Week 1

Week 1 (Thursday and Friday March 19th and 20th, 2020)

Hi everyone! I miss you all already. Make sure to complete your lessons for speech and keep working hard! Remember, you are smart, you are kind, and you are important!

Read Works Article

Please click on the following link (this will take you to the READ WORKS WEBSITE). ://www.readworks.org/

"Crossing the Finish Line" --I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THIS TEXT

Running a marathon is not easy. It takes hard work, practice, and patience. After all, to run a marathon, you have to run 26.2 miles by foot! Think about it this way: 26.2 miles is the same as running the length of a football field more than 460 times. It takes most people four or five hours to finish. In 2013, the world’s fastest marathon runner finished the race in 2:03:23. Imagine running for over two hours without a break!

By the age of 30, Lea Tambellini had run more than five marathons and had no plans to stop. She had always been an athlete. When she was in high school, she swam on her school’s swim team and ran to stay healthy and active. Her mom and dad ran marathons, and when she was 22, they helped her train for her first marathon.

Lea’s first marathon took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was called “The Flying Pig.”

“I was very nervous,” she said, “but I had my mom there, so that helped.”

Running the race was hard, but the hardest part was when she ran past a cookie factory and smelled cookies at mile 18. “I just wanted to be done,” she said. “I was spent, but my mom kept me going. It was already her 15th marathon.”

The word “marathon” comes from a Greek legend. In the legend, a brave soldier ran all the way from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens, Greece to tell everyone the Greeks had won the battle against the Persians. It is said that he ran the entire way without stopping—a distance equal to a modern marathon.

Today, thousands of people run marathons every year. Runners train for months to get ready. To prepare for one of the marathons, Lea ran four to five times every week. On weekdays, she completed shorter runs, five or six miles at most. But on the weekends she ran long distances–13 miles, 15 miles, and 20 miles!

“I don’t mind training because I get excited about working toward something. And I love running with a group of friends and working toward the goal together. But it does take a lot of time.”

Running a marathon is a great achievement. “It’s a great feeling of accomplishment and nothing feels as wonderful as reaching my goal when I cross the finish line,” Lea explained. “I can’t wait for the next one!”

1. What did Lea Tambellini train for when she was 22?

1. her first marathon

2. her first relay race

3. her first swim meet

4. her first baseball season

2. What does this text describe?

1. This text describes the fight between the Greeks and the Persians on the battlefield of Marathon.

2. This text describes how the marathon known as "The Flying Pig" got its name.

3. This text describes marathons and the experience of someone who runs them.

4. This text describes what Lea Tambellini's dad felt like when he ran his first marathon.

3. Running a marathon takes hard work, practice, and patience. What evidence in the text supports this statement?

1. Runners train for months to get ready for a marathon.

2. Lea Tambellini had run more than five marathons by the time she was 30 years old.

3. There is a marathon in Ohio called "The Flying Pig."

4. The word "marathon" comes from a Greek legend.

4. How did Lea's feelings about running a marathon change?

1. At first she felt excited, but later she felt nervous.

2. At first she felt bored, but later she felt scared.

3. At first she felt scared, but later she felt bored.

4. At first she felt nervous, but later she felt excited.

5. What is the main idea of this text?

1. It takes most people four or five hours to run a marathon.

2. Running a marathon is hard work, but Lea Tambellini enjoys it.

3. The hardest part of Lea Tambellini's first marathon was running past a cookie factory.

4. Lea Tambellini loves running with a group of friends and working toward a goal with them.

Vocabulary Words: Remember to use context clues to figure out your answer!

1. What is a marathon? (Answer in a complete sentence).

2. What is an accomplishment? (Answer in a complete sentence).

3. What is a synonym for the word accomplishment? (Answer in a complete sentence).