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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Winter Olympics: What a blast!

The following lesson plan outlines an integrated unit on the Winter Olympics from the perspective of Physical Education. All subject areas can participate (suggestions are listed below), but the culminating activity is the Olympic Games organized through Physical Education classes. This lesson plan could be adapted for any grade level by making the Olympic events age appropriate.

By Barbara H. Williams

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Learning outcomes

Students will participate in:

  • Skating Events. Students will practice and demonstrate the ability to move quickly (slide) while standing on carpet squares.
  • Bobsled Events. Students will practice and demonstrate the ability to move quickly while sitting on, or pushing students on, scooterboards.
  • Hockey. Students will practice and demonstrate striking a puck with a hockey stick to pass to teammates, “shooting” for a goal, defending against opponents shooting for a goal, intercepting the puck from the opposing team, and moving safely while carrying a hockey stick.
  • Cross-country Skiing. Students will practice and demonstrate working as a group to move quickly (and turn) while standing on boards with rope handles.
  • All Events. Students will practice strategies for success in competition and will develop an understanding of the importance of teamwork.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

15 to 20 days

Materials/resources

Individual Speed Skating

  • skates (carpet squares*) 1 pair per participant
  • cones

*Obtain carpet squares with sufficient pile to allow them to slide freely over gym floor. Usually carpet stores will donate discontinued samples to schools.

Team Speed Skating

  • skates (carpet squares) 1 pair per team
  • 1 cone per team

4-person Bobsled

  • 3 scooterboards per team
  • 1 cone per team

2-person Bobsled

  • 2 scooterboards per team
  • 1 cone per team

Hockey

  • floor hockey sticks
  • puck
  • goals*
  • protective equipment for the goalie (optional)

*For goals we bought PVC pipe and constructed our own. Size and shape can be fashioned to meet the needs of the age group you serve. Being a farm community, we solicited the netting to cover our goals from a local farmer who uses it to contain his large round bales of hay.

Team Cross-Country Skiing

  • cross-country skis* (1 pair per team)
  • 1 line on the floor between two cones (start/finish line)
  • 2nd line on the floor between two cones (turning line)

*You can order these from a sports equipment catalog. They are called “gym skis” or “buddy walkers.” We made our own using boards of 2″ x 8″ treated lumber 8 inches wide. We tapered the front ends to resemble skis. We drilled holes at 2′ increments (4 on each side). Through these holes we inserted strong nylon cords of approximately 5′ in length to form a loop, knotting them on each end to secure in place. The holes were recessed so that the bottom sides of the skis remained flat. We then covered the bottom of each ski with carpet (cut to fit; pile side down) securing it in place with industrial strength glue. Click on attachments entitled Gym Skis and Gym Skis 2 to view our “homemade” skis.

Other Curricular Areas.

  • posterboard
  • colored pencils, markers, or paint
  • research materials (library, textbook, or internet sources)
  • materials to construct awards (medals* and certificates**)
  • decorative ribbon or string for the medals to be worn around the athlete’s neck

*Medals can be fashioned out of any available materials. Some suggestions: extra large candy in gold, silver, or bronze foil wrapping, wooden templates created in shop or art class, round plaster or pottery molds created in art or any other class, metal (tin punch) shapes, or heavy posterboard cut-outs. Be creative!

**Certificates could be created by computer. Communication Skills classes or computer technology classes could be involved in this. They could also be created by hand in art or any other class.

Technology resources

  • Computer and a computer program which allows you to make certificates and include graphics such as Print Shop or Print Master.
  • Color printer if possible. A laser printer could be used and color added manually to any graphics or text.
  • Internet resources to research various Olympic topics.
  • Video camera to film the Olympic Games. This is optional, but kids just love to see themselves on video!
  • Digital camera to record pictures of the event to give to students, view as a class, or use in a presentation (such as PowerPoint) or include in a report (such as might be produced using a word processing program).

All of the above suggestions are optional, but serve to enhance the lesson in many different subject areas.

Pre-activities

Depending upon the size of your student body, you may choose to run the preliminary heats a few days prior to the assembly program (Olympic Games). We chose to do so because of the size of our student body and because we let as many students participate in as many events as they wished. Therefore, it took several days to determine class finalists.

We also spent some class time discussing the various Olympic events, athletes, cities hosting the events, etc. to gain a greater understanding of the Olympics.

Activities

Individual Speed Skating

  1. Carpet squares may be cut to resemble the shape of a foot or shoe (skate). Turn pile side down and number pairs with a permanent marker (1-1, 2-2, 3-3, etc.).
  2. Mark “lanes” with cones or tape on the floor. If running straight lanes, students line up at the starting line and on the signal (whistle or starting gun) slide (skate) around the cone at the end of their lane and back to the finish line (also the starting line). If running around the gym floor in a “rink” type fashion, just like a real Olympic competition, the starting positions should be staggered to allow for distance differences between lanes. (Turning curves or going around cones makes this competition much more interesting because it is sometimes difficult for the athletes to keep from “sliding” off their skates.)
  3. In this event, we held a men’s singles and a women’s singles competition. We awarded bronze (3rd place), silver (2nd place), and gold (1st place) medals to each boy and girl winner in each grade level—a total of eighteen medals.
  4. Just for fun, and because he is such a good sport and athlete who loves to interact with the students, when a champion was determined in the 8th grade “boys” competition our principal challenged him to a race. This added to the fun and excitement for students and teachers alike. He didn’t win—sorry!
  5. Click on attachments Skating Challenge and Skating Challenge 2 to see faculty members challenge winners in the individual speed skating event.

Team Speed Skating

  1. Use one pair of skates per team (4 team members). Two team members (#1 and #3) line up at the starting line. Team members #2 and #4 line up across the gym at the cone (a line should also be marked on the floor) opposite their own team members.
  2. On the whistle, the first player on each team skates (slides) to the opposite end of the gym (making sure they remain on their skates until both skates cross the line), gets off his/her skates and goes to the end of the line; player #2 gets on the skates and returns to the starting line (making sure to cross the line completely); team member #3 takes the skates and goes down the lane again giving the skates to team member #4 who returns to finish the race.
  3. This race may also be run around the gym in rink type fashion. Remember to stagger the lanes. Team members #1 line up at the starting line; once the race has begun team members #2 line up at the starting line ready to receive the skates from the first skaters. Team members #3 and #4 do the same. Team members #4 finish the race at the same point where it was started.
  4. Participants should be careful not to interfere with skaters in other lanes. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places (boys and girls) in each grade level were awarded—a total of 72 medals.

4-person Bobsled

  1. To provide more opportunities for participation (and because of the close personal contact) we also offered this competition in both “women’s” and “men’s” events.
  2. Four students make up each team (girls only and boys only). One team member sits crossed legged (Indian style) on the front scooterboard. The second team member sits behind the first, on a scooterboard, and wraps his/her legs around the waist of the first teammate; the third team member does the same with the second teammate. The fourth member of the team is the “pusher.” With the assistance of his/her three teammates (using only their hands) s/he attempts to push the “sled” around the cone, in their lane, and return to cross the finish line (the same line used to start the race).
  3. All team members (still connected) must cross the finish line to complete the race.
  4. This race could be run in a straight line from one end of the gym to the other, but much of the fun derived from this event is struggling or watching the struggle to maneuver the sled around the cone.) As we discovered, during our Olympic Games, students can be very creative. One of the “pushers” decided to become the “puller,” and since we had not stipulated that this was illegal we allowed it, and it proved to be a very successful method of moving the sled.
  5. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places were awarded. With teams of four, from each grade level, this resulted in a total of 36 medals being awarded to the girls and 36 medals to the boys.

Click on attachments #15, #14, and #13 to view pictures of the preliminary heats of this event held during PE classes.

2-person Bobsled

  1. This event is similar to the 4-person Bobsled using only two team members—both sitting on the “sled” (scooterboards) linked together (first person sitting Indian fashion, second person with legs around the first) using only their hands to propel the sled.
  2. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places were awarded in both the men’s and women’s competitions from each grade level yielding a total of 36 medals.

Click on attachment 2-person Bobsled to view a picture of this event.

Hockey

This game is floor hockey played with a puck to simulate ice hockey.

  1. Rules for the game can be adapted to suit your individual needs. For our Olympics, each physical education teacher placed his/her students on co-educational teams of five or six each (attempting to evenly distribute skill levels).
  2. Teams were then pulled out of a hat to be placed on a single elimination tournament chart.
  3. Games were played for 3-minute quarters per game or as time allowed during our regular class periods. Safety regulations were strictly enforced. Anyone exhibiting dangerous play was ejected to the penalty box (sitting on the bench) for a brief period and if it happened again was ejected from the game. Goalies were permitted to wear protective equipment if desired. (Most chose not to so as to allow for greater freedom of movement.)
  4. For several days the preliminary rounds were played and a class champion was determined for each class period. On the day of the Olympics the sixth grade championship team from first period played the sixth grade championship team from second period; the seventh grade winner from third period went against the seventh grade winner from fourth period; and, finally, the winning eighth grade team from fifth period challenged the winning eighth grade team from sixth period.
  5. To keep it simple, we only awarded silver and gold medals to the teams competing in the finals. Each team member received a medal. The number of students receiving medals was approximately 30 (the number varied if a team had more than five players).

As an added bonus, and to add to the fun of our Olympics, Channel 12 sports reporter, Dan Rath, joined us and filmed an “I Dare Dan” segment in which he challenged our students to a hockey “shoot-out.” Turns were taken among several students (all grade levels; boys and girls) to shoot for a goal and to defend the goal against the veteran newscaster. This was a lot of fun and generated excitement and community recognition for our Olympic Games. An impromptu competition was held when Mr. Rath challenged our principal to a speed skating race. (Our principal won this one!)

Click on attachment Hockey Match to view a picture of one of the hockey games. Click on attachments Hockey Shoot-out and Skating Principal to view those competitions.

Team Cross-Country Skiing

  1. This was possibly the most fun of all our Olympic competitions. We allowed the students to form their own teams—boys, girls, or co-ed. The make-up of the teams seemed to make little difference in the outcome of the various races.
  2. This activity is much harder than it looks. It takes a great amount of teamwork to be successful especially when making a turn. Some teams had a tough time even getting started. (The four physical education teachers formed a team and challenged the 7th grade winners and the teachers had a tough time just getting out of the starting blocks.) Almost every team had some sort of difficulty at one time or another.
  3. Teams of four line up at the starting line with contestants in their places on the “skis” holding the rope handles. On the whistle, teams endeavor to move forward on their skis and cross a designated line on the opposite end of the gym floor, turn, and return to the finish line. (We decided to remove all but the two end cones because of the difficulty of turning the lengthy skis, but both skis (with students on them) had to cross the designated line before they could return to the finish line.) Both skis must cross the finish line with all team members onboard for a team to be declared a winner. If a student should fall or step off the skis, their team must wait for them to regain their position before continuing.
  4. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals were awarded in each grade level. With four team members and three grade levels this yielded 36 medal winners.

Just for fun we allowed the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade champions to compete against each other. Click on attachments #19, #29, #18, #6, #26, #24, #1, and #30 to view pictures of the preliminary competitions held during PE classes. Click on attachments Cross-country Skiing and Cross-country Skiing 2 to view the event during the Olympics.

Awards (Medal) Ceremony

Following the games, the chorus risers were moved to the center of the gym to create tiers for the athletes. Winners from each event and grade level were called forward where they were awarded their medal/s while the band played appropriate music.

Certificates with the winners name and information related to their event/s were presented along with the medals. As the winners received certificates and medals, pictures were taken to be displayed on the gym bulletin board (or any other appropriate place) and to be submitted to the local newspaper for publication along with an article about the Olympics.

Click on attachment Medal Ceremony to view a picture of this event.

Other Subject Area Suggestions

Social Studies. Research and discuss the many countries competing in the Winter Olympics. Where did the various events originate? Which countries dominate certain sports? Who are some of the famous Olympians? Design and manufacture flags, costumes, or small floats from a variety of countries to be displayed around the school and/or carried in the “parade of athletes” in the gym on assembly day. Click on attachments Chinese Dragon, Flag, Happy Worm, Olympic Parade and Parade Floats to view some examples.

Music

Provide marching music (band and/or chorus) for the Olympic parade and/or appropriate music for the Awards Ceremony either by performing or arranging to play recorded music. Click on attachment Band to see our band performing during the Olympics.

Art

Produce certificates and/or medals, design a “mascot” for the Olympic games, or produce posters to advertise the event.

Communication Skills/Language Arts

  1. Research the Olympic athletes, events, etc. and write a paper on the findings.
  2. Create a spelling word list using Olympic terms such as curling, biathalon, arena, venue, etc.
  3. Compose news articles reporting the various aspects of your Olympic Games for publication in the school newspaper.
  4. Read a book on the Winter Olympics or a biography of a famous Olympian and write a review of the book.
  5. Compose a poem, short story, or essay on an Olympic subject.
  6. Write thank-you notes to businesses and volunteers who supported or assisted with the Olympics.

Math

  1. Solve equations based on statistics from your school’s Olympics such as: the number of athletes competing (6th, 7th, and 8th grades), how many medals were awarded (by grade level, by gender, by place (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), or the distance traveled in each race.
  2. Statistics from the most recent Winter Olympic games could also be utilized. Construct queries using the information as a database. Some examples: how many athletes competed and won medals from various countries, rank countries from greatest to least according to the number of athletes entered, the number of medals awarded (gold, silver, and bronze), the number of female athletes, male athletes (also, what percentages were awarded medals), or which countries traveled the longest distances to attend the games.
  3. Construct word problems using the same database information. Some examples: how many gold and bronze medals were awarded to France and Germany?; what percentage of the female athletes entered from the United States received medals?; or what was the total number of medals awarded throughout the entire Olympic event?

Technology

  1. Practice using database queries similar to those mentioned above.
  2. Create and display charts and graphs using data related to your school’s Olympics.
  3. Create certificates for the winners using a printing or word processing program.

Science

  1. Discuss the various methods of moving the “sled” in the 2-person and 4-person bobsled events; which were more efficient and successful?
  2. Research and discuss the sport of curling and the various scientific principles related to it.
  3. Research and discuss the luge and bobsled events and how they are executed in a real Olympic setting.
  4. Research and discuss the way the indoor ice surfaces are prepared for Olympic events.

Life Skills

  1. Discuss the merits of a “pre-game” meal to provide energy for strenuous competition.
  2. Design a meal/menu for the athletes.
  3. Prepare refreshments for and/or serve refreshments prepared by the cafeteria to the participants.
  4. Operate a concession stand to sell drinks and snacks to those attending the Olympics.
  5. Discuss various topics (cooking styles, job opportunities, cultural differences, customs, etc.) relating to countries participating in the Olympics.

Technology Lab (shop)

  1. Create medals for the various events.
  2. Help construct equipment such as skis and hockey goals.
  3. Build podium blocks or stands for the athletes to mount during the awards ceremony.

Library (media specialist and library assistant)

  1. Pull appropriate books for easy access.
  2. Lead class discussions on subjects related to the Olympics.
  3. Videotape your school’s Winter Olympics.
  4. Record (with permission) or purchase videos on the Olympics for viewing and class discussion.
  5. Set up the school’s public address system to be used during the Olympics.
  6. Serve as announcer for the Olympics.
  7. Take pictures (for publication in school or local newspaper, for display, and/or for use in subject related activities) with school cameras (regular and digital).

Cafeteria

  1. Prepare a special menu in honor of the Oympics such as “Hockey Hamburgers” or “Speed Skating Spaghetti.”
  2. Provide refreshments for the participants (snacks and/or beverages).
  3. Sponsor a poster contest depicting examples of healthy diets followed by athletes. (Display entries in the cafeteria.)

Administration

  1. Challenge students and/or staff members to an Olympic competition.
  2. Encourage all students and staff to become involved in the school’s Olympics.
  3. Announce the upcoming event over the school’s intercom system.
  4. Promote the event through the school’s Parent/Teacher Organization.
  5. Talk about the event in the community and invite anyone interested to participate (volunteer and/or contribute).

Advisor/Advisee

  1. Discuss Character Education traits such as: appropriate reactions to success and failure, teamwork, support and encouragement of others, and what does it mean to be a representative of one’s country or of one’s school.
  2. Complete word searches or scrambles using Olympic terminology.
  3. Use newspaper supplements available during the time span when the Olympics are taking place to provide many opportunities for class discussion, trivia games, puzzles, etc.
  4. Conduct class discussions on various Olympic topics.
  5. Sponsor poster contests such as: create a mascot for your school’s Olympics or design Olympic rings and explain their significance.
  6. Sponsor essay contests on various Olympic topics.
  7. Hold drawings to win small prizes related to the Olympics (posters, paperback books, pencils, pens, pins, suckers, etc.). Often you can solicit items of this nature to be donated to the school. If they must be purchased, the drawings could be held as raffles (for a nominal fee) to offset the cost of the prizes.

Other Support Personnel

Join in the fun!

  • Assist Physical Education teachers in running Olympic events if needed (line judges, starters, organizers, monitors, etc.).
  • Assist PE teachers with writing medal winners’ names on certificates.
  • Involve parents and extended family members; invite them to volunteer and assist with the event.
  • Solicit local newspapers for class sets of any supplements related to the Olympics.
  • Notify local newspapers to publicize the event.
  • Write thank-you notes to businesses and volunteers who supported or assisted with the Olympics.

School Nurse

  1. Set up a first aid booth at the Olympic games to give aid and comfort to the participants and any guests who might need it.
  2. Volunteer in other ways to assist with activities when not needed in an official capacity.

Custodians

  1. Assist with gymnasium preparation.
  2. Adjust work schedules to accomodate afternoon program schedule.

Community Resources

  1. Solicit local businesses for donations of money and/or merchandise to be used for awards and prizes.
  2. Solicit businesses or individuals for materials needed for the Olympics.
  3. Invite parents, extended family members, community members, etc. to attend or volunteer to help with the event.
  4. Invite local dignitaries (mayor, county commissioners, school board members, central office administrators, etc.) to be involved in the event. Some suggestions: light the Olympic torch (figure out a fun way to do this), attend the event and be recognized as a special guest, preside over the “Opening Ceremonies.”

Assessment

  • Did everybody participate and have a good time? I know that sounds flippant, but in this case it applies! This is one of the few activities where students are constantly asking me, “Are we going to do the Winter Olympics again this year? I hope so!”
  • Records of the number of students participating in the various events can be an indicator of student interest since most events were open to any and all interested parties.
  • Student evaluation forms could reveal areas of particular interest and/or those needing improvement.
  • Discussions of the various strategies used by successful competitors and a review of some of the strategies that were not so successful could reveal student understanding of athletic principles and group functioning.
  • Olympic facts could be used for written and/or oral tests. Internet scavenger hunts are a good source for this type of information.
  • Quiz Bowl type games are fun for reviewing trivia type information related to a given subject such as The Olympics.
  • Assessment in other subject areas will vary.

Supplemental information

Organization of activities will vary depending upon your school’s physical education schedule or classroom structure. At NIMS we are on “block scheduling” for all academic subjects. Students go to their “wheel” classes for one block which consists of one 43 1/2 minute Health/PE class and one 43 1/2 minute vocational or enhancement class (art, computer lab, band/chorus, technology lab (shop), and life skills).

We enroll approximately 570 students and offer four Health/PE classes six periods each day: eight 6th grade classes, eight 7th grade classes, and eight 8th grade classes.

Preliminary heats (competitions) were held during regular physical education classes. Winners from each class were determined and class champions competed in semi-final and/or final events before the entire student body. (For events such as this, we usually run an afternoon program schedule which shortens our Advisor/Advisee (homeroom) period by 15 minutes and each block by approximately 15 minutes to allow a block of time in the afternoon for an assembly program.) (This particular assembly program could run somewhat longer than most.)

Information on the Winter Olympics can be found in many places. One of our local newspapers had a very good supplement during the last Olympics. See the attached handout The Winter Olympics.

Related websites

Comments

This lesson plan is based on a school-wide effort initiated by the 6th grade Social Studies department of North Iredell Middle School.

The middle school concept has long advocated the use of integrated units to reinforce learning in all subject areas.

This is truly an all-inclusive unit. Not only may all subject areas participate, but support and administrative personnel as well, and, if desired, community participation may be included.

As is often the case in many schools, our funds are limited and we must “improvise” when securing equipment. I’m sure there are many other “Olympic” type activities that could be incorporated into your own Olympic Games. These are just a few suggestions that we found fun and educational at North Iredell Middle School.