severe disabilities and events for women, where participation rates are low, are being dropped. He says the IPC always faces tough choices in trying to streamline and continues to move to a classification system where athletes are not grouped merely by their disability, but how that disability impacts performance in their sport.
Meanwhile, Stilwell, who won Paralympic gold in 2000 as a reserve on the Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team, rolls on playing “beat the clock”. When she broke Franks’ marks, she got a congratulatory Facebook message from the previous record holder. “I sent her one back saying ‘I guess you have to come back to track now’ which would be great,” says Stilwell, left a quadriplegic at 17 after falling from a friend’s back while piggyback riding. “I’d have a competitor with a pretty similar disability to myself.” However, in a neat twist, Franks has moved to the basketball court, and has made the Canadian team for Beijing. Stilwell retired from basketball after Sydney to start a family. Any thought of returning to the game was dashed because of Chiari malformation, a herniating of the brain stem, which caused significant neck pain and required brain surgery in 2005. She turned to wheelchair racing, but even that hasn’t been smooth sailing. In january, it was discovered that a once pea-sized cyst on her spinal cord was found to have grown to the point where surgery, once planned for after Beijing, would need to be done sooner or it could rupture, causing major health problems. She had surgery two months ago, fearful the whole time that it might affect her arm strength. But she was out of hospital after two days and back in her race chair in twoand-a-half weeks. “I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in 15 years. It’s amazing when you take the headaches away how much energy you have. It’s allowed me to train harder and helping me to realize my goals. “There is a mind-body connection. I really believe in that and sport is something that drives you. I wasn’t going to let surgery affect my goals for Beijing.”
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