Olympian Stories Gold Grades 6 and up Silver Grades 4-5 Bronze Grades 2-3 Joannie Rochette www.olympicschool.ca Official Mark of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Marque officielle du Comité olympique canadien Royal Bank of Canada, 2008. *Registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. Used by permission.
Olympian Stories Joannie Rochette Creating a Canadian Olympic Learning Environment This year s Canadian Olympic School Program (COSP) presented by RBC is the most comprehensive yet. Each Olympian story, featuring a well-known Canadian Olympian, is brought to life with activities that engage students in literacy and movement skill activities, character challenges, numeracy extensions and audio and video podcasts. Through these values-based Olympian stories, students discover that our athletes reached great success not only through tremendous physical talents, but also through character and intelligence. Complementing these captivating stories is the Canadian Olympic Movement Skills resource and Personal Best Challenges by RBC Olympians. Together, these resources create a foundation for teachers to inspire their students to exercise their mind, body and character. 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 as role models, the program engages students with the joy found in effort while blending sport with culture and education. Our Olympian stories balance intellectual instruction, cultural development and physical education. The heart of our 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, respect and excellence act as a foundation for these stories. Each Olympian 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. As well, Personal Best Challenges by RBC Olympians will challenge students to reach their personal best by applying the values in their everyday life at school, at home or in the community. Finding the Joy in Effort To mimic the physical development of our Olympians, each Olympian story links students to physical literacy activities in our Canadian Olympic Movement Skills resource. These movement activities will encourage students to develop physical skills over time. Students, much as the same as Olympians, must first learn movement skills that enable them to balance, walk, run, jump, skip and throw proficiently. That helps set the stage for them to master more complex movement skills. Being physically literate is critical to the development of healthy students. Physically literate students are not only experts at moving their bodies, but understand how to do so in ways that are respectful of themselves and others. They can move their bodies in creative, intelligent ways that demonstrate their ability to adapt to different situations. Such individuals enjoy success in a range of physical activities, and are more likely to be motivated to adopt healthy behaviours in all aspects of life. Blending Sport with Culture and Education Mountain Lake Each Olympian story is tailored to three reading levels: Bronze (grades 2-3), Silver (grades 4-5), and Gold (grades 6 and into secondary school). Each comes with progressive activities that are openended and tailored to address a diverse range of learning styles and proficiencies. They focus on six M. Ricker 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 2010-2011 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 schoolwide relevance. Group sizes for activities will be indicated by the following icons: Independent Activity Small Group Activity Large Group Activity 2 www.olympicschool.ca
Olympian Stories Joannie Rochette Gold Grades 6 and up Silver Grades 4-5 Bronze Grades 2-3 Connecting Building a foundation for new learning Processing Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Transforming Showing understanding in a new way Extending Making further connections to Olympians www.olympicschool.ca
You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it. You have to be confident in yourself. Bronze Grades 2-3 Joannie Rochette s Olympic bronze medal hangs gracefully around her neck. It shines in the bright lights of Vancouver s Pacific Coliseum. As she looks down at the medal, Joannie remembers when she was little. I was suddenly a little girl again. I used to always draw pictures of myself winning an Olympic medal. Now that dream had come true. A tear rolls down her cheek. Joannie feels happy, but she is also very sad. Just two days before Joannie began her competition, her mother, Therese, died of a heart attack. Therese had just arrived in Vancouver to watch and support her daughter. I knew I would still skate. My mother had been my main support. She always pushed me hard to be a great skater. It is hard to be a figure skater. She helped FUN FACTS Favourite recess activity: Stretching and staying fit Advice about being courageous: Always persevere, never give up Favourite subject in school: Math, Biology, Chemistry 4 www.olympicschool.ca
Bronze Grades 2-3 me get over many obstacles. I knew she would tell me to have courage. I dedicated my competition to her memory. Joannie knows this was her mother s dream as well. Therese wanted to see her daughter on the podium at the Olympic Games. But it has not been easy to do that. Joannie is not from a big city here skaters have lots of support, or many clubs to choose from. She is from a small town. It would have been easy to give up. She has been hurt. She has made mistakes. She has fallen down. She has missed big jumps. Joannie didn t give up. You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it. You have to be confident in yourself. One time, Joannie had a problem with her long-time coach. They broke up right before a big competition. Joannie had to move to a new town to practise. Joannie s mother stepped in to help Joannie bounce back. She told me to be brave. She told me that the coach doesn t make me who I am as a person or a skater. I have to do that. It made me stronger to know that I had that responsibility. Joannie looks into the crowd. She sees her father, Normand. He is a courageous man. He is sad but he has come here to cheer for his daughter. He has worked many jobs over the years to help pay for her training. Joannie knows he has helped her Olympic dreams come true. Hundreds of cameras flash. All the fans in the rink want to capture the moment. Joannie s courage is the most moving story of the Olympic Winter Games. All the support was great, but it also added pressure. It was hard. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone knew what I was going through. For me, I had to try as hard as I could to lose myself in my own world. That has not been easy. The crowds give her standing ovations every time she skates. TV stations have told her story around the world. She can t ignore the attention, she has to deal with it. Joannie has lived in the public eye for years. As a skater, I am all alone on a sheet of ice with a pretty costume and makeup. In hockey, if someone falls they just get back up. If I fall, everyone sees that. You have to be tough, even a little selfish to be a skater. You can t worry about what other people are thinking about you, good or bad. You have to be yourself. The anthems begin to play. The flags of the top skaters rise to the ceiling. Joannie takes a deep breath and watches the Canadian flag. Everyone would have understood if Joannie had fallen down. They would have understood if she had left the competition. But Joannie showed courage and self confidence. She didn t quit. Now she is an Olympic bronze medallist. Joannie thinks about the pictures she drew of herself when she was a child. In those pictures she is always smiling. Joannie does allow herself a smile now, to celebrate this achievement for herself and her family. Joannie as one of the closing ceremony flag bearers 5 www.olympicschool.ca
BRONZE Successful Self Courage Quilt CONNECTING: Building a foundation for new learning Instruct students to draw a picture of themselves doing something they feel they can do or have done very well (ex. riding a bicycle, swimming, etc.). If students are having difficulty coming up with an idea, suggest a time they draw a time in which they have helped a friend, classmate or family member. As a class, have each student explain his or her drawing. Have other students some feeling questions about it, such as: Was it hard to learn to (ex. bike, swim)?, Were you successful at this right away? and/or How did it feel when you accomplished this task? Watch Rochette s remarkable courage at www.olympischool.ca/podcast PROCESSING: Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Defining Courage Read the story together as a class. Identify who the important people are in Joannie s life. Identify how these people helped Joannie achieve her goal of Olympic success. Joannie s story shows us that difficult things in life help to make us stronger. Identify some events in life that may be difficult, upsetting or stressful. Ask your students to identify the important people in their life and how these people can be helpful during a tough time. Discuss the words courage, perseverance, motivation. What do they mean? What role does each characteristic play in helping people get through a tough time? TRANSFORMING: Showing understanding in a new way Provide each child with a square piece of paper (approx. 15 cm square) and have them draw images of the people or things in their life that motivate them, help them persevere through tough times or that they feel are courageous. Create a quilt of images displaying these examples of courage, perseverance or motivation. Put all the images on the same coloured background sheet to create the class quilt (may use the classroom door to mount the images). Gold Bronze Grades Grades 6 and 2-3 up NEXT STEPS: Canadian Olympic Movement Skills Download the Canadian Olympic Movement Skills physical literacy resource to develop fundamental movement skills associated with our Olympian stories. Now that you have read the story, experience fun, exploratory movement activities with Joannie and your students. PERSONAL BEST CHALLENGES by RBC OLYMPIANS The following Personal Best Challenges by RBC Olympians link to the value of courage: Brady Leman Jayna Hefford John Hastings Marie-Eve Marleau All challenges are available in the Canadian Olympic School Program Challenge Guide or via podcast at www.olympicschool.ca/podcast EXTENDING: Making further connections to Olympians Explore numbers and the Olympic Games by developing numeracy problems from Olympian results and sport specific numbers. Sample Numeracy Exercise When Joannie Rochette was a young skater, she was on the ice training with her coach 5 times a week, for one hour at a time. How many hours was she on the ice training? If she had to pay her coach $24 for each half-hour of training, how much did she pay her coach per week. If Joannie doubled her training, how much would she pay her coach per week? 6 www.olympicschool.ca
Olympian Stories Joannie Rochette Gold Grades 6 and up Silver Grades 4-5 Bronze Grades 2-3 Connecting Building a foundation for new learning Processing Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Transforming Showing understanding in a new way Extending Making further connections to Olympians www.olympicschool.ca
You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it. You have to be confident in yourself. Silver Grades 4-5 Joannie Rochette gazes down at the Olympic bronze medal that hangs gracefully around her neck. It glimmers in the bright lights of Vancouver s Pacific Coliseum. She is instantly transported back in time. Holding that medal I was suddenly a little girl again. I used to always draw pictures of myself winning an Olympic medal and now that dream had come true. A tear rolls down her cheek. This victory is bittersweet. Just two days before Joannie began her competition, her mother, Therese, died suddenly of a heart attack. She had just arrived in Vancouver to watch and support her daughter. There was no question of not skating. My mother had been my main support, my rock. She always pushed me hard to be a great skater. being a figure skater is challenging FUN FACTS Favourite recess activity: Stretching and staying fit Advice about being courageous: Always persevere, never give up Favourite subject in school: Math, Biology, Chemistry. 8 www.olympicschool.ca
Silver Grades 4-5 and she helped me get over many obstacles. I knew she would tell me to be courageous, so I dedicated my competition to her memory. Joannie knows this was her mother s dream as well, seeing her daughter on the podium at the Olympic Games. It s never been an easy ride. She s not from a big city, with lots of support and clubs, but a small town. It would have been easy to give up as there have been many injuries, falls, missed jumps along the way. Overcoming self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges. You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it and be confident in yourself as well. There was even the time Joannie had a falling out with her long-time coach. They broke up right before a big competition. Joannie had to move to a new town for her training. It was her mother who stepped in to help Joannie bounce back. She told me to be brave. She told me that the coach doesn t make me who I am as a person or a skater. I have to do that. It made me stronger to know that I had that responsibility. Joannie looks into the crowd and sees her father, Normand. She sees the courageous man who has put aside his own grief to be here supporting his daughter. She remembers the way he has worked numerous jobs over the years to help pay for her training, to help her Olympic dreams come true. Hundreds of cameras begin to flash as all the fans and photographers in the rink begin to capture the moment. Joannie s determination to compete, her courage, is the most moving story of the Olympic Winter Games. All the support was great, but it also added pressure. One of the hardest things was knowing that everyone was looking at me, that everyone knew what I was going through. For me, I had to try as hard as I could to lose myself in my own world. That has not been easy. Each of her performances was met with a standing ovation. Stories about her loss have been beamed around the world. It s something she can t ignore. Years of living in the public eye help Joannie deal with the range of emotions she s feeling in Vancouver. As a skater, I am all alone on a sheet of ice with a pretty costume and makeup. In hockey, if someone falls they just get back up. If I fall, everyone sees that. You have to be tough, even a little selfish to be a skater. You can t worry about what other people are thinking about you, good or bad. You have to be yourself. The anthems begin to play and the flags, including the Canadian flag, are raised to the ceiling. Joannie takes a deep breath. Everyone in attendance and watching at home would have understood if she d fallen, or if she d pulled out of the competition. But with her courage and self confidence she didn t, and now she is an Olympic bronze medallist. Joannie thinks back one more time to the pictures she drew of herself when she was a child. In those pictures she is always smiling. Joannie does allow herself a smile now, to celebrate this achievement for herself and her family. Joannie as one of the closing ceremony flag bearers 9 www.olympicschool.ca
SILVER CONNECTING: Building a foundation for new learning Defining Courage As a class, define the terms courage, perseverance and motivation. Leave the terms and definitions written out on chart paper and left up in the classroom for future reference by students. Starting with Joannie s name, brainstorm a list of public figures who demonstrate these characteristics. Discuss the term role model and list any additional names that arise once the term role model was discussed. Watch Rochette s remarkable courage at www.olympischool.ca/podcast Gold Silver Grades Grades 6 and 4-5 up NEXT STEPS: Canadian Olympic Movement Skills Download the Canadian Olympic Movement Skills physical literacy resource to develop fundamental movement skills associated with our Olympian stories. Now that you have read the story, experience fun, exploratory movement activities with Joannie and your students. Success Art PROCESSING: Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Instruct student to draw a picture of himself or herself achieving success in an actual event that happened. Encourage students to include plenty of detail in their pictures. In small groups, have students share their pictures. On the back of the picture the other students write what they see happening in the picture and how this relates to courage, perseverance, and motivation. Once all the pictures have been passed around, students discuss any similarities they noticed (ex. When are the times in our lives when we must demonstrate these traits? How do we feel during such times? Are there people in our lives who help us?). Teacher may also wish to do this last part as a class discussion. PERSONAL BEST CHALLENGES by RBC OLYMPIANS The following Personal Best Challenges by RBC Olympians link to the value of courage: Brady Leman Jayna Hefford John Hastings Marie-Eve Marleau All challenges are available in the Canadian Olympic School Program Challenge Guide or via podcast at www.olympicschool.ca/podcast Why I Can Art TRANSFORMING: Showing understanding in a new way (Media Literacy activity) Students create a poster or collage to inspire themselves to have courage, to persevere, and/ or be motivated to get through a difficult time. In creating their posters or collage, students should consider the following: The importance of demonstrating these character traits (ex. often leads to achieving one s goals) The importance of trying one s best; participation Use personal examples or examples of people in the media Placement of words and images (layout) Use of colour 10 www.olympicschool.ca
SILVER Gold Silver Grades Grades 6 and 4-5 up EXTENDING: Making further connections to Olympians Explore numbers and the Olympic Games by developing numeracy problems from Olympian results and sport specific numbers. Sample Numeracy Exercise Joannie is shopping for new skates. She buys her boots and blades separately. She has found the same boots and blades for different prices in Canada, the United States and in England. Considering the exchange rates to Canadian dollars, calculate the costs for her boots and blades from different locations and decide which country has the best deal for her skates. Boots Blades Exchange Rate Canada ($CAD - Canadian Dollars) $600 $750 N/A United States ($ USD - US Dollars) $728.99 USD $750 USD $1 CAD = $0.97 USD England ( - Pounds) 441.00 436.99 $1 CAD = 0.63 Assume costs such as shipping are included. 11 www.olympicschool.ca
Olympian Stories Joannie Rochette Gold Grades 6 and up Silver Grades 4-5 Bronze Grades 2-3 Connecting Building a foundation for new learning Processing Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Transforming Showing understanding in a new way Extending Making further connections to Olympians www.olympicschool.ca
You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it. You have to be confident in yourself. Gold Grades 6 and up Joannie Rochette gazes down at the Olympic bronze medal that hangs gracefully around her neck. It glimmers in the bright lights of Vancouver s Pacific Coliseum and she is instantly transported back in time. Holding that medal I was suddenly a little girl again. I used to always draw pictures of myself winning an Olympic medal and now that dream had come true. A tear rolls down her cheek. This victory is bittersweet. Just two days before Joannie began her competition, her mother, Therese, died suddenly of a heart attack. She had just arrived in Vancouver to watch and support her daughter. There was no question of not skating. My mother had been my main support, my rock. She always pushed me hard to be a great skater. Being a figure skater is challenging. FUN FACTS Favourite recess activity: Stretching and staying fit Advice about being courageous: Always persevere, never give up Favourite subject in school: Math, Biology, Chemistry 13 www.olympicschool.ca
Gold Grades 6 and up and she helped me get over many obstacles. I knew that she would tell me to be courageous, so I dedicated my competition to her memory. Joannie knows this was her mother s dream as well, seeing her daughter on the podium at the Olympic Games. It s never been an easy ride. She s not from a big city, with lots of support and clubs, but from a small town. It would have been easy to give up as there have been many injuries, falls and missed jumps along the way. Overcoming self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges. You can t think about failure when you skate. You must prepare as best as you can. Doubt can help you train harder, but you have to fight against it and be confident in yourself as well. There was even the time Joannie had a falling out with her long-time coach. They broke up right before a big competition and Joannie had to move to a new town for her training. It was her mother who stepped in to help Joannie bounce back. She told me to be brave. She told me that the coach doesn t make me who I am as a person or a skater. I have to do that. It made me stronger to know that I had that responsibility. Joannie looks into the crowd and sees her father, Normand. She sees the courageous man who has put aside his own grief to be here supporting his daughter. She remembers the way he has worked numerous jobs over the years to help pay for her training, to help her Olympic dreams come true. Hundreds of cameras begin to flash as all the fans and photographers in the rink begin to capture the moment. Joannie s determination to compete, her courage, is the most moving story of the Olympic Winter Games. All the support was great, but it also added pressure. One of the hardest things was knowing that everyone was looking at me, that everyone knew what I was going through. For me, I had to try as hard as I could to lose myself in my own world. That has not been easy. Each of her performances was met with a standing ovation. Stories about her loss have been beamed around the world. It s something she can t ignore. Years of living in the public eye help Joannie deal with the range of emotions she s feeling in Vancouver. As a skater, I am all alone on a sheet of ice with a pretty costume and makeup. In hockey, if someone falls they just get back up. If I fall, everyone sees that. You have to be tough, even a little selfish to be a skater. You can t worry about what other people are thinking about you, good or bad. You have to be yourself. The anthems begin to play and the flags, including the Canadian flag, are raised to the ceiling. Joannie takes a deep breath. Everyone in attendance and watching at home would have understood if she d fallen, or if she d pulled out of the competition. But with her courage and self confidence she didn t, and now she is an Olympic bronze medallist. Joannie thinks back one more time to the pictures she drew of herself when she was a child. In those pictures she is always smiling. Joannie does allow herself a smile now, to celebrate this achievement for herself and her family. Joannie as one of the closing ceremony flag bearers 14 www.olympicschool.ca
GOLD Media Literacy CONNECTING: Building a foundation for new learning Visualizing and Interpreting Ask the students what the words courage, perseverance and motivation mean to them. Record their responses on chart paper and allow students time to discuss some examples of each. Have students create a comic strip that depicts examples of courage, perseverance and motivation. Emphasize that they are not to include speech or thought bubbles in the comic. Once the comic is completed, photocopy several of them and hand out to students. Have them create speech and thought bubbles of what they think is happening within the comic. Have students share their thoughts with a partner and then offer their interpretations in a large group discussion. Watch Rochette s remarkable courage at www.olympischool.ca/podcast PROCESSING: Using strategies to acquire and use knowledge Courage Comparison Joannie and her father were both described in the reading as being courageous. Find evidence within the reading to show this. How were they the same and how were they different? In a group of 3 or 4, list the thoughts of the members of the group on chart paper. On a different page, have the students provide examples of courage from other known stories or their own personal experiences. TRANSFORMING: Showing understanding in a new way Identify a variety of media forms and have the students create or choose a depiction of what courage is. Students may create a poster or PowerPoint presentation showing images of courage. Students may create or choose a collection of pieces of music that displays courage. Have the students present their interpretations to the class and highlight the parts of their presentation that emphasize courage. Gold Grades 6 and up NEXT STEPS: Canadian Olympic Movement Skills Download the Canadian Olympic Movement Skills physical literacy resource to develop fundamental movement skills associated with our Olympian stories. Now that you have read the story, experience fun, exploratory movement activities with Joannie and your students. PERSONAL BEST CHALLENGES by RBC OLYMPIANS The following Personal Best Challenges by RBC Olympians link to the value of courage: Brady Leman Jayna Hefford John Hastings Marie-Eve Marleau All challenges are available in the Canadian Olympic School Program Challenge Guide or via podcast at www.olympicschool.ca/podcast 15 www.olympicschool.ca
GOLD Gold Grades 6 and up EXTENDING: Making further connections to Olympians Explore numbers and the Olympic Games by developing numeracy problems from Olympian results and sport specific numbers. Sample Numeracy Exercise The following are the costs for Joannie to travel to a world championship event in figure skating: Travel to and from airport - $100 CAD Flight - $1500 CAD Food - $300 Ground Transportation at the event 150 Coaching fee - $1000 CAD Coaches Accommodation & Food 1000 With an exchange rate where $1 CAD = 0.76 (Euro), calculate Joannie s costs for a single event in Europe. Assuming 80% of this cost is covered by funding and sponsorship, how much would Joannie have to pay for herself? How might Joannie raise funds to help support her participation in this event? Please note these expenses are approximate expenses. 16 www.olympicschool.ca
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. Featured Olympian: Joannie Rochette Story Writer: Graphic Designer: Kevin Sylvester Andy Maier Educational Consultants: Shawn Lalonde Margot Mather Etienne Mercieca Marguerite Campbell The Canadian Olympic Committee thanks RBC Financial Group for their generous support of the Canadian Olympic School Program. Specifically, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Jacqueline Ryan and Josh Epstein. The Canadian Olympic School Program was developed by: Georgina Gray Isabelle Hodge Jeff Jurmain Dennis Kim Dana Tomiczek Lisa Wallace www.olympicschool.ca Official Mark of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Marque officielle du Comité olympique canadien Royal Bank of Canada, 2008. *Registered trademark of Royal Bank of Canada. Used by permission.