FREE School Terry Fox Run Activities & Easy Art Display

If you don’t live in Canada, you likely don’t know who Terry Fox is. For us in the Great White North, he is a national hero. Millions of people and approximately 10,000 schools join together each year in September to carry on the legacy he began back in 1980.

Terry, an ambitious athlete, was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma cancer (just above his right knee) when he was 18 years old. His experiences and the relationships he built in the cancer wards, and the subsequent amputation of his own leg, were the catalyst for a compassionate & deeply determined mission; Terry set his mind to completing the first ever cross-Canada run to raise money for cancer research. His goal was just $1 from every Canadian…at the time, $24 million dollars.

So after dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean on April 12th, 1980, he began a grueling journey, with the intention of dipping his leg in the Pacific Ocean, 8,000 kilometers away.

As word of his incredible feat began to spread, Canadians flocked to meet him at each town, city, and the road along the way. He swiftly became a celebrity like no other. By February 1, 1981, he had surpassed his goal with $24.17 million raised.

But when cancer spread to his lungs, Terry was forced to stop his marathon on September 1st, 1980 just outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario after having run 5,373 kilometres. Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981, but his legacy lives on. His Marathon of Hope transformed into The Terry Fox Run, which has raised more than $850 million since 1980, and brings hope and health to millions of Canadians.

Every year in September, our students raise money and take part in The Terry Fox Run. In the week leading up to the run, we learn about who he was and why he is a hero. We make connections to his story and to his drive, determination, and compassion. Students especially love gather as a school in the gym and watching this inspiring little video right before we set out on our walk around the community.

It’s pretty common for students to decorate a printout of a shoe in honour of Terry, accompanied with a little write-up about who they are running for, why Terry is a hero, or what they admire about Terry. But last year, I thought I’d change it up (I had a group of Junior Kindergarten students at one point in my day so I wanted something simple that allowed them to create meaningful art without the stress to their not-yet-developed fine-motor skills).

So I followed the Terry Fox Foundation‘s theme and created simple colouring pages that can be used with crayons, markers, pastels, or even watercolour paints! When mounted on black construction paper, they made an eye-catching, inspiring, and EASY PEASY display:

My older students wrote a short excerpt that shared what they admire about Terry and something that inspires them to help others, which we just attached underneath their art. The watercolours looked incredible.

Early finishers got started on their choice of a Terry Fox bookmark:

I printed several copies of each on cardstock for added durability (leftovers saved in a folder in my filing cabinet for next year!), and had them available at the front of the classroom. Students decorated them however they wanted and we actually used them throughout the following weeks as we read Run by Eric Walters. I find every year that students are so engaged in this story that we have a few days of lunch-and-a-movie as we watch The Terry Fox Story after reading the book.

I HIGHLY recommend this movie. It’s old but very well done. Also, I suggest only viewing it with older children (12+) as it can be quite emotionally heavy…you may also need to check with your board as it does contain some mild profanity (“hell” and “damn”). If you don’t watch it with your students, it’s worth the watch yourself!