By Heart of Illinois ABC

NORMAL – In ancient Greece, wars were stopped to hold the Olympic Games. So, a pandemic was not going to stop social studies students at Parkside Junior High School in Normal from staging their own Olympic competition.

The unit on ancient Greek culture usually culminates with Greek Day, in which classmates participate in track and field events like the javelin throw and shot put.

With COVID-19, teacher Beth Topping had to adjust her curriculum to allow for a socially-distanced Olympics.

During this time of virtual learning, she said it’s important to keep her students engaged.

“This is just one way that I hope can make social studies kind of come alive and let them get excited about it,” said Topping.

Students competing at home have a bag of Olympic materials and submit their scores online.

Students received handmade medals for each of the events.

Topping’s class has two more units this school year, studying ancient Rome and the Middle Ages, which she said might inspire other hands-on activities.

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