T E A M W O R K

OLYMPIAN STORIES

CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015

TESSA VIRTUE

SCOTTMOIR

GOLD LEVEL Grades 6 and Up

www.olympic.ca/education

Each story, featuring a well-known Canadian Olympian or coach from the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, is brought to life with activities that engage students in literacy, physical activity, character and team-building challenges.

Through these values-based Olympian and Coach stories, students discover that Canadian athletes reached great success not only through tremendous physical talents, but also through character and intelligence. Complementing these captivating stories is the mental fitness resource Be a Champion for Life: Energy Gains and Energy Drains. Together, these resources create a foundation for teachers to inspire their students to exercise their mind, body and character.

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GOLD LEVEL Grades 6 and Up

www.olympic.ca/education

CREATING A CANADIAN OLYMPIC LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

TEACHERS GUIDE

DOMINIQUE MALTAIS

DETERMINATION

TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR

TEAMWORK

JUSTIN WADSWORTH

FAIR PLAY

GILMORE JUNIO AND DENNY MORRISON

FRIENDSHIP

JEAN-PHILIPPE LE GUELLEC

EXCELLENCE

TEACHING GUIDE FOR EDUCATORSCurrent curriculum theory emphasizes the importance of reinforcing value messages through narratives, storytelling, art, posters, drama, and physical movement. Activities based on the stories, events, ceremonies and symbols of the Olympic Games have school-wide relevance.

Group sizes for activities will be indicated by the following icons:

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BLENDING SPORT WITH CULTURE AND EDUCATION Each Athlete and Coach story is tailored to three reading levels: Bronze (grades 2 and 3), Silver (grades 4 and 5), and Gold (grades 6 to 8). Each story comes with progressive activities that are open- ended and tailored to address a diverse range of learning styles and proficiencies. They focus on six main facets of understanding: explaining, interpreting, applying, taking perspective, empowering and developing self- knowledge. These critical thinking skills are woven into all three stages of the learning sequence in order to promote deeper understanding of the values and concepts.

Through many facets of the 2014-2015 Canadian Olympic School Program, children and youth can connect values to their lives at home, at school and in their local community. Perhaps they can begin to see their world in new and different ways.

The Canadian Olympic School Program (COSP) is designed in accordance with the founder of the modern Olympic Movement, Pierre de Coubertin’s, philosophy of Olympism. By recognizing the value of Olympians and coaches as role models, the program engages students with the joy found in effort while blending sport with culture and education. The Athlete and Coach stories balance intellectual instruction, cultural development and physical education. The heart of the curriculum focuses on participation, effort and the pride in knowing you have given your all to the pursuit of excellence.

OLYMPIC VALUES AS EDUCATIONAL TOOLS

The worldwide Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect act as a foundation for these stories. Each Athlete and Coach story will focus on the development of a character value within your students. By engaging students in each narrative, they have the opportunity to expand their understanding of this value and to expand their moral capabilities.

Independent Activity Small Group Activity Large Group Activity

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OLYMPIAN STORIES

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir first met when she was seven and he was nine years old. Scott’s aunt Carol Moir was their coach at a skating club near London, Ontario, and she decided that the two should try ice dancing together. They felt very shy and didn’t speak to each other for a year.

Nobody knew that they would become one of the best ice dance teams in the world. But both of them loved ice dancing, with its combination of athletics and art.

“We always joke that ice dance chose us, and it’s true,” says Tessa.

T E S S A V I R T U E

S C O T TM O I R

CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM | 2014/2015

GOLD LEVEL Grades 6 and Up

www.olympic.ca/education

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TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR | SOCHI 2014

As they grew up, they became very good friends, and pushed each other to work more intensely. The sacrifices were huge for both skaters, but they were a team. They were in this to be the best they could be. They worked so hard that in 2004, they won the Junior National Championships. By then they were displaying the intricate footwork for which they would become known for.

They moved to Canton, Michigan to learn from a new coach, and at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, Tessa and Scott won a silver medal. But Tessa was feeling a lot of pain in her calves, and she was diagnosed with a condition that would require surgery on both her legs.

This was the most difficult point in their career. They wanted to train as hard as they could and be ready for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, but they had to minimize the strain on Tessa’s legs. She spent many hours working with a physiotherapist. They worried about whether they could compete well in the Olympic Games.

As soon as they arrived in Vancouver, their doubts vanished. They were swept up in the excitement of the crowded streets, the Opening Ceremony, and the thousands of Canadian fans in the arena cheering so loudly they could hardly hear the music. Tessa sent a text message to her mom just before they stepped onto the ice: “We own this rink!”

After their first skate, they were in second place. Their short program was risky and ambitious, and they reminded themselves to take it one step at a time. They moved into the lead before the long program, and they promised each other they would enjoy the moment. They skated perfectly and passionately, and they won the gold medal.

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“Winning at home is what every athlete dreams of,” says Tessa. “Standing on the podium with Scott and singing ‘O Canada’ with 11,000 people was the proudest moment of my life.”

After Vancouver, they still had the desire to train and compete. Over the next four years, they took more control over their career. They worked with a physiologist who helped Tessa adjust her skating so that she would put less pressure on her calves. She needed another surgery, but they supported each other, and had faith that they would persevere.

In the year before the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, they came up with their own idea for their long program. Skating to Russian music, they would tell the story of two children who love to skate together. They have times when they feel like the world is against them, but they always have each other. At the end, they marched in triumph to an Olympic moment. It would be the story of their career.

“WE WANTED TO TRAIN AS HARD AS WE COULD AND TO HAVE A GOOD OLYMPIC MEMORY TOGETHER.” SCOTT MOIR

ICE DANCING is a figure skating event at the Olympic Winter Games. The male and female skaters perform as a team to music. Unlike pairs skating, there are no throws and jumps. Also, the skaters must stay within a couple of arm lengths for the whole performance.

TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR | SOCHI 2014

SCORING SYSTEM:TECHNICAL ELEMENTS JUMPS, SPINS, FOOTWORK, LIFTS +PROGRAM COMPONENTS CHOREOGRAPHY, INTERPRETATION, PERFORMANCE

JUDGES

PAIRS OLYMPIC DEBUT: 1908

SHORT PROGRAM: 2MIN:50SEC MAXFREE PROGRAM:4MIN:30SEC +/- 10 SEC

Before their last skate in Sochi, they hugged each other and went through a ritual they had done so many times in the past to calm their nerves. “Time,” they said, a reminder to take everything carefully. “Together.”

They had the best skate of their lives, and when they looked at each other afterwards they knew they had achieved their goal. The scores were calculated, and they were in second place.

“We went there to win gold,” says Scott. “We didn’t expect to win silver and to be as happy as we were. But we fulfilled our real goals, which were to train as hard as we could, and to have our Olympic moment. We’re very proud of our silver medals.”

CONNECTING—BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR NEW LEARNING Ask the students why do some teams work better together than others? Why do some teams win and others with similar talent lose? Brainstorm a list on the white board/black board/flip chart/other.

PROCESSING—USING STRATEGIES TO ACQUIRE AND USE KNOWLEDGE Students read the story with a partner or individually.

In partner groups, students underline the parts of the story that talk about Tessa and Scott working together as a team. Based on what is in the story, partners draft a list of things that would explain why Tessa and Scott are such a good team. Partner groups share their ideas, and the class discusses what makes Tessa and Scott a good team.

TRANSFORMING—SHOWING UNDERSTANDING IN A NEW WAY Teamwork Posters Imagine it is the first practice for a new team. Students pick the characteristic of a good team that means the most to them, and then draw a poster to advertise that characteristic. They can be team specific if they want to make the poster for a team that they are on.

For example, their poster might read: GREAT TEAMS WORK TOGETHER Gordon Head Soccer-- Working Together

Teamwork Posters Put the students in groups of 4. Imagine that you are starting a big team project. Ask them to draft a team charter that explains how they will treat each other, what the team expectations are for each member, what happens if a team member doesn’t live up to team expectations, etc.

Have the groups share their charters with the whole class.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY Based on the group charter discussion, draft a class charter to help the class work better as a team.

LEARNING SEQUENCE

TEAMWORKTESSA VIRTUESCOTT MOIR

7 TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR | SOCHI 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM WISHES TO THANK AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE. WITHOUT THEIR EFFORTS, AND CREATIVITY, THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE.

CANADIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEEEric Boulé Ty GreeneDerek KentMarie-Ève MarleauNathaniel MillerKate MoorhouseOlya OvtchinnikovaMarc-André PlouffeSandra SassinePaulo SenraTys van der Drift

FEATURED ATHLETETessa VirtueScott Moir

WEBSITETodd DenisMark NadolnyGeorgia Sapounas

PHOTOGRAPHSWinston ChowBen Stevenson

INTERVIEWERSylvain Leclerc

WRITERS Bruce Deacon Marcie GoodClaire Cairnie

GRAPHIC DESIGNERAndy Maier

TRANSLATION Célyne Malette, Editor

Pascale Seide Legros

GOLD LEVEL Grades 6 and Up

www.olympic.ca/education

OLYMPIAN STORIES

T E A M W O R KTESSA VIRTUE

S C O T TM O I R

CANADIAN OLYMPIC SCHOOL PROGRAM 2014/2015