Official Playbook to the Books of Mike Lupica
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x x x x x xxxxx x ooooooo o o o Two-Minute Drill HC: 978-0-399-24715-6Ages 8–12 · $9.99 PB: 978-0-14-241442-2 · $6.99 THE LINEUP Attention all sports fans! This booklet contains the following discussion questions and activity suggestions: MEET THE MVP Get to know Mike Lupica, newspaper columnist, TV sports commentator, and author of many New York Times bestselling and loved books, such as Heat and Travel Team. Use the information provided to help jumpstart an awesome author study unit that your students—especially boys, reluctant readers, and sports fans—will truly enjoy. OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE Start a true—and fun—literature debate in your classroom! Pair or group your students up and let them express and defend their opinions on the books they read. Discussion questions are included for The Underdogs, The Batboy, Heat, The Big Field, Miracle on 49th Street, Travel Team, Summer Ball, Million-Dollar Throw, and the Comeback Kids series. OVERTIME Enrich your Lupica-based classroom unit by taking advantage of the extension activities we’ve included for each of the books listed above. From language arts and creative writing to current events and art projects, there’s something for every area of the curriculum. TEAM WORK Mike Lupica’s books lend themselves to many areas of thematic study, and as such, can be easily incorporated into classroom discussions and serve as prompts for writing workshops. Combine the elements and characters found in several books to make a complete lesson about a number of important topics. MEET THE MVP All About MIKE LUPICA MIKE LUPICA is one of the most prominent sports writers in America. Over the span of his successful career as a sports columnist, he has proven that he can write for sports fans of all ages and stripes. His column for New York’s Daily News is syndi- cated nationally. And as the author of multiple bestselling books for young readers, including Heat, Travel Team, and The Big Field, Mr. Lupica has carved out a niche as the sporting world’s finest storyteller. Photo © Diane H. Reilly He began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with New York’s Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television and radio to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN’sThe Sports Reporters. He also hosted his own program, The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2. Lupica has published articles in many magazines and has received numerous honors, including the 2003 Jim Murray Award from the National Football Foundation. His young adult and middle-grade novels have shot up the New York Times bestseller list and been selected for many state children’s choice awards across the country. Lupica is also what he describes as a “serial Little League coach,” a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his children, three sons and a daughter. He and his family live in Connecticut. Visit Mike Lupica at www.mikelupicabooks.com A WORD FROM MIKE LUPICA ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING PART OF A TEAM “Sports teach kids about being on a team, being part of something greater than themselves if they play hard and well and unselfishly. If they can learn that, they can apply it to anything they do, in or out of sports, for the rest of their lives. The great coaches in Little League are the same as the great coaches in the big leagues: Get a bunch of different kids, every one with different talents and backgrounds and attitudes and get them on the same page—get them to be better in the end than they thought they could be. When it works, it’s a wonderful thing. I still use the first coaching plan I ever got, when my middle son first started playing YMCA basketball, from my best friend Paul Westphal, a great NBA player and coach: If you’re open, shoot. If somebody else is more open, pass him the ball and let him shoot. Have fun. ffd Now in THE UNDERDOGS Paperback! THE GAME PLAN: About the Book Will Tyler can really fly on a football field. He may not be the biggest running back around, but no one can touch him when it comes to hitting the hole and finding the end zone. And no one can match his love of the game. When Will has a football in hand, he may as well be flying for real because life can’t touch him—his dad isn’t so defeated, his town isn’t so poor, and everyone has something to cheer for. All of which does him no good if the foot- ball season is canceled. With no funding for things like uniforms and a cared-for playing field, with seemingly every other family moving to find jobs, there simply isn’t enough money or players for the season. Unless one kid can rally an entire town and give everyone a reason to believe. OFFENSE VS. DEFENSE Discussion Questions The word “stereotype” is used to describe a reference to an entire group of people (often using the words “always” and “all”) without consideration for each individual’s true personality or actions. Identify such instances (about girls, football players, big corporations, etc.) in the book. Discuss whether these assumptions are valid based on the evidence in the book. Will’s dad tells him that it is not about getting knocked down; it’s how you get back up. What are some of the biggest knock-downs (obstacles) Will, Hannah, Mr. Tyler, Toby, and Mr. Keenan encoun- ter and how does each of them overcome these stumbling blocks? Compare and contrast Mr. Tyler and Mr. Keenan. Do you think that Mr. Tyler should have the knee replacement surgery? Why? On page 167, Mr. Tyler says, “...because I didn’t see how we lost anything with Chris Aielo at QB.” However, Lupica writes, “It wasn’t true. Will knew it and his dad knew it, because they’d talked about it. But he was trying to pump up his quarterback...” and boost the team’s morale. Do you think that it is all right to tell “little white lies”? Discuss your reasons. Do you think Mr. Tyler is the right person to coach The Bulldogs? Find specific examples of his coaching style to support your opinion. To you, which is the most exciting game or moment in the story? Analyze this scene and discuss how the author manages to keep the readers engaged. On page 192, we learn that the “big players” (not just in size) are supposed to make everybody around them better. In what ways are Will, Hannah, and Mr. Tyler big players? There are quite a few conflicts in the story and several characters find creative ways to resolve them. Identify two such conflicts and discuss how they are resolved. Will never wants an unhappy ending in movies, or in his own life story. Do you feel the same way? First describe your reactions to the ending of The Underdogs. Then, based on what you’ve come to know about Will and Mr. Tyler, predict how they will act and feel if the outcome of the championship game is the opposite. Also imagine how you, as a reader, will feel if this happens. ffd OVERTIME Extension Activities Research New Balance’s company history and recent company news. Based on your research, write a press release for their website reporting on the sponsorship of the Bulldogs. Examples of their actual press releases can be found at www.newbalance.com/public-relations/library. Will wrote a very persuasive and effective letter to the CEO of New Balance, enlisting their sponsor- ship for the Bulldogs. In fact, most big companies are involved in many worthy community or global causes. Partner with a classmate and identify a worthy cause that you both feel passionate about. Choose a major company, find the name of its top executive, and write a persuasive letter to him/her explaining why and how they can help with your cause. Although Hannah proves to be a valuable player for the Bulldogs in The Underdogs, the idea of girls playing contact football remains a controversial one. Hold a debate tournament of 5-people teams. Prepare to argue both the Pros and Cons on this issue. Base your arguments on hard facts, history, and research reports and not just personal gut reactions. Mr. Tyler designed a “retro looking” uniform for the Bulldogs. This is sometimes called a “throw- back uniform.” Search online and see what your favorite team’s uniform looked like (in any sport) in 1950s or 1960s and design a team uniform for an imagined youth team based on this look. Pretend that you are a reporter from the Forbes Dispatch and write an interview of one or more of the characters in the book after the last game. (300-500 words) Heroes aren’t found only on the field.... Hero Zach Harriman knew that his dad was something of a hero, a man trusted by the president to solve international crises at a moment’s notice. Suddenly people are telling him he has powers—people who know much more about his father than Zach ever did. One thing is clear: he can do things ordinary people cannot.