This school year, fourth-grade teachers Laura Greif and Jackie Metcalf introduced their students to "NFeLementary," a football-based curriculum that ties together math, geography, history, and community outreach. Greif says the framework came from Mary Crippen, a Miami-based third-grade teacher, and that it’s been a huge hit at Falk. 

The program began during the second week of school, when each student “drafted” an NFL team to become the focus of their project. Throughout the season, they followed that team’s progress closely, tracking wins and losses each week, analyzing historical stats, exploring team history and hometown geography, and delving into community outreach programs. Early in the season, they also chose three individual players—one quarterback, one wide receiver, and one flex position—to collect data on for the statistics portion of the project. 

Despite some initial skepticism from students who don’t follow football, Metcalf says NFeLementary quickly became a fun and informative experience for the entire class. "The packet that came along with the unit [explained] what the different plays mean, what a red zone is—I think they all learned a lot.” 

Both classes also had fun following their team’s progress throughout the season and watching highlights together during morning meetings. After every game, Metcalf says, “they would come in, and they would update their team's record. The kids got excited about it, especially if they [had] watched the game.” 

“It was nice, too,” Greif adds, “because a lot of people who are really invested in football—this gave them a space to be a leader and break things down and explain things [for their peers]. We had a lot of coaching on what was what and how things work, and that was really fun to see.” 

Now that the season is over, students are wrapping up the unit by writing and sending letters to the teams they studied. In their messages, they’ll highlight favorite moments and players of the season and share their thoughts on the team outreach initiatives they researched. 

Leaning into the intersection of athletics and academics, students are also in the middle of a unit on the Winter Olympics. During February, both classes studied the history of the games, watched daily highlights together, and read about different events and athletes. 

Metcalf’s students also tracked medal counts with custom-made bar graphs, and throughout March, Greif’s class will explore access, equity, and representation in sports through the lens of the recent games.