Build Background

• Involve students in a discussion of sports they have played or seen on TV. Make a chart on the board with the sports students suggest. Ask students for a show of hands of those who have participated in each. Make tally marks under each heading and show students how to count the totals. Determine the most popular sport.
• Refer to the sports listed on the chart and ask students why they think there are so many different sports. Ask them if they have ever heard of the Olympics or seen them on TV. Ask them to tell about sports that are played during the Games. Circle any that are the same as those they suggested for the above chart.

Book Walk

Introduce the Strategy: Connect life experience and use prior knowledge

• Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Ask them what they think the book is about based on the cover information.
• Have students look at the Table of Contents. Tell them that the Table of Contents tells them what they are going to read about in the book. Read the chapter titles and ask students what kinds of things they think they will read about in the book.
• Tell students that when they already know something about the topic of the book they are going to read, it helps them understand and remember what they read.
• Model how to make connections and use prior knowledge.
• Think aloud: When I look at the titles of the chapters in the Table of Contents, I try to think about what I know about these sports. In the chapter titled "Events at the Summer Olympics," one of the headings is "Water Sports." I think that might be about swimming, and I LOVE to swim! I'll have to read the book to find out what kind of swimming is done in the Olympic Games. (Tailor comments to personal situation.)
• Show students the title page, glossary, and index. Explain the purpose of an index. For example, say: If I want to find out about the balance beam, I can look on page 13. When I turn to this page, I see that I can read about the balance beam.
• Show students the charts on pages 4 and 15. Help students pronounce the names of the cities on the chart on page 4 and the sports listed in the chart on page 15.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• As you preview the book with students, use the vocabulary they will encounter in your discussion of the pictures. Ask students to talk about what they see in the photographs. For example, on page 6 point out the picture of the synchronized swimmers and ask: What are the swimmers doing in this picture? What is the word in bold type? Let's look at the letters inside the parentheses to sound it out. Look at the picture again. Can you figure out what the word means? Have students find the word in the glossary.
• Continue previewing the photographs and asking the students to use what they know about different types of sports and the Olympics to talk about what they see. As you preview the book, continue to reinforce how using what they already know about sports will help them understand the book.
• Reinforce new vocabulary by incorporating it into the discussion of the pictures.
• Model strategies students can use to work out words they don't know. Have students find the word Games on page 5. Ask students how they could read this word if they don't know it. Suggest that they look at how it starts and read /g/. They might recognize the pattern of vowel, consonant and final e and try the long vowel sound and blend that with the /m/ sound. Read the sentence to them and ask if the word Games makes sense in the sentence.
• For additional teaching tips on reading strategies, word-attack and high-frequency words, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have the students use what they know about sports and the Olympics as they read the book.

Student Reading

• Guide the Reading: Give students their books and have them put a sticky note on page 8. Direct them to read to the end of this page. Tell students to reread the pages if they finish before everyone else.
• When they have finished, ask students what things they already knew about the Olympics and what new things they learned.
• Model using prior knowledge to make a connection.
• Think aloud: When I look at the picture of the diver on page 8, I remember the first time I jumped off a diving board. I felt like I was SO far up in the air. I was really scared, but my mom was waiting for me so I just held my breath and jumped. It was fun! And I wasn't scared anymore! My experience with the diving board helps me understand a little bit how the Olympic divers might feel just before diving. (Tailor comments to fit personal situation.)
• Tell students to read the remainder of the book and to continue to think about what they know about sports and the Olympics.

    Tell the students to make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Word Attack: Ask the students what words were difficult for them. Ask how they figured out the words. Reinforce any strategies used, such as sounding out the word and verifying by context and/or picture clues. For example, look at page 6. Ask students how they know the words in the photo captions are water sports. Ask what sound each word begins with. Ask if the words water sports fits as the heading.
• Comprehension: Reinforce how thinking about what they already know about the topic of the book helps them understand and remember what they read, and keeps them actively engaged in the text.
• Direct the students to page 6 in the book. Ask the students to name one water sport Olympic athletes compete in. Direct the students to page 8. Ask them to find the sentence that tells about another water sport. Continue the discussion by asking specific questions about the remaining sports. Point out that gymnasts compete inside a building similar to a gymnasium or multi-purpose room.
• Ask students to tell what kind of person they think would want to compete in the Olympics. Discuss when a person begins to train, the time and money involved, and the thrills and disappointments of winning and losing.

Apply the Comprehension Skill: Classify

• Introduce and model classification: Ask students to recall the previous discussion about the different sports Olympic athletes compete in. Direct students' attention to the top of page 6. Ask students to tell where these sports take place (in water). Write Water Sports on the board. Ask students to name the events in the book that are considered water sports. Ask if they can think of any other sport — Olympic or otherwise — that is done in water (sailing, canoeing, skiing, surfing). Tell students that all of these sports belong to the group Water Sports.
• Check for understanding: Direct students to the caption on page 9 and read the sentence with them. Ask them to tell the names of the sports. Ask them to tell where these sports take place (on a track and on a field). Write Track and Field Sports on the board. Ask students if they can think of any other sport — Olympic or otherwise — that takes place on the track or field (racewalk, hurdles).
• Independent Practice: Introduce and explain how to complete the classification worksheet. Have students share their responses when they have finished.
• Extend the Discussion:

Instruct the students to use the inside front cover to draw a picture of themselves participating in one of the sports talked about in the book. Have them label the sport with its name.

Phonological Awareness: Manipulate medial sounds

• Say the word dive and have students identify the vowel sound they hear. Ask students what word you would have if you changed the long i sound to long a. (Dave).
• Say the word track and have students identify the vowel sound. Ask students what word you would have if you changed the /a/ in track to /i/ (trick). Then ask what word you would have if you changed the /i/ in trick to /e/ (trek). Finally, ask students what word you would have if you changed the /e/ in trek to /u/ (truck).

Phonics: Identify Spellings of long i

• Have students look on page 8 and highlight or circle all of the words that have long i. These include: diving, divers, high, dive. Write the words on the board.
• Write the words by and my on the board. Tell students that these words also have long i. Ask students to identify the letter that makes this sound.
• Point out the different letters that stand for the long i, including the consonant, vowel, consonant, with final e pattern (CVe) and the letter y.
• Have students brainstorm other words with long i. Have students tell you which spelling category each word belongs in.
• Give students the phonics worksheet, go over the example provided, and tell students to complete the worksheet.

Grammar and Mechanics: Plural nouns

• Show students one item such as a book. Ask students to tell how many there are and to name it (book). Show students two books. Ask students to tell what you are holding (books). Write the words book and books on the board. Explain that naming words can tell the name of one thing (circle the word book) or the name of more than one thing (circle the word books). Ask students to tell how the words are different (an -s has been added to show more than one).
• Direct the students to the front cover of the book. Point to the word Games and ask them to say the word. Write the word Games on the board and explain that the word begins with a capital letter because it is talking about a certain group of games. Ask students to tell what to do to make the word show only one game. Write the word game on the board and circle it. Ask students to tell the person sitting next to them how they know the circled word means one game.
• Show students your watch. Ask them to tell how many and what it is that you are wearing (watch). Show students two watches (a picture or a student's will suffice). Ask students to name the two objects (watches). Write the words watch and watches on the board. Underline the ch in the word watch. Explain that when a word ends in s, ss, sh, ch, x, or z the letters es are added to show more than one.
• Write the following words on the board:

mess      goat      dish      box      whiz      race      patch  

Ask the students what to add to each word to make it show more than one. Make the changes.

• Have students go through the book, underlining the plural nouns made by adding -s (athletes, races, meters, swimmers, events, divers, boards, points, gymnasts, rings, circles) and circling the plural nouns made by adding -es (dashes).

Vocabulary: Content Vocabulary

• Tell students that many of the words they read in the book are used to tell about Olympic events and athletes. Provide opportunities for students to talk about difficult words such as marathon and synchronized. Provide opportunities for students to say the new vocabulary words, talk about their meanings, and use the words in sentences.
• Click here for a Vocabulary worksheet.

Independent Reading

• Allow the students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book.

Home Connection

• Give the students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing

• Have students work in small groups to create a list of things an athlete might do if he or she wanted to be able to compete in the Olympics. Have them title their lists "Ways to Become an Olympic Athlete." Brainstorm ideas to get them started with items such as "Eat healthy foods" or "Get plenty of sleep." Have them illustrate each point on their lists and share with the group.

Science Connection

• Use this lesson as an introduction to what happens to a person's body while exercising. Discuss increased heart and respiration rates. Provide stethoscopes for students to listen to their hearts before and after performing a simple exercise such as hopping on one foot for a minute. Show students how to feel the pulse in their wrists. Talk about increased blood flow as a result of exercise and how the body benefits. If possible, ask a physical education teacher or a personal trainer to speak to the class about the importance of a healthy body for all activities.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• use prior knowledge of a topic to make connections and understand nonfiction text
• classify information in nonfiction text
• orally manipulate medial sounds
• identify spellings for the sound of long /i/
• recognize plural nouns formed by adding –-s and -es
• recognize and use content vocabulary