Article
Art by Mark Fredrickson
Nonfiction,

Ready, Set, Race!

Penelope Fernandez had trained for months. Could she win the biggest race of her life?

By Laine Falk
From the March/April 2023 Issue
Lexiles: 540L (Ready, Set, Race!), 240L (Your Turn to Read)
Guided Reading Level: J (Ready, Set, Race!), H (Your Turn to Read)
Featured Skill: Main Idea, Key Details,
Vocabulary: frame runner, focus, racing wheelchair, qualify, prosthetic
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RI.1.1 Key details RI.1.4 Vocabulary RI.1.5 Text features RI.1.7 Use visuals SL.1.1 Discuss grade-1 texts SL.1.2 Ask and answer questions about key details L.1.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to a word’s meaning
TEKS Standards
  • Social Studies
    (15) Science, technology, and society. The student identifies individuals who created or invented new technology and understands how technology affects daily life, past and present. The student is expected to: (B) describe how technology has affected communication, transportation, and recreation.
  • Health
    (3) Health behaviors. The student demonstrates basic critical-thinking, decision-making, goal setting, and problem-solving skills for making health-promoting decisions. The student is expected to: (A) explain ways to seek the help of parents/guardians and other trusted adults in making decisions and solving problems; (C) explain the importance of goal setting and task completion.

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Listen and Think

Think about what Penelope did to become a better racer. 

Penelope’s heart pounded as she stood at the starting line. She had been training for this race for months. Her helmet was snug on her head. She held on to her frame runner. She was ready to go.

BOOM! The starting gun went off. The race had begun! 

Penelope was off. Her frame runner helped her run. She focused—one step at a time. 

Today Penelope had to finish in 2 minutes and 8 seconds. If she did, she could go to Junior Nationals. Kids from all over the country would be there to compete. 

Before she knew it, she had crossed the finish line. She ran the race in 1 minute and 46 seconds. She was going to Junior Nationals! 

But could she win there?

PAUSE AND THINK:  What was Penelope trying to do? 

Carla Georgina Torres for Scholastic

Penelope uses a frame runner.

Penelope’s Story

Penelope does the same things many kids do. She goes to school. She likes Harry Potter and Star Wars. But she also has cerebral palsy. That can make it hard to control how her body moves. To get around, Penelope has a power wheelchair. 

One day, she met a girl  named Lucy on the playground. Lucy had a disability too. She told Penelope about her sport, wheelchair racing. 

“You should try it,” she said. 

Penelope started going to practices with Lucy. At first, she tried a racing wheelchair. But it wasn’t right for her. So she tried a frame runner. That was just the thing for Penelope.

PAUSE AND THINK:  How did Penelope find out about racing?

Becoming a Racer

To train, Penelope had to get up at 6:00 a.m. every Saturday. It was hard, but it was worth it.

She had a lot to learn. She learned to stretch her body before racing. She learned how to stay in her lane. And she learned to pay attention to her feet. 

For Penelope, controlling her feet is not easy. She makes sure they don’t cross as she runs. She also has to keep them on the ground. It’s fun to lift her feet and let the wheels of her frame runner carry her! But if she isn’t careful, her feet could get caught in the wheels. 

Penelope practiced until she got good. In fact, she got so good, she qualified to run in four races at Junior Nationals. 

Now the big competition was coming up in Denver, Colorado. How would Penelope do?

PAUSE AND THINK:  What did Penelope learn to do?

Courtesy of Fernandez Family

 Penelope and her team on race day; Her best friend, Lucy (far right)

Junior Nationals

Move United

Penelope met other racers.

Penelope’s whole family flew to Denver for the event.

On race day, Penelope looked around her. There were kids with all different kinds of disabilities. Some used frame runners, and some used racing wheelchairs. Some kids ran on prosthetic legs. They were all strong and had skills.  

Penelope smiled. “I’m not alone,” she thought. 

But now she had a race to run. At the starting line, Penelope took deep breaths.  

“I’ve got this,” she told herself. 

BOOM! The starting gun fired. Penelope was off. She ran fast. And she focused—one step at a time.   

At the finish line, she looked at the scoreboard. Penelope had run her fastest 100-meter race ever! She had won!  

PAUSE AND THINK:  What did Penelope do to win the race?

Carla Georgina Torres for Scholastic

 Penelope and her family; The gold medals! (right)

Next Steps

Penelope won four gold medals in her four races at Junior Nationals. She also got to go to a big party and dance with Lucy and the other athletes.   

But that isn’t the end of Penelope’s racing days. Every Saturday, she’s back at the track. Now her goal is to do a longer race—the 800 meters.And Penelope wants to make the 2023 Junior Nationals. 

So she takes it one step at a time. And she tells herself, “You’ve got this, Penelope.” 

Your Turn to Read!: We Asked Penelope

Storyworks had questions for Penelope. Here are her answers.

Carla Georgina Torres for Scholastic

Storyworks: What do you love about racing?

Penelope: I love that I get to go fast!

Storyworks: What is the hardest part?

Penelope: My legs. It’s hard on my legs. 

Storyworks: How do you feel before a race? 

Penelope: I feel full of energy and excited. 

Storyworks: What would you tell other kids?

Penelope: You’re not alone. It’s an adventure!

Carla Georgina Torres for Scholastic

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Slideshows (1)
Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
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More About the Article

Science Focus

Science and technology

Social Studies Focus

Culture

Vocabulary

frame runner, focus, racing wheelchair, qualify, prosthetic

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

Essential Question

The essential question of this issue is What can sports teach us? The articles below connect to this theme.

  • Picture This!: “Flip Out!,” p. 2
  • Background Builder: “Sports for All,” p. 8
  • Big Read-Aloud: “Ready, Set, Race!,” p. 10
  • Fiction: “The Terrible Turtles,” p. 24
  • Mini History: “The Story of Sneakers,” p. 30
  • Poetry: “Brand-New Ball,” p. 32

Through the above genres, students will discuss:

  • What sports do people play? What equipment do they use?
  • Why do we play sports?
  • What is it like to be on a team?
  • How can we try our best?

IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTIONS

Read-Aloud

  • Nonfiction read-alouds give children access to more complex written text that is on their listening level. Use it to develop children’s comprehension, knowledge, vocabulary, and understanding of nonfiction text.

Paired Text: Background Builder

  • Pair your read-aloud with “Background Builder: Sports for All” (p. 8). This is a lower-level nonfiction article that gives children background knowledge before they encounter the Big Read-Aloud.

1. BEFORE READING

Show Video (10 minutes)

  • Tell your students some people have disabilities that can make it hard to move. But everyone should have the chance to do sports! You will get to watch an action-packed video about people with disabilities who play sports. (This video also goes with the Background Builder).

Preview Vocabulary (3-5 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue features rich vocabulary including: frame runner, focus, racing wheelchair, qualify, and prosthetic.

Preview the First Pages and Set a Purpose for Reading (5-10 minutes)

  • Now tell students they are going to read about a girl who is training to run in races. How will she do in her biggest race ever?
  • Open your magazines to “Ready, Set, Race!” Let students take a picture walk. Do the pictures help us figure out what happens in the article?
  • You can also review some of the nonfiction text features in the story so children can follow along. Point out the headline, subheadings, and photo captions.

2. READ ALOUD (15-30 minutes)

  • Read each article section, modeling expressive, fluent reading. Check comprehension as you read together with the Pause and Think questions.
  • Turn to the sidebar at the end of the article, “Your Turn to Read: We Asked Penelope.” Point out to children that this is an interview format. In an interview, someone asks a question and someone answers. Show students how the pink text that says “Storyworks” means that a Storyworks writer is asking a question. The green text that says “Penelope” is followed by Penelope’s answer.

3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON SKILLS

ELA Focus: Key details (10 minutes)

ELA Focus: Parts of Speech (20 minutes)

  • Explore sports vocabulary and practice separating nouns and verbs with the Sort and Score activity. (This page also goes with other stories in the issue.)

ELA Focus: Key details (15 minutes)

  • This version of the Reading Checkpoint activity allows children to engage with key details of the article at a lower skill level.

Text-to-Speech