Aim: How can we research about sporting events that changed the world?

Aim: How can we research about sporting events that changed the world?

Do Now: Let's continue our presentations from yesterday for 3 to 5 minutes.
(5 min.)






Name_____________________ Date_________________

Sporting Events and Politics: Sometimes, it isn’t Just a Game

Your group will be assigned one of the following events to present to class, using Power Point.

1. 1980 Olympic hockey victory over the USSR at Lake Placid, New York. The Russian players (professionals) lost 4-3 to the Americans (students) who later went to capture the gold medal.

2. Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at Munich Olympics in 1936 (humiliating Adolf Hitler) in a dramatic example of American defiance of Nazism.

3. Zola Budd (South African Olympic Runner) competing in 1984 in Los Angeles, California. Budd claimed British citizenship, fearing she would not be able to compete for her homeland because of governmental policies of apartheid.

4. 1968 World Series victory by Detroit Tigers (perhaps preventing a repeat of rioting see in the summer of 1967.) Despite the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Detroit was relatively peaceful that summer.

5. Palestinian Terrorists killing 11 Israeli athletes and one German policeman in 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Yassir Araft planned the attack. Israel retaliated in kind, prolonging the violence in this war-torn region.

6. Joe Louis v. Max Schmeling boxing rematch June 22, 1938 in Yankee Stadium. Schmeling was used as a pawn by Hitler to model Aryan strength and superiority. Schmeling was sent to Siberia as a consequence of his loss to Louis. He displayed great character when he paid for Joe Louis’ funeral in 1981.

7. 1968 Olympics in Mexico City; Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos (finishing first and third in the 200m run) raising one gloved hand in a Black Power salute. The athletes were promptly suspended from their national team and banned from the Olympic Village.

8. Billie Jean King defeat self-proclaimed chauvinist pig Bobby Riggs in three straight sets in a tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in September, 1973.

9. Roger Bannister broke the barrier for the four-minute mile on May 6, 1954. People said this could not be done.

10. 1966 Texas Western NCAA Men’s Basketball victory; the first five African-American starters played in a championship game.

11. Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in major league baseball, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.



My group:________________________________________________


Work Down Bin for group PowerPoint project

Person Responsible Task Due Date
Whole group Read over assigned sporting event as a group. This should be done within the first few minutes of receiving your assignment. Day 1
Whole group/Individuals

The whole group is responsible for delegating tasks, each individual is responsible for completing their research. *Delegate research.

*Divide your topic into parts. What do others need to know to understand your event? What do you want to know more about?

*Make a list.

*Assign each group member one part to research.

*Begin research This should be accomplished at the end of class after Day 1.
Whole group/individuals *Continue research.
*Re-convene as a group half-way through class to blend your research and create a PowerPoint.
*Create and finish the PowerPoint This should be accomplished at the end of class after Day 2