The Olympics

Designed by: Nancy Pierce Little    School: Heyward Gibbes Middle

Grade Level: 6       Subject: Social Studies

Core Curriculum Objectives(s): Name and locate on map(s): bodies of water, continents, major countries, major cities, and world regions.  (6WH1-1)

 Determine the importance of ancient Greece to the world today.  (6WH4-3)

(Textbook: World, Adventures in Time and Place, McGraw Hill, Chapter 8, Legacy, Linking Past and Present: The Olympics, pages 202 and 203)

Overview: Students, working in cooperative learning groups, will form advertising agencies responsible for promoting a country and their Olympic athletes. They will plot a route from Columbia, SC to their assigned country and then transport their team to Sydney, Australia. Students will follow the performance of their athletes using daily newspapers, internet, and television news and sports programs. Students will recognize that the modern Olympics are borrowed from the ancient Greeks.

Focus/Essential Question: What's happening in Sydney, Australia, September 15 through October 1, 2000, and why is it important?

Time Frame: 1 - 45 minute class period, plus additional time daily to track and record assigned Olympic team progress during the course of the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Resources/Materials: 
Textbook (Atlas) 

Advertising Agency 

worksheets and chart (one for each group) 

Outline maps (one for each cooperative group) 

markers or colored pencils 

Internet access: 
www.olympics.com 

go.hrw.com/resources/go_ss/teacher99/rubrics/RUBRIC2 0.pdf

www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_World/Countries/

www.princeton.edu/~grevelle/index.html

Daily newspapers 

Peer Evaluation form (one per student)

Culminating Assessment: Students, working in cooperative groups, will successfully locate and label an outline map. A rubric is located on the internet at http://go.hrw.com/ndNSAPI.nd/gohrw_rls1/pKeywordResultsSR9%20Rubrics Students, working in cooperative groups, will successfully keep track of their assigned Olympic athletes. Students will complete the "Peer Work Evaluation" rubric (included).

Instructional Activities 

Assign students to read "Legacy, Linking the Past and Present: The Olympics," textbook pages 202-203. Divide the class into teams with four members. Assign each group a country that will be competing in the 2000 Olympics. Select a country from each continent, but do not select the United States. Each team will complete the following activities and hand outs: 1. Cooperative Learning Group (Choose their job titles and assignments.) 2. Country and Olympic team internet research. 3. Map Locations and Travel Routes (Locate and label an outline map.) Display the maps in the classroom or other location.

Once the Olympics begins, each agency will record daily on their charts the competition results for their athletes. Students will use daily newspapers and the "official" internet site for the 2000 games, www.olympics.com, to find this information.

Lesson extensions:

MATH: 
How much would it cost to travel from Columbia, SC to your assigned country? 

How much to go to Sydney? 

Calculate the total cost for your four member agency. 

Calculate the total cost for the athletes. 

Do you need to pay in US currency or Australian currency? 

Would the amounts be the same? If not, convert to Australian currency.

SCIENCE and GEOGRAPHY: 
What season is it in Sydney? 

What time is it? 

Why the differences? 

What type of climate does Sydney have? 

How will this affect your athletes? 

What type of climate do your athletes live in? 

Is the altitude different than in Sydney? 

Will this present any problems for your athletes?

1. COOPERATIVE LEARNING GROUP

Directions: Your group is an advertising/sports managerial agency hired to ensure that your country's Olympic team receives news coverage. The more news coverage your athletes have, the better are their chances to obtain endorsements. Sports managers get a percentage of what their athletes earn in endorsements and commercials. You will "travel" from Columbia, SC to your team's country and then on to Sydney, Australia. You will follow the newspaper and internet accounts of your team.

The country your firm has been hired to represent is:

Create a name for your advertising agency:

AGENCY POSITIONS

CEO:_________________________________________ You are in charge. You read the written directions. You lead the group discussions. You check the results before they are turned in. You make sure all team members are working together.

Chairman of the Board:__________________________ You are the only one in your group who can talk to the teacher or to the rest of the class. You give all oral reports.

Account Executive:_____________________________ You are in charge of getting all materials for this project and for putting them away.

Recording Secretary:____________________________ You are in charge of writing down the results of the group's research. You will label the map. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU DO ALL OF THE WORK - YOU JUST WRITE.

2. RESEARCH

Information you need to know before you travel:

What is the capital of the country you are representing?______________________
____________________________________________________________________

Where is it located?________________________________________

Who is the current head of the government?________________________________

What kind of government does your country have?__________________________

What are the names of the Olympic athletes and what events are they entered in?_________________________________________________________________

 Were these events part of the original Greek Olympic games?_______________

 Enter this information on the table.

3. MAP LOCATIONS AND TRAVEL ROUTES

Locate and label on the outline map the following places:

Columbia, SC 

The capital of your assigned country 

Athens, Greece Sydney, Australia

Draw your travel route from Columbia, SC to your assigned country and then the travel route to Sydney, Australia.

What modes of transportation will you need to use: car, train, bus, boat, plane, etc. or a combination of several?

____________________________________________________________________

Country:_______________________________

Advertising Firm:________________________

Name of athlete Event(s) 

Was this event in the original Greek Olympics? YES or NO Results

Student Name:_____________________________

GROUP WORK EVALUATION

1. Overall, how effectively did your group work together on this assignment? Circle your answer.

Poorly         Adequately             Well                  Extremely Well

2. Out of the four group members, how many participated actively most of the time? Circle your answer.

One      Two      Three      Four

3. Give one specific example of something you learned from the group that you probably wouldn't have learned working alone.

_______________________________________________

4. Give one specific example of something the other group members learned from you that they probably wouldn't have learned otherwise.

_____________________________________________

5. Suggest one change the group could make to improve its performance.

_______________________________________ (continue on the back)