Ancient Greece and Rome
History · 2nd grade
The first Olympic Games
By the end, Sam will be able to tell that the first recorded Olympic Games were held in 776 BC at Olympia with one footrace, and that winners at Olympia earned a wreath of olive leaves.
About 20 minutes to teach
Teach the idea
Read this together:The Cook Who Ran
146 words
Long ago, in the year 776 BC, people gathered at a place in Greece called Olympia for a festival in honor of Zeus. The Greeks believed Zeus was the king of their gods.
There was one contest: a footrace. The runners lined up at one end of the track and ran to the other end, one length of the track, about as far as two football fields.
The winner was a man named Coroebus, from the nearby town of Elis. He was a cook.
His name went down in the records as the first Olympic champion. Winners at Olympia did not get gold or money. Their prize was a wreath, a ring made of olive leaves, to wear on their heads.
Every four years after that, the Greeks came back to Olympia. Over time they added more contests, like wrestling, the long jump, and the discus.
In "The Cook Who Ran," we met the first Olympic champion we know by name.
The first Olympic Games on record were held in 776 BC at Olympia in Greece. People came every four years. They held the Games in honor of Zeus, whom the Greeks believed was the king of their gods.
At first there was only one event: a footrace. Runners ran one length of the track. That race was called the stade, and our word stadium comes from it. The track was about 192 meters long, roughly as far as two football fields.
The winner was Coroebus, a cook from the town of Elis. Winners at Olympia did not get gold or money. Their only prize was a wreath, a ring of olive leaves to wear on the head.
There were no women's events at the Olympic Games. At Olympia, though, there was a separate festival for the goddess Hera. Young women ran a race there.
Do it together
1. Invite Sam to retell "The Cook Who Ran" in his own words. Listen first, then gently fill in a name or place only if he gets stuck.
2. Go back to the part about the track being about as far as two football fields. Have Sam stand and show with his arms or a few steps how long that feels to him, then talk about how hard that single race would be with a crowd watching.
3. Remind him that Coroebus was a cook from Elis. Ask whether it surprises him that a cook became the first Olympic champion, and let him share why or why not.
4. The Games returned every four years. Ask Sam to name something his family looks forward to again and again (a birthday, a holiday, a season), and talk about why people might love coming back to the same place for a big event.
5. When you both feel ready, go on to the leaf wreath activity below.
Activity
Together: A wreath of leaves. Cut a strip of paper long enough to go around Sam's head, and tape the ends into a band. Sam draws and cuts out ten to fifteen leaves from green paper, or gathers real leaves from outside. Sam glues or tapes the leaves around the band so they overlap. While Sam works, talk about the one prize at Olympia and why a simple wreath could mean so much to the people who earned one.
Tip If Sam mixes up the place or the prize, open "The Cook Who Ran" and reread just one short paragraph together, then ask him the same question again. If he is bursting with energy, let him jog in place like Coroebus while he answers.
On paper
Worksheet
The Olympics
The worksheet, as it prints
History · Worksheet
The Olympics
Read each question aloud. Your child answers out loud or draws.
Name: Sam
Score: ____ / 4
1. Where were the first Olympic Games held?
2. What was the only event at the first Olympics we know of?
3. Draw Coroebus running his race.
4. Why do you think people cared so much about winning a wreath of leaves?
This took Arbor about a minute
Your child’s year, written like this
Sam isn’t real. Arbor writes these for your kid: their name, what they love, and where they actually are in each subject.