Time Travel Tuesday: Basketball

For history this week, research the history of basketball.  Find out who invented basketball, where and when it was invented, how they played the first games (what equipment did they use, what happened when they scored a basket), and why the game was invented.  For the youngest students, they can watch this video, to find the answers.  Somewhat older students can research the answers and write them in a notebook and older students can write a paragraph or a paper, depending on their ability.

The oldest students could take this assignment a step further by writing about the history of the NBA or women's basketball, along with the history of basketball.

Here are some websites to help with the research:

Cool Facts for Kids (this site also has a bunch of fun basketball facts)
LiveStrong
Kansas Heritage (includes the 13 original rules of the game, which could be used to compare/contrast with modern NBA rules)
KidzWorld

Here are some books that could be used to help (Disclaimer: these are affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase through the site.  This does not result in an additional cost to you.)

Basketball (Watts History of Sports)
Hoopmania: The Book of Basketball History and Trivia (Sports Illustrated for Kids Books)
Basketball: A history of the game

Time Travel Tuesday: Ancient Greece Olympics

There are several myths regarding the beginning of the ancient Olympic games. THe games were originally held in Ancient Greece. After the Romans began to gain power in Greece, the Olympics were eventually banned as a pagan ritual.

The Olympics as we know them began their revival in 1894 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was established and the first modern Olympic games were held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. Less than 250 athletes competed in Athens in the following sports: athletics (track and field events), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

The Olympic rings were introduced in 1913. Each ring represents a different area of the world (Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Oceania).