Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Rules for Going the Distance With the Defenders”

In this activity, students will write and explain rules for the Defenders track team based on plot events and descriptions in the novel.

As Castle joins the track team and learns about Teamwork and Belonging, he encounters rules and expectations. Some are directly stated. Some he has to infer. Develop a list of five to seven rules Coach expects his team to follow. For each rule, explain one to two scenes that illustrate the importance of this expectation. Turn your rules into an artifact to share in a gallery walk.

Ideas for artifacts:

• Rulebook
• Poster
• Webpage
• Video
• Podcast

Present your project in the class gallery walk.

Write a journal entry focusing on one of the rules and how it might be useful in your life.

Teaching Suggestion: It might help to start by rereading a key scene and then have a class discussion about what expectations it reveals. Students could then brainstorm rules together and then work on their individual projects. Showing an example of a rulebook could also help give students a concrete visual to work from.