Girls on the Run Program, 3rd-5th grades

Repetition of the program is encouraged. Lesson topics and learning goals include those listed below, and activities regarding these topics vary each season.

Getting to Know Each Other
• To learn about Girls on the Run and each other, and how each of us is unique and special.
• To reframe the word diversity to include a celebration of our individual gifts and talents.

Plugging into the Girls on the Run Cord
• To introduce the concept of visualization.
• To begin exploring various ways girls can use visualization/their imagination.
• To further establish an open and honest rapport between the girls and their coaches.

Choosing to be a Girl on the Run
• To choose attitudes and actions that will help our Girls on the Run team work well together.
• To explore the importance of holding ourselves and our team mates accountable to these choices.
• To increase awareness around the concept of living with intention.

Positive Self-Talk and Why I Choose It!
• To learn how to catch negative self-talk.
• To become aware of and practice using positive self-talk.

Fueling our Healthy Pace
• To teach the importance of healthy nutrition, healthy habits and regular physical activity.
• To explore the concept of maintaining balance in our lives.
• To learn the importance of “pacing” when we run.

Being Emotional is Healthy
• To explore uncomfortable emotions, such as anger, sorrow, and frustration.
• To understand the importance of identifying our emotions and dealing with them.

Centering
• To identify how running can be a form of relaxation as well as a time for self-reflection.
• To learn new stretching and deep breathing techniques that can be relaxing.
• To develop a strong sense of self.

Valuing What's Really Importand
• To explore personal values and recognize the importance of standing up for those values.

Celebrating Gratitude
• To introduce the concept that seeking gratitude for our circumstances is a choice.
• To provide girls with an understanding that seeking gratitude provides us with a positive perspective of our circumstances.

Learning About Cooperation
• To learn what cooperation means.
• To understand why cooperation is important in society.
• To begin applying cooperative skills to different situations.

Standing Up to Peer Pressure
• Have a greater understanding of per pressure.
• Explore and discuss various areas where people succumb to peer pressure.
• Learn a Girls on the Run strategy that will help us stand up to peer pressure.

Standing Up for Myself
• To learn the importance of standing up for ourselves using appropriate assertive behavior and to practice these skills.
• To understand the importance of using one’s own voice and constructively expressing our feelings, wants and needs.

Gossiping Hurts Everyone
• To learn that gossip hurts both the person about whom the gossip is being spread and the person who is spreading it.
• To learn how to stop gossip.

Beware of Bullies
• To learn to recognize bullying behaviors
• To learn what to do if bullied or if witness to bullying

It's Okay to Choose Our Friends
• To identify positive qualities to look for in our friends.
• To identify difficult situations that many young girls face when in a friendship.
• To learn why it is important to be intentional about our friendships.

Practicing Our 5k
• To run a 5k.
• To have the girls consider areas of improvement in their cardiovascular and emotional stamina so they can do their best at the season-ending 5k.
• To learn that hard work does allow us to set a goal and accomplish it.

Tuning Into a New Message
• To become aware of the negative ways in which the media portrays girls and women.
• To develop critical thinking skills when viewing advertisements or media images.

Learning About Community
• To introduce participants to the concept of community.
• To learn the important role we all play in the community.
• To have participants start thinking about a Girls on the Run community project they can conduct.

Designing Our Community Impact Project
• Finalize what the group community project will be.

Using Our Power
• To complete the community project.
• To have FUN!

Honoring Our Greatest Gifts
• To celebrate our time together, honor our unique gifts and talents.
• To begin the closure process for our Girls on the Run experience.