"Beginning to run for a beginner can be extremely tough, especially without a plan."
I had a plan in place on the first day of school as we began our Daily 5 routine and started building our reading stamina. At first it seemed tough, but they slowly built their stamina each and every day!
"The Couch to 5k Training plan can help any new runner start up in their running experience. If you follow it with a positive mindset, you will no doubt succeed. "
From Day one I instilled in my students the belief that Hard Work...Pays off. With Positive Praise, the students quickly gained confidence in themselves as learners. They took risks in reading and writing and were not afraid to push themselves outside their comfort zone. There is no other choice BUT to succeed.
"All you need in order to begin this plan is some running shoes, around 10-30 minutes of a few days each week, and 10 weeks worth of motivation. "
Students needed good fit books and books from many genres, around 10-30 minutes a few days a week of extra home work practice, and weeks worth of motivation from the success they saw in the classroom.
"How to Use the Plan? Using the Couch to 5k Training Plan is simple. Just start your training on week 1, and progress through the days normally. In the beginning, you will be doing lots of walking as warm ups and cool downs. Later on, when you’ve experienced long periods of running, you won’t need to walk as much."
We started training on Day 1 and progressed through the weeks normally, adding and building Reading stamina each week. In the beginning we were doing many whole group lessons as walking warm ups and had cool down lessons that reviewed what they had learned as readers. We began lessons as a whole class, but gradually students were left to try skills on their own. Later on when they experienced long periods of running/Reading, we didn't need to stop. Instead we added new running routes, different genres, to their training sessions. Students learned how to run on different terrain, by reading new genres and learning the nuances of each genre they faced.
"Around week 6, you’ll stop walking as a warm up. Around week 9, you’ll be done with walking altogether."
In class we are no longer walking, but jogging through each day! As we prepare for our 5k, the MCAS , we are learning lots of Tips and Test Taking Strategies that will help us on race day so that we are as prepared as we can be and can "show what we know" when we cross the finish line.
In the weeks to come:
I will begin to post some of the Tips/Strategies being used in class so that you can use the same language with your child when reviewing his classwork or going over homework. These strategies are not just for the MCAS, but can be applied to any and all tests taken throughout life. One of KEY words in this whole training program is RELAX. We all need to take a deep breath and relax... it can seem a bit overwhelming, but if we have confidence in our students and in their abilities as learners...anything is possible.
Thank you for co-coaching with me!
Together
Everyone
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