The Winter Olympics are coming to Beijing, China in 2022! Get your students excited about this global event with these fun Olympics activities for your classroom. Whether you’re throwing an Olympics themed party, looking for activities for your classroom, or just want to get your students involved by following the medal results, you’ll find something useful. Oh and I’ll definitely be sharing a few freebies!
Why You Should Teach About the Olympics in Your Classroom
Let’s start with the obvious. Many students LOVE the Olympics! It’s fun for kids to see all of the different sports that are played around the world. They can cheer on their favorite athletes like Shaun White and Chloe Kim, and it’s also a great opportunity to learn about new cultures, traditions, and countries across the globe.
Students can also get involved by watching the Opening Ceremony and the parade of nations. You can get the whole class involved by letting students track medals for chosen countries. I’ve created a free medal chart and list of participating countries for students to choose from. Another simple free activity is this Olympics maze. It’s quick and easy, but younger students will love it. Did I mention both of these resources are free in my TpT store?
Fun Olympics Activities for Secondary Classrooms
(Just keep scrolling if you’re looking for the Elementary Resources!)
The following products are available in my TpT store. I plan to update them for future Winter Olympics, so anyone who buys them now will get free updates every four years! Don’t have time to read about the individual resources? Save time and money by just grabbing the secondary bundle with all 11 secondary activities and everything you need to teach about the Winter Olympics in your classroom.
This Olympics PowerPoint presentation is my absolute favorite way to get students excited about the Winter Olympics. Students love seeing all of the videos are images that are embedded, and the 100% editable PowerPoint contains a ton of interesting information about the Games. Not only does it cover information about all 109 events across 15 disciplines featured in the Winter Olympics, but it also highlights other topics such as the COVID-19 restrictions, Beijing geography, pros and cons of hosting the Olympics, competition venues, mascots, posters, what makes the Beijing 2022 Games unique, new Olympic sports, medals, and the torch relay!
If you’re looking for something quick for early finishers or maybe a centers activity, check out this Winter Olympics word search puzzle. It includes all of the winter sports as well as more general terms associated with the Olympics.
This Winter Olympics Bingo makes a great whole-class option or you can make it available for small groups of students. It features all of the sports that will take place in this year’s Olympics, plus some of the equipment athletes will use.
If you’re looking for something a little more involved or you want to incorporate literacy into your Olympics unit, consider these Winter and Summer Olympians graphic organizers. They come in both print and digital and allow students to learn about some of their favorite Olympic athletes. 30 summer and winter Olympians are included from past Olympic games. Students will research information related to basic facts, childhood, major life events, country they represent, medals won, other awards & achievements, how they trained and prepared, challenges they faced, a quote, fun facts, and resources where you can find more information.
Another Olympics activity involving graphic organizers are these winter sports graphic organizers. They allow students to research a chosen winter Olympics sport such as curling, cross country skiing, speed skating, snowboarding, and more! There is a graphic organizer for all 15 disciplines that will be featured at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Students will research information related to the invention of the sport, playing surface, when it debuted at the Olympics, history, equipment, players and positions, uniform, qualities of successful athletes, where the sport is popular, medal winners, famous athletes who played the sport, and more!
A unique activity that your students might not have ever tried before is this cardinal directions word puzzle. Students practice using their directions to reveal a hidden message about the Olympics. It’s a great way to learn about the winter games and practice geography and spatial skills at the same time! An answer key is included.
And last, but definitely not least, we have these Olympics themed latitude and longitude practice puzzles. I promise your students will LOVE these puzzles and will beg to do more. Students plot the given latitude and longitude coordinates, connect their dots, and discover a hidden picture. You can tell students what they’re making or just let them be surprised. It’s a great way to practice latitude and longitude skills, and the collection includes a torch, medal, rings, and USA in text.
Fun Olympics Activities for Elementary Classrooms
I didn’t want elementary teachers to feel left out, so I’ve created several resources for you as well! Once again, these are all available in my TpT store, and I plan on updating the products for future Winter Olympics. Anyone who buys them now will get free access to any updates! Remember that you can save money by buying all of the elementary Winter Olympics activities in this 10-resource bundle!
It should be pretty obvious now that I love Bingo games, and here is another Olympics bingo game for elementary classrooms! This one includes all of the 15 sports that will be featured in the Winter Olympics, plus some equipment that athletes will use to compete. Students will love the cute clip art for each sport, and there are 30 unique cards and call sheet included.
If you’re looking for quick activities just to get your students in the spirit of the Games, consider this word search or winter games hat. Both are fun for kids and will hopefully get them excited about watching the Olympics at home with their families.
Are your students obsessed with Olympic athletes? They’ll love these winter and summer Olympians graphic organizers! They come in both print and digital options, and allow students to keep information organized as they research famous Olympic athletes. 30 athletes from past winter and summer Olympics are included. Students will research information related to each athlete’s birthdate, age, hometown, sport(s), Olympic history & medals, quote, and fun facts.
Another fun Olympics activity are these Winter Olympics Sports Graphic Organizers. They allow students to research any of the 15 sports that will be featured in the Winter Games. The graphic organizers allow space for students to research information related to a basic description of the sport, equipment used, history of when & where it was invented, when it was first added to the Olympics, countries with the most medals, and famous athletes who play(ed) the sport.
Consider these free Winter Olympics bookmarks as a fun surprise for your students. They come in two different designs featuring either the Olympic rings or a laurel wreath and torch. They’re also available in both color and black and white versions so that students can color them if they want. Did I mention they’re free?!
That’s it! These are some of my favorite fun Olympics activities that you can use in your classroom. Please don’t forget to download your freebies linked in the post above, and let me know if you have any questions about anything!
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