The Olympic Games are compelling, and your kids will probably want to know more—watching actual competitions on television or online is surely the hook. Competition is its own drama, and the personal stories of athletes who have trained for so many years are interesting.
What are some good resources for additional learning with the Olympics?
Olympic History
The Olympic Games website itself provides much more information than a television schedule. Each sport has a page with a description, a profile of the Olympic rules, and a list of the competitions for that sport.
The Olympic Games archery page, for example, explains historical connections to the modern sport of archery, noting its roots in the development of human civilization (arrowheads have been found in a cave dated to 64,000 years ago) and the earliest recorded archery competition, which occurred in China during the Zhou dynasty (1027‑256 BC).
In addition to specific historical connections for each sport, the Olympic Games site has information about the Ancient Olympics, including history of the games, related mythology, and historic athletes. Homeschooled kids who have enjoyed Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians books will be interested in the mythological tie-ins to the modern Olympics—or it could work the other way in your family—the Olympics might set the agenda for your kids to read the Riordan books or listen to you begin reading one of them aloud.
Olympic Geography
Another angle is to use the Olympic Games to learn more about the host country, other participating countries, and world geography. The Olympic Games website has a roundup of the countries participating in the Olympics, and TheHomeSchoolMom offers a subscriber-exclusive printable country report your child can use to report on the host country or a participating country of their choice.
Younger kids might enjoy watching the Parade of Nations and using country flags and a map to identify where the athletes are from.
Mapology World Map Puzzle with Country Flags
Olympic-Related Current Events
Older kids—some who are in the later elementary grades and certainly kids and teens through middle school and high school—might be interested in discussing Olympics-related current events and issue-oriented topics. Here are some topics you might want to be prepared to discuss—or you could send your teens on a rabbit trail of internet research to find news or history on these topics:
- Athletes' use of performance-enhancing drugs
- Problems with the athletes' accommodations (such as in Rio or in Sochi)
- Security and terrorism concerns (history of incidents at the Olympics, current preparations)
- Use by governments of the Olympics in international diplomacy and world affairs (be sure to look at the 1936 Olympics as well as other years)
- Athletes' issues with injuries, body image, celebrity, and training techniques & time (a number of Olympic athletes have been homeschooled)
- The economic advantages and challenges of being a host country for the Olympics—and the bidding process
- Issues involving athletes' sex, gender, and race over the years
- Other Olympics-related organizations, such as the Paralympics and Special Olympics
- Technological marvels related to the Olympics—sophisticated timing devices, specially designed super shoes, broadcasting and internet streaming set-ups, and more
- The highly varying body types that are needed to excel in different sports (compare gymnasts to swimmers, for example)
Host Country Learning
It's also just a great time to learn about the host country. Get out the globe and the map, and come up with questions that might interest your kids:
- Could we drive to the Olympic location from the United States?
- What is the language and culture of the country hosting the Olympics? How is it the same or different from your own country?
- How much would it cost to get tickets and travel to the Olympics as a spectator?
An event on the world stage like the Olympics gives parents the opportunity to help kids learn concrete factual information, but also to engage in inquiry-based learning. Watching together, having conversations, sprinkling historical and current issues into the dialogue, and following up on questions with research and reading are all great ways to help kids form the habit of making connections—a big piece of "learning how to learn."
Plus, it's a marvel to see the strength and grace of Olympic athletes in high-caliber competition and to consider the time, effort, talent, strategy, psychology, coaching, nutrition, politics, money, sacrifice, and fortune involved in getting there.
Olympics Learning Resources
- Y—Young (PreK-3rd)
- M—Middle (4th-6th)
- O—Older (7th-12th)
- T—Teacher Resources
International Olympic Committee
Official page of the International Olympic Committee that organizes the Olympic Games. It offers a large collection of informational guides on what the committee does, how it functions, what is needed to put on the games, and much more. Also includes an official toolkit for Educators.
Paralympic Games
The official page for the International Paralympic Committee. The sites includes articles, descriptions of the events, athlete profiles, and information on the history of the IPC.
Past and Future Olympic Games
Learn about the games, results, athletes, and notable stories of specific Olympic Games, starting with Athens 1896 to today. From the International Olympic Committee.
United States Olympic Committee
Team USA official site. Contains news and information on the USA Olympic Team, including athlete profiles and events in which the USA competes.
NBC Olympics Coverage
Olympic news and live streaming from NBC.
All About the Olympics for Kids - The History and Symbols of The Olympics: FreeSchool
Learn about the Olympic medals, the Olympic rings, the Olympic flame, and other trivia and information about the Olympic games in this short video from FreeSchool.
All About The Olympic Games
A short background and history of the Olympics with activities for younger ages. Includes worksheets, coloring pages, and informational handouts. From Activity Village.co.uk
The Ancient Greek Olympics
A brief history of the Olympic games, how they started in ancient Greece, how they were revived in the Victorian era, and how they function today. From History for Kids: A free history network
Sports Illustrated Kids: Olympics
The Sports Illustrated Olympics news site for kids provides interviews with famous athletes, current Olympic news, team news, events, and more.
Summer Olympic Games Facts
An Olympics fact sheet for kids to learn about some basic history and culture of the Olympic games. From ScienceKids.com
Sochi Winter Olympics as Seen From Space
DigitalGlobe satellite images of the Sochi venue. A treat for science lovers.
Winter Olympics
A collection of free Olympics activities, puzzles, coloring sheets, and worksheets for kids from Activity Village.
Sports and Olympics Crafts and Activities for Kids
DLTK's Crafts for Kids features a variety of printable children's crafts, coloring pages, worksheets, and activities for the Olympic Games.
Education World Olympic Lessons
A collection of educational resources, lesson plans, and activities to help discuss and teach about the Olympic Games. From Education World.
Gateway to the Summer Games
The EdGate brings you cross-curricular official Olympic-themed lesson plans developed by Griffin Publishing Group and approved by the USOC.
Primary Sources Related to the Olympics
Brought to you by the National Archives, you can find dozens of photographic primary sources related to the Olympics from throughout history.
The “Miracle on Ice”
This is a history of one of the most dramatic upsets in Olympic history from the History Channel. On February 22, 1980, the underdog U.S. hockey team, made up of college players, defeated the four-time defending gold-medal-winning Soviet team at the XIII Olympic Winter Games.
Fist of Freedom – Black Civil Rights in the 1968 Olympics
A detailed look at activism in the 1968 Olympics, the resulting global response, and the effects it had on the greater Civil Rights Movement and across the world. From the Zinn Education Project.
Biography of Pierre, Baron de Coubertain – Founder of the International Olympic Committee
A brief biography of the founder of the International Olympic Committee, Pierre, baron de Coubertain from Britannica. Courbertain and the IOC were largely responsible for the re-emergence of the modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The Scientific American Guide to Cheating in the Olympics
An in-depth analysis and history of the science behind performance-enhancing drug use, known as 'doping,' in the Olympics. The article covers the different drugs athletes use to attempt to cheat and the methods they employ to avoid getting caught. By Scientific American.
The First Olympics
A brief, kid-friendly history on the first Olympic Games in the summer of 776 B.C. from National Geographic Kids.
The Ancient Greek Olympics
This is an 8-minute animated video on the Ancient Greek Olympics. Simple History provides the details of the original event, including the culture, the different sports, the history and more.
The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games
A history of the original Olympic Games, from Penn Museum. It discusses the origins and purpose of the games, politics, commercialism, athletes, and how they were rewarded.
The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start
A history of the modern Olympic games by acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford who connects the modern Games to their unlikely origin—in rural England. From the Smithsonian Magazine.
