WINTER OLYMPICS
The 2010 Winter Olympics is the 21st Winter Olympics which is held from February 12-28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2010 Winter Olympics are the third Olympics hosted by Canada. The others were 1976 Summer Olympics, and the 1988 Winter Olympics. 82 National Olympic Committees entered teams in the 2010 Winter Olympics; there are seven teams which are making their winter Olympic debuts; Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia.
The Greeks held the first Olympic games in the year 776 BC (over 2700 years ago), and had only one event, a sprint. The race was run by men who competed in the nude. A wreath of olive branches was placed on the winner's head (in Greek, this is called a kotinos). The olive tree was the sacred tree of Athens, Greece.
There are fifteen winter sports events in the 2010 Winter Olympics. There are eight ice sports, three alpine skiing and snowboarding events, and four sports categorized as Nordic events.
The 2010 Winter Olympics is the 21st Winter Olympics which is held from February 12-28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The 2010 Winter Olympics are the third Olympics hosted by Canada. The others were 1976 Summer Olympics, and the 1988 Winter Olympics. 82 National Olympic Committees entered teams in the 2010 Winter Olympics; there are seven teams which are making their winter Olympic debuts; Cayman Islands, Colombia, Ghana, Montenegro, Pakistan, Peru and Serbia.
The Greeks held the first Olympic games in the year 776 BC (over 2700 years ago), and had only one event, a sprint. The race was run by men who competed in the nude. A wreath of olive branches was placed on the winner's head (in Greek, this is called a kotinos). The olive tree was the sacred tree of Athens, Greece.
There are fifteen winter sports events in the 2010 Winter Olympics. There are eight ice sports, three alpine skiing and snowboarding events, and four sports categorized as Nordic events.
ICE SPORTS: Bobsled, Luge, Curling, Skeleton, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Speed Skating, Short Track Speed Skating
ALPINE SKIING & SNOWBOARDING: Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboarding
NORDIC: Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined
VOCABUARY
Winter Olympics: many sports held every four years during the winter
Canada: a country in northern North America
Greeks: people who lived in Greece
BC: before Christ
Sprint: a short run that was called the "stade"
Nude: to wear no clothes
Wreath: a ring of flowers worn on the head
Olive branches: a branch of olive tree as a sign of peace
Winners: someone that wins
Sacred: something very special
Bobsleigh: teams of two or four make a run down an icy track in a sled.
Luge: is a small one- or two person sled that race against a timer.
Skeleton: one person rides a sled down a frozen track lying face down
Ice Hockey: a team sport played on ice, skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the other teams goal.
Figure skating: individuals or pairs perform spins, jumps, footwork on ice.
Speed Skating: skaters race each other on skates.
Short track speed skating: ice speed skating; four to six skaters race on an oval track.
Curling: team sport played on ice where they push stones down ice towards a target.
Alpine: sliding down snow hills on skis
Freestyle skiing: skiers do tricks down a hill covered with snow
Snowboarding: a skier is on one board going down a slope covered with snow
Biathlon: two winter sports combined
Cross-country skiing: skiersuses poles and skis to move themselves across snow-covered field.
Ski jumping: skiers go down a ramp and jump off and try to go as far as possible
Nordic combined: athletes jump off a ramp and also do cross-country skiing.
Sentences:
1) When I get older I want to take part in the _______________________.
2) It is very cold in _________________.
3) To my family the Cross is __________________.
4) None of us were alive during the ______ time.
5) Every member of the United States Winter Olympic are _____________.
6) My baby sister likes to go __________ after she takes a bath.
7) When someone wins the gold in the Olympics they wear a _____________ on their head.
8) The wreath is made out of __________________.
9) My best friend’s family is from Greece so she is considered a ______________.
10) When I saw the ice cream truck I ____________ towards it.
Winter Olympics: many sports held every four years during the winter
Canada: a country in northern North America
Greeks: people who lived in Greece
BC: before Christ
Sprint: a short run that was called the "stade"
Nude: to wear no clothes
Wreath: a ring of flowers worn on the head
Olive branches: a branch of olive tree as a sign of peace
Winners: someone that wins
Sacred: something very special
Bobsleigh: teams of two or four make a run down an icy track in a sled.
Luge: is a small one- or two person sled that race against a timer.
Skeleton: one person rides a sled down a frozen track lying face down
Ice Hockey: a team sport played on ice, skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the other teams goal.
Figure skating: individuals or pairs perform spins, jumps, footwork on ice.
Speed Skating: skaters race each other on skates.
Short track speed skating: ice speed skating; four to six skaters race on an oval track.
Curling: team sport played on ice where they push stones down ice towards a target.
Alpine: sliding down snow hills on skis
Freestyle skiing: skiers do tricks down a hill covered with snow
Snowboarding: a skier is on one board going down a slope covered with snow
Biathlon: two winter sports combined
Cross-country skiing: skiersuses poles and skis to move themselves across snow-covered field.
Ski jumping: skiers go down a ramp and jump off and try to go as far as possible
Nordic combined: athletes jump off a ramp and also do cross-country skiing.
Sentences:
1) When I get older I want to take part in the _______________________.
2) It is very cold in _________________.
3) To my family the Cross is __________________.
4) None of us were alive during the ______ time.
5) Every member of the United States Winter Olympic are _____________.
6) My baby sister likes to go __________ after she takes a bath.
7) When someone wins the gold in the Olympics they wear a _____________ on their head.
8) The wreath is made out of __________________.
9) My best friend’s family is from Greece so she is considered a ______________.
10) When I saw the ice cream truck I ____________ towards it.
Assignment:
Since the rest of the vocabulary words are Winter Olympic events; I want you to pick five of the fifteen events that you would want to try and participate in or you would not want to take part in. Use clues and information from the text to help explain why you would want to or wouldn’t want to participate in those five Winter Olympic events.
Since the rest of the vocabulary words are Winter Olympic events; I want you to pick five of the fifteen events that you would want to try and participate in or you would not want to take part in. Use clues and information from the text to help explain why you would want to or wouldn’t want to participate in those five Winter Olympic events.
