Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2024 i Cobblestone American History and Current Events for Kids and Children

Welcome to a look at the Games of the Olympiad, or as most people call them, the Summer Olympics! Since the modern Olympics began in 1896, there have been 32 Olympiads (a period of four years between Olympic Games, originally named for the four-year measurement of time between the celebration of the ancient Games at Olympia, Greece). This summer’s Paris Olympics are number 33. To keep it simple in this issue, the different Games are identified by year and city. The Olympics are a major international event. Many countries and more than 10,000 athletes participate, and there is round-the-clock media coverage for two exciting weeks. And while athletic competition is a strong component of the Games, the Olympics also have a long history of encouraging international understanding through sports.…

Athletics includes some of the oldest and most varied events in sport competitions. At the Summer Olympics, athletics offers nearly 50 different track-and-field events for men and women as teams and as individuals. About half of them involve a variety of footraces—walking, marathon, sprint, distance, hurdles, and relay. Many of the footraces take place around a multi-lane, oval track. Other events take place in the field in the middle of the track. These events involve throwing and jumping. The icons here capture some of the classic athletic events. Can you match each one with its correct description? Answers on page 49. 1. This event measures an athlete’s attempt to leap a great distance after taking a running start. 2. This event requires an athlete to use only one hand to…

The course of Olympic history at times has been impacted by outside events. The Games have been canceled three times because of war: World War I (1914–1918) halted the 1916 Berlin Olympics, and World War II (1939–1945) curtailed plans for both the 1940 Tokyo/Helsinki Olympics and the 1944 London Olympics. Twenty-eight African countries boycotted the 1976 Montreal Olympics to make a political statement. South Africa’s policies of apartheid had led to that nation being banned from the Olympics in 1964 (it remained in place until 1992). The ban was extended to include any country that had sporting contact with South Africa, which included New Zealand, whose national rugby team had toured South Africa in the summer of 1976. When the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not uphold the ban on…

Throughout the history of the Summer Olympic Games, U.S. athletes have made notable contributions to their sports. Their personal successes and efforts have inspired the nation. Superstar Athletes At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Cornelius Johnson won the high jump, while sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens also made history winning four gold medals and breaking two Olympic records. Both Johnson and Owens were African American, and their successes contradicted German leader Adolf Hitler’s belief that white people were a superior race. When Owens returned home to the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not meet and congratulate him, as he did with other Olympic athletes. Owens later said, “I wasn’t invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn’t invited to the White House to shake hands with the…

The modern Olympic Games generate international excitement. Here’s a look at some remarkable individuals whose achievements at the Summer Olympics inspired the world. The First Perfect 10 At the Summer Olympics, gymnastic routines are scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a perfect routine. Before the 1976 Montreal Olympics, no athlete had ever received a perfect score. But at those Games, Nadia Comaneci, a 14-year-old girl from Romania, became the first gymnast to receive not just one perfect score but seven! She earned three gold medals—on the balance beam, in the floor exercise, and for the individual all-around. Nadia’s scores changed what audiences came to expect from athletes and redefined the sport of gymnastics. She won two more gold medals in the 1980 Moscow Olympics before…

At the 1960 Rome Olympics, this month’s mystery hero achieved something no U.S. female athlete had done previously—she won three gold medals! What’s even more remarkable is what our hero overcame to compete at those Olympics. She was born prematurely in 1940, weighing only 4½ pounds. She was the 20th child in a blended family that included 22 children. When she was four years old, she contracted polio. She wore a brace on her left leg for five years. She then wore special corrective shoes for two years. Although her parents did not have a lot of money, they made sure their daughter received the care she needed. They traveled weekly by bus from their home in Clarkesville, Tennessee, to a hospital in Nashville—100 miles round trip—so that she could…

CREATURE FEATURE The horse is an important part of the modern Summer Olympics’ equestrian competition. Equestrian is one of those rare Olympic sports in which men and women compete equally against one another. The three equestrian disciplines are dressage, eventing, and jumping. Dressage requires the rider and horse to show a high level of training by performing a series of tasks with few noticeable commands by the rider. Eventing is like a triathlon for a horse and its rider. It involves dressage, a cross-country event, and show jumping. Jumping involves a horse and rider jumping over a series of obstacles while also incorporating quick changes of direction. Equestrian disciplines are often timed, with points removed for various mistakes. Winning medals are presented to the rider, not the horse! July/August 2024…

Dear Readers, Draw a picture or write a poem or a short essay that connects to a U.S. history topic that interests you. All contributions must be your original work. Include a note from a parent or a legal guardian clearly stating: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has permission to publish it with my child’s name, age, and hometown, in print and online.” We will include as many as we can in an upcoming issue. Email your submission to cobblestone@cricketmedia.com.…

Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French aristocrat and teacher, believed that physical education and activity were important for a person’s overall well being. For years, he had tried to find ways to bring his message to a larger audience. He knew about the ancient Greeks and the way they had valued athletic competition. In 1894, he founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He hoped the organization would bring together athletes from around the world to compete against one another. He also believed that such an event would promote international peace and understanding. With Coubertin’s urging, the committee decided to recreate the Olympic Games of ancient Greece. Coubertin proposed Paris as the host of the Games to be held in 1900, but the IOC decided to hold the first modern Olympics…

Can you match each icon with its Summer Olympic sport description on these pages? Unless indicated, sports listed below include events for both men and women. Answers on page 49. 1. This sport tests the accuracy and steadiness of competitors as they discharge rifles, pistols, and shotguns. 2. Two opposing teams move an oval-shaped ball down a large pitch in this sport by passing it, running it, or kicking it over the goal line—but throwing the ball forward is not allowed. 3. This event for men only tests strength and control as athletes complete different techniques while holding onto two free-hanging rings. 4. With a “snatch” and a “clean and jerk,” a competitor in this sport lifts, raises, and holds a weighted barbell above his or her head. 5. This…

Rugby sevens is a fast-paced form of rugby. It is named for its seven players per team on the field, which is called a pitch. Players can score in a variety of ways. A 5-point try is when a player touches the ball to the opponent’s goal area. Following a successful try, a team can attempt a 2-point conversion, which is a kick through the goal posts. A 3-point drop goal is when the ball is kicked during open play of the game and makes it through the goal posts. And penalties are awarded for fouls and are worth 3 points if the team successfully kicks the ball through the goal posts. The ball can be passed backward or sideways among players on a team. The ball can be moved…

SPOTLIGHT ON... Do the Olympics fascinate you? Would you like to know more about famous Olympians? Popular Olympic sports? Top medal winners? Participants who made history without winning a medal? Sites that have hosted the Games? Articles about plans for future Games of the Olympiad? Articles about past Olympic history? Answers to all those questions can be found at www.olympic.org—the official Web site of the Olympic Movement. When we say it has information on everything, we mean EVERYTHING.…

We’re looking for a funny caption for this photo. Email your idea, name, and address to: Just for Fun, COBBLESTONE at cobblestone@cricketmedia.com. Include a note from a parent or a legal guardian clearly stating: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has permission to publish it with my child’s name, age, and hometown, in print and online.” March Winners! Answers to The Ancient Art of Athletics from page 14: 1. Long Jump; 2. Shot Put; 3. Javelin Throw; 4. High Jump; 5. Discus Throw; 6. Hammer Throw; 7. Hurdles. Answers to Name the Game from page 26: 1. Shooting; 2. Rugby; 3. Gymnastics Artistic Rings; 4. Weightlifting; 5. Basketball; 6. Canoeing; 7. Aquatics Water Polo; 8. Gymnastics Rhythmic; 9. Football/Soccer; 10. Fencing; 11. Aquatics Swimming; 12. Archery; 13. Tennis;…