Girls on the Run of WNC is a 14-week program and the lessons are held once a week after school typically from 3:30-5pm.   The curriculum is taught by a team of at least two female coaches who strictly adhere to the prescribed lesson plans. All Girls on the Run coaches have been screened, interviewed and trained by Girls on the Run of WNC, and are CPR and First Aid certified.

The curriculum is divided into three parts:

• Part 1: Understanding themselves and setting personal goals
  
  
• Part 2: Learning skills to foster leadership, team building and cooperation
  
  
• Part 3: Examining their relationship to the community, including development and implementation of a community service project

Every lesson focuses on a specific issue-related topic and follows a five-part format that provides consistency and structure for the girls’ experience:

Introduction: As the girls arrive and settle into a circle, the coach “checks in” with each girl and gauges the group dynamic for the day.

Getting on Board Activity: The Getting on Board activity is a game that introduces the day’s topic and helps to focus the group.

The Warm Up: The warm-up is a brief activity or game that energizes the girls and warms up their muscles. The Warm Up activity is usually a short interactive running game that incorporates the lesson topic for that day. After the activity, the coach leads a stretching session, during which time the group begins to discuss and “process” the topic.

The Workout: The workout follows the warm-up/stretch. The amount of running varies on each girls’ ability, pace and their stage of progress. Eventually, the workout builds up to a “practice” 3.1 mile run/walk on site, to give the girls the confidence helpful in participating in an actual 3.1 mile community running event. The workout also involves the “topic of the day”. For example, in the session on positive attitudes, each girl is asked to make a positive statement about herself to the coach each time she completes a lap and reflect on it during the next lap.

The Wrap-Up: Following the workout is a cool-down and stretching period where the girls do group processing and discussion. Each session ends with positive reinforcement from the coach, a group cheer and a snack.

Expected outcomes:

Girls on the Run strives to help its participants to:

• Develop a positive self-image and stronger sense of identity.
  
• Learn to respect peers and cooperate in a group
  
• Build supportive relationships
  
• Communicate openly with parents and peers
  
• Strive for personal goals
  
• Improve physical health and fitness

PART ONE - ALL ABOUT ME: GETTING TO KNOW WHO I AM AND WHAT I STAND FOR

LESSON 1: GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER

To learn about the Girls on the Run program, procedures and expectations

To become familiar with each other

LESSON 2: BEING A GIRL OF YOUR WORD

To introduce participants to the concept of respecting each other through listening, cooperating and taking time to pay attention

To learn what promises are important to make the group operate efficiently

LESSON 3: MAKING IMPORTANT CHANGES

To introduce participants to the importance of assessing their current behaviors and the ways they think

To learn how to change those behaviors that need improvement

LESSON 4: TAKING CARE OF OUR PHYSICAL HEALTH

To introduce participants to the concept of physical fitness

To teach the basics of healthy nutrition, healthy habits and the importance of physical activity

LESSON 5: BEING EMOTIONAL IS HEALTHY

To teach participants the importance of expressing their emotions

To teach participants the concept that uncomfortable emotions, such as anger, sorrow, and frustration are not “bad” or “unhealthy” in and of themselves

To learn how they personally deal with and express their emotions

LESSON 6: TAKING TIME TO BE THANKFUL

To introduce participants to the concept of gratitude

To begin the process of learning the benefits of meditation and quiet time

LESSON 7: DRUGS HURT YOUR CHANCES

To learn the major effects of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana

To gain a better understanding of why people use drugs

To being to develop their individual strategy for never trying drugs

LESSON 8: VALUES ARE VALUABLE

To explore personal values

To understand the importance of standing up for their values

To discuss some behaviors that may undermine their adherence to their personal values

To have the girls run their first 5K run/walk

PART TWO - BUILDING MY TEAM: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF COOPERATION

LESSON 9: LEARNING ABOUT COOPERATION

To introduce participants to several key concepts regarding cooperation

To gain a general understanding of the importance of healthy verbal and non-verbal communication in improving cooperation within a group

LESSON 10: LEARNING TO LISTEN

To introduce participants to the key principles of good listening

To have participants practice good listening skills by designing a workout that will best reveal the talents and likes of their individual team members

LESSON 11: GOSSIPING IS A BAD HABIT

To learn the mechanics of healthy decision-making

To get an opportunity to use the learned “mechanics” in making decisions that positively affect the group

LESSON 12: BULLYING IS FOR THE BIRDS

To communicate the destructive nature of gossip

To understand that gossip hurts both the person about whom the gossip is being spread AND the person who is spreading it

To gain a better understanding of why people gossip, how not to be a part of and how to stop it

LESSON 13: STANDING UP FOR MYSELF

To understand the importance of maintaining a realistic but positive attitude

To experience the difference between negative and positive reinforcement

To begin to understand the impact positive behavior and attitudes have on their behavior and self-esteem

LESSON 14: THE KEYS TO MAKING HEALTHY DECISIONS

To introduce participants to the concept of community

To start participants thinking about a Girls on the Run community project

LESSON 15: BEING A GOOD SPORT

To learn the importance of standing up for themselves using appropriate assertive behavior

To practice assertiveness-training skills and be able to employ them

LESSON 16: DOING A 5K!

To take as much time as needed to run or walk a 5K

PART THREE - COMMUNITY BEGINS WITH ME: LEARNING ABOUT COMMUNTY AND DESIGNING OUR OWN COMMUNITY PROJECT

LESSON 17: YOU CALL IT

To provide participants with an opportunity to make choices, review their GOTR experience and to simply

PLAY! The girls will decide what games to play with coach’s support and provision of equipment

To build community

LESSON 18: COMMUNITY BEGINS WITH ME

To demonstrate the importance of upholding the community

To begin to understand that a community is representative of the circumstances and values of the people in it

To gain a better understanding of discrimination and begin to consider ways to stop discrimination

LESSON 19: MEDIA LITERACY

To increase awareness of the negative ways in which the media portrays girls and women

To learn specific ways in which the media portrays women and girls in a manner that does not value us

To create individual posters that are uplifting and counter the typical media portrayal of girls

LESSON 20: FINALIZING THE COMMUNITY PROJECT

To finalize the group’s community project plan

LESSON 21: COMPLETING THE COMMUNITY PROJECT

To work diligently on the community project and have FUN!

LESSON 22: FINISHING STRONG

To enjoy the last official day of Girls on the Run before 5K event

To administer the attitudinal post-survey

LESSON 23: THE FINISHING TOUCHES

To raise money for the community project.

LESSON 24: FINAL CELEBRATION

To recognize and celebrate the individual spirit of each girl and the community established over the course of the twelve weeks together

To have fun and say “good-bye”