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DREAMER Steps

Beijing & China - Lesson Plan

2008 Olympic Games

What are the DREAMER Steps?

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What do the students already know about the Beijing Olympics? Discuss the main elements that make up an Olympic Games and find out what the students would like to discover about these particular games?

Discuss what the students think the 2008 slogan of One World, One Dream means to them.

Make up an information chart that might be added to as the unit progresses throughout the lead up to the games. This chart may take the form of a Visual Organiser Chart and cover some of the following questions.

WHAT

What are the 28 summer sports to be competed in at the Beijing Olympics?

What countries will be competing?

What are the Olympic Mascots called? What do they represent?

What sports will be competed in at the Paralympics?

What countries does the Torch Relay travel through?

What do the Olympic Rings represent?

WHERE

Where is Beijing ?

Where does the Torch Relay begin and end?

Where do the athletes competing in the Games stay during the Olympics?

Where was the 2004 Olympics staged? Where will the 2012 Olympics be held?

WHEN

When is the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics?

When does the Torch Relay begin and finish?

When are the Paralympics held?

WHO

Who will win a Gold medal for Australia ?

Who will carry the Australian flag in the Opening Ceremony?

WHICH

Which is your favourite sporting event to watch?

Which sport would you like to compete in?

Which sports are Australia competing in?

WHY

Why was the Great Wall of China built?

Why are the Games held every four years?

Extension and Links

English

Discuss the Olympic Motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius", which means "Faster, Higher, Stronger". Write a short paragraph to explain the meaning behind these three latin words and how they might apply to everyday life.

Geography

On a map of the world follow the route that the Olympic Torch relay will take.

 

Use the library and the Internet to discover more information about different aspects of the 29th Olympic Games which begin in August 2008.

Divide up the different elements of the Games within a class or level for the research to follow.

What influences did the culture of China have on these different elements? Investigate the events, stadiums, torch relay, emblems, medals, mascots and festivals to celebrate the Games.

Research the significance of the different colours of the Olympic Rings and what each colour symbolizes in Chinese culture. Find examples of these colours to illustrate their significance.

What does the symbol of Yin and Yang represent?

What significance if any has the fact that the games begin on the 8th day of the 8th month in 2008?

Look up the Chinese Zodiac and find out what animal zodiac your birth date falls in? Find out about that year and what it might mean to you. 2008 is the Year of the Rat, what will the forecast for this year be?

Extension and Links

Maths

Survey people at school and in your community and find out what year they were born in. Make up a graph that illustrates how many people you know where born under each animal sign.

 

Time put aside for experimenting with media is time well spent. This is where students discover what will and won’t work. What glue is required to adhere plastic to card, what paint will cover the brown card, how will I secure beads to braid etc.

Different media may be explored and pushed beyond their normal boundaries to see what might be achievable.

Explore ways of creating people in action by simple skill building to make them look more realistic. Discover the possibilities within two and three dimensional works. Final decisions can then be made based on first hand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t achieve the desired results.

With direction students will discover media and skills which will assist them in their final artworks.

 

As the Chinese culture reveres its artists so should we respect our student artists. Through their artworks we can celebrate the Olympic Games not by copying what the Chinese artists and designers have created but by gaining inspiration from their works to create our own designs. The discussion, research and experimentation will enhance the artworks that are produced in class by the students.

Our booklet touches on only some of the elements of the Games and explores different media and techniques suitable for students in Years Prep to Year 8.

1. The Olympic Torch

2. The Olympic Seal

3. Pictograms

4. Mascots

5. Medals

6. Stadiums

7. Fold Up Doll Book

8. Lucky Charms

9. Cardboard Mannikin Print

10. Action Figures Stands

11. Dragon 2D

12. Dragon 3D

13. Jewellery - Cloisonne

14. Chinese Masks

15. Silk Painting

16. Paper Screen

17. People in Action

18. Paralympics mascot

 

The students determine the most appropriate mode of exhibiting the work to give it the most exposure and impact.

If a sister school in China exists arrange to send some of the artwork produced throughout this unit via the internet with digital photographs of the work. An exchange of work between schools might add another dimension to the unit.

Extension and Links

Maths

Create a track and field arena to scale as part of the exhibit showing the different athletes competing in various events.

 

Self and group evaluation of the work produced may assist in future projects if constructive assessment is made of the problems encountered, the solutions discovered and the overall knowledge gained through this study.

A China Fact chart might be created to record different and interesting facts about China and the Beijing Olympics.

 

 

© Copyright Zart Art 2009. Activity and teacher notes written and designed by Zart Education.

Key words: DREAMER Steps, Olympic Games, sport, China, Beijing, cultural activities