Students Lace Up for Learning with 5K Race Planning, Collaboration
A group of elementary school students are racing toward knowledge thanks to a few local athletes.
Lacy Hatfield’s elementary students are learning firsthand from local track superstars Isabella Day & Jaylen Curry about the benefits and strategy of running. This project makes the most of the CHAMPS renovation to the track and field.
“I wanted the students to realize that it isn’t just the football team that uses the field,” Hatfield said.
“Both Jaylen and Isabella have received high accolades in track and field and I knew that the students would appreciate that,” she continued. “I had the honor of teaching Isabella in 4th grade and on the academic team; we still stay in touch. Jaylen and my boys became friends while running track at LCHS and I knew that he is a great role model for young student athletes. I mainly wanted them to get excited about their learning.”
Hatfield laid the groundwork for her students’ guests by showing them videos of Day and Curry in action. Students also watched clips from the Olympics and cross country races to get a feel for the larger elements of racing. They then collaborated in groups to come up with their ideal questions for Day and Curry.
“I like how they came in and told us how they ran their races,” said student Owen Thomas. “Isabella and Jaylen told us how they prepare and practice for races. And they talked to us about how we can plan our race. We got a better idea on how long a 5K is. I liked their medals and looking at their race pictures. Like one picture Isabella showed was a big crowd when they started the race. Jaylen is really tall and when he does hurdles, he has to jump really high. He told us that he went to Australia to compete!”
Students like Thomas collaborated with their peers and the speakers to learn more about coordinating a 5K race, also fulfilling the Learner Profile’s Collaborative Communication initiative.
Students also fulfilled the Resilient Problem Solver initiative in the Learner Profile by coming up with countless ideas for the 5k. For example, they started designing the medal that would be handed out to finishers.
Hatfield said that students would learn more about how health is improved through running first hand.
Most importantly, Hatfield’s students would fulfill the Lifelong Learner goals outlined by the Learner Profile. Students will apply math and physical fitness to achieve their goal.
“We will plan out and talk about miles and feet. We will have to decide how much we will charge, where we will place water stations, snacks, etc.,” Hatfield said. “The students did decide that this will be a fun run as we do not want to mess with chips and timer. This was a BIG decision that students had to weigh pros and cons.”