We're off to the Winter Games!

Hey, all! Here in Ohio, we have a snow day today...so I finally have a chance to catch up on my blog! If you've been following my Instagram @fromsept2mrsmay, you know my class and I have been having so much fun getting ready for the 2018 Winter Olympics! 

I'm no athlete, but I've been obsessed with the Games since I was a little girl. My students feel the same! Back in my student teaching days, I realized that the Olympics are a perfect opportunity to connect real world interests with our academic standards. After piloting my ideas during the 2014 Games, I am thrilled to bring you my new, 114 page Winter Games Unit. This unit has all the tools you need to teach your students about the Winter Games. Even better, you'll download directions and printables to host a classroom version of the Winter Games. Trust me, your kids will go nuts!

A 44 page projectable read aloud with real photos and non-fiction text is included in unit!

We started off by learning some basics facts about the Winter Games. I teach first grade, so during the last Games, my students were just tiny tots. Their background knowledge is fairly limited because of this! Using my projectable read aloud, we learned about the first Winter Games and the background of the sporting competition. Did you know that the main goal of the Olympics is to "build a peaceful and better world"? Learning this only made me more excited to bring the Games to my classroom! 

Fact sheets (just like this one!) for each of the five sports and the Winter Games are included in the Unit.

For the next five days, my students and I explored different sports played during the games. We spent one day on each sport: ice skating, biathlon, ice hockey, curling, and bobsleigh. To keep things moving quickly (we had a lot to cover!), we followed the same activity structure each day:

1. While most of my students were familiar with ice skating and ice hockey, the remaining three sports were totally foreign to them. We started each day by watching Olympics coverage of the sport. Thank goodness for YouTube, right?! These short videos allowed my students to see for themselves what the sport actually looks like! 

2. From there, we jumped right into the projectable read aloud (included in the unit). Each sport has five slides of content, followed by discussion questions. My kiddos loved being able to see real photographs of the sports in action as they learned more about the games!

Discussion questions are a great way to move into our next project for the day - a comprehension guide!

3. With our read aloud fresh in our minds, we headed back to our seats to work on the matching comprehension guide. Early in the unit, we completed these questions together. As the kids got more comfortable with the format, I allowed them to work with a partner and finally individually on this task. These are great for comprehension assessment. I especially love to see their labeled drawings on these pages!

I print the comprehension guide and YouTube listening guide back to back to save paper!

4. The last part of our daily sports lesson is easily my favorite...the YouTube listening guide! Each guide has a link which leads to a carefully selected YouTube video. Students watch the video twice, then complete their listening guide. Again, we started off doing these guides whole group but then transitioned to small group, partners, and finally individually for assessment. The fill in the blank format aligns perfectly with the video and is an excellent comprehension check. 

YouTube listening guides are a crowd favorite in my classroom. Have you tried one?!

Keeping the same structure each day really helped my students take charge of their own learning. It wasn't long before they were asking to watch Olympics clips during indoor recess and as we waited for the buses each afternoon!

We ended the unit by creating our own Winter Games mini books. Two versions of this are included in my unit: one features fill in the blanks and the other leaves lines for students to write their own facts. In my first grade classroom, I used both versions for differentiation! This little wonder made my ELA and social studies grade books very happy. I love that my students are able to record their own learning and then share with family at home!

The other version of the mini book features blank lines for students to record their own facts.

We're looking to wrap up our mini books this week (if the weather cooperates!). But our fun isn't done yet...next week, all four first grade classrooms in my school have teamed up to host our own Winter Games! Again, we'll be using my Winter Games Unit for inspiration. As I mentioned before, the unit contains full directions and all the printables you need to hold your very own Winter Games, fit for the classroom.

One of my little athletes prepares for the speed skating competition.

No snow? No ice? No Team USA worthy equipment? No problem! My "Winter Games: Classroom Edition" events are all adapted, low cost, and perfect for the classroom...just add medals (find a class set or large 100 piece set on Amazon!).

I can't wait to show you all the fun we'll have at our Winter Games! Watch my Instagram @fromsept2mrsmay for more photos and videos.

Ready to bring the Winter Games to your classroom? You can access my full Winter Games Unit on TpT by clicking HERE. If you'd like to try before you buy, you can download the freebie version right HERE.

READ WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT MY WINTER GAMES UNIT

"I teach 3-5 special education and I love using real-world events to drive our instruction. I have been searching for quality Olympics units to use in my classroom and yours is perfect! I love that it's intensive, but the language is simplified and appropriate for some many different levels of learners. The read-aloud is my favorite part! This product is so awesome and I can't want to use it in February!" - Shirey Teaches SPED

"This is one of the best resources for the Winter Olympics! It gives great information in a variety of ways over a few sports involved in the games. It also provides a practical and fun way for kids to participate! Thank you!!" - Heather N.

"I noticed your preview and HAD to purchase this product! What a great and engaging way to help my first graders learn more about the Winter Games! I love all the features you have included (especially the adaptable activities) and I really think my students will enjoy researching the different sports. Many of my students have little prior knowledge of the Winter Games and I think this product is a great way to introduce the topic! I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the activity ideas for an actual classroom Winter Games! Let the games begin!!! You ROCK! :)" - Awttan I.

Are you learning about the Olympics at school? Drop your favorite resources in the comments below!