With the Summer Olympics starting, I wanted to use it as an opportunity for both a lesson on the Olympics and a geography lesson.
The Modern Olympic
Games
The Olympic Games are an international competiton of
summer and winter sports. Thousands of athletes from all over the world compete
in a wide variety of events. The games are currently held every four years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games
alternating. Each Olympic games are held in a different international city.
The celebration of the games encompasses many rituals and
symbols.
The Olympic flag and Olympic rings The Olympic Torch
The Olympic flag is white with 5 rings – blue, black,
red, yellow, and green. Together, they
represent the five inhabited continents, although no particular ring is meant
to represent any specific continent. (The Americas are treated as one
continent.) The rings are interlaced to represent the idea that the Olympics
are universal, bringing athletes from the entire world together.
The Olympic torch is lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece,
emphasizing the connection between the modern Olympic games and the ancient
Olympic games (which were in Greece). The
lighting marks the symbolic start of the Olympic Torch Relay. A long relay of runners carry the torch from Greece to
the country hosting the Olympics and all over that host country. It takes many
many weeks before it reaches the Olympic
Stadium for the Opening Ceremony.
The Olympic games starts with the opening ceremonies where the athletes from
each country all march in together with their country’s flag.
Then the sports competitions begin. The first, second,
and third place finishers in each event receive gold, silver or bronze Olympic
medals.
Who revived the
idea of the Olympic Games?
A French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, the Baron de Coubertin,
born in 1863. When he was young, Coubertin was a very keen sportsman. As he
grew older he developed a passionate belief that sport could encourage peace
throughout the world and bring people from all over the world together.
Coubertin was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games and
travelled around the world, spending his own money, trying to persuade people
to revive them. Eventually he managed to bring together representatives of many
different countries in Paris, in 1894, and the Olympic Movement was begun.
When and where
were the first modern Olympic Games held?
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in
1896.
Did women compete
in this first modern Olympic Games?
No! Women began to compete in 1900. For many years there
were problems for the women athletes about what to wear, because it was considered
very rude to show any part of the body or even the shape of the body! Can you
imagine trying to run and jump covered from head to foot in clothes?
What is the aim of
the Olympic Movement?
"The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute
to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport
practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which
requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair
play."
What is an
Olympiad?
An Olympiad is the period of four years which starts with
a summer Olympic Games. Each Olympiad is counted with Roman numerals, and the
year of the Games cannot be changed (although Games have been skipped out, as
in 1916 during the First World War).
Who chooses the
next host for the Olympic Games, and how?
Members of the IOC choose the next venue for the Olympic
Games, which must be a city rather than a country. So, for example, the next
Olympics, in 2016, will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, rather than Brazil. Any
city which wishes to host the Games can put their bid to the IOC. Only one city
from each country can bid, and even putting forward a bid takes a huge amount
of work and is very expensive. It usually takes many years to prepare, and of
course only one city can be successful!
Who selects each
country's team of athletes?
Each country has their own National Olympic Committee
(NOC). The NOCs represent their countries at the Olympic Games and select their
own national teams.
What is the
Olympic torch?
Prior to each Games, the Olympic Torch or Flame is lit in
Olympia, Greece and brought to the host city by runners carrying the torch in
relay.
Make an Olympic
Torch
What is the
Olympic creed?
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is
not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not
the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but
to have fought well."
Who wins medals?
The athletes or teams who come first, second and third
win medals: respectively gold, silver and bronze.
Are the gold
medals real gold?
No! They were solid gold until 1912, but are now silver
covered with a thin layer of gold.
Why do we have the Olympic rings as the emblem of the
Olympic Games?
The five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green,
and red respectively) of the emblem was originally designed in 1913 by Pierre
de Coubertin, to symbolize the five continents of the world taking part in the
Olympic Games (the Americas are viewed as a single continent, and Antarctica is
omitted).
Paper Plate
Olympic Rings or trace circles on
colored construction paper and cut out and glue on white cardstock.
What is the
Olympic motto?
"Citius, Altius, Fortius.", which is Latin for
"Swifter, Higher, Stronger"
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Here is a link to an awesome world map that you can print as large as you want it (on 1 page, on 4 pages, etc.) It doesn't have country names, but I like that you can choose how large to print it.
Printable - World Map
World Countries and their Flags
Printable - World Flags and Countries (Top countries and full list)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8kjUkAfacxZcHpQUHRFUHpXNnM/view?ts=57a50428
Here is a Printable PDF of this whole Lesson Plan
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8kjUkAfacxZaEd0cGo5VklSMUU/view?ts=57a500c2
