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Olympic Biographies

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Subject:Language Arts,
Social Sciences
Grade:3-5, 6-8

Brief Description
Students create a book of biographies of profiling famous past Olympic athletes.

Objectives

Students

  • define the words biography and autobiography,
  • research information about past Olympic athletes,
  • create a book of biographies profiling famous past Olympic athletes.

    Keywords

    Olympics, biography, hall of fame, athlete, famous

    Materials Needed

  • writing paper
  • pens or pencils
  • computers with Internet access, printouts from Web sites listed in the Lesson Plan, or library resources about Olympic athletes
  • word processing software (optional)
  • construction or drawing paper
  • drawing materials for cover (for example, markers, crayons)

    Lesson Plan

    Discuss the meanings of the words biography and autobiography. Tell students they are going to learn about famous athletes who won medals in past Olympic Games by creating a book of biographies about past Olympians. Read students a short biography of Jesse Owens from a library source or from Jesse Owens: Olympic Champion as an example. Distribute the writing materials. Tell students to write a short biography about an Olympic athlete of their choice using the following online sources or library resources:

  • U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
  • Legendary Athletes
  • Famous Olympians
  • U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
  • U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame: Distinguished Members
  • International Olympic Committee: Athletes (Search athlete's last names by letter A to Z.)
  • U.S. Olympian Biographies (Click on any sports to find biographies.)
  • Great Olympians

    Arrange students' biographies in ABC order or by sport. Solicit suggestions from students for a book title and cover design. Choose one or more students to create the cover using the drawing materials.

    Assessment

    Evaluate each student's contribution to the book.

    Lesson Plan Source

    Education World

    Submitted By

    Lois Lewis

    National Standards

    Language Arts:
    NL-ENG.K-12.1
    NL-ENG.K-12.2
    NL-ENG.K-12.6
    NL-ENG.K-12.8

    Social Sciences:
    NSS-WH.5-12.8

    Originally published 09/11/2000
    Last updated 01/07/2010

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