Read & Explore 90: Swimming

Do you swim? Swimming is a popular sport around the world. It is the act of moving through water using your arms and legs. Swim events are called meets. The sport of swimming was created in England. The first swimming pools for racing were built in the early 1800s. The first known swim meets took place at these pools in the 1830s.

Swimmers can race alone or with a team. A team race is called a relay. The fastest time wins the race! Most people watch the sport during the Olympics. There are four strokes used in swim races. Freestyle is the fastest stroke. It is also called the front crawl. Swimmers swim the backstroke on their backs. Swimmers kick their legs like a frog for the breaststroke. For butterfly, swimmers kick their feet like a dolphin.

Swimmers use equipment to help them move quickly through the water. Swimsuits are lightweight and tight. A loose swimsuit would slow a swimmer down in the water. Swimmers also wear swim caps and googles. Swim caps hold back hair. Goggles allow swimmers to see underwater. Being able to see under water lets swimmers stay in their lanes. They also know when they reach the end of the pool.

Activities:

1. What are the four strokes used in swim races? Can you draw pictures to illustrate them? Have a try.

2. A rectangular Olympic swimming pool is 25 meters wide. Its length is twice its width. Find the pool’s perimeter and area. Then watch videos to enjoy a swimming song and an artistic swimming performance at London 2012 Olympic Games.

 

Read & Explore 89: Basketball

Do you play basketball? Basketball is a quite popular sport. All people need to play was a ball, a basket, and a court. People can play basketball indoor or outdoor throughout the year. Basketball became a sport in 1891. Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born physical education instructor invented it for his students at Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. In 1949, the American National Basketball Association (NBA) was established and became key to the tremendous growth of basketball as a professional sport. It had 17 teams. Today it has 30.

In a basketball game, there are two teams. Five players from each team play at a time. The area they play on is called a court. Each team has a hoop on one end of the court. Players bounce the ball. This is called dribbling. Players pass the ball to teammates. They shoot the basketball through the hoop. The other team tries to stop them. They take the ball away. Then they get a chance to score a basket. Each basket is worth points. Most are worth two points. Some are worth three points. The team with the most points wins the game.

Activities:

1. The tallest players ever in the NBA were Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, who were both 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm) tall. Muggsy Bogues was the shortest NBA player in history, at 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm). Find the three players’ height differences in inch.

2. Have you played basketball? If yes, please introduce your experience to a partner. If not, retell this passage. Then enjoy videos about an amazing basketball kid and a basketball song.