Make a selection Health Math Science Social Studies Literacy Tips - Colleagues Tips - Activities Tips - Training Click here for a printer-friendly version of this activity. Go! Requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader Running for Awareness Preparation Steps Credits Preparation Grade Levels:: 4-8 Prerequisite: This activity will be most effective if delivered in several periods of 45 minutes to an hour, with groups of 12-16 participants. Activities 1-3 are tied specifically to the video, while activities 4-6 are related to the video in a more general, thematic way. The video and activities can be spread out over a period of 4-8 days. The group leader should videotape the public television show: SAHARA MARATHON from the WIDE ANGLE series and be familiar with its content. The show is approximately 50 minutes in length. Materials: Students will need: pencils, pens loose leaf paper dictionaries Internet Access Group Leader will need: chart paper copies of Handouts #1 - Handout #6 for each participant books on deserts Academic Goals: Participants will use fiction, non-fiction and Internet sources to learn about: deserts and in particular, the Sahara Desert. the history of the conflict that uprooted the Sahrawi people from their home. Social Goals: Children will: work in pairs and teams to answer questions and report to the group. develop empathy for the plight of the Sahrawi and, by extension, for others who are oppressed. think about what it means to them personally to be an ally or have an ally. enjoy individual and team sports and games. Steps Introduction (20 min) Tell the participants they will see a video in public television's WIDE ANGLE series about an athletic event meant to call attention to the situation of a group of people who have been uprooted from their home and have lived for 30 years in a desert. NOTE: To create a word web, write the word DESERT in the middle of the page and circle it. Write the associated words that the children call out around the circled word to form a web. Review key vocabulary words listed on Handout #1. You can write the vocabulary words on chart paper, one at a time, asking participants to propose the meaning of each word and then sharing the definitions on Handout #1. Alternatively, simply read through the vocabulary words on Handout #1 with participants. Activity 1: Viewing the Video and Immediate Follow-Up / Question Search / Word Find The video can be shown in its entirety or in segments. The segments are as follows: Segment One (approximately 8 minutes): Introduction to the race; runners from other countries arrive. Segment ends after statement by Mr. Carney, founder of the race, about its difficulty. Segment Two (approximately 5 minutes): Background on political situation, difficulties of life in the camps. Segment Three (approximately 8 minutes): The race begins. Segment Four (approximately 5 minutes): Information on the culture and structure of life in the camps. Segment Five (approximately 2 minutes): The race continues and the wind picks up, making it difficult for the runners. Segment Six (approximately 3 minutes): More on the history of the conflict that sent the Sahrawi into exile. Segment Seven (approximately 3 minutes): The race continues, as does the wind. Segment Eight (approximately 2 minutes): More on the history of the conflict with Morocco and the current status of Sahrawi-Moroccan relations. Segment Nine (approximately 8 minutes): The end of the race/conclusion of the video. NOTE: Two manageable plans are to show the video in two parts (Segments 1-4, 5-9) or three parts (Segments 1-2, 3-5, 6-9). Before showing the video or the segments of the video that you plan to screen, distribute Handout #2 and Handout #3. Read the questions on Handout #2 to the group, and alert participants to watch for the information that will allow them to answer the questions. Everyone can answer all questions, or you can split the questions up so that each viewer has one or two particular questions to watch for. The goal is for the group to answer all the questions. After viewing the video, go over the questions and participants' answers. If you show the video in segments or groups of segments, check in with participants after each "chunk" to see what questions were answered. Participants can then do the Word Find on Handout #3 at a time when it is convenient. NOTE: The answers to Handout #2 are: How many miles are in a marathon? Answer: 26.2 miles In what country do the Sahrawi refugees live now? Answer: They now live in Algeria. In what country did the Sahrawi live before they were driven out? Answer: They lived in Morocco. What is a name for a desert wind storm? Answer: a scirocco How long have the Sahrawi refugees lived in the desert? Answer: about 30 years True or false: The Sahrawi refugees have a high rate of literacy. Answer: true True or false: The Sahrawi homeland-the place they came from-is near the water. Answer: true True or false: The desert marathon got a lot of media attention. Answer: false True or false: Sahwari runner Abdullah Mohammed was sponsored by Nike and wore their running shoes. Answer: false What European nation controlled Morocco before 1976? Answer: Spain Activity 2A: Internet Scavenger Hunt For older/more advanced participants: Participants can gain experience in using the Internet while engaging in a Web-based information search. They can work in teams of three or four to answer the questions on Handout #4, all of which can be found on the Web sites listed on the handout. NOTE: The answers to the questions on Handout #4 are: What are the four types of deserts? Answer: The sand desert, or erg The stone desert, or reg The high bare mountain desert The hamada desert What are the characteristics of the hamada desert? Answer: In the hamada the sand is swept away by the wind, leaving large areas of just the bare rock underneath. The hamada is completely exposed to the sun. Little or nothing can grow there. What is the estimated number of Sahrawi refugees living in the camps? Answer: The most common estimates are 155,000-165,000. What is the name of the only Sahrawi camp that has a hospital? Answer: The Dahkla camp. What is UNHCR? Answer: The United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid to refugees. As of December 2003, what was the outlook for the refugees? Answer: Talks were going on between officials of Algeria and Morocco. Prospects looked favorable for family visits, as well as phone and mail service, between the refugees and their families in Morocco. A referendum, or vote, was scheduled for 1992 to determine whether the Sahrawi homeland should be independent or incorporated into Morocco. Why was the referendum not held? Answer: The two sides could not agree on who was eligible to vote. Also, there were charges that the Moroccans were trying to illegally influence the vote. Activity 2B: Learning More about the Desert For younger/less advanced participants: Deserts are fascinating environments. Participants can learn more about the desert through projects, trips, books, and videos. They can: build their own desert environments, using sand, twigs and other materials visit a natural history museum and/or botanical garden, if there is one in your area visit a local library to find books and videos on the desert, a nonfiction booklist is below read (or you can read aloud) the young adult novel Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, by Suzanne Fisher Staples (Dell Laurel-Leaf, 2003) Booklist: Pfeffer, Wendy. (2003). Hot Deserts. Benchmark Books/M.Cavendish. Baldwin, Carol. (2003). Living in a Desert. Heinemann Library. Morris, Neil. (2004). Earth's Changing Deserts. Raintree. Allaby, Michael, Robert Anderson, and Ian Crofton. (2002). Deserts and Semideserts. Raintree Steck-Vaughn. Wilkins, Sally. (2001). Deserts. Bridgestone Books. Ricciuti, Edward R. (1996). Desert. Benchmark Books. Activity 3: Pack Your Suitcase (related to refugee concept) Distribute Handout #5. Ask participants to imagine that they were refugees, forced to leave their homes. It is time to go and they can take only one small suitcase. What would they choose to put in the suitcase? Allow about 15 minutes for participants to draw or write about the contents of their suitcases. Then help them get together with partners to talk about what they chose. Activity 4: When I Was an Ally (related to ally concept) In the video, runners from all over the world came to support the Sahrawi people in their quest to be reconnected to their homeland. These runners acted as supporters, or allies, of the Sahrawi people. Introduce participants to the idea of being an ally to someone who is in a position of weakness or subjugation. Ask: Were you ever an ally to someone who needed help? Was someone ever an ally to you when you needed help? (You might begin by giving an example or two from your own experiences or observations.) After the group has provided a few examples, distribute Handout #6 and ask participants to draw and/or write about a time they were an ally to someone else or a time when someone was an ally to them. Then, help participants get together with partners to talk about their experiences. Follow-up Activities: Off to the Races In the spirit of the Sahara Marathon, organize a variety of running activities. These can be simple running races, relay races, obstacle courses, or training to achieve personal best times over a specific distance. For some activity ideas, check PBS's ZOOM Web site, which lists physical challenge games, relay races, and sports games. Around the world people run marathons for a variety of causes. Have children conduct research on groups who also run for awareness. For ideas visit Team in Training and Fred's Team. Explore the Sahara region on the THIRTEEN's AFRICA Web site and use the interactive features to help children learn more about the people and the ecology in this part of the world. Credits This AFTERSCHOOL EXCHANGE activity was developed by Kathleen M. Cochran, Ed.M. in connection with the Thirteen series WIDE ANGLE. < Back to Afterschool Exchange Activities & Tips main © 2003-2006 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved.