Olympic History

This week I started teaching my class about how to read nonfiction books. I used a printable book that is on a medium level for them that was about Olympic Legends. The book talked about 5 legendary athletes. We had a big discussion about the Olympics in my class, here's the shocker...none of them knew they started today!

Anyway, they were all very interested in it and I was able to find clips on You Tube to show them about the Olympians we read about. We even talked about the Jamaican bobsled team (Cool Runnings....that's next on our Netflix list now!)

It was very fun to talk about it with them and to see how amazed and excited they were about it, hopefully they'll watch a little of it too. I've now gotten more into the Olympic spirit myself and have been reading up more on Beijing on the official Olympic site. I love the mascots and what their names mean:



Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.

Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.

Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

Last, but not least, I'll leave you with one of my favorite Olympic moments:(Apparently I'm retarded all of a sudden and can't figure out how to link a youtube video, the blogger link is missing. Oh well, if you want, the link is below.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsQcwHc1Jfw