Lesson Plan
The Ancient Olympics
Introduce your students to the fascinating world of Ancient Greece by studying the Olympic Games, then and now.
- Grade:Grades 3–5, Grades 6–8
- Subject:Reading
Building Background
With the Summer Olympics in Athens around the corner, what a terrific time to study Ancient Greece, where the first Olympics were held more than 2,500 years ago! To get started, first gather materials for your classroom library (see “Olympic Resources,” above, for suggestions). Then kick off the unit by sharing the Olympic Fun Facts. Next, set a challenge for your students: They should look for any related news articles, which they can bring in to share with the class and add to an “Olympic Headlines” bulletin board.
Classroom Olympics
Ancient Greek city-states competed against one other at the first Olympics. Your students will enjoy learning more about these colorful societies with this activity! First, invite students to form five groups — Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Argos, and Megara, then have them explore their city-state´s culture online by visiting different sites about
Ancient Greece, such as http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greeklife.html. Then have the members of each group agree upon a behavior that will distinguish it as a city-state during your classroom Olympics, and let the competition begin! Host tic-tac-toe, trivia, or jacks events. Once the victorious city-state has been declared, discuss why the groups acted the ways they did.
Ancient Greece, such as http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Greeklife.html. Then have the members of each group agree upon a behavior that will distinguish it as a city-state during your classroom Olympics, and let the competition begin! Host tic-tac-toe, trivia, or jacks events. Once the victorious city-state has been declared, discuss why the groups acted the ways they did.
Olympic NewsInvite your students to imagine that it is 500 BC and they are citizens of Olympia. It is their responsibility to create a newspaper for those coming to the games! To begin, discuss the important sections of a newspaper, such as news, weather, and sports. Then challenge teams of students to cover one of these sections for your Olympic newspaper. News writers can report on special preparations, sports writers can interview star athletes, and style writers can cover what's hot at the celebration banquets. Encourage your newspaper staff to do research so that their stories are as accurate as possible. When finished, kids can compile the stories and print enough issues for all to read.
Invite your students to imagine that it is 500 BC and they are citizens of Olympia. It is their responsibility to create a newspaper for those coming to the games! To begin, discuss the important sections of a newspaper, such as news, weather, and sports. Then challenge teams of students to cover one of these sections for your Olympic newspaper. News writers can report on special preparations, sports writers can interview star athletes, and style writers can cover what's hot at the celebration banquets. Encourage your newspaper staff to do research so that their stories are as accurate as possible. When finished, kids can compile the stories and print enough issues for all to read.
Pentathlon Research
With this activity, your students will research the exciting pentathlon and learn about one way the Olympics have changed throughout history. First, invite one half of your class to research the ancient pentathlon and the other half to study the modern version. Then encourage the groups to use the Internet to find out more about the participants and judging of each of the five events (try the excellent www.modern-pentathlon.com). Ask both groups to make a book about their version of the pentathlon, with one page explaining each event. Finally, have the groups present their books to the class so that all can become pentathlon experts.
Chariot Race Writing
Challenge your students to use their knowledge of the ancient Olympics to respond to a learning-rich writing prompt in their journals. First, share this quote from Sophocles, a Greek playwright, describing the beginning of a chariot race:
“At the sound of the bronze trumpet off they started, all shouting to their horses and urging them on. The clatter of the rattling chariots filled the whole arena, and the dust flew up as they sped along in a dense mass. Each driver goaded his team to draw clear of the rival panting steeds, whose steaming breath and sweat drenched every flying wheel and bending back together.”
After discussing any unfamiliar words, invite students to imagine that they are a chariot driver in this race and write a first-person account of what happens next. Who wins?
“At the sound of the bronze trumpet off they started, all shouting to their horses and urging them on. The clatter of the rattling chariots filled the whole arena, and the dust flew up as they sped along in a dense mass. Each driver goaded his team to draw clear of the rival panting steeds, whose steaming breath and sweat drenched every flying wheel and bending back together.”
After discussing any unfamiliar words, invite students to imagine that they are a chariot driver in this race and write a first-person account of what happens next. Who wins?
Olympic Mythology
Many different Greek gods and goddesses were worshiped during the ancient Olympics. A fun way to introduce this fundamental part of Greek life is to begin by discussing what present-day athletes do for luck. A runner may eat a certain meal before a big race, for example, or a basketball player may always look for mom in the stands. Write your students' examples on the board. Then share Run with Me, Nike: The Olympics in Four Hundred Twenty, by Cassandra Case (Bt. Bound, 2002), or another title that explains the important role of mythology in the ancient Olympics. As a class, compare ancient and modern athletic rituals. Where do Olympians past and present find courage and strength?
A Mapping Challenge
Invite kids to practice their geography skills and learn more about where the Olympics have traveled — between the first games in Olympia and this summer's competition in Athens — with this fun mapping mystery. First, using pushpins, mark all of the Olympic cities (found at www.harveyabramsbooks.com/hostcities.html) on a world map. Then, throughout your unit, ask teams of two students to figure out the year two of the cities hosted the games. Have the teams write the years, the names of the cities, and pictures of the countries' flags on blank cards. Attach the cards to the map with the pushpins to create an impressive Olympic display!
Using the Reproducible
Once students become experts on the ancient Olympics, use The 2004 Olympics Reproducible below to extend their learning to this summer´s games in Athens! By solving the puzzle, they´ll be practicing content area vocabulary and critical thinking skills. As a follow-up, discuss some of the details behind the facts. Do your students know the translation of the Latin Olympic motto (“Swifter, Higher, Stronger”)? Why are the Olympic rings red, yellow, green, blue, and black? (At least one of these colors appears on every country´s flag.) What else do students know, and what do they want to know? Use this discussion as a springboard for independent research projects.
Reading Olympics
To wrap up your unit, consider talking to teachers in the grade level below or above about creating an Olympics-themed summer reading challenge. Students can clock the number of hours they spend reading Olympics-related materials, such as newspaper stories, articles in the magazine or on the Web (try www.scholastic.com), and books from the school or public library.
