Last night was the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Security has been been paramount, and Russia's anti-gay attitude has garnered much attention. With so much to talk about in the classroom, I have gathered a plethora of resources and lesson plans for all age levels.
SITES
10 Free Things for Teaching About the 2014 Winter Olympics- from NEA; some lesson
plans listed with other resources
Find more great infographics on NerdGraph Infographics
Aiming for Gold- CNN's page devoted to the Winter Olympics
A Beginner's Guide to the Olympics- short video
Behind the Olympics: Teaching About Russia in the Putin Era - NY Times article
Crazy Olympic Team Uniforms at Sochi
Fractions of a Second: An Olympic Musical- interactive from the NY Times; turn up the volume to listen
From Russia With Sport: 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi- EDSITEment's resource list
Gays in U.S. Olympic Delegation Will Send Message to Russia- from NPR
Google Map of the 2014 Sochi Olympics- make sure you have Google Earth downloaded on your computer
Jamaican Bobsledders Seek Money for Sochi Trip- NY Times
The Many, Many Problems of the Sochi Olympics- from The Week
NBC Olympics- since they are broadcasting the games, NBC has a ton of information here
New York Times' Sochi 2014 Page- updated on a daily basis
Official Site of the 2014 Sochi Olympics- schedules of events located here
Olympic Fun Facts- from Factmonster
The Olympic Games- Enchanted Learning; for younger kids
The Olympics in the Classroom: Videos and Motion Graphics- great for science teachers
Olympic Torch and Medals- interactive from Associated Press
Russia Readies for Sochi 2014: The Putin Games
Science of the Olympic Winter Games- 16 videos by the National Science Foundation
Snapshots Through Time- posters of the Olympics, as far back as 1924
Sochi 2014- loads of interactive sports coverage from the Wall Street Journal
Sochi 2014- TIME for Kids website
Sochi 2014 Guide- iPhone, iPad app
Sochi 2014 Newsletter- sign up for daily news
Sochi 2014: An Olympic Preview- from The Atlantic
Sochi 2014 Olympic Games- from CBS Sports
Sochi 2014 Games: 6 Winter Olympics-Themed STEM Resources- from Edutopia
What the Data Say About Which Countries Will Win Olympic Medals- infographic from the Washington Post
Winter Olympics- from the BBC
LESSON PLANS - ACTIVITIES - CRAFTS
Activity Village- includes coloring pages, printables, puzzles
Brainpop- resources for bringing the games into your classroom
Math Activities Involving the Olympics
Pearson OLE Community- sports activity packs by sport include free lesson plans
PBS Hour EXTRA- lesson plans on the Sochi Olympics
Pinterest Board- many crafts and activities
ReadWriteThink- classroom activities
TeachersFirst- covers grades 3-12; small list of 15 plans
TeacherVision- nice listing here includes printables
Think Winter Olympics!- Thinkfinity site with nice lesson ideas
Will You Be Watching the 2014 Sochi Olympics?- lesson from the NY Times Learning Network
Winter Games Lesson Plans- from educators and the Australian Olympic Committee; lower grades