Celebrate the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics with us, happening in 2021. Here are three prompts and one BONUS prompt for your 5th-12th graders to enjoy as the festivities get underway! Some are light and fun. Others involve controversies and get your students thinking. Be sure to download the colorful worksheet in #1.
On your mark . . . get set . . .
*****
1. Let’s Pack
You’re packing to go to Tokyo, Japan, for the 2020 Summer Olympics (that are taking place in 2021), but you can pack only 26 things. It’s a good thing there are 26 letters in the alphabet because you are going to pack one item for every letter in it. What will you pack that begins with “A”? With “B”? With “Z”???
Download this colorful worksheet to help you pack. >>
.
2. Let’s Tweet
You have a friend or relative in the Olympics this year whom you would like to encourage with some tweets. Write two or three to your friend, some before and some after his or her events.
Note: Tweets have to be concise because they are only 280 characters long. Every letter, punctuation mark, and space is considered a character. Stay within the limit.
.
3. Let’s Participate
Here’s a list of all the sports in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics from the official Tokyo 2020 Olympics Website. There are over forty! Click on any of the icons to learn more about each sport and the athletes involved in it.
Answer one of the following questions in a short paragraph. Also, list five adjectives to describe the sport of your choice at the Olympics.
- Which sport is your favorite to watch? Explain your choice.
- If you could participate, which sport would you choose? Explain your choice.
- Which sporting event do you think should be added to the list of sports? Explain your choice.
- According the The Washington Post, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) seems to be warming up to the idea of esports (video game sports) such as auto racing. Do you think virtual sports should be included in the Olympics? Explain your view.
Bonus Olympics Prompt: Do you agree?
The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are being held in the summer of 2021. They were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few days before the Olympics, Japan made the decision to bar all spectators to the games due to a resurgence of the virus. However, a minimal number of spectators are allowed along the path of the triathlon since it is an outdoor event.
This ban means that athletes will not have the support of live audiences when they compete, and families will not be able to cheer their loved ones on. This also means that athletes, visitors, and Japanese citizens will not unnecessarily be exposed to the virus’s resurgence.
Answer one of the following questions:
- What do you think of the audience-less competitions this year?
- If you had a friend or family member in the Olympics, how would you encourage him or her without actually being in the stands or even in the country?
- Do you think spectators should have been banned? Why or why not?
- Imagine that you are an Olympic athlete facing a competition without spectators or family present. How would you get yourself into the best mental condition to compete?
- If you were an Olympic athlete this year, would you risk going to a country that is seeing a resurgence of a dangerous virus? Explain.
- Do you know someone who is going to the Olympics this year? If so, write their story as you know it.
- You are a Japanese official who has to announce to the press and to the world that spectators are banned at the Olympics. Write the announcement.
- Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand is a biological male who competed in men’s weightlifting events until 2013. Hubbard is now the first transgender male to compete in the Olympics in a women’s category, according to the BBC. We’re talking about weightlifting here, and the International Olympics Committee (IOC) allows “transgender athletes to compete as a woman if their testosterone levels are below a certain threshold.” Belgian weightlifter Anna Vanbellinghen believes this is not fair to women competing in women’s events. She sees that a biological male has a competitive advantage over a female. What is your view of transgender males competing in women’s sports? Is there an equitable way for transgender males to compete in sports without cutting women athletes out of competitive opportunities?
*****
Enjoy these other prompts on the Olympics:
Read how Jesse Owens proved Hitler wrong. >>
Learn how a tiny tick almost stopped this champion. >>
Looking for fun middle school prompts? Follow this link. >>
Would you like engaging high school prompts. Follow this link. >>
*****
