In this lesson, students learn about the Olympic Games and then create a brochure in Microsoft® Publisher for them in one host city.
The Olympic Games
Lesson plan information
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Lesson plan
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Item
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Requirements
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Instructional level
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Intermediate user
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Advanced user
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School level
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Middle school (11-14 years)
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High school (14-18 years)
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Curriculum areas
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Themes
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Class time
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Academic standards
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Communication skills
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People, places, and environment
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ISTE NETS Standards for students
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Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing
technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other
creative works.
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Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate
information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences
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Software required
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Microsoft Encarta Reference
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Microsoft Internet Explorer
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Microsoft Publisher
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Teacher guide
Objectives
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Students will learn about the history of the Olympics and the various
countries that have hosted the games.
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Students will learn about some of the sports featured in the Olympics.
Prerequisite skills
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Basic research skills using Encarta and Internet Explorer
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Basic experience with Publisher
How to begin
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Save the document Student
directions (204 KB Microsoft Word file) to your classroom computer. To
open this file, you might need to get Office File Viewers. Adjust the directions as needed
for your lesson. When presenting your lesson to the students, ask them to
use the student directions sheet as a jump point into the lesson.
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Inform students that while the first modern Olympic games were held in 1896
(more than 100 years ago), the original games date as far back as 776 B.C.
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Ask students to brainstorm what they think of when they think about the
Olympics. List their thoughts on an overhead projector or whiteboard.
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Tell the students that they will be creating a brochure on one of the past
Olympics.
Note: You may choose to assign students one of the Olympic
Games (there have been 24 summer games and 19 winter games), or you may
decide to have the students select one of them. This may be completed as a
group project.
Resources and web links
Student activity
Description
In this activity you will research one year of the Olympic Games in one city
and create an attractive informational brochure based on your research.
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Software: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Encarta,
Microsoft Publisher
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What to do
Research the Olympic Games and create a brochure that presents
your findings
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Start Internet Explorer and visit www.olympic.org. You may also find information in
Microsoft Encarta.
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Select the year and city that you have been assigned.
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Start Publisher, and select Publications for Print.
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Choose one of the Informational Brochure designs available.
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There will be six main parts to your brochure, one part on each of the six
panels. Fill in the required information in each of the six parts or
panels. Here's how:
Front panels
Event highlights
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What records were set?
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What other interesting highlights occurred?
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Were there any "firsts" at these games?
Be sure to include any appropriate pictures or graphics.
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Mailer information
(Publisher will automatically generate this.)
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Cover
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Name of the host city.
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Date of the games.
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Picture of the city or a picture representing the games.
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Inside panels
Athletes
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Who were the star athletes during these Olympic games?
Be sure to include any appropriate pictures or graphics.
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About the host city and country
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Where are the host country and city located?
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What other attractions are located in the city?
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How did the city and country prepare for the games?
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How were the games unique in this host city?
Be sure to include any appropriate pictures or graphics.
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About the emblem and medals designed for these games
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Who designed them?
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What do the symbols represent?
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What materials were used?
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Have you collected pictures of the emblems and the medals?
Be sure to include any appropriate pictures or graphics.
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Check to make sure you have entered all the information, and then be sure
to proofread your brochure.
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When you are finished, print your brochure and turn it in to your teacher.
Ways to extend the student activity
Have the students create a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation to
convince the Olympic Organizing Committee to consider your town or city as
the next Olympics venue.
Assessment
Students can be assessed on their brochure according to the following
considerations:
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Was the information presented accurate?
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Were all of the areas covered in enough detail?
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Was the information interesting to read?
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Were the pictures and graphics appropriate to the information?
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Were proper conventions used?
This content is reprinted with permission from Microsoft. For additional
content, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx.
