Giro d'Italia
Making Plans
Use the Giro d'Italia: Plan a Lesson Sequence resource to decide what you want pupils to do in their work.
Pupils could start with an ‘Explore’ - type Using ICT activity, and investigate the information about the Giro d’Italia available from one or more of the websites listed here. Using the collection of information, pupils then use what they have discovered to draw some conclusions and arrive at an end point where they have made something using information they have investigated. The depth of the investigation, and the length of time you choose to devote to the activity, can vary to suit the requirements of your class.
Divide Up the Time Available
- Mix and match from the suggestions to generate some quick starting points.
- Then structure the planned activity with a beginning, middle and end.
- Add in some detail about what you want pupils to make or do.
- Don’t forget to consider group-working, and allocate roles.
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You might want to consider including a skills focus: work based on the Giro d'Italia is a natural opportunity for communication skills, Managing Information skills. At least some of the activity is likely to include an online component of investigating the web-based materials, there will be scope to include a Using ICT ‘Explore’ focus in particular.
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Wrap up with a whole class summary and review, make this the basis for peer and/or self-evaluation and build-in some Assessment for Learning.
1. Pick a Subject Focus
Suggested subject focus Key Stages 1 & 2
| Subject | Focus |
|---|---|
| Language and Literacy | Base a Talking and Listening activity around preparing a report to be given to the class on some aspect of the Giro d'Italia. |
| Mathematics and Numeracy | Look at the successive rounds of the various events, consider ways of tabulating the results to keep track of what's happened at each stage of the race. Which way will be best? |
| The World Around Us | Because the race is starting out in Northern Ireland, this could be an opportunity to look at some aspect of the local environment, or alternatively at some of the materials used in the construction of bicycles and the specialist clothing and fabrics worn by competitors. |
| The Arts | Use the spectacle of the event as inspiration for drawing, painting, photography, music or role-play. |
| Personal Development and Mutual Understanding | Think about the experiences of a competitor coming to a strange country to take part in a sporting event: what will it be like for them? Imagine doing something like that yourself? |
| Physical Education | How do the most successful cyclists train? What exercise programme do they follow, and how important is diet to their race preparation and endurance? |
Suggested subject focus Key Stage 3
| Subject | Focus |
|---|---|
| English with Media | What sort of writing might be appropriate to use in the planned activity: is it a piece of imaginative fiction, factual, documentary, or persuasive writing? |
| Mathematics with Financial Capability | Investigate scenarios associated with the staging of the event that provide scope for considering finance/costs, such as hosting extra visitors, using track marshals, or laying on emergency services such as ambulances and first aid. |
| Science | What is it about physiology, nutrition, or other factors that influence elite sporting performance, and how do these provide evidence for maintaining good health? Are there any factors on the other side such as injury or long-term damage as a result of repeated physical stress to body parts? |
| Technology and Design | Investigate the factors involved in the design of specialised racing bikes and/or safety clothing and equipment used in the Giro d’Italia. |
| History | What is the significance of the Giro d'Italia in Italian culture, and how is this understood in other nations? |
| Geography | What terrain do the racers move through during the different stages of the event, and what effect can changing weather conditions have on the record-breaking potential within particular sections? |
| Art and Design | Plan and make a documentary response to the Giro d'Italia using photographs, montage, collage or mixed media. |
| Music | Compose a jingle to be used as a channel ident by TV or Radio stations covering the Giro d'Italia event in Northern Ireland. |
| Drama | Write, rehearse and deliver a scene that dramatises a meeting between two sporting rivals checking in to their hotel and arriving unexpectedly together. |
| Local and Global Citizenship | Investigate the Schengen Area and its implications for European travel and trade. |
| Personal Development | Consider the personal qualities of elite athletes. Research some biographies and draw conclusions about any personality traits they have in common. Or, examine the issues of performance enhancing drugs and the associated controversies. |
| Employability | What are the employment opportunities within sports and leisure? Investigate a range of career pathways from elite competitor to personal coach. Who works in the support services that enable large events like the Giro d'Italia to take place? |
| Home Economics | Are there unique nutritional requirements for road racers? Plan a week's worth of meals and their timings that would provide a competitor with calories and fluids that would enable them to compete successfully. Identify the points of particular stress. |
| Modern Languages | Participants from many countries will be coming to Northern Ireland to take part. Prepare a phrase book for a cyclist from a country whose language you have been studying. What are the basic phrases they would need to book into a hotel, ask for directions, or take part in an interview. |
| Physical Education | What is unique about the performance requirements of a road racer covering a route that features both flat and hill sections? What sorts of training regime would enhance their performance? |
Suggested subject focus Key Stage 4
| Subject | Focus |
|---|---|
| Where candidates studying for GCSE art and design have a particular interest in sport, cycling, or the Giro d'Italia in particular; this could form the basis for creative work associated with Unit 1: The Core Portfolio (Controlled Assessment). Work could follow a fine art approach or adopt a design problem as the starting point. For example, using drawing, painting, collage, montage or photography to produce a 2D response to some aspect of the event. In this context inspiration and ideas might be found in the work of the Italian Futurists, or drawn from more contemporary artists. Alternatively, still or moving images could be produced and manipulated/edited using software to realise a completed outcome. If a design approach is preferred, candidates could choose to look at the style of graphics used in connection with the Giro d’Italia, either recently or from an earlier period. 3D interpretations could lead to a creative response using ceramics, card construction or textiles. Similarly, 3D designs could propose solutions associated with specialist clothing, equipment or venues. | |
| Business Communication Systems | Considering the potential spin-offs from the Giro d'Italia being hosted in Northern Ireland could provide opportunities for candidates to practice the activities associated with the GCSE in Business and Communication Systems. In particular, this could provide a focus for investigating web design and e-commerce in preparation for the controlled assessment. Candidates could design websites with e-commerce components to market: racing bikes, safety equipment, souvenirs or other cycling-related products. |
| Economics | For candidates studying Economics at GCSE there may be scope to use the Giro d'Italia as a focus when considering aspects of the course concerned with: Managing the Economy, Public and Private Sectors, and the European Union. As an international event with the potential to yield economic benefits to Northern Ireland as a host nation, the Giro d’Italia could provide materials for a case-study. Several of the websites in the links section give background and insight into this dimension of the Giro d’Italia. |
| Engineering | Candidates entering for the GCSE in Engineering might use the Giro d'Italia as inspiration for their work in connection with Unit 1: Engineering Design and Graphical Communication. There is scope to consider aspects of the design and production of components of racing bikes, associated safety equipment and/or accessories associated with cycling. |
| Geography | There are aspects of investigating the Giro D'Italia that could be used as the basis of a case study. This could look at issues associated with sustainable tourism that would be relevant to GCSE Geography. |
| Home Economics | If sports nutrition is being investigated as part of studying for GCSE Home Economics, the Giro d'Italia could be used as an example. |
| Hospitality | The Giro d'Italia offers many suitable avenues of inquiry that can be used to support study for the GCSE in Hospitality. These include: Unit 1: The Hospitality Industry and Unit 2: Reception and Accommodation. Many components of the content for these two units of the specification could be exemplified in the context of bringing the Giro d'Italia to Northern Ireland. |
| ICT | In the Tools and Applications component of GCSE ICT candidates could use the Giro d'Italia as the context for their work associated with the Presentation Package part of the course. There would also be scope to base the activities for the Using Multimedia and Games Technology part of the course on the Giro d’Italia. For example making a bike race the basis for a game. Similarly, the Giro d’Italia could be the topic for website work when considering Using Graphics, Using Digital Video and Sound, Games Technology and/or Using Multimedia Assets. |
| Journalism | As an international media event that will be starting in Northern Ireland the Giro d'Italia is a ready-made opportunity for study in GCSE Journalism. There are aspects of the content for all three units: Unit 1: The Journalism Industry and Skills for Journalism, Unit 2: Communication and Print, Unit 3: Broadcast Media and Communications; that could use the context of the Giro d’Italia as a starting point. Not only for sports reporting, but also the many associated features of a large-scale event that will hit the headlines in the coming months. |
| Leisure Tourism | When studying for the Leisure and Tourism GCSE, candidates could consider the experiences of visitors coming to Northern Ireland for the Giro d'Italia. The Giro d’Italia could be the focus of an example to consider the issues of customer service. |
| Moving Image Arts | For those candidates studying Moving Image Arts at GCSE and who also have an interest in cycling, the Giro d'Italia could be an opportunity to capture live action footage to use as part of their course. For more details see the specification. |
| Physical Education | There are many aspects of health, fitness, individual performance, training, tactical ability or rules and conventions that could be investigated in the context of the Giro d'Italia. For those studying for GCSE Physical Education the Giro d’Italia will have an immediate appeal for cycling enthusiasts. Using the various links provided, candidates can extend their understanding and appreciation of the event and the competitors. This can be a useful component in their preparation for the written examination. |
2. Consider Including a Skills Component
Suggested skills components Key Stages 1 & 2
| Subject | Skills Component |
|---|---|
| Communication | If the planned activity includes reading and/or writing, is there an opportunity to give particular attention to language during the activity? Perhaps exploring some of the specialist words associated with the sport of cycling. |
| Using Mathematics | If the planned activity includes numbers, scores, measurements or distances, is there an opportunity to give particular attention to number during the activity? |
| Using ICT | Practice using search engines and linking to given sites to find out more about the race. How can you decide which information will be the most useful to use? |
| Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities | Choose one or more of the Thinking Cards to use when carrying out your investigation of the Giro d’Italia . Use the suggestions to help you decide how to find the information you need and what to do with it. |
Suggested skills components Key Stage 3
| Subject | Skills Component |
|---|---|
| Communication | If the planned activity will feature a written outcome, consider focusing on a particular type of language such as a journalistic account, a report or a documentary. Use the characteristic forms of a specific genre to shape the composition. |
| Using Maths | Investigate the different standards of accuracy used to measure the success of competitors. What factors limit the accuracy, and what can race officials do to minimise the impact of error in measurements? |
| Using ICT | Set up and regularly update a class blog to provide news of the Giro d’Italia over the whole 21 days. Shoot and edit a short movie celebrating the Giro d’Italia. Use the available graphics files to make a montage advertising the Giro d’Italia to other classes in your school.
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| Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities | Choose one or more of the Thinking Cards to use when carrying out your investigation of the Giro d’Italia. Use the suggestions to help you decide how to find the information you need and what to do with it. |
Suggested skills components Key Stage 4
| Subject | Skills Component |
|---|---|
| Communication | If the planned activity will involve communicating information about the Giro d’Italia, consider focusing on a particular type of communication such as a talking and listening, reading, or writing. There is more information on coverage of skills and capabilities at Key Stage 4 available in the publication Guidance on Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Key Stage 4 |
| Using Mathematics | If the planned activity will feature measurements, calculations, estimating or numerical information consider focusing on a particular mathematical approach as part of the project. There is more information on coverage of skills and capabilities at Key Stage 4 available in the publication Guidance on Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Key Stage 4 |
| Using ICT | If the planned activity will involve using software there may be opportunities to include a Using ICT focus. There is more information on coverage of skills and capabilities at Key Stage 4 available in the publication Guidance on Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Key Stage 4 |
| Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities referred to in statutory orders as ‘other skills’ of:
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If the planned activity will involve an element of Problem Solving; Self Management; or Working With Others; consider using this as a particular focus for skills development. There is more information on coverage of skills and capabilities at Key Stage 4 available in the publication Guidance on Teaching, Learning and Assessment at Key Stage 4 |