The Olympic Games

Topic: The Olympic Games

Objectives:

By the end of the lesson students will be able to:

·        become more confident in using question words;

·        practise their communicative skills in group work;

 become more aware of some facts from the history of the Olympic games and their symbols.

Level: Pre – Intermediate

Materials: a computer, a multimedia presentation, a CD player, an audio CD, cards, handouts (a text for reading, questions for class survey).

PROCEDURE

I. INTRODUCTION

1. GREETING

T: Good morning, everybody. I am glad to see you. How are you today?

II. WARMING – UP

T: Let's play a game “Ask me a question”. Split into two teams. I will show you a card with a question word. Your task is to work in groups and make up a question on the topic “Sport” which begins with this question word. The team with the most points is the winner.

Example:

T: What?

Team A: What is your favourite sport?

T: Where?

Team B: Where do you usually play football?

T: Who?

Team A: Who is favourite sportsman?

T: Why?

Team B: Why do people go in for sports? etc.

T: Well done. So, the last question was: Why do people go in for sports? Will you answer it, please?

Possible answers:

People go in for sports…

·        to keep fit;

·        to be strong and healthy;

·        to take part in different competition;

·        to achieve good results;

·        to achieve success in life;

·        to become famous.

T: So, as you see, some people go in for sports just for fun, for being strong and healthy, but others want to achieve success and become famous. Perhaps, the greatest desire of a sportsman is to participate in the Olympic Games and win the medal. And at today's lesson we are going to speak about the most important international athletic competition in the world – the Olympic Games. (Slide 1) You'll develop your listening, reading and speaking skills, practise your communicative skills in group work and broaden your outlook. (Slide 2)

III. MAIN PART

1. LISTENING

Pre – listening

T: I'd like you to know some more information about the symbols of the Olympic Games. Listen to the texts and match the descriptions with the symbols. (Slide 3)

a) The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part.

b) The anthem.

c) Faster, higher, stronger.

d) The Olympic Flame.

e) The Olympic Flag.

f) The opening ceremony.

g) The mascot.

While – listening

TAPESCRIPT

1) Baron de Coubertin designed it in 1913 – 1914. It has five rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red. They represent the union of the five continents and the meeting of the athletes of the world at the Olympic Games. It has been used since VII Olympiad in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.

2) It has been organized since IX Olympiad at Amsterdam in 1928. All delegations parade in Alphabetical order. But Greece is always the first and the last delegation in the host country.

3) It was adopted by the International Olympic Committee in 1958. It is played when the Olympic Flag is raised in the opening ceremony and also when the Olympic Flag is lowered at the closing ceremony.

4) One of Baron Pierre de Coubertin's friends was principal of a college near Paris. Once he finished his speech with the words that Baron Pierre de Coubertin made into the Olympic motto. These words are…

5) Pierre de Coubertin got the idea for this phrase from a speech given by Bishop Ethelbert Talbot at a service for Olympic Champions during the 1908 Olympic Games. The Olympic Greed reads…

6) It was lit during the ancient Olympic Games. It has been lit every Olympiad since the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1928.

7) First it appeared at the Munich Olympic Games. It was Waldi, the dachshund. Since that time it has been one of the symbols of the Olympics. It shows the geographical features, history and culture of the host city.

Post – listening

T: Now match the descriptions with the symbols.

Key: 1) e; 2) f; 3) b; 4) a; 5) c; 6) d; 7) g.

2. CHECKING THE HOME ASSIGNMENT

T: Your home assignment was to tell about your favourite Ukrainian sportsman. Let's listen to some of the students.

3. RELAXATION

Bingo game

T: Let's play a “Bingo game”. I ask you to draw 3x3 squares and put the following sports in each box in any order. I'll call out the words in any order. You need to put a cross through the word as it is called out. The winner is the first student to get a line of crosses vertically, horizontally or diagonally. (Slide 4)

Words: football, rugby, cricket, golf, tennis, swimming, boating, boxing, basketball.

Example:

Football	Cricket	Rugby
Golf	Tennis	Swimming
Basketball	Boating	Boxing

4. READING

Pre – reading

T: We have already got acquainted with the symbols of the Olympic Games. But tell me please if you know the history of the Olympic Games. Read the text. Then be ready to answer my question and do some tasks on the text.

While – reading

     The first Olympic Games took place in the town of Olympia in Greece in 776 B.C. (more than 270 years ago). It was a great athletic festival of running, boxing, wrestling and others.

     For the period of the Games all the wars stopped. So, the Olympic Games became the symbol of peace and friendship. In 394 A.D. the Games stopped.

     In 1894 A Frenchman Baron Pierre de Coubertin persuaded people from fifteen countries to start the Olympic Games again. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. They take place every four years.

     The Olympic Games can't take place in countries at war. That is why there were no Olympic Games during the two world wars.

     During the Olympic Games there are tournaments in many kinds of sport. Summer and Winter Olympic Games are held separately in different countries.

     The 22-nd Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow, Russia in 1980. Winter Olympic Games first took place in 1924. At the Winter Olympic Games many teams from different countries take part in competitions in figure skating, skiing, hockey and other winter sports.

     Since 1936 the opening ceremony has been celebrated by lightning a flame which is called “Olympic Flame”.

     The latest 28-th Olympic Games took place in Beijing, China in 2008.

     The motto of the Olympic movement is Citius, altius, forties which is Latin for Faster, higher, stronger. Winners of the Olympic Games are rewarded by gold, silver and bronze medals.

     The Olympic Games are very popular in our country. All sports fans watch the Games on TV and many of them watch the events live and support their national team.

     Sochi was the first Russian city to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2014.

Post – reading

1) Answer the questions (Slide 5)

a) When and where did the Olympic Games begin?

b) When did the Games in Greece stop?

c) When and where did the first modern Olympic Games take place?

d) Are Summer and Winter Olympic Games held separately?

e) Where and when were the latest Olympic Games held?

Key:

a) In 776 B.C. at Olympia in Greece.

b) In 394 A.D.

c) In 1986 in Athens.

d) Yes, they are.

e) In Beijing, China in 2008.

2) Write T (True) or F (False) (Slide 6)

a) The first Olympic Games took place in Athens in 1896.

b) For the period of the Games all the wars stopped.

c) The Olympic Games take place every five years.

d) Winter Olympic Games first took place in 1924.

e) Winter Olympic Games were taken place in Sochi in 2014.

Key: a) F; b) T; c) F; d) T; e) T.

3) Put the words in the correct order. Then match them with the answers given after the questions. (Slides 7 – 8)

1. Olympic/are/Why/called/Games/they

2. Games/did/Olympic/When/the/Winter/first/place/take

3. movement/motto/the/What/of/is//the/Olympic

4. tradition/Flame/When/the/did/the/of/Olympic/begin

Key:

1. Why are they called Olympic Games?

2. When did the first Winter Olympic Games take place?

3. What is the motto of the Olympic movement?

4. When did the tradition of the Olympic Flame begin?

a) Citius, altius, fortius which is Latin for Quicker, higher, stronger.

b) Because they were first held at a place called Olympia in Ancient Greece.

c) They took place in 1924.

d) There was a Flame at the ancient Games. It was used in the modern Olympics in 1928.

Key: 1 – b; 2 – c; 3 – a; 4 – d.

5. SPEAKING

T: Look at the screen (Slide 9). You can see an old woman. Can you guess her age? You can't imagine, but she is 94. Her name is Olga Kotelko and she's a representative of Ukrainian Diaspora in Canada. She is an outstanding athlete who got several records in long jump in her age group. She did it when she was 80, 85, 90 years old! She got 5 bronze, 12 silver and 600 gold medals. Now she's very popular in Canada and she was one of twelve thousand sportsmen who brought the Olympic Flame during the last Winter Olympics.

Class survey

T: And what about our country? Is sport popular in our country so much that we can host Olympics too? To find out the answer, let's make our class survey. (Slide 10)

Find someone who…

·        can ski or skate;

·        can run 60 meters for 9 seconds;

·        is good at football, volleyball, etc;

·        has taken part in any sport competition lately;

·        wants to go to the Olympic Games.

(Students are moving in the classroom freely. They're asking their classmates questions to carry out a survey. The results are presented by some students.)

T: We found out that nearly all of you love sport too. Besides, there are students in your form who are the “young champions”. Let's listen to one of them.

(A student presentstheinformation about himself.) (Slides 11 - 13)

T: Well done. I hope you will certainly go to the Olympic Games and will be a champion. And we will be proud of you.

IV. SUMMING – UP

T: At today's lesson you got acquainted with some facts from the history of the Olympic Games and their symbols. I believe that some of you will bring the Olympic Flame during the Olympics in the future.

V. HOME ASSIGNMENT(Slide 14)

T: Look for some information and write seven sentences about the Paralympics. (The Paralympics are like the Olympic Games, but they're for athletes with a physical disability.)