Every four years, a special kind of magic takes over. The world pauses, we all suddenly become experts in curling, and we find ourselves cheering for athletes in sports we can barely pronounce. The Winter Olympics are coming, and let me tell you, the excitement in the classroom is palpable!
As teachers, we know this is a golden opportunity. The Olympics aren’t just about sports; they are a gateway to teaching geography, history, perseverance, and cultural appreciation. But how do we harness that energy and turn it into meaningful learning, especially when we are already juggling a million other things?
If you are looking for ways to bring the spirit of the 2026 Milano Cortina Games into your classroom without reinventing the wheel, here are three of my favorite, low-stress strategies to get your students engaged and learning.
1. The “Design Your Own Event” Challenge
This is a fantastic way to blend creativity with critical thinking. I challenge my students to invent a brand-new winter sport that should be in the Olympics.
They have to consider:
- The Rules: How is it played? How do you win?
- The Equipment: What gear is needed? Design a prototype on paper.
- The Venue: What kind of snowy or icy terrain is required?
- The Name: Give it a catchy, official-sounding title.
Students can present their proposals to the class (“The International Olympic Committee”), who then vote on which new sport should be added to the games. It’s a fun, collaborative activity that gets them thinking about the logistics and spirit of athletic competition.
2. Olympic Math Medals
Why not add an Olympic twist to your math practice? It’s amazing how much more engaging word problems become when they involve gold medals and world records.
You can create problems based on real-world scenarios:
- Time Differences: Calculate the time difference between your city and Milano, Italy, to figure out when live events will air.
- Scoring: Have students calculate the average scores of figure skaters or the total time for a bobsled team across multiple runs.
- Measurement: Use metric conversions to compare the lengths of ski jumps or speed skating tracks.
For younger students, you can even track the medal count on a graph each day. It’s a simple way to integrate real-world data and make math feel relevant to a global event.
3. The Legendary “History of the Games” Gallery Walk
This is my absolute favorite activity for this unit because it gets students out of their seats, combines history with reading comprehension, and is virtually no-prep for me.
I recently started using this History of the Winter Olympics Gallery Walk, and it has been a total game-changer.
Here is why it’s a gold-medal resource in my book: Instead of a dry lecture, students walk around the room to 7 different stations, each featuring an iconic moment from Winter Olympic history. We’re talking about stories that really capture their imagination, like the “Miracle on Ice,” the inspiring perseverance of “Eddie the Eagle,” and modern legends like Shaun White and Chloe Kim.
What I love most is that the reading passages are designed for 6th-grade reading levels, so they challenge students to read for detail, not just skim for bullet points. They have to actually read the full paragraphs to find the facts for their recording sheet. It’s the perfect way to build those crucial reading skills while keeping them engaged in high-interest content.
I just print the posters, tape them to the walls, give students the recording sheet, and let them go! It’s a fantastic, self-paced activity that frees me up to facilitate and check in with individual students.
You can grab this no-prep History of the Winter Olympics Gallery Walk here!
Let the Games Begin!
Whether you’re designing new sports, crunching Olympic numbers, or taking a walk through history, the most important thing is to tap into the excitement of the games. It’s a wonderful way to connect your classroom to the wider world and inspire your students with stories of dedication and triumph.
Do you have a favorite Winter Olympics activity? Share your ideas in the comments below—let’s help each other make this an Olympic-sized success in our classrooms!