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London 2012 Paralympics

Three literacy and story telling ideas

Torch relay lighting the flame in the temple of Hera

Try out three literacy and story telling ideas and bring the Torch Relay to life!

These writing topics enable the children to explore what it might feel like to be part of the big occasion, either in the past or as a London 2012 Torchbearer.

1. My ‘moment to shine’

Ask the children to imagine they have been selected as a Torchbearer who is re-telling the story of their big day.

Structure the account around three paragraphs – beginning, middle and end.

  1. Anticipation – setting the scene and getting ready.
  2. The Flame approaches – the Torchbearer has their moment to shine in the Torch Relay.
  3. After the event – talking to the press, friends and family.

Follow this link for an example story: The day in the life of a torchbearer

2. Just picture this

Go to the image bank and ask the children to select three pictures from the Olympic Torch Relay section. For example, lighting the Sacred Flame at Olympia, exchanging the Flame across the water or bringing the Torch into the stadium.

Ask them to compile these images into a little book for younger children and to write sentences for each image. Can they include the following information?

  • When and where will the Flame be lit? (Greece on 10 May 2012)
  • What does the Flame represent? (Peace, unity and friendship)
  • How many Torchbearers will carry the torch across the UK? (8,000)

3. Pass it on…

Try writing a relay story. Three children act as joint authors passing the story on from one to the other:

  1. The first writer starts by setting the scene and describing the characters.
  2. The second writes the middle section which sets out a conflict or problem to be solved.
  3. The third resolves the conflict and ties up the endings to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Suggested titles for the writing relay:

Theft from the temple at Hera!

This is the temple at Olympia where the Flame was lit from the sun’s rays as part of a traditional ceremony. What might happen if there was a theft just before the important ceremony?

It’s the deadline – nomination for Torchbearer!

This might be about a race against the clock to submit a nomination for a Torchbearer. The writers can tell the story about why the nominee is inspirational.

‘Let me see!’

The crowds are lining the streets to watch the Flame go by, but there’s someone in the crowd who can’t get a good view.