LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Read about a teen who is using her love of swimming to help fight cancer; identify benefits and challenges of distance swimming; identify ways to stay motivated while working toward a challenging goal.

HEALTH ED STANDARDS

NHES 6: Use goal-setting skills to enhance health.

CASEL: Self-management, social awareness

KEY VOCAB

pediatric

acclimated

tangible

Lesson Plan: Going the Distance

Maya, 17, swims hundreds of miles to raise money to help fight cancer.

PREPARING TO READ

Before you read the article “Going the Distance,” ask your students the following pre-reading question:

What motivates people to train for long-distance athletic events?

READING AND DISCUSSION

  • Have your students read the article “Going the Distance”; read the article out loud to them; or have students partner-read the article out loud.
  • After they’ve read the article, revisit the pre-reading question. Have their answers changed?

BUILDING COMPREHENSION

Check students’ comprehension of and engagement with the story with the following assessment tools:

  • ● Comprehension Quiz with vocabulary questions

EXPANDING SEL OPPORTUNITIES

Continue the learning journey with the following extension activity:

In MOTIVATION 101, have students use the skills sheet to learn more about staying motivated while working toward a goal. Have students use one of the sites mentioned in the article (usacycling.org, usaswimming.org, or usatriathlon.org) to find races in their area. Have them note down information about at least one upcoming race in their area. Then, have them use the prompts in the skills sheet to write down a few tips for getting started in the sport they’ve chosen. At the end, have them reflect on whether they might be interested in connecting with a fundraising group of any type.

Print the Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech