Let the games begin! Enjoying and teaching the Olympics.

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT: We've All Got It! (Part 1 of 2)

Visit our Olympic Page!

I've competed at the highest end of athletics but never made the Olympics. I yearned, I tried but the Canadian standards just couldn't be met and the sport I really truly excel in and was Can. champion in, ultrarunning, despite yearly campaigns, never made it to the Olympics (yet). So, each Olympic year, each Olympic season, my blood cell count increases, my nerve endings twitch and I'm back there again -- yearning to be a champion.

I think on some level, we all have our own "wish for excellence" and deeply understand this drive to excel. It's this drive we have to turn on in our students and there is no better teachable moment than the Olympics! And unlike a butterfly on the window ledge, this moment lasts 3+ weeks! So use the Olympics, even in Sept. to uplift your students, get them to dream and be their best -- and of course, learn a little English....

Larry Ferlazzo has already listed some very good resources for us EFL teachers. I'll be doing the same next post (Part II) and also find games/presentations on the main page.....slowly drifting in. This BAAM game should get you started! Also, find here some great worksheets from the Olympic Museum.... But let's test your own knowledge of the Olympics today, of the heroes that uplift us.

Take a look at this presentation -- how many of these heroes can you name? What Olympics. Part II, I'll post up the finished presentation with answers . Enjoy - Higher, Faster, Stronger! Here's my greatest Olympic moment -- Billy Mills and the 10,000 metre victory in Tokyo, 1964. Still brings a twinge to this old athlete....Wow! Compare it too with the movie version! Here are some really cool Olympic moments and look in our A/V player for many more next week. I'll be uploading the best of the best for quick classroom viewing...

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT: We've All Got It! (Part 1 of 2)

See More Great Olympic Moments As I wrote in my first blog post on the Olympics - the Olympics are the perfect, "teaching moment". I hope many teachers will "seize the day" and use the Olympics to get their students learning -- not just English but the history of the human spirit.

Please see all the materials I've made and collected here in our Resource Share area. Lots there to chose from. BAAM is a great game and just have the students try to guess the sport or country..... The Jeopardy could be fun with the right levels..... Also, play any of the presentations as a game. Stop the video before the answer pops up and ask for the correct answer. Play "Whiteboard Soccer" to keep track of points! [draw a soccer pitch, form 2 teams, magnet is the ball. correct team keeps control of the ball, advances the ball. 3 correct to score. ]. I"d highly recommend the Olympic project I've attached. In pairs, students can collect information on an Olympic country and also profile the country as an Olympic nation. Even guess the Beijing medal count!

Offer a prize to the teams that were closest! Get them presenting the information or making a nice big poster of the information for the class/school walls. Enjoy! I've also attached a run down of the best videos of the Olympics. A very complete list, please pass on and get your friends excited! Lots of learning in these videos and here are just a sample from the attached list..... My favs... Derrick Redmond pulls up injured and his father helps him finish. The REAl Olympic spirit revealed. Never give up - Steve Bradbury does the first "Bradbury"! U.S.A defeats Canada at Lake Placid! REAL great stuff and I admire it (despite my Canuckness...) Here's Ali lighting the Olympic flame to begin the games in LA!

Please enjoy the list! OlympicProject.doc Olympicvideos.doc Korean Marathon History Sohn.doc