Sports teachers guide

Lesson 1: Olympic games

Content:
In this lesson we will look at the most famous sports event in the world: the Olympic
Games. You will learn a bit about the history of the games and you'll learn some words
regarding the games.. At the end of the lesson you'll design your own Olympic Games.
Don't worry, it's not as big as the actual games!
Goals havo 2:
- Can describe plans and arrangements, habits and routines, past activities and personal
experiences
- Can write a planning for the Olympic Games with some guidance using the vocabulary
learned in this lesson

Prepare for class

Exercise
This exercise is meant to introduce the pupils to the Olyimpic games.
Watch the clip on the right and answer the following questions:
1) What sports do you see played in the clip? Mention at least 5 different sports.
Answer: Possible answers are: Swimming, motorcross, running/dash, boxing, cycling, judo,
archery, gymnastics, rowing, fencing, wrestling, badminton, hurdles,
2) Can you think of any other sports that are played during the Olympics? Write down at least
3.

During class
Exercise 1 (10 minutes)
In this exercise the students will learn about the history of the Olympic games. The clip is a
TED talk, but an educational one, so the level of English used is not too difficult.
Watch the clip on the left and answer the following questions:
1) How did the Olympic Games start? Answer: a religious festival
2) How many years is one Olympiad? Answer: 4 years
3) What was the only sport played during the first Olympic Games? Answer: 200 yard dash
4) The pentathlon consists of which sports? Answer: running, jumping, wrestling, javeling
throwing and discus hurling
5) Why did the Olympics Games stop in 391 B.C.? Answer: Theodosus banned it because it
was pagan.

Exercise 2 (10 minutes)

In this exercise the pupils will have to look at various vocabulary regarding the Olympic games.
They will first guess the meaning of these words and then use them in a context. In this way
theyll practice the words.
Look at the following words and guess their meaning.
Torchbearer .......
Olympic flame .......
Religious ......
Dash ......
Contest .......
Mythical ........
Chariot .......
Javelin throwing .......
Wrestling ........
B.C. ........
Answers:
Fakkeldrager
Olympische vlam
Religieus
Sprint
Wedstrijd
Mythisch
Koets
Speerwerpen
Worstelen
Voor Christus
Now look at the text and fill in the right words. Use the context to decide which word to use.
The Olympic Games are the biggest sports event in the world. There are two different kinds of
Olympic Games, the Winter Olympics and the regular Olympic Games. They are both held
each four years, which means that theres an Olympic Games each two years. The event starts
off with a .. who takes the to the stadium. When this ritual is completed the games
have officially started. The Olympic Games originally started as a festival, but these days
its for everyone. It started off with only one sport. This sport was the 200 meter There are

a lot of different sports in which there is a to decide whos the best in the world. The first
Olympic Games were held in 776 . In these times there were a lot of stories about how .
heroes participated in these events. After a while the games introduced more sports including
.. in which people had to fight each other. Also a new racing sport was introduced. In this
sport the sportsmen had to ride on a . The first hurling sports were also introduced. These
two sports were discus hurling in which a discus had to be thrown and . which was a
suitable sport for people in the army at that time.
Answers:
torchbearer
Olympic flame
religious
dash
contest
B.C.
mythical
wrestling
chariot
javelin throwing

End exercise
Exercise (30 minutes)
This is a creative exercise in which the pupils will make their own Olympic games. As a teacher,
walk around and help the pupils where they need it. Finally allow all the groups to present
their work in front of the class.
Youre going to organize your own Olympic Games. Youll do this in pairs.
-First, think of 10 different sports to include in your games. These dont have to be sports
currently practiced in the Olympic Games as we know them.
-After youve come up with these sports, think of a city to hold your games in. For this youll
have to think of a city outside of the Netherlands.
-Now you will have to organize the sports, which sport goes first and so on.
-Then, you will have to decide which sportsman from your country can bear the torch, this can
be either a pensioned sportsman or a currently active one.
-After putting this all down as neatly as you can, you will present it to the rest of the class.
Good luck!