Olympics Lapbook - Homeschool Share

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Watching the world’s best athletes compete is inspiring and fascinating. Turn the next Olympic competition into a wonderful learning opportunity.

Olympics Lapbook Lessons

Here are some sample lessons from the Olympics Lapbook:

History: Symbols and Traditions of the Olympic Games

Motto – The Olympic motto is “Citius – Altius – Fortius” which is Latin for “ Faster, higher, stronger.” The meaning behind this motto is intended to focus on trying your best and not on winning first place.

Olympic Emblem & Flag– The emblem consists of five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green & red) on a white background. It was designed in 1913 by Baron Pierre de Coubertin (the founder of the modern Olympics). Each of the five rings represents one of the significant continents in the world, and each color was chosen as at least one of them appeared on the flag of each country in the world. They are interlaced to represent the idea the games are universal and bring countries together.

An Olympic flag is raised in the opening ceremony of each Olympic games. On it are the same Olympic rings on a white background. At the closing of each Olympic games the mayor of the host city presents the flag to the mayor of the next host city. This mayor then keeps the flag in his town hall until the next Olympic games.

Olympic Flame – The ancient Greeks considered fire to have sacred qualities, and in the ancient Olympic games a fire was kept burning throughout the games. The fire was reintroduced during the 1928 games and has remained a part of it ever since as a symbol of peace between the continents. The flame is lit at the site of the ancient Olympic games in Olympia, Greece and continues on a tour of many of the participating countries ending at the home of the current year’s Olympic games.

Olympic Oath – During the opening ceremony one athlete recites the oath on behalf of all athletes. It states, “In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams”.

Olive wreath – The Olive tree was sacred to the ancient Greeks and therefore a reward of a wreath made from a branch of this sacred tree was considered great.

Olympic Anthem – This is also know as the Olympic Hymn and was composed by Spyros Samaras with words from a poem by the Greek poet Kostis Palamas. It was performed for the first time at the Games of 1896 and was declared the Olympic Anthem in 1958.

You can grab a copy of the entire Olympics Lapbook in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

Olympics Lapbook Printables

In addition to the research lessons, the file includes these mini-books for your student to create an Olympics Lapbook:

Summer Sports Matchbook
Winter Sports Matchbook
Additional summer sports matchbooks to list various events: Equestrian Events, Gymnastics, Water Events, and Athletics
Symbols and Traditions of the Olympic Games Shutter Flap Book
The Torch’s Journey Map & Pocket
The Country I’m Rooting For! Shutter Book
Tracking My Team’s Medals Graph
An Athlete’s Diet vs. My Diet Matchbook
The Importance of a Good Diet Simple Fold Book
The Olympic Oath Simple Fold Book
My New Emblem Design Simple Fold Book
Family Olympics Tri-fold Book
I Corinthians 9:24 Simple Fold Book
Olympic Timeline Fan
Famous Olympian File Folder
Weather Log (track the weather in the host country)
My Report Form Pocket
Report Forms: My Favorite Athlete, My Favorite Sport, and Eric Liddel