In 1980, Terry Fox started a Marathon of Hope. His hope was to raise money for cancer research and eventually help to find a cure for the disease.
After losing a leg to bone cancer, Terry Fox wanted to help other people. To raise money, he began a fundraising run across Canada. His famous run-hop stride is well known to Canadians and people around the world.
Terry Fox ran more than 5,300 kilometres – half-way across Canada – when the cancer spread to his lungs. He died at the age of 22, in 1981.
His mother, Betty Fox, kept his Marathon of Hope alive, as a tireless promoter who helped to set up the Terry Fox Foundation. The foundation has raised more than half a billion dollars for cancer research.
- Betty Fox, Terry’s mother, passed away last June. Through her tireless efforts, the Terry Fox foundation has raised $550 million for cancer research.
Betty Fox passed away in June. However, the Terry Fox Foundation continues to thrive and support fundraising runs across Canada and around the world.
Many of the runs take place in the fall, and many are organized by Canadian schools. This year, National School Run Day was Sept. 28—however, many schools run on different days throughout the fall.
The runs are unique because they are non-commercial (meaning that there are no advertisers or commercial sponsors), all-inclusive events. Everyone who can run, walk or wheel is encouraged to participate.
For more information about participating in a run, donating to the Terry Fox foundation, staging a fundraising event, raising pledges online or even downloading the new Terry Fox Foundation phone app, visit the Terry Fox website.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Many people around the world feel connected to Terry Fox. Although most people never met him, they still feel they know him. Why do you think so many people feel this way? What is it about Terry’s character that made him so unique?
Reading Prompt
A caption is text that appears below a picture. It is used to to describe the image or to provide additional information. How do captions help readers understand what they are reading?
Primary & Junior
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (OME, Reading: 2.3).
Intermediate
Identify a variety of text features and explain how they help communicate meaning (OME, Reading: 2.3).
Grammar Feature: Descriptive Adjectives
A descriptive adjective is a word that describes a person, place, or thing (noun) by telling what kind, which one, or how many. Below are some examples from today’s articles.
“Run-hop” is a descriptive adjective because it tells what kind of “stride” Terry was famous for.
In the text, “This year, National School Run Day was Sept. 28,”
“this” is a descriptive adjective because it tells which year.In the sentence, “The foundation has raised more than half a billion dollars for cancer research,” half a billion is a descriptive adjective because it tells how many dollars.
Tell what kind of descriptive adjective is used in each statement below:
1. five tickets (what kind, which one, how many)
2. his desk (what kind, which one, how many)
3. pepperoni pizza (what kind, which one, how many)
4. 36 friends (what kind, which one, how many)
5. their slippers (what kind, which one, how many)
6. black paint (what kind, which one, how many)
