The Topic: Olympic Games Easier - The Olympic Games are a competition in summer and winter sports held every four years for athletes from all over the world.   Harder - Olympic Games are the world's most important international athletic competition. The Olympics bring together thousands of the finest athletes to compete against one another in a variety of individual and team sports.   Ancient Olympic Games originated in Greece and were held from 776 B.C. to A.D. 393. The modern Olympic Games began in 1896 when organizers revived them to encourage world peace and friendship and to promote healthy sporting competition for the youth of the world. Winter Games were originated in 1924. Beginning in 1994, the Winter and Summer Games were divided and scheduled on four-year cycles, two years apart. Olympic Games from the International Olympic Committee http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/ This is the official website of the organization that directs the modern day olympic games; here you can find lots of information on the history of the games, the sports of the competitions, the atheletes and more. Other Olympic History Sites: 2) Ancient Olympic Games Virtual Museum (Use requires free registration) http://minbar.cs.dartmouth.edu/greecom/olympics/ 3) Ancient and Modern Olympic Sports http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/ 4) Brief History of the Olympic Games http://www.nostos.com/olympics/ 5) Greek Olympic Games from History for Kids http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/games/olympics.htm 6) History of the Olympics from About.com http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa081000a.htm 7) Index to the Olympics from Hickok Sports http://www.hickoksports.com/history/olympix.shtml 8) Olympic Games from the International Olympic Committee http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp 9) Olympic Games from The History Channel (UK) http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/features/the_olympics.php 10) Olympic History from CBC.CA http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/history/ 11) Olympic Museum http://www.museum.olympic.org/ 12) Olympics Through Time from Foundation of the Hellenic World http://olympics.fhw.gr/ 13) Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games (Univ. of Pennsylvania) http://www.upenn.edu/museum/Olympics/olympicintro.html   2006 Winter Olympics from ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter06/index Here you find coverage of the Olympic events by the sports network. Related Websites: 2) NBC Olympics http://www.nbcolympics.com/ 3) Torino 2006 from CBC.CA http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/   Olympics: Science of the Sporting Life at The Why Files http://whyfiles.org/019olympic/index.php Science and technology played a small role in the original Olympics, which prompted a brief truce in any wars the Greeks happened to be fighting. These days, science and technology play a dominant role in the quadrennial "Games."   Torino 2006 http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/OlympicGames/home/index.html This is the official Olympics site, August 13-29, 2004, offering details on scheduled events from the opening ceremony to the closing of the winter games, biographies and interviews of athletes, the latest articles and lots, lots more. Websites for Future Games: 2) Bejing, China 2008 http://en.beijing2008.com/ 3) Vancouver, Canada 2010 http://www.vancouver2010.com/ 4) London, Great Briton 1012 http://www.london2012.com/en   After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following projects.   Complete an Olympics WebQuest. Follow or adapt the procedures found at one of the following sites. 1) Ancient Olympic Games by R. Jefferies and M. Davison http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/ict/specialprojects/tunwells/history/Ancient%20Greeks/ 2) Drug Use at the Olympics http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/drugQuest.htm 3) Going for the Gold! by D. Frederick (Grade 8) http://www.ri.net/RIGeo/rigea/lessons/PacificNW/olympicwebq/olymcwebq.htm 4) Olympic Games of Ancient Greece by M. Baker, S. Doubrava, and B. McDuffie http://education.nmsu.edu/webquest/wq/olympics/olympicwq.html   Complete the Internet Treasure Hunt on Olympic Games. Try any or all of the treasures hunts found at the The Olympics.   Graph the Medal Wins. Create a bar graph showing the number of gold, silver, and bronze medals that nation's athletes have won in the Olympic Games.   Make An Olympic Games Timeline. Create a timeline that shows the history of the Olympic Games down through the ages.   Try An Olympic Quiz. Go to Quiz on the Olympics from Enchanted Learning's Little Explorers and see how well you do . . . Create An Olympic Poster. After exploring several of the websites for the Olympic Games, design and create your own original Olympic poster. You can choose to create a poster for an upcoming Olympics, one for the summer or winter games, one for the paralympic games, a historical competition, or upcoming events.   Websites By Kids For Kids Atlanta 1966: The Centennial Olympic Games (1997 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/14015/ This web site describes what occurred at the Centennial Olympic Games. It lists the American athletes, explains the sports events, and tells about drug use in the Olympics.   Go For the Gold: Summer Olympics (1999 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/6411/ This project focuses on Olympic history, famous athletes, sports, the torch relay, and more.   Gold, Silver, Bronze: Welcome to the Olympics (2001 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110469/ Learn about the Olympiads, the Ancient Olympics, the Olympic flame, the history of the Olympics, the medal winning countries of 2000, and the world records broken in 2000.   Native Youth Olympics is Back in Action (1998 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/3883/ Native Youth Olympics is an Alaskan sport activity that uses exercises to be stronger and therefore become better hunters.   Olympic Games (1999 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/27528/ Here you can learn about the past, present, and future of the Olympic Games; everything from famous athletes, to torches, to the tragedy in 1972 is discussed.   Olympic Journey: Welcome To Australia (1998 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/20622/ Find all sorts of information on the Olympics, like the sponsors, the cost of the event, the competitions, and even the three unique Australian Olympic mascots. Also read about the ancient Olympics and other upcoming Olympic venues. Similar ThinkQuest Project: 2) Olympic Fever (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/28526/   Olympics: Past and Present (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/27480/ This site presents information on the events of the modern and historic Olympics. There is a brief history plus the equipment and rules governing different sports.   Summer Olympic Games (1998 ThinkQuest Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/21934/ The first Olympic games were held in ancient Greece, an event of spiritual significance as well as a test of athletic excellence. The first modern-day games were held in Athens in 1896. This site provides a sketch of every summer Olympic competition in the past hundred years. Other Related ThinkQuest Projects: 2) eOlympic: Discover the Games of the Millennium (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/27850/   Unusual Sports in the Olympics (Gold Award, 2000 ThinkQuest Junior Project) http://library.thinkquest.org/J002862/ This informative site honoring unusual sports of the Olympics allows for interactivity through games, a vote, and a guest book.   Winter Olympics for Kids (Kids at Pocantico Hills School) http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/olympics/winterolympics.htm This wonderful day contains information on the winter events, activities, and three cyberhunts (ancient, Salt Lake 2002, Scholastic) and lots of great links. A great starting part of students!   Lots More Sites International Paralympic Committee http://www.paralympic.org/release/ This site offers news and sports, reports and training, programs, constitution details, meeting minutes, regulations and organizing tips, medical and sports science information. Related Website: 2) Torino 2006, Paralympic Winter Games http://www.paralympicgames.torino2006.org/ENG/ParalympicGames/home/index.html   Olympic Information Center at Amateur Athletic Association http://www.aafla.org/6oic/over_frmst.htm This site includes a history of the Olympics, the Olympic movement, symbols of the games, athletes and the Olympics, issues and other related sites. Not-to-be-Missed Section: 2) Olympic Games Primer http://www.aafla.org/6oic/primer_frmst.htm   Olympic Museum http://www.museum.olympic.org/ The mission of the Museum is to make visitors aware of the breadth and the importance of the Olympic Movement; to show them by means of images and symbols that Olympism is not merely a matter of sports competition but rather a philosophy of life.   Olympic Studies Centre http://olympicstudies.uab.es/eng/ The Centre's objectives include research, education, documentation and dissemination of the Olympic Movement's ideals.   Olympics http://www.chino.k12.ca.us/olympics/index.html This links-site connects to lots of Olympics websites. Similar Websites: 2) Olympic Games http://www.ArlingtonSchools.org/olympics.html    Special Olympics http://www.specialolympics.org/ Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.   Websites for Teachers Ancient Greek Olympics in the Classroom by Mr. Donn (Grades 6-8) http://members.aol.com/MrDonnUnits/GreekOlympics.html In this simulation, it's around 480 BC. Each student is an Olympian contestant, representing a city-state at the games! How would they behave? Let's find out!   Quest for Gold from the New Zealand Ministry of Education (Grades 5-6) http://www.english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/olympics/home.html This unit plan involves students in explore a range of sites learning about Olympics in the past and present. They track events and issues as they happen.   Olympic Activities http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/activity.htm Here you can find lots of activities and lesson plans about the Olympics.   Ancient Olympics modern Olympics Winter Games Summer Games competition events gold medal silver medal bronze medal Olympic symbol amateur athlete Olympic Games Quilts mascot Sydney, Australia Salt Lake City, Utah peace professional athlete International Olympic Committee (IOC) game 1932 Olympics rules of the games athlete 1936 Olympics blood doping drug use finals ancient Greece Olympia Olympic trials torch Crown Olive sportsmanship boycott Opening Ceremony pin collecting Olympic Rings        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 07/00. Updated 1/06.