100 days before the Olympics

Sochi is celebrating today, October 30, the 100 days before the Winter Olympics which will take place in February 2014. This Russian city, located on the shores of the Black Sea, has been preparing for this major event since 2007. Russians have been waiting for athletes and tourists for a while. “Clocks counting down the hours and days remaining before the start of the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are installed in nine Russian cities. "Source: RIA Novosti
“With more than 2,500 sportsmen and women competing in seven Olympic sports - and new disciplines on the program such as half-pipe in skiing and slopestyle in snowboard, present for the first time at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) d winter in Innsbruck last year - this event promises us 17 days of awe-inspiring sporting action. "Source: Olympic.org
The Olympic Games in Sochi will begin on February 7, 2014. The following activities will allow you to see where the competitions will take place and to discover the cities that have already hosted the Winter Games.
 
 

Goals

At the end of the activities, the student will be able to:
- Locate Russia, the Black Sea and Sochi on a world map;
- Consult an interactive map of the 2014 Olympic Games competition venues;
- Associate the year of the Games with each city that has hosted the Winter Games since 1924;
- Understand why some advocate the boycott of the Sochi Olympics.
 

Suggested Activities

ACTIVITY 1: Sochi, city in Russia

First, ask the students if they know where the next Olympic Games will be held. Show them where Sochi is by using Google maps. On the shores of which sea is the city located?
Then, individually the pupils must, on a blank world map, draw the outline of Russia, circle the Black Sea and make a star to indicate Sochi.

Click on the image to download the map

Now, observe the work that has been carried out over the past few years to fit out the various Olympic venues. As a whole class, explore the interactive map of the Olympic Games on the official website of the Sochi Games. You can also return to Google maps in order to see the development of the coastal zone.
Finally, ask students the following questions:
1. What are the two sports areas of the Olympic Games in Sochi?
2. How many sports venues are there in total?
3. What is the name of the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games?
4. What sport will be practiced in the Chaïba ice arena?
5. How many people will be able to attend the hockey finals at the Bolshoi Ice Palace?
Here are various documents to display these questions on the big screen and answer them live using a BIT.
SMART Notebook version (.notebook)
ActivInspire version (.flipchart)
PDF version (.pdf)
Answers: 1- coastal and mountain or altitude, 2- 11, 3- Fisht Olympic Stadium, 4- hockey, 5- 12,000
 

ACTIVITY 2: The Winter Games

The XXII Olympic Winter Games will take place shortly. Despite an interruption during World War II, the Winter Games have been held every 4 years since 1924. Do the students remember where the last Winter Games were held, those of 2010? And those of 2006?
Invite the students to discover the cities that hosted the winter games by making the right associations. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and the Internet can help them complete the activity.

Click on the image to enlarge.
SMART Notebook version (.notebook)
ActivInspire version (.flipchart)
PDF version (.pdf)
Answers

For further

Sometimes, it happens that the Olympic Games are boycotted by some in order to denounce political situations. In order to understand why some are asking for the boycott of the Sochi Games, as a whole class, analyze the political situation in Russia.
Here are some avenues to explore:
- Relations between Georgia and Russia
- Russian anti-gay law
- Agent Snowden's asylum in Russia
- Pussy Riot and freedom of expression
- Freedom of the press and democracy
 

More about the magazine

Sochi 2014
Sochi Olympics official website
On the way to the Olympics
Radio-Canada file
2014 Winter Olympics
Wikipedia article
2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Venues
Wikipedia article