Lesson Plan: Paris 2024

Essential Questions

• Why do sports inspire us?
• How do large events harm the planet? What can we do to solve this problem?

Literature Connection

• Novel: The Flip Side by Shawn Johnson 
• Nonfiction: 100 Amazing Facts About the Olympic Games by Marc Dresgui 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). What do you already know about the Olympics? What would you like to know about this year’s games? Answers will vary. 
• Look at the images of athletes throughout the article and read their captions. In what sports do the athletes compete? The athletes compete in gymnastics, surfing, boxing, swimming, tae kwon do, climbing, and breaking. 

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (spectators, venues, iconic, renovated, debut, greenest) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Make a Plan for Reading 

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article “Paris 2024” will tell them what makes this year’s Summer Olympics different from Games in other years. 
• Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
• Point out the activity at the end of the article and tell students they’ll complete it after reading. Encourage them to briefly scan the questions and to keep them in mind as they read. 

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

• Based on the article, what’s a big reason tourists visit Paris? (cause and effect) The article says that Paris is known for its landmarks. People visit the city to see its castles, gardens, and museums.
• Reread the section “Medals Made of History.” In what way are this year’s Olympic medals “made of history”? (interpreting text) This year’s medals contain iron that came from the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower, built in 1889, is part of France’s history.   
• The article says that women weren’t allowed to compete in the first modern Olympic Games. In what year were women first allowed to compete in all sports? (detail) Women were first allowed to compete in all sports in 2012.  

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

• The article says officials are working to make this year’s Olympic Games greener than games of the past. Do you think the steps that officials are taking will make a big difference? Why or why not? (critical thinking) Answers may vary. Some students might say that using renewable energy and not building many new venues will make a big difference. Others might say that these changes won’t be enough to greatly change the amount of energy used and waste produced by an event with millions of spectators, many of whom will have traveled to Paris from other places. 

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
• Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing activity, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
• Writing Prompt: Imagine that you’re a teen who lives in Paris while the city is preparing to host the Olympics. How do you feel about this huge event that’s about to happen in your city? Write a journal entry describing what’s happening around your home and how you think it might affect your everyday life.