OPT B1 CLIL Units9-10 Worksheet

9–10 CLIL | History B1
1 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1 What does the word ‘marathon’ mean?
2 Which famous marathon races do you know about?
Are there any in your country?
3 Would you like to run in a marathon?
2 Read the article. How many kilometres are there

in a modern marathon?
The origins of the marathon

Date: 490 BC
War: Greek and Persia Marathon
Place: Between city of Athens and town of Marathon
Athens
Winners: Greece
Name of messenger: Pheidippides
Distance: 40km
If you do athletics, you’ll know what a marathon is, Today, marathon races take place everywhere from
but do you know how it originated? the North Pole to the Great Wall of China. In the USA
The marathon commemorates a famous event in alone, there are now more than 1,100 marathons
ancient Greece. In 490 BC, a battle took place in the each year. For decades, marathons were only open
Greek town of Marathon between the Greeks and the to male athletes. The Boston Marathon, which kicked
Persians. The Persian army was larger and stronger off in 1897 and is the world’s oldest annual marathon,
than the Greek army, but the Greek army resisted began allowing female competitors in 1972, while
and miraculously won the battle. A soldier called the first Olympic marathon for women wasn’t held
Pheidippides was sent to Athens to tell the people until 1984.
about the Greek victory. Pheidippides ran the 40
kilometres between Marathon and the capital without
stopping. When he arrived, he shouted ‘We have
won!’ but then he collapsed and died.
When the first modern Olympics took place in
Athens in 1896, a 40-kilometre running race between
Marathon and Athens was one of the events. It was
called the marathon. At the London Olympics in 1908,
the organisers wanted the marathon to finish directly
in front of the British royal family in the stadium. As
a result, they added an extra 2.195 kilometres to
the marathon! Since then, all marathons are 42.195
kilometres (26.2 miles).
Optimise B1 Optimise B1 Teacher’s Resource Centre © Springer Nature Limited 2019.

This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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9–10 CLIL | History B1
3 Read the text again and complete the DID YOU KNOW?
summary.
❍ The astronaut, Sunita Williams, was the first
In (1) BC there was a
person to run a marathon in space on board the
battle between the armies of Greece and
(2) . The battle was in Greece,
International Space Station in 2007. Tim Peake also
in an area between (3) and ran a marathon on the space station in 2017.
the town of (4) . Greece had ❍ In 2010, the first kilomathon was launched. This
a smaller army than Persia but race is 26.2 km (16.3 miles) and so lies between a
(5) won the battle! half and a full marathon.
A messenger called (6)
ran from the town of Marathon to
(7) to tell the people of PROJECT
Athens about the victory. It was a distance of
(8) . When he reached the city 6 Research the history of another sporting
the messenger said ‘We have won!’ and then event, e.g. the World Cup, the Tour de
he died. France, the Cambridge and Oxford boat
race, or you can choose the history of a
4 Read the text again and answer the
particular sport, e.g. the triathlon, golf,
questions.
rugby, etc. In pairs, prepare a short article
1 Why was Pheidippides sent to Athens? about it. Do your research online and find
out as many facts as possible.
2 What happened to Pheidippides after he got
to Athens? 7 When you have done your research, write
a short text about your sport using the
article as a model. Illustrate your project
3 How long was the marathon race in the first
Olympic games? with photos or illustrations. Display your
articles around the classroom.

4 How did the marathon change in the London
Olympics of 1908? VOCABULARY FOCUS
annual [adj]: once a year
5 What is special about the Boston marathon? battle [n]: a fight between two armies in a war
collapse [v]: to fall down suddenly

commemorate [v]: a way of remembering a special
6 When were women runners allowed to compete person or event
in an Olympic marathon race?
kick off [v]: to begin or start up
miraculous [adj]: amazing or extremely unexpected
5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. origins [n]: the place or moment when something
begins
1 Do you know which sports have been around
for the longest? Discuss how you think they
originated.
2 Are there any sports or sporting events which
originated in your country?
Optimise B1 Optimise B1 Teacher’s Resource Centre © Springer Nature Limited 2019.

This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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9–10 CLIL | History B1

1 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

2 Read the article. How many kilometres are there

The origins of the marathon

Optimise B1 Optimise B1 Teacher’s Resource Centre © Springer Nature Limited 2019.

Optimise B1 Optimise B1 Teacher’s Resource Centre © Springer Nature Limited 2019.

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