2010 Olympic Games Montessori Classroom Activity Guide

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well. ~ Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, 1908 Olympic Games

These words, first spoken by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot during a speech given to Olympic athletes at the 1908 Olympic Games, became the creed for the modern Olympics. Meant to spur athletes to live up to the Olympic motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (Faster, Higher, Stronger), men and women around the world train their bodies, minds and spirits to compete in hopes of becoming an Olympic athlete.

Montessori classrooms and material support and encourage learning. Montessori believed that education must be authentic and appeal to children. By bringing the Olympics into your classroom, you are providing appealing, real-life examples which will stimulate the imagination and learning of your students.

Here are just some ideas on how to incorporate the Olympic theme into your Montessori environment.

Olympic Games Montessori Classroom Activity Guide

History

• Ancient Greece
• Canadian History
• The history of British Columbia
• Pierre de Coubertin
• Timeline of Olympics
• Famous Olympians
• The Olympic Torch Relay
• Olympic mascots through the ages
• Famous Canadians
• Canadian explorers

Language

• Mythology
• Myths of the First Nations
• Biographies of famous Olympians
• The Greek Alphabet
• Creative writing

Cultural Geography

• Canadian customs
• Parts of the Flag
• Flags of the World
• Symbolism of the Olympic Flag
• Ceremonies: Opening and Closing ceremonies and the Parade of Nations
• The First Nations
• Aboriginal Participation in the Vancouver Olympics
• Canadian Government

Physical Geography

• Canadian land and water forms
• Types of snow
• Types of clouds
• Weather
• Environmental impact of the Olympics
• Vancouver’s sustainability efforts
• Vancouver landmarks

Math

• Graphing: Medals won by sport; by country; by men; by women.
• Measurement (Metric, Imperial, Customary): Temperature; snowfall; length of courses and runs.
• The Olympic Torch Relay: Length; time; participants.

Health Sciences

• Nutrition
• Physical Education: Strength training; yoga for flexibility; aerobics for endurance; non-competitive “new” games.

Peace Education

• The values of the Olympics
• The Olympic truce, ancient and modern
• The idea of non-competitiveness and self esteem

Music

• Canadian National Anthem
• National Anthems of the World
• The Olympic Anthem
• Canadian composers

Physics

• Build a better bobsled
• Ergonomics of bobsled/luge track
• Ergonomic designs of sports uniforms
• Aerodynamics of ski jumping
• The effect of technology on athlete performance

Additional Ideas

• Create a travel itinerary from your home to Vancouver.
• Write a journal of the Olympics from the point of view of an athlete.
• Create a new winter Olympic event, detailing equipment needed, uniform, training, rules, etc.
• Athletes have to eat. Create a menu you think would be healthy and appealing to Olympic athletes.
• Design and build an Olympic village.
• Create an outdoor sports day for your school.
• Design new Olympic medals.
• Research the Paralympics.
• Write and perform a new Olympic anthem.
• Write and perform a broadcast of the Olympics.
• Create Olympic “trading” cards.
• Research architectural arches and how they support Olympic sized stadiums.
• Design a new Olympic flag.
• Write a poem honoring Olympic athletes.

For web links to the 2010 Olympic Games resources and other lesson ideas, please see Part 1 of this series.

Further Resources:

• http://abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/sports/olympics/
• http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/olympics.html

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, January 26, 2010.