Last year housed the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, so as a result, students across the 5th grade competed in their own "Academic Decathlon". This month-long exercise gave me a chance to introduce some current events into my classroom and gave students a chance to learn some important collaboration skills.
The first thing we did was split the all of the 5th graders into about 10 equal groups. Each group was given a handout with a list of countries on it. The teams wrote down their top three choices of countries in which they'd like to represent, and were soon after assigned a country. Afterwards, newly formed countries were given a sheet of poster board in which to design their own flag. The teams took turns researching their country, drawing, and coloring as they interacted with students they normally don't have a chance to work with.
Several times per week we held different types of "challenges" for the countries to compete in. These activities ranged from "Minute to Win it" type games to other more academically-based challenges.
After each country competed, we awarded gold, silver, and bronze "medals" to the top 3 countries, and then a "Sportsmanship Award" for the country that demonstrated the best cooperation and teamwork. These medals were easily made on the computer by drawing circles, and then having students color and cut them out. A little construction paper, and some red yarn polished off the finishing touches of our medals. These were hung underneath the corresponding country flag for them to proudly display their victories. Each day I would also pull up the actual medal count from the Olympics, and the students loved being able to compare our medal count to theirs.
Each week held a few "Mini-Events" which led up to the final "Academic Decathlon" where the countries competed in 10 different activities in attempts to earn the prized medals.
Some of the activities included:
- Given an order sheet inside an empty pizza box, calculate the total cost for our school to order pizza for the day if the price per slice is x dollars and we have x amount of hot lunches ordered.
- Put a cut apart cereal box back together.
- Hike a roll of paper between your legs into a recycle bin.
- Find the perimeter of the gym.
- Try to knock over an upright marker by rolling a marble at it.
Students were judged on correct answers, or fastest time (based on the event).
Each country was awarded 3 points per gold medal. 2 points per silver medal, and 1 point per bronze medal. After all of the teams had competed, we held a "Closing Ceremony" where the overall winners were announced. This activity gave students a chance to make connections between what they were doing at school, and the olympics that they were seeing on television. It was great to see how students took pride in their country and began following that country's progress in Sochi. In the future I plan to link this type of activity to the Super Bowl, World Series, or other popular events happening around the world.
It's no secret that students are social. I've found that providing them chances to express themselves, and to "be kids" goes a long way. Giving students opportunities to constructively interact with their peers allows them to develop these skills in a positive and structured environment. The rapport and memories that were created by stepping away from the text-book for a few minutes were well worth it.
Let the games begin!
The first thing we did was split the all of the 5th graders into about 10 equal groups. Each group was given a handout with a list of countries on it. The teams wrote down their top three choices of countries in which they'd like to represent, and were soon after assigned a country. Afterwards, newly formed countries were given a sheet of poster board in which to design their own flag. The teams took turns researching their country, drawing, and coloring as they interacted with students they normally don't have a chance to work with.
Several times per week we held different types of "challenges" for the countries to compete in. These activities ranged from "Minute to Win it" type games to other more academically-based challenges.
After each country competed, we awarded gold, silver, and bronze "medals" to the top 3 countries, and then a "Sportsmanship Award" for the country that demonstrated the best cooperation and teamwork. These medals were easily made on the computer by drawing circles, and then having students color and cut them out. A little construction paper, and some red yarn polished off the finishing touches of our medals. These were hung underneath the corresponding country flag for them to proudly display their victories. Each day I would also pull up the actual medal count from the Olympics, and the students loved being able to compare our medal count to theirs.
Each week held a few "Mini-Events" which led up to the final "Academic Decathlon" where the countries competed in 10 different activities in attempts to earn the prized medals.
Some of the activities included:
- Given an order sheet inside an empty pizza box, calculate the total cost for our school to order pizza for the day if the price per slice is x dollars and we have x amount of hot lunches ordered.
- Put a cut apart cereal box back together.
- Hike a roll of paper between your legs into a recycle bin.
- Find the perimeter of the gym.
- Try to knock over an upright marker by rolling a marble at it.
Students were judged on correct answers, or fastest time (based on the event).
It's no secret that students are social. I've found that providing them chances to express themselves, and to "be kids" goes a long way. Giving students opportunities to constructively interact with their peers allows them to develop these skills in a positive and structured environment. The rapport and memories that were created by stepping away from the text-book for a few minutes were well worth it.
Let the games begin!
