Build Background
Write the word Olympics on the board. Have students share what they know about the Olympics. Encourage them to explain what they know about the different sports athletes compete in, the countries athletes are from, and the prizes athletes receive.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what type of book it is and what it might be about.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, authors' names, illustrator's name).
• Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Ask students what they expect to read about in the book based on what they see in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge

• Explain that good readers use what they already know about a topic to understand and remember new information as they read a nonfiction book.
• Model connecting to prior knowledge using the information in the table of contents.
  Think aloud: The first chapter in the book is titled "To Be the Best in the World." I know that the word best means to be better than everyone else. When I think about Olympic athletes, I picture how strong and fit they are, and how well they do things such as swim, jump hurdles, and walk on the balance beam.
• Have students preview the covers of the book. Ask them open-ended questions to facilitate the discussion: What is the importance of the flame on the front cover? What types of activities occur in a stadium like the one pictured on the front cover? Do all activities occur in a stadium? What else do you know about the Olympics?
• Give students the prior knowledge worksheet. Have them read the sentences and write "Yes" or "No" to complete the column on the left.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Compare and contrast

• Explain that one way to organize information in a book is to explain how topics are alike and different. Create a Venn diagram on the board and write the words Writing and Drawing Tools above the diagram. Label the left-side Pencil and the right-side Marker.
• Show students a pencil and a marker. Invite them to explain how the objects are alike and different (alike: used for writing, approximately the same length, used in art, and so on; different: the marker produces color and a pencil produces gray markings, you can erase mistakes with the pencil but not with the marker, and so on). Model how to write each response on the Venn diagram.
• Ask students how identifying ways that a pencil and a marker are alike and different helped them understand the topic of Writing and Drawing Tools.
• Think-aloud: To understand and remember new information in a book, I can think about how information is alike and different. I know that this is one strategy that good readers use, so I'm going to compare and contrast new information as I read.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• As students preview the book, ask them to talk about what they see in the photos and illustrations. Reinforce the vocabulary words they will encounter in the text.
• Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word procession on page 8. Point out the prefix pro- and explain that recognizing prefixes and suffixes can help students break up longer words and help them read these words. Point out the suffix -sion and remind students how it is pronounced (/shun/).
• Have students look for clues to the word's meaning in the sentence containing the word procession. Read the sentence out loud and have students tell you what the word means. Explain that clues are not always present in the same sentence, but that other information in the paragraph often explains it.
• Explain to students that sometimes they will not find any context clues that define an unfamiliar word. Model how students can use the glossary or a dictionary to locate a word's meaning. Have a volunteer read the definition for procession in the glossary. Have students follow along on page 8 as you read the sentence in which the word procession is found to confirm the meaning of the word. Repeat the exercise with the remaining vocabulary words.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out more about the Olympic Games in the past and present. Introduce and explain the compare and contrast worksheet. Remind students to think about what they already know about the Olympic Games and to identify similarities and differences between what they know and information in the text.

Student Reading

    Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Ask them to put an asterisk next to information where they connected with prior knowledge. Encourage students who finish before everyone else to go back and reread.

• Model making connections using prior knowledge.
  Think aloud: I read that the early Olympic Games began with a procession, or parade. I've seen those on TV at the opening of present-day Olympic Games. The athletes carry the flag of the country they represent and march into the Olympic stadium where the Olympic torch is lighted.
• Ask open-ended questions to facilitate discussion: What do you know about the procession at the beginning of the Olympic Games? How might today's processions be different from early Olympic processions?
• Ask students to share additional ways they connected to prior knowledge. Then have them identify whether the information in the text is similar to or different from what they know about present-day Olympic Games.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to page 13. Ask them to share examples of how they connected to prior knowledge. Ask students to turn to page 6 and identify the official prize of past Olympic games (a crown of olive leaves). Have them identify whether this prize is similar to or different from the prize at present-day Olympic games and which page supports their answer (different; page 12 explains that winners used to receive an olive branch, certificate, and silver medal).
• Have students explain the meaning of the word truce. Ask them to explain how this word represents either a similarity or difference between past and present-day Olympic games (similarity). Have students identify the pages that support their answer (page 9: In fact, during every Olympics, there was a strictly enforced truce...; page 11: ...modern Olympics, like the ancient Olympics, would be a time of peace...).
• Ask students to record this similarity and difference on their compare and contrast worksheet.

    Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to think about what they know about the Olympics as they read and to identify similarities and differences between past and present Olympic games. Have students place an asterisk next to information that is new to them.

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

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Ask students what words they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Have students complete the prior knowledge worksheet and compare what they knew before they read the book with what they know after reading it.
• Discuss how making connections between information read and information known about the topic keeps readers actively involved and helps them remember what they have read.
• Think-aloud: When I read page 20, I thought about how athletes in the Olympics must train extensively before competing. It reminds me of the title of chapter one, "To Be the Best in the World." In order to be the best at something, you must be highly skilled in that area. I know that I have to practice extensively in order to get better at something. In order for these athletes to be the best at their sport, better that everyone else in the world, they must be very dedicated to their training. Thinking about what I know helped me to understand and remember this information.
• Have students share examples of how they connected to prior knowledge to understand the information in the book.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review the similarities and differences between past and present Olympics that students recorded on their worksheet. Write the words when the Olympics took/take place on the board. Have students work with a partner to locate how often the Olympics took place in the past and how often they currently take place (page 5: early Olympic games were held once every four years; page 17: the most recent Olympic games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter games). Invite pairs of students to share their answer and the information that supports it. Have students record the information on the compare and contrast worksheet (difference).
• Independent practice: Have students complete the compare and contrast worksheet by identifying at least two differences and two similarities between past and present-day Olympic games.
• Enduring understanding: The Olympic Games have survived throughout history and continue to embody certain human values, such as passion and perseverance. Now that you know this information, what does this tell us about human nature and the ideals to which we aspire?

Grammar and Mechanics: Past-tense irregular verbs

• Write the following sentence on the board: I compete in the Olympics. Ask students to identify the verb and the verb tense (compete, present). Write the words present tense on the board.
• Write the words past tense on the board. Ask a volunteer to change the tense of the sentence into the past tense. (I competed in the Olympics.) Ask students to identify what changed for the sentence tense to change (add the suffix -ed to the verb).
• Write the word hold on the board. Ask a volunteer to use the word in a sentence. Write the sentence on the board and circle the verb. Ask students to identify the tense of the verb (present).
• Have students turn to page 4. Read the following sentence aloud: In 2002 the Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City. Point out the word held and explain that the word is the past-tense form of the verb hold. Invite students to explain the difference between the formation of the past tense for the words compete and hold (the suffix -ed was added to compete; a spelling change was required for hold).
• Explain that held is an example of an irregular past tense verb because its past tense is formed without adding ­-d or ­-ed.
• Have students turn to pages 6 and 7. Point out the irregular past-tense verbs (won, began, wore). Invite students to identify the present-tense forms of these verbs (win, begin, wear). Write these examples on the board under the present tense and past tense categories.
• Check for understanding: Write the present-tense verbs begin, wear, and win on the board. Have students work in pairs to create present- and past-tense sentences using these verbs. Have them share their examples aloud.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the past-tense irregular verbs worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Word Work: Multiple-meaning words

• Write the following sentences on the board: I saw the bird in the tree. I used a saw to cut the board in half. Ask students to identify the word in each sentence that is spelled the same (saw).
• Have students explain the difference between the meaning of the two words (to have seen something; a tool used for cutting). Explain that words that are spelled and sound the same but have different meanings are called multiple-meaning words.
• Have students locate the word watch on page 12. Ask a volunteer to define the word using the context of the sentence (to observe something). Invite students to share other meanings of the word watch.
• Ask a volunteer to locate the word watch in the dictionary and read the definitions aloud. Write each definition on the board and have volunteers use each meaning of the word watch in a sentence.
• Repeat the process for the word pass.
• Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board: can, mean, show. Have students locate each word in the dictionary and read the definitions. Then have them use each of two different definitions of the word in a sentence on a separate piece of paper. Have students share their sentences aloud.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the multiple-meaning words worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Independent Reading

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

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have them compare with someone at home prior knowledge about past and present-day Olympic games.

Writing and Art Connection
Have students use the Internet to research an Olympic athlete. Have them identify the following information about the athlete they choose: country of origin, childhood, reasons for becoming an athlete, Olympic Games participated in, significant achievements in the sport, and influence on others. Have students present the information in a written report.

Social Studies Connection
Explain to students that each city that hosts the Olympic Games chooses a mascot that symbolizes the spirit of the Olympics. For example, the Winter Games in Salt Lake City in 2002 had three mascots: the snowshoe hare (swifter), the American black bear (stronger), and the coyote (higher). Have students use the Internet to further research Olympic mascots and/or emblems for a particular Olympic year. Have them illustrate the mascot and include a written explanation of its significance. Have students share their information in an oral presentation.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• use the strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to understand nonfiction text
• accurately identify similarities and differences between information in nonfiction text
• correctly identify and understand the formation of past-tense irregular verbs during discussion and on a worksheet
• correctly identify and use multiple-meaning words in sentences during discussion and on a worksheet

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric