This post has a free printable Summer Olympics Writing Frame PDF. A book that could be consulted for developing the anticipatory set include the following (*affiliate links):
Canoeing: The Great Outdoors by Laura Purdie Salas, Consultant: Kevin Callan (for grades 3-4)
Tonya Dirksen at the Keys, Strings, and Melodies blog has an Olympics blog post and song. She is emphasizing healthy habits, too, in her post. So, I made a PDF about dreaming and Olympic events for her blog, as well as an animated Power Point, which you can get for free at this link. The books I review today are NOT needed for completing the work pages. Just watching the Olympics on TV or reading nonfiction books about the different events would be enough inspiration. See also this link to the Olympics page on this blog with summer and winter Olympic’s printables (all free).
Find more free printables with an Olympic theme at this link.
Another good book is Great moments in the Summer Olympics by Matt Christopher. It is also for grade levels 3 and 4. Books about the individual Olympic sports would be interesting to children during the Summer Olympics, and Matt Christopher has written over 100 sports themed books for children. The Olympics are “nonfiction” if you think about it, and so I went to the nonfiction section of the library to find some books that would fit events. I found Sailboat Racing by Claire Jones, which includes a glossary as this is a good time to learn some new vocabulary and understand what is happening. Canoeing: The Great Outdoors by Laura Purdie Salas, Consultant: Kevin Callan is another good book. Kevin Callan is the Canoeist and Environmental Issues Instructor in Canada.
Canoeing and kayaking have been featured as a competition sport in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin. I loved canoeing when I was growing up, and didn’t even realize it was an Olympic event! On the Wikipedia page for this event, scroll down a little, and you will find a nice color chart of medals ever awarded. This is true for the different events and families may find this interesting information.
Sailing has a more extensive and complicated history, so the page for Summer Olympic Sailing has more charts and details, but the medal chart is there, too.
Counting and math can be naturally included in discussions about medals and distances in the Olympics. Always be sure to point out the table of contents, index, and glossary in any nonfiction book shared with children to help prepare them for research projects in school.
Summer Olympics Writing
