I originally created a similar document before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as an assignment for one of my graduate classes. As I was reviewing some of the items I created during that time for use in this blog, I came across the brochure and decided to do an updated version here on the blog. So, here we go!
General Olympic Sites
Official
Website of the Olympic Movement
This
website provides a wide range of information about all things Olympic
– from the history of the Olympics to information about Olympic
sports to the process for selecting a host city. Overall, the site is
easy to use and very informational, although some users may find the
range of information overwhelming.
Here are a
couple of highlights of use to teachers:
The
Olympic Games
Olympic
Sports
(This
section also includes information on how a sport becomes an Olympic
Sport.)
Ancient Olympic Games
Encyclopaedia
Britannica – Olympic Games
The
Encyclopaeda Britannica provides an historical overview of the
Olympic Games. It includes the history of both the summer and winter
Olympics, as well as links to information about individual Olympic
sports. The website is up-to-date and easy to navigate, although some
additional features (including links to both the Kids and Students
Encyclopaedias) require a subscription. My only complaint about the
website is there are a considerable number of ads, which causes
scrolling to be a little slower than I would like.
An
Olympic Games Primer
This
Primer provides a broad overview of the Olympic games, including its
history, athletes, and symbols. There is a section specifically about
the games that have taken place within the United States. It also
provides a bibliography of print resources on the Olympic games. The
information on this site is helpful from a historical perspective;
however, it is not much use for current Olympic information beyond
the location – the site has had minimal updates since 2004.
London 2012
Official
website of the London 2012 Olympics
This site,
among other things, provides news, updates, photos and videos of the
2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. During the Olympics, updates
will be available on the country medal counts, event results, etc.
The site is extensive, with videos, blogs, and many other features.
The sheer quantity of information on the website may see
overwhelming, but it is definitely worth exploring. One of my
favorite features so far is on the page for the Olympic Torch Relay –
they have a video of a man giving information from the page in BSL
(British Sign Language). For those that wish to extend their
study/exploration of the Olympics, there is also information about
the Paralympics, which begin a little over two weeks after the end of
the Olympics.
Team USA
The
TeamUSA website provides news and information about the United States
Olympic Team, including biographies of Olympic team hopefuls. There
is a link to lesson plans about the Olympic Games under Resources:
Olympic Education: Materials for Teachers.
(http://www.teamusa.org/resources/u-s-olympic-education/materials-for-teachers)
The remainder of the educational materials listed in that category
appear to be essentially an advertisement for the publisher with
which TeamUSA appears to have partnered. As of the time I published
this blog post, the link to access classroom teaching materials does
not work, but that may be something put into place as we get closer
to June.
Location Information
The United Kingdom
The below sites provide basic
information about the United Kingdom:
London, England
The below sites provide basic
information about the home of the 2012 Summer Olympics, London,
England.