  The 2008 Summer Olympics
The Olympics 2008 will be held in the capital of China – Beijing. The Summer Olympics will be the XXIX Olympic Games.
When will the Summer 2008 Olympics take place?
They will take place from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008
Who will take part?
The world's best athletes will battle for gold medals at the Olympic Games.
The five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red) on the Olympic flag represent the five parts of the world that were joined together in the Olympic movement: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.
History
The ancient Olympic Games were primarily a part of a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses. The festival and the games were held in Olympia.
The Mascots of the 2008 Olympic games
The mascots, known as Funwa, carrying a message of friendship and peace and good wishes from China to children all over the world. Four of the Funwa represent China's most popular animals - the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow. The fifth one represents the Olympic Flame.
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.
Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
 Activity Ideas for the 2008 Olympics
Literacy
Write rules for one of the sporting Events. ( website )
Write a newspaper report on an event ( website ) ( idea )
Find out about the rings and what they represent. (worksheet) (website) (image)
Write and perform a speech after winning a gold medal in an event
Write a biography of an athlete attending the Games (worksheet) (GB Team) (All Athletes)
Numeracy
Draw a bar chart of the medals won and work out what percentage of medals were won by each country. (ICT Link)
How much will it cost you to travel to the Games by car?
( website to workout milage )
Maths Worksheets on an Olympic Theme
History
Ancient Greece ( website )
Olympics Timeline ( website )
The ancient Olympic Games ( BBC website)
The first Olympic Games
Geography
Where is China?
How far is Beijing from you?
Country report on China (website 1) (website 2) (ABC of China) (facts) (Virtual tour of Beijing)
Track and compare the Weather in Beijing with where you live.
What type of land features support the Olympics
Identify on a map where past Summer Olympics have been held. ( blank map ) (Website)
Draw the flags and find a fact about each country taking part. (flags)
Science
Investigate how to keep an athlete cool during the Games.
ICT
Spreadsheet on medals won by each country.
Database of Athletes
Create a database of previous track winners and predict winners this year (case study)
Brochure on China
Websites
Official Site for the Summer Olympics 2008
http://en.beijing2008.cn
ABC Teach
www.abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/funkids/olympics/
Contains a variety of printables which are useful in the classroom, including target sheets where the children work towards gaining medals.
Olympic Unscramble
Olympics Vocabulary List
Olympics Math Problems
Enchanted Learning
www.enchantedlearning.com/olympics/
Information and printouts
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