Curriculum Resource Guide Grades 3-5
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Curriculum Resource Guide Grades 3-5 Curriculum Resource Guide Overview The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Curriculum Guide is designed as a resource for teachers planning a field trip to the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. The Guide offers background material, resources, activities and suggestions that will aid in planning a successful, Pennsylvania Academic Standards-based enrichment experience that begins in the classroom, moves to the museum, and concludes back in the classroom. The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Curriculum Guide is not intended to function as a complete curriculum package. It is: • An assemblage of resources to enable efficient and effective learning in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. • Challenging and informative activities to assist teachers in planning their pre-, on site, and post-visit goals and objectives. • Designed to encourage a pro-active classroom field trip experience • Linked to PA Academic Standards to help emphasize to administrators the value of a Sports Museum experience. Specifically, the Guide contains: • pre- and post-visit activities linked to Pennsylvania Academic Standards • background literature for teachers • student activity sheets and teacher answer keys • essential questions to assist in planning • suggestions for incorporating the Sports Museum into the teaching of history, science and technology, and health, safety and physic education. • an evaluation form for teachers to assess the guide The Guide’s objectives are aligned with those of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum to (Related objectives for teachers are indicated in parentheses.) : • Marshal the evidence that Pittsburgh has experiences high levels of success in sport, surpassing other cities of similar size (Western Pennsylvania citizens have met a higher rate of excellence in sport than citizens in other similarly sized US cities, making sports part of the unique culture of the region.). • Interpret the lives of individuals from the region using biography. • Explore the integral themes of the region: community, identity, ethnicity, race, gender, immigration, Americanization and industrialization (The history of sports in Western Pennsylvania can be used to teach many of the themes prevalent in the PA Academic Standards). • Engage and inspire both regional and national visitors with exhibit content, physical space, and sensory experience . • Foster a dynamic exhibit to increase collections, expand storylines and encourage repeat visitation (encourage students to view sport as part of the human experience that links people with one another and with communities). 2 How to Use this Guide in the Classroom Sports aren’t just about what happens on the playing field. Educators will find that this guide emphasizes the many ways that sport influences western Pennsylvania history. In fact, sports can be used to teach about a variety of subjects ranging from history to science and from physical education to technology. Ultimately, the guide is meant to enrich and complement classroom curricula in these subjects by providing resources and ideas while engaging students in the topic of sport. Teachers can use the guide to: • interpret the impact of sport in Western Pennsylvania history • suggest research topics, form assignments and evaluate learning • establish field trip expectations and responsibilities • generate classroom discussion • link personal experience with sport to the region’s communities and individuals throughout history • foster intergenerational dialogue about how communities define themselves • validate sport as an enriching life experience • meet PA Academic Standards for History; Health, Safety and Physical Education; Science and Technology Suggestions and activities are provided throughout the guide to assist teachers in meeting these goals. Some activities are fully developed, including systems for evaluation and students activity sheets. Other components offer ideas which teachers can tailor to their respective school and classroom goals. In the end, it is up to each teacher to decide how much of the guide she/he will use. At the end of this packet is an evaluation form. If you use these activities, please let us know how they helped prepare your students for their visit and continue their learning experience after the museum program. 3 Materials for Introducing the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Locker Room Label Copy “The story begins here. In the locker room- where Pittsburghers transform themselves, shedding the stuff of everyday life and girding for competition. Those who prepared here took to sandlots and stadiums around the region and created a story in sport unlike that of any other place in America. The story is one of sacrifice and struggle, of hardworking people who never give up and in the end, triumph. No city of comparable size has matched Pittsburgh’s success in sport. Its teams have won more than a score of championships; its athletes have created some of sport’s enduring moments and memories. Sport is central to bolstered identity. It has fostered cohesion and bolstered identity, giving diverse groups and arena in which they could perform and gain a positive sense of themselves and of each other. This is a story about a sporting world that Pittsburghers created on their own. It’s about the unforgettable and the almost forgotten- the people who forged an identity through sport, transforming the city and sports itself. They made Pittsburgh the City of Champions.” - Main Exhibit Label in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum Locker Room Sports Museum Exhibit Themes The following themes for the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum were developed with the input of Dr. Rob Ruck, sports historian at the University of Pittsburgh. They are: • Success- Pittsburgh has experienced a level of success in sport, especially at the professional level, that surpasses that of any other city of comparable size. • Identity - Sports, as much as steel, has cast an indelible image of Pittsburgh to the world. Sports reflect the sacrifices and commitment and the strength and spirit that many identify with Pittsburgh and its people. • Community - Sports is a unifier, it has brought communities together and allowed neighborhoods to compete on an equal footing. Sports can foster cohesion within groups of people and promote interaction across racial, ethnic, and class lines. • Opportunity - Sports has offered an avenue of opportunity and sometimes escape from the mill towns of the region. In addition, it has offered otherwise marginalized groups- immigrants, African Americans, and working class- the opportunity to achieve. • Industry - Pittsburgh developed as a leader in sport, especially professional sports, in part due to its industrial prowess. With a strong middle class with both the time and means to participate as spectators and the industrial wealth to attract and pay talent as well as create and maintain the infrastructure of competition, Pittsburgh became a leader in the development and shaping of sport. • Biography and the Human Condition - The vehicle of biography, important to state curriculum standards, is used as an interpretive tool within the exhibits that not only teaches about the lives of individuals from the region, but also engages and inspires our visitors. 4 • Regional and National Context- This region has produced an abundance of athletes, born here, but whose success in sports was achieved elsewhere. While Pittsburgh sees those individuals (such as Joe Namuth, Dan Marino, Swin Cash, Stan Musial) as our native sons and daughters, we recognize that they have national reputations and name recognition. This allows the Sports Museum to tell a regional story, important to local residents, but with the ability to appeal and attract visitors from across the country. Essential Questions General: How have sports shaped the history of Western Pennsylvania? Why do you think Pittsburgh has been so successful at sport? What can sports tell us about society/ culture/ history? How can sports change how we view history/ social studies/ civics/ physical education? How can the Sports Museum change how we view history/ social studies/ civics/ physical education? Sports Biographies: What did ___name of player____ do that helped change sport in Pittsburgh? What do you think is the biggest challenge athletes face? Do the stories of Pittsburgh athletes inspire you? Why or why not? About Sport: All are sport competitions? Explain your answer. What is the meaning of sports? How do sports challenge people? How do you define sports? American Pastimes: Why do people participate in sports? Sport and Identity: What lessons do athletes learn by participating in community sports? Why do you think the Pittsburgh area has so many athletes? Which sport do you consider to be the best representation of American sport? Why? How do sports impact communities? Why did certain immigrant groups participate in certain sports? How can sport teach us about identity? What can we learn about western Pennsylvanians through sports? Why are certain athletic fields, such as Forbes Field or Three Rivers Stadium, icons of sport in Pittsburgh? What might these places mean? Sports and Segregation: What do the Negro Leagues tell us about that period in history? Why was Pittsburgh so important to African American baseball fans during the early 1900s? How did Title IX change sports for women in Pittsburgh? Sport and Relevance: What sport do you most enjoy? Why?