7 Activities to Celebrate the Summer Olympics in Your Classroom!
Every 4 years we have the opportunity to come together as a global community and celebrate culture, sportsmanship, diversity, and athletic greatness!
As we gear up for the 2024 Summer Olympics, it's the perfect time to infuse our classrooms with the spirit of the games.
In this post, we'll explore 7 thrilling Summer Olympic-themed activities designed specifically for kids in grades 3, 4, or 5. These activities are not just about fun and games (although there's plenty of that!), but they also aim to spark curiosity, promote teamwork, and celebrate the diversity of our world.
So, whether you use these activities as you wrap up your school year OR incorporate them as part of your summer school learning, students will love participating in their own Classroom Olympics!
You can host a multi-day event where you spread these activities out over the course of a week or more, or create an action-packed full-day event that creates an unforgettable experience!
Whatever you choose, it’s bound to be a blast for all!
ACtivity 1: Light the Olympic Torch!
Let's kick off our Olympic-themed extravaganza with an activity that embodies the spirit of unity and teamwork—the Olympic Torch Relay!
In this activity, students will engage in a relay race, taking turns passing a specially crafted homemade Olympic torch. (Try making these simple ones from Fun Loving Families)
Credit: Fun Loving Families
For this activity, students will each create their own torch base, making the "flame" removable. Divide the students into teams and choose a spacious area outdoors (or use the school gym if needed) for the relay race.
The relay race can be as simple as having one member from each team start with the lighted torch, run to the next team member, and transfer their "flame" to the next torch holder. This passing of the flame continues until all team members have completed the race.
To incorporate math into this activity, assign some students to time each team's relay and calculate the differences in each team's time. This adds a fun and educational twist, allowing students to apply their math skills while enjoying the relay race.
ACtivity 2: Host Your Own Opening Ceremonies!
Let's start your classroom Olympics with the excitement of the opening ceremonies! This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate diversity and kick off the event with a bang.
Begin by asking students to create a flag representing one of the countries participating in the Olympics. For older students, you can enhance this activity by having them conduct research about their chosen country. They can explore details such as the country's location, capital, population, main language, popular religion, and more. Students can record this information on the back of their flag or on a separate report sheet.
To make things easier for you, I've included a free flag download below. This template is ready-made for students to use and personalize for their chosen country. Download it below.
Next up, it's time to host the opening ceremony! Begin by showing clips from past opening ceremonies. The initial segments of each ceremony are usually the most captivating, featuring performances that students thoroughly enjoy watching.
Check out these past ceremonies:
After enjoying some of the opening ceremony performances, it's time for the parade of athletes!
This is where the flag activity your students completed earlier becomes the star of the show. Invite your students to parade around your classroom or school, accompanied by lively Olympic-themed music playing from your phone or a portable speaker if possible. They'll wave their flags proudly!
For an extra touch of excitement, consider having your students parade through other classrooms (with permission from the teachers, of course!). This gives them the opportunity to showcase their flags and share interesting facts about their chosen country if they conducted research earlier.
VARIATION: CREATE YOUR OWN COUNTRY & FLAG!
Instead of designing flags for existing countries, consider encouraging students to create their own fictional country! Let them brainstorm and come up with a unique name for their country, design their flag, and even create a national anthem or a chant that represents their country. This imaginative activity adds an extra layer of creativity and personalization to the classroom Olympics.
ACTIVITY 3: Hold your own Olympic Games
There are so many ways to get creative with your Olympic Games!
If you want to keep in line with your current curriculum, it’s easy to turn any traditional activity into a friendly competition!
Escape rooms using curriculum content, for example, are a great way to promote healthy competition and teamwork!
OR - Transform ordinary task cards into an exciting relay game by organizing students into teams and giving each team member a task card. Each team member begins with their task card face down. The starting student on each team flips their card over, answers the question or completes the task, and then signals for the next student on the team to begin. The next student flips their card over and repeats the process. The relay continues until all task cards are completed correctly. The team that finishes all their task cards first wins the relay, adding a fun and competitive twist to learning activities.
If you’re just looking for some good, old-fashioned competition games to create a fun atmosphere, you can try activities like:
hula-hoop contests
ring or bean-bag toss
water-balloon toss
frisbee throw
egg relay
Of course, most of these will need to be completed outside.
ACTIVITY 4: STUDY THE OLYMPICS
We’re excited to have launched our Summer Olympics LINKtivity® where students can learn all about the Olympics - from learning about Olympic history, to exploring popular events, the host city, and even meeting some of the Olympic athletes, it’s all covered in the Olympics!
LINKtivities are a fun and easy way to make learning engaging and interactive! Check out a sneak peek below:
Activity 5: Meet the Athletes! Research Project
Invite students to choose an athlete that will be competing in the Olympics and create a fun way to share that person to the rest of the class.
Students can utilize various resources such as books, online research tools like Britannica, YouTube, and others to gather information about their chosen athlete. They should gather details about the athlete's home country, the sport they'll compete in, their age, and interesting facts like past victories, family background, and childhood experiences.
Here are some engaging ways for students to showcase their chosen athlete to the class:
Create a simple PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation.
Develop a pretend interview script where they ask questions and provide answers from the athlete's perspective.
Design a poster titled "All About [Athlete's Name]" featuring pictures and key facts.
Produce a brochure highlighting information about the athlete.
Construct a timeline illustrating major events in the athlete's life, adding a visual element to their presentation.
Have students imagine their athlete has a social media account (e.g., Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and create a profile page with posts, photos, and captions that reflect the athlete's journey to the Olympics.
Students can role-play as news anchors and report on their athlete's achievements, upcoming competitions, and personal background. They can record a video news segment to share with the class.
Have students write a first-person narrative or a diary entry from the perspective of their athlete, detailing experiences, challenges, and triumphs on their journey to the Olympics.
Students can script and record a podcast episode discussing their athlete's career, training regimen, and aspirations for the Olympics.
Activity 6: Take a Virtual Field Trip to the Olympic Host City
You may not be able to physically travel to the host city of Paris, France, but thanks to technology, you and your students can travel their virtually through Google Earth!
Explore some major landmarks of Paris using my virtual tour. It’s the perfect way to incorporate some map skills and geography into your Olympic fun!
Students will explore:
Where Paris, France is located in Europe
Eiffel Tower
Louvre Museum
Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Arc de Triomphe
Palace of Versailles
Activity 7: Host the Closing Ceremonies
If you’re going to kick-off your celebrations with the opening ceremonies, then it only makes sense to wrap it up with closing ceremonies!
You can always create traditional silver, gold, and bronze medals for your students, however, if you're wrapping up the school year, you can seamlessly transition this celebration into your end-of-year award ceremonies!
Many teachers enjoy honoring each student with an award at the end of the year, and your Olympic closing ceremony provides an ideal moment for this.
In fact, you can access my FREE set of class awards, which includes titles like Class Comedian, History Buff, and Kindness Champion! With over 60 award options available, you can select the perfect one for each student in your classroom.
As we wrap up our Olympic-themed journey, let's celebrate the spirit of achievement, teamwork, and creativity that has infused our classroom. Whether it's creating flags, engaging in relay races, or showcasing our favorite athletes, each activity can create a fun and meaningful experience that celebrates diversity.
Have fun!