Amir is studious and inquisitive. His dream is to one day be a newspaper reporter. He works hard writing articles and conducting interviews for TLX News.
Emilio is an adventurer. He loves to travel with his parents and his older brother, Ernesto. He is also interested in history and has visited many historic sites.
Jill is running for class president at her school. She is a leader in her class and encourages good citizenship. Each month she volunteers at her town’s local food pantry.
Shelby loves going to her local recreation center to skateboard and take art classes. She is very involved in her community and helps with recycling and conservation.
Camille has French heritage. She uses her laptop to email her friends and organizing her MP3 collection. Her dad is a music teacher and someday she might like to be one, too.
Ernesto loves sports, and his favorite sport is soccer. He is also very interested in photography and one day hopes to be a professional photographer.
Ruby cares about environmental issues. She likes to visit state and national parks. Someday, she hopes to be an architect and design skyscrapers that are Earth friendly.
Aiden lives on a big cattle farm in Texas. He likes to grow vegetables in his own garden and uses them to help his family make fajitas. Cooking is his favorite hobby.
Adam lives with his grandparents near the beach. They are Chinese Americans. He likes to help his grandfather paint pictures of the ocean.
Lilly wants to be a pilot. One day she would even like to fly in the space shuttle! For now, she'll just use her telescope to visit outer space.
Reema and her family are from India. She likes animals and hopes someday to be a vet. She is practicing by taking care of her pet turtle, George.
Sam likes to read. He loves going to the library and reading books about dinosaurs. Sam is hearing impaired. His family is learning American Sign Language.

Amir is studious and inquisitive. His dream is to one day be a newspaper reporter. He works hard writing articles and conducting interviews for TLX News.

Home / Geography

How Do People Overcome Obstacles?

Everyday Obstacles

There are many kinds of obstacles that people must overcome. Sometimes, the obstacles come from the people we know or the places we live. Sometimes, the obstacles come from something that we may not be able to change. This is the kind of obstacle that Sami Stoner, a high school student in Ohio, is taking on. She has a disease called Starsgardtâ€™s Disease. This disease is causing her to loose her eyesight. But she doesnâ€™t let that stop her from doing things that will surprise you!

Sami runs cross-country for her school. That means that she runs races that are about three miles long. Cross-country races arenâ€™t like running track. Runners race on trails in nature and through parks. The topography can be challenging. Sami canâ€™t rely on her own eyes to help her navigate the trails. She gets some help from her friend, Chloe, a guide dog. Chloe wears a special harness. She may need to guide Sami through fields and forests, over hills, and around water. Chloe helps make sure that Sami can run safely.

How far will Sami and Chloe run in they follow this path?

Before Chloe could help Sami run, she had to learn many things. You may remember reading about dogs that are trained to help people with disabilities in last monthâ€™s update . Chloe was trained by an organization called Pilot Dogs. She had to learn how to navigate in many kinds of places. Dogs in the pilot dog program train in the city to learn how to get around on busy streets. They learn how to get on and off of buses and even ride escalators. Chloe also had to train with Sami to learn how to guide her in her cross country races. Now they run together in races against other athletes!

Service dogs need special training and equipment.

Getting around in the world without her eyesight was an obstacle for Sami Stoner. But she found a way to keep running. Sami and Chloe are winning this race together!

TLX News Journal: Geography Activity
Imagine you are Chloe navigating a running trail. Write a paragraph about the things that you see as you run. Draw a map to go with your paragraph. Be sure to include a map key.

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