Schools give lessons a five-ring spin

Quick: Where's the salt in Salt Lake City? How do the laws of physics affect Olympic speed skaters? What's the Spanish word for bobsled?

Teachers across the United States, adroitly aware of their students' enthusiasm toward the start of the Winter Olympics this Friday, have taken action. For months, they've been slipping in math equations and distilling life lessons, all cleverly couched in five-ring rhetoric.

"The Olympics are a perfect way to grab students' attention and get them to learn new things," says Vicki Perella, a teacher for gifted third- through fifth-graders at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School near Chicago.

Her 22 students, some of whom have never seen a mountain, spent the past year raising money to go to the Winter Olympics via taffy apple sales, garage sales, and roller-skating fundraisers. In two days, they will finally set off on a 22-hour bus ride to Salt Lake City to watch the events - and even receive their own gold medals from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), which has recognized their hard work.

"Like the US Olympic athletes, these kids set a goal, stayed committed to achieving that goal, and with persistence and discipline, realized it," says their exuberant teacher.

Ms. Perella also has been reading stories every week to her classes from a book called "Awaken the Olympian Within," and has recruited Olympians to speak to her students.

A few months ago, for instance, Dan Jansen spoke to her class on the value of persistence - and on the four attempts it took him to finally capture a gold medal in speed skating. The students then practiced math by calculating his scores, and wrote the lessons they learned on a poster of a giant ice skate they created.

In Chinle, Ariz., Navajo elementary students are learning from an Olympic participant who is a bit closer to home. Their principal, Jan Reed, was nominated to be a torchbearer because of the dramatic academic improvement of her students at Chinle Elementary during the past few years.

Ms. Reed, however, didn't feel like she deserved all the credit. "I wanted the students to be able to showcase their own talents and feel honored, too," she says.

So she asked students to nominate a classmate who was an inspiration to them or to others, and to create a related essay, rap song, sculpture, or Power Point presentation. Last week, about 30 of the selected students wended their way through their own mini-Olympic torch relay course on the playground. And yesterday they rode in school buses to St. George, Utah, to cheer Reed on during her quarter-mile performance.

"I think the students gained a lot more self-confidence through the activities, and they certainly know a lot more about the Olympics now than I do," Reed says.

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