Social studies activity
Jesse Owens: Four Gold Medals in Berlin
Learn about a man who ran faster than anyone in the world.
Materials and setup
No special materials are listed; check each step before starting.
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Learn about a man who ran faster than anyone in the world.
Steps
- Tell your child: A man named Jesse Owens could run faster than almost anyone in the whole world. He practiced running every single day.
- One day Jesse went to a big race called the Olympics, where the fastest people from every country come to compete.
- Jesse ran so fast he won! Ask: What do you think it feels like to run as fast as you can?
Learning objectives
- Learn that Jesse Owens was an extraordinary runner
- Be introduced to the concept of the Olympics
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Learn how Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics.
Steps
- Tell the story: Jesse Owens went to the Olympics in 1936 in a city called Berlin, in a country called Germany.
- He ran in the 100-meter race — and won a gold medal! He ran in the 200-meter race — gold medal! He jumped as far as he could in the long jump — gold medal! He ran in a relay race with his team — gold medal!
- Four gold medals! That was amazing.
- Ask: Why do you think winning four gold medals is so hard? What do you think Jesse practiced?
Learning objectives
- Know that Jesse Owens won 4 gold medals at the 1936 Olympics
- Name the four events: 100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100m relay
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Learn about Jesse Owens' four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Steps
- Read about Jesse Owens. Key facts: At the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Jesse Owens won gold medals in four events — the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 meter relay.
- The Olympics were held in Nazi Germany, where the government promoted ideas that some people were better than others based on their race.
- Jesse Owens' four gold medals showed the entire world something different.
- Look at a map and find Berlin, Germany.
- Write: What did Jesse Owens prove with his four gold medals?
Learning objectives
- Know Jesse Owens won 4 golds in 100m, 200m, long jump, and 4x100m relay
- Know the games were held in Berlin, Germany in 1936
- Begin to understand why the achievement was historically significant
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Explore the political context of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and what Jesse Owens' achievement meant as a statement about race and human achievement.
Steps
- Research the 1936 Olympics: Adolf Hitler's Nazi government hosted the games partly as propaganda to show German/Aryan superiority. Nazi racial ideology explicitly claimed that Black people were athletically and intellectually inferior.
- Jesse Owens, a Black American, won 4 gold medals and set world records. His 100m, 200m, long jump, and relay wins were the most medals won by any athlete at those Games.
- Research: There is a story that Hitler refused to shake Owens' hand. Historians say the situation was more complicated — investigate what actually happened.
- Discuss: What did Owens' achievement say to the world at that moment? What was its symbolic power?
- Research: What was life like for Owens back in the United States after the Olympics? He returned to a country that still had racial segregation. How does that complicate the 'triumphant hero' story?
- Write a paragraph: 'Jesse Owens' four gold medals in Berlin mattered because...' Include both the athletic achievement and its historical context.
Learning objectives
- Understand the political context of Nazi Germany hosting the 1936 Olympics
- Analyze how athletic achievement can carry political meaning
- Evaluate sources and complexities in the historical record
- Connect Jesse Owens' story to the experience of Black Americans in the 1930s
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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