Let's take a walk! Scholars participate in a gallery walk to view images and text about athletes Althea Gibson and Roberto Clemente. After summarizing the information they've learned, pupils choose which athlete they are interested in...

Should athletes carb load before an event or consume carbohydrates during the competition? Scholars discuss how to set up a hypothesis and experiment to answer a question relating carbohydrates and athletic performance. Then, they read...

Pick a corner, any corner! Pupils use the Four Corners strategy and Peer Critique protocol to assess one another's draft letters to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. Scholars then use peer feedback to revise their letters.

Women Olympians have come a long way since 1900 when 22 women competed for the first time. News coverage of the Olympics has also changed dramatically. What has been slow to change, however, is the language used in the coverage of female...

Serving as the end-of-unit assessment, scholars draft letters to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. They then reflect on their progress by completing a self-assessment. 

Pupils examine the negative behavior of an Olympic athlete. They look at how his choices affected the team as well as his position on the team. They consider the many reasons why unity is important among the members of an organization...

Every muscle movement requires energy, but where does that energy come from? Scholars answer this question and more as they complete a worksheet. By following the directions, completing research, and discussing it as a class, they begin...

With many factors leading to a great athlete, does height make Usain Bolt unfairly fast? Middle schoolers conduct analysis to change the running distance of the Olympic races to be proportional to the height of the participants. They...

From bunny hops and bridges to bean bag tosses and big ball catches, your activity toolkit will be overflowing with great new ideas for adaptive physical education!

Students research the Tim Hardaway story using internet resources. Students examine sexual identity and sports issues. As an additional assignment students will interview their campus athletic director to find out how such issues are...

How do athletes break barriers? Pupils consider the question as they continue looking for evidence to support their opinions about how their chosen athlete created a legacy. In small groups, they read an informative article about either...

Let's get opinionated. Scholars participate in a peer critique and revision process using a fun activity called a Four Corners strategy. After incorporating classmates' feedback, individuals share their final drafts of their opinion...

Can hitting a home run be an act of courage? Scholars analyze the impact Jackie Robinson had on the Civil Rights movement in America. They use primary sources and video clips to create 21st-Century baseball cards of Robinson's many...

What to do and what not to do when training and playing sports. That is the focus of two activities designed for teens. In the first activity, individuals read research about factors that contribute to safe sport participation and share...

The proof is in the reading. Using the informative resource, scholars read a second article about either Althea Gibson or Roberto Clemente. As they read, they continue adding reasons and evidence to their graphic organizers to show how...

Michael Phelps, the economist? Scholars research the economic advantages of specializing in one kind of service, and how it relates to athletes doing the same in their respective sports. They evaluate absolute advantage, production, and...

NFL football in science class? Yes, please! In an engaging and motivating three-day activity, kids take a look at their own nutritional habits and needs compared to those of an NFL player, then experiment with the effects of hydration on...

Leave it to the classic jump rope to get your class excited about physical activity! Your class will begin by discussing the benefits of jumping rope as a form of exercise and learning a few different types of jumps. Then in groups of...

Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The instructional activity helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars...

The ancient Greeks used performance enhancing drugs, such as opium juice, when they participated in the original Olympic Games. Pupils research a website with debate topics to decide if athletes' use of such drugs in modern sports is...

Pupils explore the meaning of the ancient Greek word aretê and the place of virtue in historical athletic competition and modern sports. They begin by reading an informational text on the goal of sports in education, and then...

Students participate in a discussion about the definition of the word 'hero'. They research baseball players and managers and then engage in a formal debate about the merits of their subjects.

Students analyze poems about death. For this poetry analysis lesson, students read poems from both Dylan Thomas and A.E. Housman and analyze them in groups for common poetic devices. Students present their analysis and complete a Venn...

Losing isn't any fun. It is, however, a part of competing. Two activities encourage middle schoolers to consider what good sportsmanship is, how they can be a good sport, and ways to handle situations when some are acting...