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Gearing Up for the Indy 500 The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is known throughout the world as the home of the Indianapolis 500. The Indianapolis 500 race is held each Memorial Day Weekend. The Speedway is a globally recognized Indiana landmark. Since the inaugural race in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 has become more than just an automobile race. There is a month-long celebration, presented by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 Festival, leading up to the greatest spectacle in racing. Gearing Up for the Indy 500 is an Indiana Academic Standards-based curriculum designed for fourth grade students to foster an understanding and to develop an appreciation of the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 Festival. Gearing Up for the Indy 500 includes English/language arts, math, science, social studies, visual art, health, and physical education lessons. The curriculum also includes an authentic assessment for students to showcase their understanding of the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 Festival. The lessons may be taught in sequence as presented in this guide, or teachers may choose to change the order of the lessons based on the needs of their students and classroom schedules. Some lessons may be modified or extended based on the students’ needs. Use the curriculum to introduce, teach, and reinforce fourth grade skills and strategies based on the Indiana Academic Standards. 1 Table of Contents First Gear – Getting Up to Speed 3 Are You an Indianapolis 500 Expert? (Pre-assessment) 3 What Do You Know? 4 Building Indianapolis 500 Schema 5 Game Design 5 The Indy 500 Game 5 Second Gear – Researching the History 7 Uncovering the History 7 Timeline Design 8 Third Gear – Understanding the Numbers 9 Numbers, Numbers, Numbers of Indy 10 Numbers, Numbers, Numbers of the 500 Festival Parade 10 Qualifications Math 10 Indy by the Numbers 10 Fourth Gear – Celebrating the Event 11 Festival Theme 11 I Wonder… 12 Mini Float 12 Fifth Gear – Shaping Up for the Race 14 Are Race Car Drivers Athletes? 14 Seat Simulation 14 Fit to Win! 15 Sixth Gear – Racing to the Checkered Flag 16 Green to Checkered 17 Let’s Go Racing 18 Alike or Different? 20 Science of Racing – Newton’s Laws 20 The Indy “Can” Race 23 In the Driver’s Seat 25 The Checkered Flag—Visiting The Brickyard! 26 The Victory Lap 27 Lights, Camera, Action 27 Are You an Indianapolis 500 Expert (Post-assessment) 27 Student Activity Sheets 28 Answer Key 55 2 First Gear – Getting Up to Speed Indiana Academic Standards: English/Language Arts 4.RN.2.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what a text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. 4.RN.2.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. 4.RN.2.3 Explain the relationships between events, procedures, ides, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, based on specific information in the text. 4.RN.3.1 Apply knowledge of text features to locate information and gain meaning from a text (e.g. charts, tables, graphs, headings, Subheadings, font/format). 4.W.1 Write routinely over a variety of time frames and for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences; apply reading standards to support reflection and response to literature and nonfiction texts. 4.W.5 Conduct short research on a topic Identify a specific question to address (e.g. what is the history of the Indy 500?). Use organizational features of print and digital sources efficiently to locate further information. Determine the reliability of the sources. Summarize and organize information in their own words, giving credit to the source. Present the research information, choosing from a variety of formats. 4.SL.3.1 Summarize major ideas and supportive evidence from text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. Social Studies 4.1.17 Construct a brief narrative about an event in Indiana history using primary and secondary sources. Are You an Indianapolis 500 Expert? Activity Materials Copies of the Are You an Indianapolis 500 Expert assessment? Prior to any discussions or instruction, administer the pre-test to assess students’ Indianapolis 500 and 500 Festival knowledge. Collect students’ papers and administer the assessment at the end of the unit. Compare the pre and post- assessments to determine student growth after completing the Gearing Up for the Indy 500 unit. 3 Video Activity: Essence of the of the 500 Show the 6-minute video, Essence of the 500. The video captures the energy on race day. Students will view the pre-race traditions, the thrilling start, segments of racing and pit stops, and the emotional post-race ceremony. The video sets the stage for the students as they work through each “gear” of the curriculum to learn about the Indianapolis 500. What Do You Know? Activity Materials KWL Chart (Draw a KWL chart on chart paper prior to the lesson.) Assess the students’ knowledge of the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 Festival. Explain to the students that a KWL chart (What You Know, What You Wonder, What You Learned) will be used to assist the teacher and students with their understanding of the Indianapolis 500 and to list information the class wants to learn. KWL K W L What You Know What You Wonder What You Learned To introduce the unit of study, pose the question, “What do you know about the Indianapolis 500?” As a class, work on the KWL chart. Begin with “What You Know.” List the information the students share about the 500 and the events. Students may provide information about the Mini-Marathon, the parade, the track, racecars, etc. Pose the question, “What are you wondering about the Indianapolis 500?” Record students’ questions under the W section of the chart. *The “What You Learned?” is completed as the information is learned or at the end of the unit. Video Activity: History of the Indy 500 To introduce the Indianapolis 500 and its history, show the 11-minute video, History of the Indy 500, which highlights race activities and 500 Festival events. Discuss the video. Ask students if they have any additional questions to add to the Wondering section of the KWL chart. 4 Building Indianapolis 500 Schema Activity Materials Gearing Up for Indy Student Informational Text Building Indianapolis 500 Schema sheet To comprehend a complex informational text, students will engage in a close reading of the Student Informational Text. A close reading enables students to develop a deeper understanding of text through text-dependent questions. Students will use the Student Informational Text to answer the questions on the Building Indianapolis 500 Schema sheet. The questions may be posed as a whole class discussion, think-pair-share, group work or an independent activity. Game Design Activity Materials Gearing Up for Indy Student Informational Text Other Indianapolis 500 and 500 Festival informational sources (optional) 3 x 5 cards Students may read the informational sources individually, with a partner, or in a group to build their schema (background knowledge) about the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 Festival. Determine five categories for writing Indy 500 game questions (500 History, 500 Festival Events, Safety, Drivers, Race Day, etc.). Divide the students into groups of two or three. Give each group five index cards. Each group uses the Gearing Up for Indy Student Informational Text to write a question for each category. (If time permits, students may use other resources to write questions about the Indianapolis 500 and the 500 Festival.) On the front of the index card, the group writes the name of the category and the question. On the back of the index card, the group writes the answer and the names of the group participants. When all groups have completed the cards, collect the questions. The Indy 500 Game Activity Materials Game Chart - Create a chart prior to the activity to hold game questions. Use a poster board and 25 manila library pocket cards. Arrange the pockets in 5 columns by 5 rows. For each column write a point value on each pocket. The first row pocket is 10 points, the second row is 20 points, the third row is 30 points, the fourth row is 40 points, and the fifth row is 50 points. If the materials are not available to create the chart, draw the chart on the whiteboard or blackboard. Tape the questions or use magnets to attach the questions to the board. 5 The Indy 500 500 History Festival Safety Drivers Race Day Events 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 20 20 20 30 30 30 30 30 40 40 40 40 40 50 50 50 50 50 Assign a point value to each question prior to the start of the game. Challenging questions receive a greater point value. Place the cards in the corresponding pocket. Using the original “question writing” groups, combine each group to form teams of four to six. Each team will sit together for the game. A team works together to determine the answer. Each team will select a spokesperson. Each group may create a team name. List the team names on the board to track points. Game Procedures: 1. The team who has the person with the first birthday in May begins the game. 2. The first team selects a category and a point value. The teacher reads the question to the team. The team collaborates to determine the answer. The spokesperson announces the team’s answer. **A team may not answer a question that was written by one of its team members.

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