Winter Olympics Programming = Global Learning Fun

Leveraging interest in the Olympics is the perfect way to bring excitement into your library this winter. Our elementary school is planning a school-wide collaborative project centering on the Winter Olympic Games, which are happening in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6-22, 2026.  

Our P.E. teacher is spearheading the project and has invited each K-6 classroom to choose a country that is participating in this year’s Olympics. Each class will create a poster of the country’s flag, learn facts about the country, and update their country’s medal count in the school commons each day. We will have a school-wide opening ceremony where each class parades in with their country’s flag, and we will also celebrate with closing ceremonies. A faux Olympic torch will burn in the commons area throughout the games.

Global Learning

I have programmed activities around the winter Olympics in order to integrate global learning experiences into library lessons for all my students. Through my yearlong Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship, I have learned to design relevant, authentic learning experiences by teaching global competencies that help students investigate the world, recognize and respect the perspectives of other people, and communicate effectively across cultures (Domains of Global Competence model, Asia Society Center for Global Education). Tapping into a high-interest event like the Olympics is the perfect vehicle to help my students build connections to the world outside our small, rural community.

Physical Education

In P.E., students will be participating in adapted versions of winter Olympic sports, such as skeleton and luge sledding using wheeled scooters in the gym and ice skating using paper plates in place of skates. Take a look at this YouTube Playlist for P.E. Winter Olympics Activities ideas.

Books & Passive Programming

In library classes, I am putting global education into practice through read-alouds, lessons, and activities. I have purchased books on winter games, Olympic facts and history, and current Olympians. These will be used as read-alouds and made available for checkout. I will also provide passive programming in the form of word searches and bookmarks. 

Picture books:

• The Big Snowdown by Katy Hudson (free activity packet)
• Tacky and the Winter Games by Helen Lester
• Max and Marla by Alexandra Boiger
• Snowman Paul and the Winter Olympics by Yossi Lapid

Nonfiction:

• Chasing Gold: a Kid’s Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics from USA Today
• How Do You Become an Olympian? by Madeleine Kelly

Websites:

• 2026 Winter Olympics Facts for Kids 
• Olympics.com – 2026 Milano-Cortina 

Winter Olympic Sports

Teacher-librarian Amanda McCoy (@illinimccoy on BlueSky) has developed a fantastic unit on the winter Olympics that she has generously shared on her website. It’s an inquiry-based, four lesson unit where students are introduced to winter Olympic sports, select one to research, and create an infographic to share their knowledge. Even if you just want to use her outstanding slides that introduce the winter Olympic games, it is worth taking a look at her resources.

Geography

I have developed geography lessons to help students learn the locations of their class countries. I purchased a classroom set of inflatable globes to make these mapping lessons more engaging and interactive. We will use the globes as well as paper maps to identify and label continents, hemispheres, and countries. I will also use a Seven Continents Song and video from YouTube.

I also plan to use radio.garden, a website that provides free access to live radio broadcasts around the world, to bring in the sounds (music and language) of each class’s chosen country.

Robotics and Coding

We use Ozobots in our library STEM program. These small, line-following robots can be programmed using paper and colored markers for beginners and with block coding on an iPad or chromebook for more advanced learners. The Ozobot website provides an excellent set of Winter Olympics coding challenges for events like curling, skiing, figure skating, bobsledding, and more. I plan to incorporate some of these activities into our STEM coding lessons this winter, which teach skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and perseverance. If you don’t have Ozobots, these activities could be adapted to the robots you have at your school.

Reading Celebration

We will also tie the Olympics into our March Read Across America reading celebration week with the slogan “Go for the Gold: Read!”  Activities include:

• Daily dress-up days like “Be a good sport: read!” (wear gear from your favorite sports team), Book Character Dress-up Day, and “Hats off to reading!” (wear a hat).
• Library Olympic games during library classes: book cart races, toss beanbags into the book return bin, book relay races (walk with a book balanced on your head, hop with a book between your knees), and solve book title emoji puzzles.  
• To encourage at-home reading, students can complete “Reading Olympics” events such as reading a recipe, reading a magazine article, and reading with a flashlight. Students who complete 10 activities will earn a prize. 
• “Reading Olympic Village” book exchange where every student can choose 2 free books to keep. 

Extension: Promoting Award-Winning Books

After completing our study of the Olympics, we will follow up with lessons on book awards like the Caldecott and Newbery and will promote award-winning books with gold and silver medals on the cover.

How will you celebrate the Olympics at your school? Share your ideas in the comments.