Planning

The Olympic and Paralympic Celebration event should reflect the learning that has taken place throughout the Thematic Unit. It could be a whole school event, lasting all day, or just a small event for a specific class or year group, lasting two to three hours. Get a flavour of the Games in Rio 2016 from the official Rio 2016 website. Show the class photos and videos of the opening/closing events at London2012 as inspiration.

Allow your pupils to choose the format and activities within the event. If you are running this activity across a year group, or with several classes, you should organise each class so they are in charge of different aspects of the event.

Ask your pupils to brainstorm ideas for the celebration event (you can find examples in the Activity Ideas and Sport Activity Ideas section). Ask them to consider whether their ideas should take place over an entire day or a week or whether they could be presented in an extended assembly or an afternoon.

Record the ideas on a flip chart and then use the Dot Voting technique to find out the most popular options.

Creating the Organising Teams

When your pupils have generated some ideas, divide the class (or classes) into groups with different roles and responsibilities for the event, for example:

Olympic and Paralympic Celebration Event Committee
Responsible for:

• deciding on the final programme of the event;
• presenting their plans to the principal and seeking his or her approval; or
• monitoring the work of other teams to make sure they're on schedule.

Activity Team
Responsible for:

• organising individual activities within the event, for example the torch relay, the opening ceremony or sports taster sessions (you may have a number of activity teams, depending on your event); or
• organising volunteers to help with running the activity during the event.

Advertising and Public Relations Team
Responsible for:

• creating an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the event within the school and the community;
• contacting the local press to inform them of the event (if appropriate);
• creating branding and a logo for the event; or
• looking after invited guests.

Logistics Team
Responsible for:

• finding suitable venues for activities; or
• finding or making appropriate equipment for activities.