By MaryMargaret Portera
MSSM intern
and Natalie Bazinet
Staff writer
Organizers of the World Cup Biathlon events in Presque Isle and Fort Kent have created a teacher’s guide as a creative means of engaging students throughout the county in the educational aspects of the athletic extravaganza taking place Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 10-13; interested educators received their the World Cup Biathlon Teachers Guides in mid-January.The guide, sponsored by international insurance company Unum, gives a layout of different activities that provide the students an opportunity to become acquainted with and follow the progression of biathlon athletes. It also includes exercises to help students become aware of how their dietary intake compares to that of a world-class athlete and guidelines for students to create their own biathlon stadium, for example.
With two World Cup Biathlons coming up so soon, the curriculum guide gives teachers information on how to arrange for an athlete to visit their classroom as well as information on proper etiquette for students to be good fans.
“As of right now, there are about a dozen schools planning on attending the venue — that’s 21 buses, and roughly 1,000 students,” said Bill Getman, curriculum guide distribution organizer.
Many schools in Aroostook County are bringing their students to Student Day on Friday, Feb. 4 when the admission fee is waved for the youngsters at Presque Isle’s Nordic Heritage Center.
According to Getman, students started expressing their interested in World Cup events even before the curriculum guides were distributed by submitted Biathlon-themed student art. These pieces will be featured in 3-minute slide show presentations, which will possibly be televised to a million European viewers during the event’s one-hour TV time slot when it airs “across the pond.”
But the World Cup Biathlon curriculum guides offer classrooms much more that possible artistic “stardom.”
Fifth-grade teacher at Zippel Elementary School in Presque Isle Cheryl Martin engaged her students in cultural, geographical and scientific aspects of the 2004 World Cup Biathlon events in Fort Kent; based on the success of the program six years ago, the almost 25-year educator will be focusing her classes’ attention on the sporting event once more.
“[A couple of other Zippel educators and herself] became involved in the Biathlon in 2004 when the first World Cup came to Fort Kent, and this curriculum guide is very similar to the one provided then,” Martin explained. “The guides have little biography’s and photos of some of the top athletes that allowed our classes in 2004 to go through the booklet and selected which athlete’s progress we wanted to follow.”
Martin’s students did research to get a feel of “their” athlete’s country — which was Germany in 2004. This year, her class has chosen to study two athletes, both from Norway.
“All the Zippel fifth-graders have done some research about Norway already, focusing on the climate, geography, and getting a feel for the country in general,” she said. The students made nametags for themselves inspired by the Norwegian flag in order to look their best when World Cup Biathlon athletes visited their classroom on Friday, Jan. 21.
Between the classroom visits from world-renowned athletes, a field trip to watch Day One of the Biathlon and the textbook-free lessons, students are pretty excited.
“One student was so excited he gave be a big hug and thanked me,” Martin said.
With students so enthusiastically receptive to the educational opportunities presented in the curriculum guide, it’s no wonder that teachers from Fort Kent to central Aroostook are using the excitement to teach related lessons such as the Metric system, heart rate calculations and other fun fitness facts.
Caswell second-grade teacher Debbie Blanchette, for example, received her copy of the curriculum guide on Jan. 14 and was looking forward to perusing its pages to choose which lessons the Dawn F. Barnes Elementary teachers will be using. One thing that’s certain, however, is that her students will be following Sweden’s athletes for the nations tie-ins with local culture and heritage.
“I don’t think many of our students are aware that the Swedish settlers introduced skiing to all of Aroostook County,” Belanger said. To help prepare students for their World Cup lessons, she has incorporated a variety of biathlon vocabulary into her lessons, which will help the students with their future biathlon bookwork.
Any way you slice it, centering a couple school activities around the World Cup event yield lessons worth learning.
“When I look at it, I want children to bee more active in general; this is one way for them to see a sport that doesn’t cost much money to participate in, that’s right here in their backyard that they can get outside and do for their health and enjoyment,” Martin said.
Any educators who have not received a curriculum guide and are interested should contact Getman at 507-993-7190.
