Doug Mills/The New York TimesJulia Mancuso, left, and Lindsey Vonn after the downhill race on Wednesday.Go to the Olympics section »
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Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.
11:09 a.m. | Updated We’ve added a half-dozen new activities to our list, below, of Olympics teaching and learning activities. See our new suggestions on ice skating scoring (math section), minority Olympians (social studies), analysis of winners’ tactics and video interviews with athletes (journalism) and a look at dangerous conditions (science and health) – and have students join the conversation on the athletes and events they are most interested in.
How can you bring the 2010 Winter Olympic Games – “16 days of magic,” as IOC president Jacques Rogge put it – into your classroom in meaningful ways?
Here are some ideas for incorporating the Olympics into your curriculum. And be sure to check back for updates and additions as the Games continue and as The New York Times adds more features to its Olympics coverage. Note that while we have categorized the activities by subject area, many are interdisciplinary.
As always, we are eager to hear about your experiences using these ideas and Times resources with your students, so please comment below!
Language Arts | Media Studies and Journalism | Fine Arts | Geography | Social Studies and History | Mathematics | Science and Health
Language Arts
Test your knowledge of basic Winter Olympics facts by completing our 2010 Winter Olympics Student Crossword or Winter Olympics Fill-In. Or take this interactive quiz on Winter Game history. And if you love trivia, check out Ben Schott’s Vancouver Winter Olympics Miscellany.
Learn about the significance of Games symbols, such as the Olympic rings or torch, or the Team USA logo. Then write an essay that explains your stance on the importance of sports competition between nations in times of peace and war, drawing on Olympics symbolism.
View the slide show of the Olympic torch’s journey and then write a poem, short story or monologue about it.
Track the performance of an athlete from Team USA or another country throughout the Games. Then read our Student Opinion question “What Makes an Athlete ‘Great’?” and readers’ comments before posting a detailed comment about “your” athlete.
Weigh in on your favorite events and athletes by posting in response to our Student Opinion Question.
Media Studies and Journalism
Watch the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver, then compare it to Beijing’s (2008) and Turin’s (2006). Write an essay that explains what each ceremony expressed to the world about the home country and argues which was most successful. Include in your essay a comparison of how each ceremony was covered by the news media.
Choose a sport to cover throughout the Games, presenting results and profiles of individual athletes or teams in podcasts or videos. Or use our Snow, Sweat and Tears lesson framework to create mock news reports about the sport of your choice: alpine skiing,biathlon,bobsled,cross-country skiing,
curling,figure skating,freestyle skiing,ice hockey,luge,Nordic combined,short track speed skating,skeleton,ski jumping,snowboarding and speed skating. Be sure to include Olympic jargon in your report.
Watch the “Inside the Action” videos on figure skating,snowboard halfpipe,aerial skiing,luge, and Alpine skiing, then make a video that explains a sport technique you know well. Or, contribute your own snowboarding videos to the Trick Library.
Write a music review of the official and unofficial Olympic theme songs.
Follow the New York Times Winter Olympics Twitter list, and compare the information you get there with the coverage on NYTimes.com. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each information source?
Choose one Times multimedia presentation about the Olympics – a podcast, slide show, video or interactive feature – and write a traditional news article version, using the same information. Share both the original and your version with a friend and ask him or her to tell you which one seemed more effective and why.
How’d he get that shot? Find out how Times photographer Doug Mills has been preparing to shoot skiing competitions in Vancouver. Then choose an event or subject to cover as a photojournalist, spend some time planning, and try various vantage points and other strategies to get the best shot.
Capture the spirit of the Games on film: Submit your own photographs of “how you are experiencing the Games in your community” – your work just might be featured in a readers’ gallery on NYTimes.com.
Or, cover local connections to, and interest in, the Games in your school and community. Has your town ever sent an athlete to the Winter Games? Are students particularly interested in a certain sport or athlete? Provide a local angle on the Olympics for your school newspaper or Web site. You might use The New York Times’s analysis for a model.
Watch “Olympic Voices: Riding the Pipe,” then use it as a model for video interviews with your school’s top athletes in various sports. Post the videos on your school newspaper’s Web site or show them at an assembly or sports event.
How do gold medalists manage to finish ahead of their opponents? Watch and read the interactive analytic features “How Shaun White Won 2nd Gold,” (men’s halfpipe snowboarding) “Vonn’s Ragged, Aggressive Run,” (women’s downhill skiing) “Cutting the Winning Line” (men’s downhill) and “Dispute Settled: Quad Not Needed to Win,” (men’s figure skating). Then watch a video of another winning Olympic performance and do your own analysis using interactive media. For example, you might record yourself providing voiceover analysis for a video, or create a slide show that highlights key moments and moves.
Fine Arts
Look at how the Olympic torch has evolved over the past 75 years, and then create your own design for the next iteration of the torch.
What do you think of the “anti-uniforms” designed for the Team USA snowboarders by Burton? Create your own snowboarding style by designing your own outfits for the team. Or, if you prefer ice to the slopes, create a costume for the figure skater(s) of your choice.
Create a soundtrack for one of the “Inside the Action” videos consisting of song clips or your own original score.
Design a commemorative Winter Olympics 2010 poster, using photographs and quotes you find in Times coverage as inspiration.
Geography
Check out the Olympic venues and choose the events you would most like to attend. Keeping in mind that there is no spectator parking at any venue, determine how you would use public transportation to get from place to place.
Mark the hometowns of all the athletes on Team USA (or the team of your choice) on a map, then replace the dot or pushpin with a bronze, silver or gold star whenever one wins a medal. Alternatively, do this activity for every gold medal-winner from all the teams from around the world.
Learn more about Vancouver and Canada, then use our lesson O Canada! Considering the Impact of Hosting the Olympics as a framework for delving further into the country and city that are hosting the 2010 Games. Write a guide for people interested in visiting Vancouver or other places in Canada after the Olympics.
Compare the geography and terrain of Whistler‘s Dave Murray course with that of another ski mountain. Use photos and drawings to highlight similarities and differences.
Social Studies and History
Investigate how the Games will affect everyday life in Vancouver and the local economy, as well as what some residents are doing to capitalize on the demand for tourist lodging. Choose one aspect and perform an analysis on your town. For example, consider how your town could accommodate a sudden influx of tourists.
Consider the history of the Olympic Games by studying how Ancient Greece influenced the modern world and the use of Greek on Olympic medals. Prepare a presentation on Greek and Olympic history.
How much does it cost for the United States to participate in the Olympics? And who pays? Who profits? Poll a dozen friends and family members to determine the value people place on the Olympics.
What was the Miracle on Ice, and how did the New York Times cover it on the front page? Write an essay about the symbolic importance of this event to Americans at the time. If you can, interview someone who remembers the event well.
Learn about the sport most Canadians feel is the most important and the countries whose teams will likely present the biggest challenges to Team Canada.
Learn more about past and upcoming Paralympic Games and what its athletes are doing to prepare. Write a persuasive essay arguing for more media coverage of the Paralympics.
Write and deliver a persuasive speech about the importance (or lack thereof) of sports in American culture after reading historical background on the subject.
Check out great Olympic athletes of the past, then predict who will emerge as memorable athletes from Vancouver 2010.
Learn the origin of the Winter Games’ slogan, “With Glowing Hearts,” then look at a list of past Olympic slogans. Which are most memorable? Why? Then check out the Olympic logos and design your own.
Choose one of the Olympics-related controversies involving poverty, homelessness, freedom of expression, protests, the Vancouver 2010 logo, the Canada House exhibit or clothing. In an essay, explain all sides before expressing your own opinion about the matter.
What is Canada’s so-called Top Secret are what are its goals? Weigh the pros and cons of this initiative and how it relates to Canadian culture.
What challenges do minority Winter Olympic athletes face? Read “Breaking Down Barriers, and Putting Some Up,” about Shani Davis, and watch “A New Olympic Pride,” about gay and lesbian competitors, and find out more about minority Olympians. Then design a virtual exhibit on minority Olympians for the Olympic Museum.
Mathematics
Choose a country, then use the interactive map to calculate how many Winter Games medals (and gold medals won by the Vancouver Games competitors) its athletes have been awarded. Compare this total to the countries your classmates have tallied and together make a bar graph to show all information.
Evaluate the results of a recent Marist Poll showing that most Americans consider Olympians to be good role models for children. Then design and conduct your own poll based on Marist’s questions.
Cull statistics and figures from The Times’s Olympics coverage for an “Olympics by the Numbers” project. Be sure to double-check how the numbers are being used, then present them in a clear, attractive (and perhaps whimsical) chart or graph. For inspiration, see The Carpetbagger’s “Sundance by the Numbers” and the interactive medal map from the Beijing Olympics.
What is the scoring system for figure skating? Why do some skaters and commentators find it confusing? After learning how skate scoring works, read the Rings blog post “How Lysacek Defeated Plushenko,” and then run the numbers for another figure skating event, such as pairs.
Science and Health
How do they do that? Find out by completing our lesson Getting Physical: The Physics and Other Science Behind Winter Olympic Sports, based on the “Inside the Action” series.
Everyone knows about the bronze, silver and gold, but what about the green? Learn about VANOC’s (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games) environmental efforts, then watch the Games and read Olympic coverage, looking for opportunities to make it even greener. Or, use what you learn by writing to your school district’s athletics coordinator suggesting ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the scholastic sports program.
How can Olympic athletes both meet their goals and maintain their health? Develop a healthy nutrition regimen for a ski jumper or other competitor.
Read about Lindsey Vonn’s shin injury, and then create a graphic that depicts how and where she was injured. Then design a treatment plan.
What happens when there isn’t enough snow for the Winter Games? Find out more about how conditions are affecting certain sports, such as halfpipe snowboarding, and how organizers have addressed the problem. Then learn how to make your own snow.
Consider the dangers facing athletes in the 2010 Games, particularly in luge, snowboard cross and ski cross, and short track speed skating. For health, hold a debate over whether it’s worth taking risks to pursue excellence in sport; for science, choose one of these sports and explain the science behind the dangers.
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