Lauryn Williams: Already a Medal Winner! 1 Many Olympic Athletes Have More Than One Medal

Maggie’s Activity Pack

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Lauryn Williams: Already A Medal Winner! 1 Many Olympic athletes have more than one medal. Some athletes like swimmer Michael Phelps or speedskater Bonnie Blair have several medals. But each of these athletes competes in a specific sport that is held in the Summer or Winter Olympics. This year several American athletes are trying to win medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Lauryn Williams is one of these athletes. 2 During the London Summer Olympic Games, Lauryn won a gold medal as a runner during a track and field relay. She also competed as a hurdler. But London wasn’t her first Olympics. She represented the United States in track and field events during the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games, too. Now this talented athlete is in Russia. 3 While some people may be surprised that Lauryn is competing in a different sport in a different season, Lauryn sees a connection between these sports. Her training in track helps in her current role on the two-person bobsled team. She says that she needed speed and strength to be successful as a runner and hurdler. She uses those same skills as a brakeperson on her team. Lauryn says she needs to be able to run fast and then give the sled a strong push before jumping on the sled. She and her teammate will ride down an icy course that twists and turns. She also knows what it is like to feel nervous at the Olympics. Hopefully, her training and experience will put her on the 4 medal platform. It was a fellow athlete, Lolo Jones, who was also making the jump from track to bobsledding who encouraged Lauryn to try for a Winter medal. Lolo told Lauryn that she should try this sport as it is closely related to track. With Lolo’s support, Lauryn turned her attention to her new challenge, bobsledding. Her friend was right. Lauryn’s speed, strength, and training helped her to make the U.S. team.

5 Now both female athletes are in Sochi, Russia. They are two of six team members who are on the U.S. Women’s bobsled team. Perhaps they all will be atop the medal stand!

Look at the numbered paragraphs again. Write the main idea for the three paragraphs below. Then summarize 2 supporting details from the text.

Paragraph 2

Main Idea:

2 Supporting Details:

Paragraph 3

Main Idea:

2 Supporting Details:

Paragraph 4

Main Idea:

2 Supporting Details:

Dear Maggie Colleague, What an exciting month – Olympic spirit fills our classrooms. There are so many wonderful books to share and the opportunity to use a variety of informational sources to satisfy Common Core goals and other learning standards. You can bring in newspaper clippings, print-outs from Internet news sites, or even play videos of events. These all build on the natural excitement of children and integrate with the skills we need to teach. Use the Internet to your advantage. Have your students consider point of view by offering them news from the United States, Russia, and other countries competing in the Winter Games. Does it differ? How is it similar? What a perfect opportunity to teach CC Anchor Standard RI6 CCR: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. This is a good opportunity to talk about first and secondhand accounts, look at personal point of views of an author, and compare/contrast different accounts of the same event. The Olympic Games bring athletes from around the globe to the world stage. Integrate social studies and geography with the spirit of the Games by having children use the names of countries and continents in discussions and conversations. Meaningful talk makes these faraway places more relevant to children. Add artistry. Look at the flags that are on display at medal ceremonies. Listen to the anthems of various nations. All of these exciting activities are good ways to encourage children to think about our diverse world. To extend the lesson, have children write their own paragraph about an Olympic athlete who participated in two sports. This paragraph can be compared/contrasted with our text. This gives children valuable writing experience and allows you to teach CC Anchor Standard RI3. Happy teaching, Dr. Kathy

Answer Key: (Supporting details may vary.) Paragraph 2 – Main Idea: Lauryn Williams is a talented athlete. (Note this is in the concluding sentence. Readers need to infer it until they reach the last sentence.) Example Details: She won a gold medal in track. She is a hurdler. She competed in the Summer Olympics many times. Paragraph 3 – Main Idea: Lauryn sees a connection between her sports. Example Details: She needs speed. She needs strength. She has to run fast to push the sled. She has to push the sled. She has felt the pressure of the Olympics. She is an experienced Olympian. Paragraph 4 – Main Idea: Another athlete encouraged Lauryn to try bobsled racing. Example Details: Her friend told her it related to track. Lolo supported her. Lolo is on the bobsled team, too.

Goals: Students read informational text about a female athlete, Lauryn Williams, who is a member of the United States bobsled team. This athlete competed in the Summer Olympics. The article explains her transition to a Winter Olympic sport. After reading, students identify main ideas of specific paragraphs and summarize supporting details. This WAP is available on the primary and intermediate levels and correlates with the IRA/NCTE Standard, “Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.” It also is aligned with Common Core Anchor Standard RI2 CCR: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.