Paralympic Games Comprehension

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🎯 WALT: We Are Learning To understand the Paralympic Games and their importance

Read the text below carefully, then answer the questions that follow:

The Paralympic Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical, mental, or sensory disabilities. These incredible athletes compete at the highest level in their sports, showing amazing skill, determination, and sportsmanship. The Paralympic Games are held every four years, just like the Olympic Games, and usually take place in the same host city shortly after the Olympics end.

Paralympic athletes compete in many different sports including swimming, athletics (track and field), wheelchair basketball, cycling, and many others. The athletes are classified into different categories based on their type and level of disability to ensure fair competition. Some athletes may have lost limbs, others may be blind or have cerebral palsy, but they all share a passion for sport and excellence.

The Paralympic Games began in 1948 when Dr Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition for World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. The first official Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes from 23 countries. Today, the Paralympics feature over 4,000 athletes from around 170 countries, making it one of the world's largest sporting events.

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice and True/False

1. How often are the Paralympic Games held?

Every two years

Every four years

Every six years

Every year

2. Where were the first official Paralympic Games held?

London

Paris

Rome

Tokyo

3. True or False: Paralympic athletes compete in the same categories regardless of their disability.

True

False

4. Which sports are mentioned as Paralympic events? (Select all that apply)

Swimming

Wheelchair basketball

Cricket

Athletics (track and field)

✏️ Part 2: Short Answer Questions

5. Who was Dr Ludwig Guttmann and what did he do in 1948?

6. Complete this sentence: Paralympic athletes are classified into different categories to ensure ________________.

7. How has the Paralympic Games grown since 1960? Use numbers from the text to support your answer.

8. Extension Question: Why do you think it's important that the Paralympic Games exist? Explain your thinking with at least two reasons.

9. Extension Question: If you could design a new Paralympic sport, what would it be and why? Consider how it would be fair for athletes with different disabilities.