Olympic Games Redesign Project | Sports Leadership & Critical Thinking |4th-8th

No Prep Plans: What Would You Do?
You Are in Charge of the Olympics Event Improvement Proposal
Grades 4–8
Think. Discuss. Decide. Defend.

What would you change if you were put in charge of the Olympic Games?
In this engaging, real-world decision-making lesson, students become the leader of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are challenged to redesign one of the world's largest sporting events. They must balance athlete needs, environmental sustainability, hosting costs, fairness, tradition, and innovation while making difficult decisions that affect millions of people around the world.
Should the Olympics use only existing stadiums? Should new sports be added more often? How can the Games become fairer, more affordable, and more sustainable without losing the traditions that make them special?

There is no single correct answer. Students must evaluate competing priorities, consider multiple perspectives, justify their decisions with evidence, and defend their final proposal.

What's Included
- Teacher directions (1–3 class periods)
- Student Page 1: Think – Examine what makes the Olympic Games successful, identify current challenges, separate facts from opinions, prioritize problems, and determine what information is needed before making changes.
- Student Page 2: Discuss – Compare different Olympic improvement ideas, evaluate leadership decisions, debate difficult trade-offs, respond to opposing viewpoints, and imagine the future of the Games.
- Student Page 3: Decide & Defend – Create a complete Olympic improvement plan, justify major decisions, reflect on leadership, consider the long-term future of the Games, and defend the final proposal.
- Event Improvement Proposal Project Page – Design a complete Olympic improvement plan featuring new sports, event improvements, fair competition rules, sustainability strategies, athlete support, future Olympic ideas, and an "Impossible Problem" leadership challenge.
- Full-color version
- Black-and-white version
- Print-ready PDF

Students Will Practice
- Critical thinking
- Leadership
- Decision-making
- Collaboration
- Ethical reasoning
- Communication
- Debate skills
- Evidence-based argument
- Creative problem solving
- Systems thinking
- Sustainability planning
- Civic responsibility
- Reflection
- Global citizenship

Perfect For
- Social Studies
- Geography
- Physical Education
- Olympic studies
- Leadership units
- Civics
- STEM extension activities
- Project-Based Learning (PBL)
- Gifted & Talented
- Advisory / Homeroom
- Debate lessons
- Critical Thinking units
- Fast-finisher activities
- Substitute plans

Why Teachers Love It
- Connects students with a globally recognized event they already know and enjoy.
- Encourages thoughtful discussion about fairness, sustainability, economics, and leadership.
- Demonstrates that major international events involve difficult trade-offs with no perfect solution.
- Integrates social studies, geography, economics, environmental issues, and sports in one engaging lesson.
- Flexible for individual, partner, or group work.
- Requires minimal teacher preparation.
- Easily adapts to 1–3 class periods.
- Includes a polished Event Improvement Proposal project that students can present, defend, compare, and refine.

This resource is part of the No Prep Plans: What Would You Do? series—a collection of highly engaging, scenario-based lessons where students tackle authentic real-world challenges, evaluate competing priorities, and learn to Think. Discuss. Decide. Defend. Each lesson develops critical thinking, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills by placing students in charge of decisions that have no easy answers.