There’s never been a better time to look on the bright side of life, and the Olympic Games is a great way to inspire children to achieve and try their best even if at first they don’t succeed. I like to remind children of where each athlete started and where they have come from, relating it to children’s own experiences and setting things in context. Mo Farah is a great example of someone who has come from relatively humble beginnings to achieve great things and is a real inspiration to us all.

Olympic Games reading comprehension activities

One of the great things about the Olympic Games is that since they are naturally on television, children will become naturally curious and keen to ask more. The last Olympics in 2016 was probably quite a long time ago for most children – if they even remember it at all! So this year’s Olympics may very well be their first experience of the games. Combine finding out more about the Olympics with developing reading skills with our KS1 Olympic Games reading comprehension.

If you teach older children, we also have a KS2 Olympic Games reading comprehension for children aged 7-11, linked to the reading content domains. Combine fun facts with reading comprehension perfectly! 

When are the Tokyo Olympic Games?

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games start on Friday 23rd July 2021 and end on Sunday 8th August 2021. The games will mainly take place in Tokyo, with some events taking place in cooler areas like Hokkaido (the northern most island of the Japan archipelago). The Paralympic Games taking place afterwards, between the 24th August and 5th September. The Olympic Games are held in a different country each year, and this year it’s the turn of Japan.

Olympic Games 2020 colouring sheets

We have created some gorgeous Olympic Games mindfulness colouring pages for children of all ages, to help them reflect and focus on something they want to achieve ahead of, and during the games. Remember that we hand draw ALL the images that you see on our site, so you can rest assured you won’t find them anywhere else.

Olympic Games 2020 display resources

Why not decorate your classroom with some lovely Olympics display bunting to get everyone in the right spirit! Also brilliant for home, or any setting!

Olympics 2020 design a medal

Invite children to design an Olympics 2020 medal  to help them understand what happens to the winners, and what everyone is striving for. Talk about the difference between gold, silver and bronze and that for some people, to achieve a bronze medal is a life long ambition, whereas for other people, it represents failure. Talk about the different mindsets of athletes and the pros and cons of each.

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