The Olympics are here! The excitement of an athlete’s  years of training all comes down to a few minutes. Connecting all things Olympics in the classroom-the ideas are endless. There are plenty of ways to tie in geography, graphing, and math. With all of the wonderful technology out there, why not go for a little out-of-the-ordinary lesson?

Project this video on a large screen from a Snowboarding Slopestyle Olympian and watch it a few times. (Trust me, you’ll need to!) Discuss the language of emotion and how it’s translated in the written, graphic and verbal languages.

For the writers, they can write a story from the perspective of the snowboarder, coach  or onlooker. The artistic writer can use old magazines and make a collage of words to convey emotion.

The graphic writer can use those same magazines to locate pictures to show how she felt while watching that video. If magazines don’t have enough pictures, then head online to sites like Pics4Learning, iCLIPART for Schools or Discovery Education. The images can be displayed on a posterboard, Publisher document or presentation websites.

Finally, for the verbal students, those students that have so much to say but have a hard time writing or typing then let them talk. Have these students take their talent to the screen and record what they have to say. Record what is being felt during this run. Record what an announcer might say. Want to add a little more drama-have the students visit the music room or cafeteria to find instruments to add sound effects.