The Guardian – Staff Writer
“While the past decade has been noted for the rapid rise in tech, another phenomenon has also hit our streets: the running boom. It feels like there have never been so many people pounding pavements – often in snazzy leggings and high-vis, dry-fit tops. This week’s how to teach shares the best ideas and resources to get teachers and students off on the right foot. Kick off by introducing one of the world’s most exciting city races. This year the London Marathon takes place on Sunday 26 April, when the streets will once again be filled with thousands of lycra-clad runners. Ahead of the big day, give students an idea of the context of the event. This fact sheet tells the 35-year history of the race, while this course map could be used to calculate distances between key landmarks. For younger students, introduce the basics of running with a set of eight lesson plans designed by Active for Life, a social enterprise that promotes physical literacy. There are four lessons for students aged five to eight. The first introduces some of the basic skills needed to run well, including keeping the head still, bending the arms at the elbows and lifting the knees. The second focuses on practising these; it’s important, for example, to encourage students to pump their arms forward and back – without crossing across the body – when running.”(more)