Lesson 1 Plan
Ages 9-11
Lesson: Technology in Sport
Objective: Get students to think about the increasing role of technology in sport and how its
presence will continue to grow in the future.
Materials: A3 blank paper
Competition: 2016 is the year of the Rio Olympics! With this in mind we have been thinking about
the increasing role of technology in the sporting world. As well as taking an interest in all the super
human athletes that will be gracing our screens, here at Gadget Show Live we are of course also
interested in all the great technology that has been introduced to sport in recent years.
Gadget Show Live is running a nationwide competition to find the best ’Robot Olympian’ of the
future designed by 9-11 year olds. We want to see your pupil’s design a famous GB Olympian to
compete in our Robo Olympics. In groups of no more than 4, children need to draw and describe
their Robot Olympian using the template on A3 paper.
Lesson 1 structure:
Total time
50 mins
Technology in Sport
You will find resources to support your lesson plan at
www.gadgetshowlive.net/teachers
Introduction
 Explain the competition and make the connection between the Olympics.
- Show introductory video
15 mins

-
Show YouTube clips of controversial moments in sport where the outcome
has been decided by technology (photo finishes, controversial football goals
and tricky wickets)
Ask the children what they thought the outcome was for each clip.
Were they right?
Would we have been able to fairly award the winner without technology and
what are the consequences of not having technology to help us with these
decisions?
100m sprint – who won?
F1- Photo finish – which car won the race?
Cricket - was it in or out?
Top 10 Tennis Close Calls- was it in or out?
Long Jump- Was this an illegal jump?
1) 15 mins
2) 20 mins
Activities
1. Look at how technology has changed the sporting world and how we enjoy sport
as an audience
 Show historic clip of football match and ask children how watching football
has changed in the last 50 years using the prompt questions in the portal.
Divide your class into small group to discuss the role of;
- Catch up television
- Playback TV
- The Red Button
Get each group to feedback their ideas to the class.
2. Look at how the growth of technology has changed the way athletes train and
compete.
- Introduce examples of how athletes used to train using resources and
explanations in the portal.
- Get children to work in groups to order the sporting equipment on a 100
year timeline.
Conclusion
Briefly explain the tasks again and provide an overview of the conclusions the class
came to about how technology in sport has changed for both supporters and athletes
over recent years.
20-30 mins
Homework/ Starter Activity for Lesson 2
Research a list of attributes needed to be an Olympic athlete in 1 of the competition
categories. What are the key skills a person would need to be good at these sports?
Do they need to be tall, fast, have strength or be agile?
- Football
- Triathlon
- Tennis
- Heptathlon
- Gymnastics
Supporting materials can be found at www.gadgetshowlive.net/teachers
Further information on the competition rules are included in this pack. Hard copy entries for the
competition need to be sent to:
FAO: Gadget Show Live
Upper Street Events
58 White Lion Street
London
N1 9PP
Lesson 2 Plan
Ages 9-11
Lesson: Technology in Sport
Objective: Get children to think about attributes that make a good athlete and use these attributes
to design a Robotic Olympian to compete for Team GB in a Robot Olympics.
Materials: A3 blank paper, colouring pencils, paint, glitter, glue, coloured paper etc.
Lesson 2 structure:
Total time
50-60 mins
10 mins
10 mins
Technology in Sport
Supporting materials can be found at www.gadgetshowlive.net/teachers
Introduction
Discuss the homework – compare lists of attributes needed by athletes in the
following sports.
- Football
- Triathlon
- Tennis
- Heptathlon
Gymnastics
Activities
1) In groups of no more then 4, get the children to discuss what technology could
help athletes have these attributes.
e.g. A high jumper could benefit from having springs as legs.
10 mins
2) Ask each group to feed back their ideas to the class, discussing the merit of each
robotic element to the athlete.
20-30 mins
3) Ask the children to draw what they think our famous GB athletes of the future will
look like in 1 of the 5 sports listed below –using colouring pencils etc.
Use the entry sheet provided with this pack and get them to write a brief description
of what it is, its features, how it works etc. We’ve uploaded some famous faces to
our portal, for children to use as heads for their robots.
- Footballer - Wayne Rooney
- Triathlete - The Brownlee Brothers
- Tennis player - Andy Murray
- Heptathlete - Jessica Ennis-Hill
- Gymnast – Beth Tweddle
Take a look at our teacher portal for a photo of our ‘Robo Jason’ to give them an idea
of what we are after.
Conclusion
Ask the children if any of them wants to briefly show their idea to the class
Remind them of the competition and collate entries
5 mins
‘Robot Olympian’ Entry Form
Names:
Ages:
School:
Gadget Show Live: Primary Schools Challenge
We want to see your design of a famous GB Olympian to compete in our Robo Olympics! Design a Robotic
Olympian body for one of these famous faces;
-
Footballer - Wayne Rooney
Triathlete - The Brownlee Brothers
Tennis player - Andy Murray
Heptathlete - Jessica Ennis-Hill
Gymnast – Beth Tweddle
Use colouring pencils, pens, crayons, glitter, glue…anything you want and all that you’ve learnt in class about
technology and sport, draw us what you think our GB athletes will look like in the future! We want to know
what technology will make your robot better than all the others in the competition. Some ideas we’ve had for
other sports;
An Olympic champion high jumper might have springs in their legs, but would need to be light so that they can
jump the highest in the competition, whilst 100m sprinters need to be aerodynamic, like a rocket to make
them faster. We want to see as much tech on each robot as possible!
Use the piece of A3 paper provided by your teacher and draw us your athlete of the future. You also need to
write a short description on how it works in the space below. Good luck!