Example 2

JS History S1

Topic Olympic Games

Number of Lessons 2 lessons (40 minutes per lesson)

Learning objectives

Know  the venue, sports events and culture of ancient Olympic Games

Understand  the aims of ancient Olympic Games

 the connection between ancient and modern Olympic Games

Do  find out the differences between ancient and modern Olympic Games

Tools for differentiation/Instructional strategies

Tools for  Form A and B (Appendix 1)

differentiation
 Equalizer (Appendix 2)

Instructional strategies  Tiered Questions

The questions will be asked about the students’ daily life. Then questions will be projected to
students’ experience in their own country and to international level Olympic Games.

 Exit Card

It is an assessment tool for monitoring students’ learning progress.

*You may view chapter 2 in the animated video for reference.

Learning and Teaching Materials

Video clips  Olympic flame lighting ceremony in Athens in 2008 (3:51)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDcO0MbjAyQ

 Beijing 2008 Olympic Highlights (5:31)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQqmelsJlhs

Pre-assessment  Worksheet (Appendix 3)

Classwork  Historical and interesting facts/worksheets (Appendix 4)

 Table of comparison between Ancient and Modern

 Olympic Games (Appendix 5)

 Exit Card (Appendix 6)

Home assignment/  Worksheet (Appendix 7)

Extended learning
activities

Students’ work  Pre-assessment task (Appendix 8)

Exit Card

Puzzle game: Olympic rings

 Teaching Flow

Time Steps in the Learning and teaching activities Elements/strategies of Differentiated

lesson Instruction

- Conduct a survey to find out

students’ learning interests and
understand their knowledge of the
teaching topic.
- Distribute a worksheet with
Before Pre-assessment
questions about school Sports Day
lesson
and ask students to relate the topic to questions about their experience/
modern Olympic Games.
Use the results of Form A and Form B
to set the topic that interests students
most. (Appendix 1)
Equalizer (Appendix 2)
Pre-assessment Task: Worksheet
(Appendix 3)
Students are required to answer
impression of school Sports Day and
indicate their areas of interest about
ancient and modern Olympic Games.

- Adjust the focus of the teaching (From foundational to

transformational)
topic according to pre-assessment
result.

Lesson 1

10 Review - Review what students Teaching pace will be adjusted timely

mins learned last lesson. according to the response from students.

- City-states: independent Refer to Historical and interesting

government with own army facts/worksheet and Table of comparison
between Ancient and Modern Olympic
Games (Appendix 4 and 5)
- Different city-states had
different characteristics (e.g.
Athens and Sparta).

- There were many ancient

Greek gods and goddesses in
ancient Greece.

- There are ancient Olympic

Games and modern Olympic
Games.
 - Select two students to share
their pre-assessment result.

20 Introduction of - Teacher asks students, ‘What

mins the aims,
is Olympic Games
players, sports
events, culture nowadays?’ (sports games,
(opening competition)
ceremony)

- Share the results of the pre-

assessment and introduce the
Tiered questions:
sports items found by students.
1. from factual recall to comparison
2. from ancient to modern
- Introduce the ancient Olympic 3. from basic knowledge to further readings
Games and emphasise the
importance of religious value
in ancient Olympic Games
(e.g. even Spartans stopped
war/there was truce during
ancient Olympic Games).

Refer to Historical and interesting facts

- Introduce ancient Olympic worksheet (Appendix 4)
Games with religious rituals in
ancient Greece.

- Who could join the ancient

Olympic Games? (Only male)

Group Activity 1: Miming

Game

- Invite students to demonstrate

the action of the sports items
in ancient Olympic Games.
The miming game caters for learner diversity
Other students try to guess the as some students learn better by adopting
name of the items in ancient kinesthetic approach while some others
prefer group activities.
Olympic Games.

- What types of sports games

were played in ancient
 Olympic Games? (Long
jump, distance running,
boxing, wrestling, chariot
racing, throwing
spears/javelins, throwing
discus.)

- Introduce all sports events in

ancient Olympic Games.
Teacher explains some events
related to the situation in
ancient Greece.
5 mins Feedback time
- Why there were wrestling
and chariot racing in the
ancient Olympic Games?
(The sports events are related
to wars.)

Lesson 2

- Introduce the athletes who

were naked when they played
the games in ancient Olympic
Games.

- Why did the players not to

wear anything when they
played the games?/Why
were they naked? (Greek
culture: human body is
beautiful. The Greeks liked to Refer to Historical and interesting
10 Teaching and facts/worksheet (Appendix 4)
mins show their bodies to others.)
students’
(From concrete to abstract)
responses
- In our school Sports Day,
what prizes would be given
to the winners? (Gold, silver
and bronze medals)

- What prize did the athlete

win in the ancient Olympics
Games? (A crown of olive
leaves) Why? (religious
event)
 - May provoke the bright
students to have further Tiered questions are asked to provoke
Questioning
students to think further and let them
and students’ thinking by asking them about
10mins understand the importance of religion in
responses the Olympics Games during Greek civilization.
two World Wars and in 1936.

- Historical facts about ancient

Olympic Games

- Suspension of ancient
Olympic Games due to
cheating (Theodosius I)

- Theodosius II ordered to
destroy all Greek temples in
426 B.C.

- Baron Pierre de Coubertin

founded the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) in
1890.
Historical and interesting facts/Further
- In 1894, the first modern readings sheet (Appendix 4)
Questioning
15 skill and Olympic Games was held in Students who are interested and want to
mins students’ Athens. know more about this topic may move on to
responses the last part of this worksheet for further
- Differences between ancient readings on Olympic Games and the World
Wars.
and modern Olympic Games

- Aims are different. (Ancient

Olympic Games was to honour
God Zeus. Modern Olympic
Games is to promote
international sportsmanship)

- Venue is different. (Ancient

Olympic Games: Olympia.
Modern Olympic Games:
different host cities)

- Opening ceremony, Torch

Relay, Closing ceremony

10 Consolidation - Find out the differences

mins activity between ancient and modern
Olympic Games.
Group Activity 2: Olympic
Games Puzzle
- Students are divided into a
group of 4.
- Teacher distributes a set of
cards to each group. The cards
consist of description of
ancient or modern Olympic
Games.
- Students take turns to read the
card. Then they find the
answer which matches the
questions shown on the game
board. Then they put the
correct answer cards on the
given questions. After the
completion of the task, the
whole group should put up
their hands to indicate their
completion of work. The
fastest group will be the
winner of the game. Students
who obtained all correct
answers would find a picture
of Olympic rings.
Follow-up Task:
- After the activity, teacher asks
students to complete the Exit
Card.

Take-home assignment
- Introduce and distribute the
home assignment
(Consolidation exercise).
Exit Card (Appendix 6)
Puzzle game for consolidation through group
work
Teacher collects Exit cards from students to
understand their learning progress and
identify their learning difficulties to inform
planning of next lesson.
Home assignment/ Extended learning
activities: Worksheet (Appendix 7)
Home assignment with extended learning
activities for students who have interest or
who are ready to explore more on this topic.
(From structured to open)
Students’ work: (Appendix 8)
 Appendix 1
Data collected from Form A

Data collected from Form B

Reading Writing Group(G)/ Interests Visual(V) Critical Collaboration Creativity

level Skills C2(1-3) C3(1-3)
Level Solo Auditory(A) Thinking skills
R(1-3) C1(1-3)
W(1-3) (S) Kinesthetic(K)

R1: 0% W1: 0% G: 67% Reading: V/A: 39% C1-1: 0% C2-1: 0% C3-1: 0%

R2: 50% W2: 56% S: 28% 11% V/A/K: 61% C1-2: 56% C2-2: 29% C3-2: 53%

R3: 50% W3: 44% S&G: 5% Drama: 11% C1-3: 44% C2-3: 71% C3-3: 47%

Public
speaking:

6%

Speaking: 6%

Mathematics
: 11%

Computer:
28%

Others: 27%

Adapted from Carol Ann Tomlinson, Learning and Managing a Differentiated Classroom, ASCD, 2011. pp.156-157.
 Appendix 2

Equalizer: A tool for differentiating process and product

Topic: Olympic Games (S1)

Foundational Transformational

Write a diary about your Write a journal on a day

experience in school Sports you joined the ancient
Day. Olympic Games.

Structured Open

Think of a sports event that Create and describe ONE

ancient Greeks could join, sports event with elements
but not the modern athletes of new and old Olympic
or vice versa. Games.

Concrete Abstract

What types of sports events What is the importance of

did you participate in the Sports Day to students?
School Sports Day?

Adapted from Carol Ann Tomlinson, How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms, Pearson Education,
2005.pp.47.
 Appendix 3

(Pre-assessment Task)
Answer the following questions.

1. Did you participate in any sports events on the School Sports Days?
YES / NO (Circle the answer)

2. What types of sports events did you / your classmates participate in the School Sports Days?
(You may write or draw 3 events as answers.)

3. What did you learn from the Sports Day? How did you feel after participating in the Sports
Days? Were there any special sports event which impressed you a lot? (e.g. I was impressed
by the class relay and cheering competition.)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

4. We are going to learn ancient and modern Olympic Games. Is there anything you would like
to learn more? (Circle not more than 3 items)
aims/ culture/ opening ceremony/ closing ceremony/ torch relay/
legends of ancient Olympic Games/ sports events/ Athlete/
Others (please specify): _________________
5. The followings are the icons for events in modern Olympic Games shown in website on
Beijing 2008.
Circle the ones which you guess can be found in ancient Olympic Games.
 Appendix 4

Olympic Games
1. There were 150 city-states in Greece. Greece located at southern-east of Europe. It

consisted of peninsula and islands. This made communication difficult . City-states

gradually formed with their own government system and independent army .

2. Zeus : chief god 3. Hermes: messenger god

4. Apollo : sun god, music god 5. Poseidon: sea god

6. Athena: Goddess of Wisdom 7. Selene: goddess of the moon

8. How to worship ancient Greek gods?

Holding religious ceremonies, building temples.

9. Only males could join ancient Olympic Games. Ancient Greeks believed human bodies were

very beautiful so they were naked in ancient Olympic Games.

10. 7 types of sports events in ancient Olympic Games

1 Running 5 Throwing spears

2 Long Jump 6 Throwing discus

3 Boxing 7 Chariot racing

4 Wrestling

These 7 types of events were related to war.

11. Ancient Olympic Games: started in 776 B.C.

12. Modern Olympic Games: A.D. 1896 to present

Historical facts of ancient and modern Olympic Games

13. Suspension of ancient Olympic Games due to cheating (Theodosius I). Theodosius II

ordered to destroy all Greek temples in 426 B.C. (No more Olympic Games).

14. Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1890.

15. In 1894, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens.

Interesting facts about modern Olympic Games

16. By 2016, the Olympic Games will have been hosted by 15 cities in 23 countries.
 17. USA has hosted eight Olympic Games (4 Summer Olympic Games and 4 Winter Olympic

Games).

18. Olympic Games have been held in Asia for 3 times.

1964 Tokyo + 2020 Tokyo (2nd time)

1988 Seoul, South Korea

2008 Beijing, China

19. 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro will be the first Olympics hosted by a south American

country.

20. No Games have been held by African countries.

Further Readings on Olympic Games and the worl d wars

If you are interested in the above topic, please browse the following websites.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_Summer_Olympics
- http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005680

Appendix 5

Olympic Games
Study the pictures and use your own knowledge, draw an athlete getting a prize in a modern
Olympic Game in the space provided and complete the following table.

Ancient Olympic Games Modern Olympic Games

A comparison between Ancient Olympic Games and Modern Olympic Games

Ancient Olympic Games Modern Olympic Games
(1) Aims  Honour God Zeus - Promote international
  A religious ceremony friendship and
sportsmanship

(2) How often

Every 4 years Every 4 years

(3) Venue Olympia Different host cities

(4) What do the A crown of olive leaves gold, silver, bronze medals
winners get as
awards?
(5) Who can join Only male Both males and females
the Games?
(6) Should the Yes / No Yes / No
athletes wear
uniform?
Appendix 6

Olympic Games
(EXIT CARD)

Write down 3 sports events in ancient Olympic Games.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________

Write down 2 different host cities which held modern Olympic Games.
________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Write down 1 thing that you have learnt and most impressed you in this lesson.

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

________________

Appendix 7

Olympic Games
Home assignment

Answer two questions.

1. Please think of a sports event that

(a) ancient Greeks could join, but not the modern athletes or

(b) modern athletes could join, but not the ancient Greeks

If I were a (boy/girl) (circle the suitable one), I could join ___________________. (name a sports event)

2. Write a diary about your experience in School Sports Day.

EXTENDED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Complete one of the following tasks.

(a) Create and describe ONE sports event with elements of modern and ancient Olympic Games.

_________________________________________________________________

(b) Write a journal on a day you joined the ancient Olympic Games

(Write at least 50 words).

_________________________________________________________________
 Appendix 8

Students’ work:

1. Extended learning activities (b)

2. Exit Card

C. Group work: Puzzle game on Olympic Rings