2016 Australian Paralympic Team Letter Link
Lesson ideas
English
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S tudents to complete the ‘KWL chart’ activity sheet to record what they know and
would like to know about the Paralympic Games.
Students to write a letter to a 2016 Australian Paralympic Team using the ‘Let’s write to
the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team’ letter writing interactive. They can use the ‘Fan
mail’ activity sheet to plan and draft their letter.
As a class, students to discuss abbreviations and what they are. Share some words
and ways in which they have seen them abbreviated. Students research how country
names are abbreviated. Are standard rules / patterns followed? Students to complete
the ‘Country abbreviations’ activity sheet.
Students to create an acrostic poem on one of the ‘Paralympic poem’ activity sheets.
Students to write interview questions for a medal winner, then, in pairs, role-play the
interviews.
Students to plan, draft and publish one or more of the following texts:
• a tourist brochure about Rio or Brazil
• an information report or simple procedural text about one of the sports at the
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (information about the sports can be found at
www.paralympic.org.au)
• a short biography of an Australian Paralympian who is competing at the
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (information about the athletes can be found at
www.paralympic.org.au)
• an A-Z Paralympic Games book (e.g. A is for Archery, B is for Boccia etc.) to be
read to younger students
• a travel journal from the viewpoint of an Australian Paralympian travelling to Rio for
the first time.
• an article for the school newsletter about the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. This
could be pre-Games to promote it or during the Games to report on the progress
of the Australian Team.
Students to debate the following statement: ‘The Paralympic Games and Olympic
Games should get equal media coverage’.
Students to find and collect news articles (print or digital) about the Rio 2016
Paralympic Games. Summarise the articles and analyse the language used. What
are the articles trying to tell the reader / viewer? Are they just providing information or
are they trying to persuade to a particular point of view?
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Mathematics
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S tudents to complete the ‘Medal count’ activity sheet to keep a tally of the medal
results for ten countries competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Graph the
results.
Students to design an athletes’ village on graph paper and record the coordinate
points of important areas.
Students to investigate the official currency of Brazil (Brazilian Real). What is the
current conversion rate from Australian Dollars to Brazilian Real? Use catalogues to
select some items and calculate how much they would cost in Brazilian Real.
Students to use travel websites to calculate travel times from their closest capital city
to Rio. They should list the travel mode (e.g. plane, boat etc.), total travel time and
arrival and departure times (using ‘am’ and ‘pm’ notation).
Students to select one aspect of the Paralympic Games to collect data about (e.g.
participating countries, various sports, athletes). They must construct suitable graphs
to display the information in a way that can be interpreted by others.
Students to use the internet to plan a budget for a trip to Rio for the Paralympic
Games. They should consider travel costs, accommodation, food, tickets to events
and recreational activities.
Science
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S tudents to select one Paralympic sport and investigate the equipment or clothing
used to compete in it. What materials are used to construct these items? What
properties do these materials have that make them suitable?
Students to consider how science has contributed to the adaptive technologies that
assist athletes competing in various sports at the Paralympic Games.
When the Paralympic Games are held in a city, there is a large increase in population
during that time. Students to discuss how this could affect issues such as waste
management. What can be done to address the issues?
Students to investigate the concepts of force and energy considering sports such as
shot put, javelin, long jump, high jump etc.
Students to sort the Paralympic Games sports into summer, winter, or all year sports
(in Australia). Further information can be found at www.paralympic.org.au. Why are
some sports played only in summer? Why are some only played in winter? Why are
some played year-round?
Students to research the average temperature per month in Rio. What kind of weather
will the athletes be competing in?
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Humanities and Social Sciences (History, Geography, Civics
and Citizenship, Economics and Business)
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S tudents to debate the pros and cons of hosting a Paralympic Games in their city
(or closest capital city). Consider the costs and benefits to the community and the
nation. Students to record their thoughts on the ‘Who wants to host? PMI chart’ activity
sheet.
Students to investigate the history of the Paralympic Games. Where did they begin?
When? Why?
Students to research a well-known Rio landmark and consider how it contributes to
Rio’s identity as a city.
Students to research Australia’s history at the Paralympic Games and present their
findings on a timeline.
Students to research the contribution of Indigenous Australians and / or migrants to
the success of past Paralympic teams.
Students to research which countries are competing in the Rio 2016 Paralympic
Games. Present them on a class poster or a world map. Make a small replica flag for
each country and display these on the map.
Students to research the continent of South America. How is it similar to and different
from Australia? Consider weather, people, culture, flora, fauna, topography etc.
Students to locate the past 10 Paralympic Games host cities on a map and then
categorise them into groups (consider population, country, culture etc.).
The Arts (Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music, Visual Arts)
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Students to complete the ‘Australian postcard’ activity sheet by designing a postcard
that could remind competing Paralympians of home.
Students to complete the ‘Design a stamp’ activity sheet to commemorate part of the
Paralympic Games.
Students to design new medals on the ‘Gold, silver and bronze’ activity sheet.
Students to listen to the national anthems of various countries competing at the Rio
2016 Paralympic Games and discuss some of the similarities and differences of the
music and / or lyrics.
Students to create / write a Paralympic Games theme song. They could compose a
completely new piece or use their favourite piece of music and rewrite the lyrics.
Students to choose a piece of inspirational music and create dance moves that
would be appropriate for the Paralympic Games opening or closing ceremony.
Students to make a jigsaw puzzle using a favourite Paralympic Games picture from a
newspaper or magazine.
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Technologies (Design and Technologies, Digital Technologies)
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S tudents to use filming equipment and computer software to create a Paralympic
Games bid for their local community.
Many of the athletes at the Paralympic Games utilise prosthetic limbs or adaptive
technologies. Students to research and report on the technology involved in some of
these items.
Students to design a ticket for entry into the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Students to design their own mascot for the Paralympic Games and / or one for the
2016 Australian Paralympic Team, then create a 3D model of it.
Health & Physical Education
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S tudents to monitor the performance of one athlete or team at the Paralympic
Games (visit www.paralympic.org.au for a list of our athletes). Prior to the Games,
students to research their chosen athlete / team, finding out background details and
how their preparation is progressing. During the Games, students should complete
the ‘Paralympic performance record’ activity sheet.
Students use the clues on the ‘Which sport am I?’ activity sheet to try and identify the
sport.
Students to make a poster display about their favourite sport at the Paralympic
Games (visit www.paralympic.org.au for details about each sport).
Host your own mini Paralympic Games at school. Create or play games that allow
participation by all students.
Students to investigate as many of the sports represented at the Paralympic Games
as possible (visit www.paralympic.org.au). Each week they could try the sport they
are studying.
Students to select three or four pieces of equipment from different sports (e.g. a
soccer ball, tennis racket, hurdles etc.) and create a new sport that uses these pieces
of equipment.
Students to select a sport that is not represented at the Paralympic Games and
brainstorm ways in which it could be modified to allow people with disability to
participate.
Students to investigate the effects that exercise has on the body. What are some ways
to recover from strenuous exercise?
Students to create an obstacle course which includes some of the skills displayed at
Paralympic Games. Ensure that the course can be used by people with disability.
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S tudents to investigate the diet of elite athletes. How does it differ from every day
diets? Does diet vary from sport to sport? Invite a sports nutritionist to speak to the
class.
The core values of the Paralympic Games are ‘determination’, ‘equality’, ‘inspiration’
and ‘courage’. Students to discuss how they apply these values in their own lives.
The Paralympic Games motto is ‘Spirit in Motion’. Students to discuss why they think
this motto was chosen. Can they think of another motto that would be appropriate?
Students to create a poster outlining the key features of good sportsmanship. Use a
particular Paralympic Games sport as a guide.
Students to illustrate and label a poster of how to play one of the sports in the
Paralympic Games (visit www.paralympics.org for a list of sports).
Languages
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S tudents to identify the official languages of several countries participating in
the Paralympic Games, then research how to say or write ‘hello’, ‘well done’ or
‘congratulations’ in those languages.
Students to research how to say and write the names of ten Paralympic sports in five
of the languages spoken by participating athletes.
Students to translate the national anthem of a participating country into English.
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