Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020 SPORT Getty RACING INTO
THE Mo Farah became the 12th athlete to hold the record RECORD for the men’s one-hour race BOOKS EVEN without a stadium of spectators to cheer competitors on, records have been tumbling in the world of athletics – and four-time Olympic champion Getty Mo Farah enjoyed success in his first return to the track since 2017. The men’s one-hour race sees athletes try to run as won both the 1,500m and the 10,000m at a single World far as possible over 60 minutes. The previous record of Championships or Olympic Games, Sifan was once again in 21,285m was set by Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie. impressive form in Brussels. She ran 18,930m in one hour, At the Diamond League meeting in Brussels, 37-year-old beating Dire Tune’s record set in 2008 by 413m; that’s Sir Mo ran 21,330m, setting his first outdoor world record. more than one whole lap! “I was very excited to be back on the track,” he said The records kept tumbling in Prague, where Kenya’s Peres afterwards. Mo had been concentrating so hard on the Jepchirchir ran the women-only half marathon in just 1:05:34, race that he failed to hear the finishing gun and continued taking 37 seconds off the previous world record. She broke to run for an extra 20 seconds! away from the other runners after 20 minutes and stayed in The women’s one-hour race was also won in record time front, even though she slowed down near the finish. “I was by Dutch runner Sifan Hassan. The only athlete to have thinking to run maybe 1:04:50, but I’m so happy,” said Peres. Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020 Sport News
GLOSSARY Sir Mo Farah – A British long distance runner Brussels – The capital city of Belgium with four Olympic gold medals and many other Prague – The capital city of the Czech Republic achievements. In 2017 he decided to give up racing on running tracks and concentrate on road races half marathon – A road running event of just over 13 miles
1. Complete the table to summarise the athletics news.
Athlete Nationality Event or race New world record? or Mo Farah Sifan Hassan Peres Jepchirchir
2. Look at the first paragraph. This is one long sentence, packed full of information.
What do you learn about Mo Farah from this sentence? What do you learn about the stadiums? What do you learn about the level of performance?
3. The one-hour race is quite an unusual event. Explain what Mo and Sifan had to do to win their races.
4. What was Mo’s winning distance?
5. A bit of maths! By how many metres did Mo beat the previous world record?
6. Which word tells you that Haile Gebrselassie is a very famous runner?
7. Look at the photographs. Can you find five facts shown on the scoreboard about the winning competitor? One has been done for you.
Facts shown on the scoreboard 1. The name of the winner 2. 3. 4. 5.
8. How do you know that Mo Farah was concentrating extremely hard at the end of the race?
9. Peres Jepchirchir also won a world record for the women’s half marathon. Which sentence correctly describes her race?
She was in the lead from the very start. She took the lead at the last moment after a sprint to the finish line. She was in the lead for the majority of the race.
10. Which two emotions did Peres feel after the race and why?
1. because...
2. because... Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020 Sport News
GLOSSARY Sir Mo Farah – A British long distance runner Brussels – The capital city of Belgium with four Olympic gold medals and many other Prague – The capital city of the Czech Republic achievements. In 2017 he decided to give up racing on running tracks and concentrate on road races half marathon – A road running event of just over 13 miles
1. Complete the table to summarise the athletics news.
Athlete Nationality Event or race New world record? or Mo Farah
Sifan Hassan
Peres Jepchirchir
2. Look at the first paragraph. This is one long sentence, packed full of information. What do you learn about Mo Farah from this sentence?
......
......
What do you learn about the stadiums?
......
......
What do you learn about the level of performance?
......
......
3. The one-hour race is quite an unusual event. Explain what Mo and Sifan had to do to win their races.
......
......
......
4. What was Mo’s winning distance?
......
5. A bit of maths! By how many metres did Mo beat the previous world record?
...... Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020
6. Which word tells you that Haile Gebrselassie is a very famous runner?
......
7. Look at the photographs. Can you find five facts shown on the scoreboard about the winning competitor? One has been done for you.
Facts shown on the scoreboard: 1. The name of the winner
2......
3......
4......
5......
8. How do you know that Mo Farah was concentrating extremely hard at the end of the race?
......
......
......
9. Peres Jepchirchir also won a world record for the women’s half marathon. Which sentence correctly describes her race?
She was in the lead from the very start. She took the lead at the last moment after a sprint to the finish line. She was in the lead for the majority of the race.
10. Which two emotions did Peres feel after the race and why?
1. because...
......
......
......
2. because...
......
......
...... Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020 TEACHER ANSWERS
AIM OF THE NEWS COMPREHENSIONS: News reports are unique non-fiction texts. Being real, they naturally engage students, and with the range of topics that are covered, help to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world outside the classroom. The reports are ideal for short, focused comprehension or discussion activities. Along with the opportunity to find fascinating facts and appreciate the opinions of those involved, there is plenty to be inferred and deduced to understand in more depth what is being reported. Like authors, journalists play with language, so news ‘stories’ are rich nuggets of text to investigate and provide the opportunity for literacy programmes.
TEACHER ANSWER GUIDE: The teacher answers are intended to provide a quick reference guide. Suggestions are given for the ‘Expected response’ or starting point that pupils could give. The ‘Development’ then gives more in-depth ideas that students can work towards as they develop their reading comprehension skills. For a list of the reading skills used, please email [email protected].
1. Complete the table to summarise the athletic news. READING SKILL – Find and explain information (NC 2a) Expected response
Athlete Nationality Event or race New world record? or Mo Farah British Men’s hour-long race
Sifan Hassan Dutch Women’s hour-long race
Peres Jepchirchir Kenyan Women-only half marathon
2. Look at the first paragraph. This is one long sentence, packed full of information. READING SKILL – Infer information and justify with evidence (NC 2c & 8)
What do you learn about Mo Farah from this sentence? Expected response • He is an Olympic champion/He has four Olympic medals. Development • He hasn’t raced on a track since 2017.
What do you learn about the stadiums? Expected response • There weren’t any spectators. Development • They were empty; there weren’t any crowds watching the races.
What do you learn about the level of performance? Expected response • Lots of records were broken. Development • There have been lots of great performances; athletes were performing at their very best and breaking world records.
3. The one-hour race is quite an unusual event. Explain what Mo and Sifan had to do to win their races. READING SKILL – Find and explain information (NC 2a) Expected response • They had to run as far as they could in 60 minutes. Look Closer FirstNews Issue 743 11 – 17 September 2020
4. What was Mo’s winning distance? READING SKILL – Find and explain information (NC 2a) Expected response • 21,330 metres.
5. A bit of maths! By how many metres did Mo beat the previous world record? READING SKILL – Find and explain information (NC 2a) Expected response • 45 metres.
6. Which word tells you that Haile Gebrselassie is a very famous runner? READING SKILL – Understand vocabulary in context (NC 2a) Expected response • Legend.
7. Look at the photographs. Can you find five facts shown on the scoreboard about the winning competitor? One has been done for you. READING SKILL – Find and explain information (NC 2a) Expected response Facts shown on the scoreboard: 1. The name of the winner. 2. The name of the race. 3. Distance ran. 4. Nationality. 5. It was a new world record.
8. How do you know that Mo Farah was concentrating extremely hard at the end of the race? READING SKILL – Infer information and justify with evidence (NC 2c & 8) Expected response • He didn’t hear the gun that told athletes the hour was up, so he kept running for an extra 20 seconds.
9. Peres Jepchirchir also won a world record for the women’s half marathon. Which sentence correctly describes her race? READING SKILL – Infer information and justify with evidence (NC 2c & 8) Expected response She was in the lead from the very start. She took the lead at the last moment after a sprint to the finish line. She was in the lead for the majority of the race.
10. Which two emotions did Peres feel after the race and why? READING SKILL – Infer information and justify with evidence (NC 2c & 8) Expected response 1. Happiness because she came first. 2. Disappointment because she wanted to run even faster. Development 1. Happiness because she came first and broke the world record. 2. Slight disappointment because she hoped to run even faster in the race, and had a personal target of 1:04:50, which she didn’t make.