Become A Literacy Olympian!

Literacy tips and activities for each day of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics offer an excellent opportunity to cheer on your country while practicing literacy skills. Here’s ABC Canada’s list of Olympic literacy tips and activity ideas to practice each of the 17 days of the Olympics. Go Canada!

1. Find out where the Olympic torch has travelled by looking at a map. You can practice your numeracy skills by calculating the distance travelled. A detailed map can be found here.

2. Write a note of congratulations and send it to your favourite Canadian athlete.

3. Keep track of the number of gold, silver and bronze medals won by Canadian athletes in a spreadsheet to improve numeracy and computer literacy skills.

4. Find out more about our city! Read about the Rocky Mountains and other popular tourist attractions that our Olympic guests might visit.

5. Read about interesting Olympic sports, such as bobsledding and skeleton.

6. Sing the Canadian national anthem to cheer on the teams.

7. Record all of the 2010 Olympic firsts.

8. Research information about your favourite athlete: Find out where they grew up, how they train, what their favourite food is, etc.

9. In celebration of the Winter Olympics, invite friends and family to take part in your own Olympics competition – why not hold Math Olympics!

10. Collect Olympic commemorative coins and add up your total.

11. Write trivia inspired by the Olympics. For example, Clara Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to win a medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympics – AMAZING!

12. Learn the history of the Olympics: origins, past and future host cities and then locate these host cities on a map.

13. During timed events, calculate the difference between the top athletes’ performances to improve numeracy.

14. Identify all of the colours of the Olympic rings and match each to the flag of a participating country.

15. Find out your family’s heritage and follow the progress of your ancestors’ native countries.

16. Pick a sport that you are least familiar with and read up on its rules.

17. Spell the name of one participating country that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

For more information on literacy, visit ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation’s website.

ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is Canada’s private-sector voice championing adult literacy. The national charity’s initiatives and campaigns are focused on bringing about meaningful change to raise Canadian adult literacy skills. It envisions a Canada where individuals, regardless of their circumstances, are provided the opportunities to increase those skills that prepare people for realizing their full potential at work, at home and in the community. For the latest news and information on adult literacy please visit www.abc-canada.org.