OLYMPIAN STORIES JEAN-PHILIPPE LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015. SILVER LEVEL Grades

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1 OLYMPIAN STORIES LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015 SILVER LEVEL Grades 4-5

2 JUSTIN WADSWORTH FAIR PLAY TEACHERS GUIDE CREATING A CANADIAN OLYMPIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENT GILMORE JUNIO AND DENNY MORRISON FRIENDSHIP DOMINIQUE MALTAIS DETERMINATION Each story, featuring a well-known Canadian Olympian or coach from the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, is brought to life with activities that engage students in literacy, physical activity, character and team-building challenges. LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR Through these values-based Olympian and Coach stories, students discover that Canadian athletes reached great success not only through tremendous physical talents, but also through character and intelligence. Complementing these captivating stories is the mental fitness resource Be a Champion for Life: Energy Gains and Energy Drains. Together, these resources create a foundation for teachers to inspire their students to exercise their mind, body and character. TEAMWORK 2 SILVER LEVEL Grades 4-5

3 The Canadian Olympic School Program (COSP) is designed in accordance with the founder of the modern Olympic Movement, Pierre de Coubertin s, philosophy of Olympism. By recognizing the value of Olympians and coaches as role models, the program engages students with the joy found in effort while blending sport with culture and education. The Athlete and Coach stories balance intellectual instruction, cultural development and physical education. The heart of the curriculum focuses on participation, effort and the pride in knowing you have given your all to the pursuit of excellence. OLYMPIC VALUES AS EDUCATIONAL TOOLS The worldwide Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect act as a foundation for these stories. Each Athlete and Coach story will focus on the development of a character value within your students. By engaging students in each narrative, they have the opportunity to expand their understanding of this value and to expand their moral capabilities. BLENDING SPORT WITH CULTURE AND EDUCATION Each Athlete and Coach story is tailored to three reading levels: Bronze (grades 2 and 3), Silver (grades 4 and 5), and Gold (grades 6 to 8). Each story comes with progressive activities that are open- ended and tailored to address a diverse range of learning styles and proficiencies. They focus on six main facets of understanding: explaining, interpreting, applying, taking perspective, empowering and developing self- knowledge. These critical thinking skills are woven into all three stages of the learning sequence in order to promote deeper understanding of the values and concepts. Through many facets of the Canadian Olympic School Program, children and youth can connect values to their lives at home, at school and in their local community. Perhaps they can begin to see their world in new and different ways. TEACHING GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS Current curriculum theory emphasizes the importance of reinforcing value messages through narratives, storytelling, art, posters, drama, and physical movement. Activities based on the stories, events, ceremonies and symbols of the Olympic Games have school-wide relevance. Group sizes for activities will be indicated by the following icons: 3 PIERRE DE COUBERTIN Independent Activity Small Group Activity Large Group Activity

4 OLYMPIAN STORY LE GUELLEC SOCHI 2014 LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE For some athletes, it is obvious from the first time they lace on skates, or put on a pair of skis, that they are bound for greatness. For others, success comes slowly and only through years of hard work. Jean-Philippe Le Guellec fell into the slow success group. When he was 13 years old, his Royal Canadian Air Cadets group started doing the sport of biathlon. Biathlon mixes cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. He tried some races, but the skiing wasn t his favourite part. It was the thrill of shooting that kept him in the sport. 4 SILVER LEVEL Grades 4-5 CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015

5 Then a coach saw some promise. He was asked to train with an Olympic development group. THE RESULTS DIDN T ALWAYS COME QUICKLY, BUT THERE WAS ALWAYS PROGRESSION. Jean-Philippe was not the fastest skier in his group. LE GUELLEC He lived three hours away from the training centre near Quebec City. A few times a month, his mom would drive him to training. He wasn t happy with his results, but he was determined to improve. I learned to train well. Each time I skied, I thought about the technical points that I needed to ski more efficiently and faster. I worked to improve the precision and speed of my shooting. Every race was an expression of the things that I had learned during training. Every year, his results got a bit better. In 2004, he won a gold medal in the 7.5-km sprint at the World Junior Championships, and a silver medal in the team pursuit. His goals got bigger. Biathlon is a sport where the Europeans usually win. He was determined to show that Canadians could be among the best in the world. While he was still a junior, Jean-Philippe qualified for the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games. The goal was to live his Olympic dream and learn as much as he could. He watched the best biathletes from the European countries. He saw how they prepared and raced. Rubbing shoulders with the best in the sport was motivating, explains Jean-Philippe. Four years later, Jean-Philippe was ready to compete at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. He raced in the 10-km sprint, and after the first shooting range, he took the lead for a short time. To everyone s surprise, he finished sixth. I almost made the podium, he says, and I proved to myself that I could someday win a medal. But after returning home, Jean-Philippe would face the biggest challenge of his career. He felt exhausted in 5 LE GUELLEC SOCHI 2014 LE GUELLEC VANCOUVER 2010 WHAT DOES SUCCESS MEAN? Success can mean many things to many people. Doing the best you can do is success, win or lose.

6 his training. He couldn t understand why he was so far behind other skiers in races. LE GUELLEC SOCHI 2014 Finally he was diagnosed with a virus. He had to take three months completely off training. It took him two years to regain his former level of fitness. Through it all, Jean-Philippe remained committed to his goals. In 2012, he won a gold medal on the World Cup biathlon circuit. By the time the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games rolled around, he was in the best shape of his life. Athletes in the 10-km sprint race start at different times. Jean-Philippe started fast. He didn t want his coach to tell him his position. He just wanted to focus on his skiing. But he knew he was doing well. This day, his shooting was perfect. After the last range, he learned he was only three seconds away from third place. He skied as hard as he could in the last stretch, finishing in fifth. This was the best finish ever for a Canadian male biathlete. Jean-Philippe had achieved his goal of proving that Canadians could compete well against the best in the world. I have always pursued excellence, he says. The results didn t always come quickly, but there was always progression. It was my passion that motivated me the most. BIATHLON is a sport that mixes the precision of shooting and the aerobic endurance of cross-country skiing. The skiers carry a rifle on their backs as they ski around the course. Each loop, they stop at a target range to take their shots. If they miss, they have to ski a penalty lap that adds time to their race. The challenge is to shoot accurately when your heart is racing from just having skied. It is a very demanding sport, that is quite fun to watch. PRONE POSITION 45mm 50m STANDING POSITION 115mm 50m 6 PURSUIT OLYMPIC DEBUT: 2002 INDIVIDUAL WOMEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1992 MEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1960 WOMEN - 15 KM / MEN - 20 KM 30 SEC WOMEN - 10 KM / MEN KM TOP 60 ATHLETES FROM SPRINT 1 MIN SPRINT WOMEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1992 MEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1980 WOMEN KM / MEN - 10 KM 30 SEC RELAY WOMEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1992 MEN S OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1968 WOMEN - 4 X 6 KM / MEN - 4 X 7.5 KM MASS START OLYMPIC DEBUT: 2006 MIXED RELAY OLYMPIC DEBUT: 2014 WOMEN KM / MEN - 15 KM 2 WOMEN X 6KM + 2 MEN X 7.5KM 30 SEC

7 LEARNING SEQUENCE LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE CONNECTING BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR NEW LEARNING Speed interviews Students partner up and have 3 minutes to ask their partner to answer the following questions: 1. What does it mean to you to be excellent? 2. Describe a time when you worked with heart. 3. What does it look like when you give your best? 4. What do you do to fulfill your possibilities? After the 3 minutes, students switch roles. Another 3 minutes are allotted to answer the questions. Class Sharing As a class, students share what they learned from their partners during the interview, reporting back by saying, Joseph said or Asha explained 7 PROCESSING USING STRATEGIES TO ACQUIRE AND USE KNOWLEDGE Read the story individually or as a class. An Interview with Jean-Philippe Working alone or with the same partner as in the Connecting activity, students ask the interview questions of Jean-Philippe, using the template worksheet. Students may choose to use direct quotes from the article or infer what Jean-Philippe might say based on the story. Class Discussion Students share their ideas for Jean-Philippe s answers. EXTENSION ACTIVITY Do an Internet search for secrets to success or how to be excellent. Ask students to compile a list of 5 tips to being successful or excellent and write these on a flip chart page. Discuss as a class some of the things that students can do to reach their goals. TRANSFORMING SHOWING UNDERSTANDING IN A NEW WAY Equation for Excellence Review with the students the nature of an equation, where two mathematical expressions are equal. For good examples of this, see This plus That by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. Model how an excellence equation could be written for Jean-Philippe. This might look like the following example: Excellence = love for shooting + lots of practice + setting goals a virus Invite students to write an excellence equation for themselves. These should have some personal elements along with some of the elements from the story, such as determination, practice or goal-setting. Students should then illustrate the equation, with a personal drawing of themselves working toward a particular goal.

8 AN INTERVIEW WITH LE GUELLEC 2. Describe a time when you worked with passion. 1. What does it mean to you to develop your potential? 3. What does it look like when you pursue excellence? 4. What do you do to strive for mastery? 5. How is being excellent different from being perfect? 8

9 OLYMPIAN STORIES LE GUELLEC EXCELLENCE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM WISHES TO THANK AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE. WITHOUT THEIR EFFORTS, AND CREATIVITY, THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE Eric Boulé Ty Greene Derek Kent Marie-Ève Marleau Nathaniel Miller Kate Moorhouse Olya Ovtchinnikova Marc-André Plouffe Sandra Sassine Paulo Senra Tys van der Drift FEATURED ATHLETE Jean-Philippe Le Guellec WEBSITE Todd Denis Mark Nadolny Georgia Sapounas PHOTOGRAPHS Winston Chow Ben Stevenson INTERVIEWER Sylvain Leclerc WRITERS Bruce Deacon Marcie Good Claire Cairnie GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andy Maier TRANSLATION Célyne Malette, Editor Pascale Seide Legros SILVER LEVEL Grades 4-5