Friday, August 5, 2016

Olympics & Geography Lesson Plan

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


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