Running to Remember

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: Why is it important to remember the past?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• vestiges (p. 7)
• fate (p. 7)
• assimilate (p. 7)
• predominantly (p. 8)
• undaunted (p. 8)
• fervent (p. 9)

3. Engage
Have students examine the map on page 6 and then share how many days they think they would need to run the route marked in red. Point out that the route is 50 miles. Then explain that the article is about a young runner who completed the route in two days—and his inspiration for the run.   

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Running to Remember, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• In the first two paragraphs, what does the author create tension about? How does the author use word choice and details to create this mood? (Author’s craft, word choice) (The author creates tension about whether Ku Stevens will finish the race with the time he needs to be the best. Details about Stevens’s having to swerve and nearly losing his balance and having no competitor pushing him on create tension about whether Stevens has lost or will lose valuable seconds. The phrase “burned with pain” helps create tension about whether he will have the stamina to finish the race.)

• At the end of the opening section, the author explains that Stevens’s great-grandfather “suffered a fate all too common for Native American children in the early 1900s.” What does the word suffered indicate about his fate? What was his fate? (Word meaning, summarize) (The word suffered indicates that his fate was a terrible one of great pain and loss. His fate was being forcibly taken from his parents when he was 7 or 8 years old and made to attend a boarding school that was far from his tribe. At the school, he faced brutal punishments if he did not assimilate and give up his language, religious beliefs, and other vestiges of his culture.)

• What does the map on page 6 show? What does it add to the article? (Integrate sources) (The map shows the 50-mile route that Stevens ran to honor his great-grandfather, Frank Quinn. It’s the same route that Quinn ran when he was 8 years old to escape the boarding school. The map visually conveys the great length of the route, which helps readers infer how oppressive the boarding school must have been for Quinn to run that far.)

• When speaking of his great-grandfather, Stevens says, “I owe him everything.” What do you think he means? (Make inferences, word meaning) (Stevens likely means that his great-grandfather has been an inspiration to him in relation to the goals he wants to achieve as a runner and with understanding and valuing his history and his culture. Stevens says he takes his history with him when he runs and that he wants to show that Native Americans can be champions in the sport.) 

• In the section “No One to Train With,” how does the author portray Stevens? How does this section develop the tension in the article? (Central idea, text structure) (The author portrays Stevens as a runner who faced many training obstacles but also showed great talent. As the only member of his cross-country team, he had no one to train with and no one to run in tandem with during races. Yet he “racked up victory after victory.” Then Stevens had to train alone when the Covid-19 pandemic caused his school to shut down sports. Even so, his tribe’s medical clinic believed in him enough to fund his trips to meets in Florida and Texas. This contrast between the struggles he faced and the successes he had makes the reader root for Stevens but also worry that he might not win the state championship.) 

• How does the last section of the article relate to the first two paragraphs of the article? (Text structure, development of ideas)(The last section provides a resolution to the tension set up in the first two paragraphs of the article. Stevens was not derailed by his burning legs, the bumbling spectators who caused him to lose his balance, or the lack of competitors. He won his race and became state champion.)

6. Writing Prompt
Pick one event on the timeline. Citing both primary and secondary sources, write an informational or argumentative essay in which you examine several aspects of the event.

7. Video
Watch the video. What does it add to your understanding of the article?

8. Classroom Debate
Should the U.S. government pay reparations to descendants of Native American students who attended government-run Indigenous boarding schools?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess students’ comprehension and Be the Editor to review grammar skills.