Baseball in America The All-American Sport? An interdisciplinary unit for the intermediate levels (Grades 5-8) Developed by With the support of Lisa Sax, NIE Coordinator/ Curriculum Writer Melanie Jivoff, Special Educator, Vicki Krisak, NIE Coordinator, Lincoln Middle School, The Post Standard, Syracuse, NY The Post-Star, Glens Falls, NY Syracuse City School District Anne Marie Voutsinas, Director, Layout and Design by Deborah Melfi, Science Educator, Syracuse Teacher Center, Syracuse, NY Lincoln Middle School, Jill Emery, Circulation Promotion Artist, The Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY Syracuse City School District Reviewed by Kelvin Chase, Special Educator, Mary Miller, NIE Coordinator Project funded through a grant from Lincoln Middle School, New York Newspaper Publishers the New York Newspapers Foundation, Syracuse City School District Association, Albany, NY in collaboration with The Post-Standard and the Syracuse Teacher Center Table of Contents Introduction..............................................................3 New York State Learning Standards...........................4 Learning Standards in Specific Lessons.......................5 Lesson 1 The Words of Baseball.................................8 Lesson 2 The Culture of Baseball...............................9 Lesson 3 The World Series......................................10 Lesson 4 Home Field Advantage..............................12 Lesson 5 Baseball Ethics...........................................15 Lesson 6 The Negro Leagues...................................17 Lesson 7 Fantasy Baseball Predictions.....................19 Lesson 8 Baseball Science........................................20 Lesson 9 Images of Baseball....................................24 Lesson 10 Player Statistics.......................................26 Lesson 11 Leave It to the Girls.................................28 Lesson 12 What’s the Bat Got to Do With It?...........31 Culminating Activity................................................34 Culminating Activity Rubric.....................................35 Selected Resources..................................................36 Selected Web Sites..................................................37 2 Baseball in America The All-American Sport? aseball is the "all-American sport", or is it? indicators at the intermediate level (grades 5 - 8). BWhat is it about baseball that makes it Lessons may be modified for younger or older stu- American? The American origins of baseball, like dents by providing additional time, using coopera- America, have been rooted in other nations. tive groups, or adjusting the reading or writing Baseball has been part of American history since task to meet the level of the student. the Civil War and has remained a strong part of the culture through Assuming the role of artist, architect, newspaper world wars, the Great Depression, reporter, historian, news commentator, poet or the Civil Rights Movement, and the devel- concerned citizen, students will complete a culmi- opment of the "Global Village" and is now nating activity of their choice. The project must included as an Olympic event. Baseball address the question: "Is baseball the all- has been, since the first game, intrin- American sport?" sic in this country. Americans have made baseball the sport it is Choices include: today. As American culture has • Create a piece of art, prose changed, the sport of baseball has or poetry that conveys a message. changed. Include a reflection about the meaning of the created work. Baseball is so tied to our American way of life • Build a stadium of the future, with written that it provides a unique perspective about life and annotation of all aspects of the design. American values, including heroism, talent, team- • Write a feature story for the newspaper that work, and persistence. Baseball is a frequent explains how baseball has reflected the cultural, theme in American literature. Dozens of stories historical, economic, and political changes in and books are written every year highlighting the America since 1840. game or using the sport as a backdrop to illustrate • Write an editorial that supports a position about larger issues. Examples span a history of fascina- the importance of baseball in the lives of our tion with the game from the oldies like "Casey at ancestors and our lives today, or that states an the Bat" and "Who's on First" to modern favorites opinion about an issue in the sports news of the "A League of Their Own" and "The Sandlot." past or present. This unit is comprised of 12 lessons that can be Depending on the level of the student, more taught as a complete unit culminating in a final than one activity may be assigned. project or as separate lessons. In these lessons, students will access and interpret information from The completed project should be disseminated in the newspaper, the Internet, reference books, and a real life context, including exhibiting at a local teacher-made materials to research the question, baseball park or museum, or submitting to the "Is baseball the All-American sport?" Each lesson local newspaper. The works might also be submit- is based on New York State standards in mathe- ted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, matics, English language arts, social studies, sci- New York. ence and the arts and is linked to performance 3 New York State Learning Standards Addressed in the Guide demonstrate their understanding of English Language Arts major ideas, eras, themes, Standard 1: developments, and turning Students will read, write, listen, and speak for points in the history of information and understanding. As listeners and the United States and readers, students will collect data, facts, and New York. ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and gen- eralizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and The Arts written language to acquire, interpret, apply, and Standard 1: transmit information. Creating, Performing and Participating in the Standard 2: Arts - Students will actively engage in the Students will read, write, listen, and speak for lit- processes that constitute creation and perform- erary response and expression. Students will ance in the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visu- read and listen to oral, written, and electronically al arts) and participate in various roles in the produced texts and performances, relate texts arts. and performances to their own lives, and devel- op an understanding of the diverse social, histor- ical, and cultural dimensions the texts and per- Mathematics, Science, and Technology formances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language for Standard 1: self-expression and artistic creation. Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific Standard 3: inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate, to pose questions, seek answers, and develop Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and solutions. readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, Standard 3: information, and issues presented by others Students will understand mathematics and using a variety of established criteria. As speak- become mathematically confident by communi- ers and writers, they will present, in oral and cating and reasoning mathematically, by apply- written language and from a variety of perspec- ing mathematics in real-world settings, and by tives, their opinions and judgments on experi- solving problems through the integrated study ences, ideas, information and issues. of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry. Standard 4: Social Studies Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to Standard 1: the physical setting and living environment and History of the United States and New York - recognize the historical development of ideas in Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to science. 4 Lesson NYS Standard Performance Indicators at the Intermediate Level • Interpret and analyze information from reference materials ELA 1 • Use standard English for formal presentations of information, 1 selecting appropriate grammatical constructions and vocabulary • Relate texts and performances to their own lives and devel- ELA2 op an understanding of the diverse social, historical and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent 2 • Use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation • Compare and synthesize information from different sources ELA 1 • Develop information with appropriate supporting material, such as facts, details, illustrative examples, or anecdotes 3 • Use standard English for formal presentations of information, selecting appropriate grammatical constructions and vocabulary, observing the rules of punctuation, capitalization and spelling • Interpret and analyze information from textbooks and non- ELA 1 fiction books as well as reference materials intended for the general audience 4 • Compare and synthesize information from different sources • Organize information to compare and contrast • Explore the meaning of American culture by identifying the SS 1 key ideas, beliefs, and patterns of behavior, and traditions that help unite all Americans 5 • Interpret the ideas, values and beliefs contained in the U.S. Constitution • Interpret and analyze information from textbooks