Factoids about the Olympic Games(Possible Interactive Notebook Activity)

DID You KNOW FACTS

 ABOUT THE OLYMPIC GAMES!

by 

Gail Skroback  Hennessey

Possible Interactive Notebook Activity

Click here for downloadable version: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Olympic-FactoidsPossible-Interactive-Notebook-Activity-2631544

1.  The Heraia was an event honoring Hera, Zeus’ wife. Held ever 4 years,unmarried woman participated in their own games The event was a running event. It was in 1900 that women were first allowed to participate in the modern Olympic Games. 

2. The first TEAM sport of the modern olympics, added in 1900, was football.

3.  The city of London, England, has the record of hosting 3 Olympics.

4.  With 4 Winter and 4 Summer Olympic Games, the United States has hosted the most games. 

5. The motto of the Olympic Games is in Latin. “Citius,Altius, Fortius “ means Swifter, Higher, Stronger. 

6. A baker named Coroebus was the first record winner of an Olympic competition in 776BC-a running event.

7.  In 2012, both softball and baseball were dropped from the games. Wrestling, one of the original Olympic sports has been dropped from the 2020 Olympics.

8. Tug-of-War, Croquet and lacrosse were once Olympic sports. 

9. The Caribbean nation of Jamaica sent a bobsled team to the 1988 Winter Olympic games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada!

10. In 2012, Saudi Arabia, who never allowed women to participate on their Olympic teams, allowed two women to compete(judo and 80m running competition). The change came when the Olympic committee said the male teams would be disqualified if females were banned(on grounds of gender discrimination).

11. Women made history at the 2014 Winter Games with their first ski jumping event(men have been doing the event since 1924).

12. The Country of Brazil is the largest country on the continent of South America. It is also the 5th largest country in the world. The 2016 Summer Olympics, held in  Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, is the very first time  the olympics were held in a country on the continent of South America.

13. At the 2016 games, there will be a group of between 5-10 athletes competing for the first time under the Olympic flag. They are athletes that have been forced from their countries and are refugees.

14. Vinicius, a blue and yellow creature representing the different wildlife of the country of Brazil, is the mascot for the 2016 Summer Games. See the mascot at this link: https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016-mascot  

Extension Activities:

1. Pretend you are an Olympic athlete.  In which sport would you be competing? Write a diary entry about your event. How did you feel? What did you see? Did you win? Etc.

2. List THREE important character traits needed to be an olympic athlete. List three personal characteristics you believe are most positive about you. Give an example to support each of the three characteristics.

3. Illustrate one of the Fun Facts and include a statement in complete sentences describing the illustration.

4. Using a world map, locate the different countries which have hosted the Olympic games: http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-olympic-map.htm  Find 3 facts about five of the different countries which has had a city host the games.

Teacher Page:

1. Before reviewing the facts about the history of the olympics, ask the students to share any prior knowledge they may have on the olympics.
2. Have the students read over the facts.
3.  Afterwards, have students write 7 facts they remember about the Olympic fun fact list.
4.  Have students do one or more of the extension activities.

Check out these resources:

1. Learn about the History of the Olympics with this fun/informativeweb quest: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/History-of-the-Olympics-A-WebquestExtension-Activities-1021833
2. Learn about Brazil, the host country of the 2016 Olympic   Games with this web quest. There are also fun facts, extension activities and a mapskill activity. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brazil-Country-in-Focus-1321973
3. Learn about the country of Greece, where the Olympic Games originated with this webquest. There are also comprehension questions and extension activities: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Its-Greek-to-Me-A-Webquest-107382

Bundle of all these items including the factoids on this page: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Olympics-A-BUNDLE-of-RESOURCES-2648626

Gail 

Illustration from: wpclipart.com