During an Olympics year, the world joins together to celebrate athleticism, patriotism, and history. Learn about the Olympiads of the 20th century with a research project in which groups research one year's Olympic Games. They note the...

The Olympic Games are indeed a significant and far-reaching cultural component in our international community today, but from where do they originate? Where do our traditions stem from, and how do we choose the sports that constitute...

The big idea for this instructional activity is that the past enriches our present and future. Learners explore the origin of the Olympic Games and how one man took an event from the past and reinvented it for modern times. They compare...

Here's a great way to host a simulated Olympic Games at school. Together, everyone designs an obstacle course, plays balloon volleyball, tumbling tornadoes, crosses the brook, and takes part in a cooperative race. If you want to, you can...

A read-aloud anthology explores the ancient greek civilization. Over four weeks, second graders explore Mount Olympus, Sparta, Athens, the olympic games, philosophers, and Alexander the Great. Scholars listen to and discuss a reading,...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

The Olympics are about more than sports—at times, the games are also a place of racism and prejudice! Pupils investigate the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They analyze the meaning behind the materials included in the United States...

Women Olympians have come a long way since 1900 when 22 women competed for the first time. News coverage of the Olympics has also changed dramatically. What has been slow to change, however, is the language used in the coverage of female...

Michael Phelps, the economist? Scholars research the economic advantages of specializing in one kind of service, and how it relates to athletes doing the same in their respective sports. They evaluate absolute advantage, production, and...

For every strong and determined female Olympian, there are millions of young girls watching and becoming inspired. Middle and high schoolers learn more about record-breaking and history-making Olympian women with a presentation from the...

Pupils explore the meaning of the ancient Greek word aretê and the place of virtue in historical athletic competition and modern sports. They begin by reading an informational text on the goal of sports in education, and then...

The accuracy required by the design and measurement of an Olympic running track will surprise track stars and couch potatoes alike. Given a short introduction, the class then scaffolds into a detailed analysis of the exact nature of the...

Is much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...

The Massacre of Tlatelolco is the focus of a discussion-based lesson. Civil-minded learners consider the nature of student movements that have ended in violence based on over-reaction and government oppression. They discuss the social...