2018 Winter Olympics

Spotlight on 2018 Winter Olympic Games

“The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced in accordance with Olympism and its values.”  

                              ~ from the Olympic Charter, September 2017    

When the 2018 Winter Olympic Games begin in PyeongChang, South Korea on February 9th,  the world will watch as records are broken, defeats are taken, and friendships are forged. Throughout it's modern history, the Olympics have played a role in showing the will and perseverance of not only individuals, but that of nations. Controversies that have plagued some of the Olympic games have helped to raise awareness of the discrimination and intolerance some members of our global society have endured and have also worked to break down barriers between genders, races, ethnicities and religions.

As educators, we can use the Olympics to highlight the strength of the human spirit, the beauty of diverse cultures and the goodwill that comes from uniting under the spirit of the games. The resources below have been curated to provide you with engaging and rich content to design meaningful student tasks that can be used to strengthen student discourse, research and debate.

 Official site of the XXIII Winter Olympic Games: https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/index 

 

Articles

Teenage Olympic Speed Skater

https://listenwise.com/current_events/1074-teenage-olympic-speed-skater

One of the biggest names at the Winter Olympics is Maame Biney, who became the first African-American woman to qualify for a U.S. Olympic speed skating team on the short track speed skating. Listen to this story to hear Biney describe herself on the ice.

Using Olympic Media to Teach About Intersectionality

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/using-olympic-media-to-teach-about-intersectionality

This article uses a comparison between Michael Phelps and Gabby Douglas in the 2016 Summer Olympics to help "cultivate cultural literacy about the ways we talk about people of different identities—and to help students see the importance of intersectional analysis."

Have the Olympics Made the World a Better Place?

https://www.thetrumpet.com/438-have-the-olympics-made-the-world-better

Article on the modern history of the Olympics that can help students explore the question, “Have the Olympics made the world a better place?"

Stories of Peace

https://www.olympic.org/peace/#/

Sport has the power to bring people together. It builds friendships and draws lines of respect across borders. Explore short stories of how sport has created peace.

North, South Korea to march together under one flag at Winter Olympics

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/17/asia/north-south-korea-olympics-flag-intl/index.html 

This article explains the context under which North Korean and South Korean athletes will march under one flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Games. 

This offers an interesting place for discussion around the role of diplomacy in solving conflicts.

https://newsela.com/articles/#/rule/latest?needle=olympics

Sign up for free to access to a variety of news articles that can be adapted for your students' reading level, including: 

The refugee who ran at the Olympics: "You can change the world" https://newsela.com/read/elem-olympic-refugee-runner/id/39629

First hijab-wearing Barbie based on Ibtihaj Muhammad https://newsela.com/read/elem-first-hijab-wearing-barbie/id/37784

Analysis: Why it matters that North Korea plans to go to the Olympics  https://newsela.com/read/2018-olympics-north-korea/id/39299

Women of Nigerian bobsled team get ready for the Winter Olympics  https://newsela.com/read/nigerian-bobsled-team/id/39561

Olympics: IOC approves new events in gender parity push for 2020  https://newsela.com/read/elem-olympics-new-events/id/31910

Local Connections

Boston's Ties to the Olympics

http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2015/01/08/boston-olympic-history-2024-usa-bid/

This article lists the ways the city of Boston has been connected to the Olympics over the years. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  https://www.flotrack.org/articles/5056101-qa-meb-keflezighi-pushes-past-tough-end-to-olympic-career

American and 3-time Olympian Meb Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon in 2014

Instructional Resources

The Olympic Museum

https://www.olympic.org/museum/visit/schools/teaching-resources

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland holds permanent and temporary exhibits of the Ancient and Modern Olympic games and promotes the Olympic spirit. The museum provides online teaching resources in English, French and German that can be used in student research and exploration of the Games. Topics include Fundamentals of Olympism; Sports Photography; The Games in Antiquity; and the Modern Games.

Olympics Quiz

https://listenwise.com/current_events/1073-listening-olympics-quiz?utm_source=SharpSpring&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SharpspringFeb252018&sslid=M7G0NDQxNDMxNzYzBgA&sseid=MzSzMDCyMDc3MQcA&jobid=45fcc129-a87f-4156-9d98-98c49f05c7ef

The Listening Olympics is ready for your participation!  The quiz was  released on Friday and you have until March 2 to get in your student submissions to be in the running for the prizes!

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2016/08/lcm-trending-olympic-games/

This blog post from the Library of Congress offers the history behind the first broadcasts of the Olympic Games. It includes a link to the "NBC Collection" in which you can find radio interviews of Jesse Owens and the US Rowing team discussing their victories in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Consider using this resource to introduce interviews and radio broadcasts as primary sources.

READWRITETHINK

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/winter-olympics-begin-today-31068.html

"According to The Olympic Museum, the purpose of the Games is to create a “better world through sport practiced in a spirit of peace, excellence, friendship and respect.” In celebration of the world event students participate in a variety of activities centered on the 2018 PyeongChang Games."

15 Tech Tidbits To Bring the 2018 Winter Olympic Into Your Classroom

http://www.slj.com/2018/01/technology/15-tech-tidbits-bring-2018-winter-olympic-games-classroom/#_

This article from the School Library Journal offers ways to use technology to bring the Olympics into your classroom.

Websites for Coverage 

Follow the Road to PyeongChang with behind-the-scenes content on Team USA athletes as they prepare to compete at the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

NBC Olympics - Official Site

http://www.nbcolympics.com/