When the World Comes Together

Introduction

Last year you all had the opportunity to see some of the efforts of young people from all over the world competing in the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. For many people in the United States, this was the first time that they watched some sports like Curling, which are not that popular here. However, there are so many different Olympic sports, both in the Winter and in the Summer Olympics, which appeal to people from different parts of the World.  Just by looking at the sports which are part of the Olympic games, we can understand many interesting things about the way people from different cultures exercise their body and mind.

Task

In this Webquest, you will explore some of the many sites related to the Olympic Games so as to find out some interesting facts about their History beginning from their inception in Ancient Greece, or the Sports which are included and the way people from different countries feel about these different sports. Your goal is to gather information so that you can create a mini-presentation about the Olympic Games for your classmates.

Process

1. First you will learn some things about the History of the Olympic Games:
   1. Learn about the Olympic games in Ancient Greece (or Olympiad)
   2. Watch a movie about Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games
   3. See some 3D reconstructions of Ancient Olympia
   4. Learn how they were different from the modern Olympic games
   5. Which were the sports then, and the regulations,
   6. Get some information about the Olympic truce (εκεχειρία)

What did you think was the most interesting fact about the history of the Ancient Olympics you learned in this section?

Start with statements like: "I didn't really know that..." or "The most interesting fact for me was that..."

2. Now you can learn about the different Olympic Sports (Summer and Winter).
   1. Take some time to visit the Olympic Museum. Although it is located in Switzerland in Europe, you can take a tour, enjoy the panoramic view from its terrace.
   2. Take a journey through the different Olympic sports through their description
   3. Get a closer look at the winter Olympic sports through some facts
   4. Find Olympic sports of the past (no longer practiced in the Games),
   5. Find out about sports that are very popular in one place and quite unusual in another (curling and baseball)
   6. Learn about all the modern Olympic Games from the official site of the Olympic Committee
   7. Test your knowledge with this fun Olympic crossword puzzle – give it to your site coordinator when you are done so that they can forward it to me.

Choose one of the Olympic Summer or Winter sports you were not familiar with and write a short description and when and where it was first introduced as an Olympic event. Is this a sport you would like to play some day?

1. Choose one of the following final activities:
   1. Make a PowerPoint presentation of the history of the Olympic Games from ancient to modern times
   2. Draw a poster of a sport (real or one that you make up) which you would like to see included in the next Olympic Games in Bejing, China.

Evaluation

A Webquest developed by Dr. Andreas Karatsolis for the Department of Greek Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America