THE OLYMPICS
Feeling sporty?
The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting
event in the world! The Olympic Games take
place every four years, in a different city each
time.
In 2016 the Olympics will be held in Rio de
Janeiro, in Brazil.
The 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio
It's ancient history!
The Olympics began thousands of years
ago, in a place called Olympia in Ancient
Greece. There were lots of sports that we
know today, such as…
• boxing
• running
• wrestling
• horse-racing
The ancient site of Olympia - Greece
The modern Olympics
Earthquakes thousands of years ago destroyed
most of the site of Olympia. The Games came
to an end.
The Games started again in 1896. We call these
the ‘modern Olympics’.
The ruins of Olympia
The Olympic Ideal
The modern Olympics tries to build a ‘peaceful and
better world’ through sport.
The Olympic ideal is ‘not to win, but to take part’.
The Olympic values are ‘friendship, respect and
excellence.’
The Olympic symbol is made up of five interlocking
rings. Each ring represents one of the inhabited ‘five
continents’.
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Olympic rings - Editorial Credit: A_Vladimir / Shutterstock.com
The Olympic rings
© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2016
THE OLYMPICS
Rituals and ceremonies
The Olympic torch is lit in Greece, then taken to
the city where the games are held.
The opening and closing ceremonies are also
important parts of the Games.
The Olympic torch
In Ancient Greece, the winners would have
wreaths placed on their heads.
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are for athletes with
disabilities. The Paralympics first started in 1948
with injured soldiers from the Second World
War.
They’re now an important part of the Games:
more than 4,000 athletes took part in 2012.
Paralympic wheelchair athletes
Did you know?
The Winter Olympics are also held every four
years, in between the main Olympic Games.
The next Winter Olympics will be held in 2018 in
South Korea.
Ice-hockey at the Winter Olympics
Key words:
Ancient Greece
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ceremony
interlock
Olympics
represent
symbol
value
Olympic Torch - Editorial Credit: Ververidis Vasilis/ Shutterstock.com
Paralympic athletes - Editorial Credit: Cristian Teichner/ Shutterstock.com
Ice-hockey at the Winter Olympics - Editorial Credit: Pukhov Konstantin / Shutterstock.com
Paralympics
© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2016
Check Your Understanding - The Olympics
1. Which sentences are true and which are false?
Tick the answer.
Sentence
True
The Olympics are a
modern invention.
The Olympics began in
Athens, Greece.
The Olympic ideal is
'friendship and respect'.
The Olympic torch
is lit in Greece.
The Paralympics started
thousands of years ago.
2.
4. The symbol of the Olympics is made up of five rings that are
blue, yellow, black, green and...
False

purple
red
white
5. Draw two sports that will be played this summer in the
Olympics. Label your drawings.
&
are two of the three Olympic values.
6.
3. How often are the Olympic Games held? Explain your answer.
orange
Tell me, Odd, one thing you have learnt
about the Olympics that you didn’t know
before.
Extension Activity: Create a poster that you can
© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2016
display at your school about the Olympics. Include at least
five pictures. Look at other posters for ideas!
Vocabulary Builder - The Olympics
1. Can you remember one of the Olympic values?
5. Choose two of the key words below and write a new
sentence for each.
2 . Where will the next Winter Olympics be held in 2018?
represent
value
Word
Example: value
3. Draw a line to link each key word to its definition.
Terms
ceremony
Paralympics
Sentence
I greatly value my friendships
because my friends are kind.
Definitions
Value
To join together
Interlock
Something that is very
important to someone
Symbol
An object or picture that
represents something
4. Circle the adjectives and underline the nouns below.
6. Make the sentence below more descriptive.
People will run. à
a) The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting event in the
world!
b) There were lots of sports that we know today..
© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2016
Explore Text Features
1. What type of text is this? How do you know?
5. Draw a new picture and write a caption for it.
Complete the sentences.
This is a(n)
text. I know
this because
2 . What is the main title of the text?
3. Find a subtitle and copy it below.
4. How do the subtitles help you understand the text?
Subtitles help me understand the text because...
6. Why is a caption often located below the picture it
describes?
7. Create your own key words! Choose five words
from the text that you think are very important.
© Oddizzi Guided Reading 2016