Literature Baseball and A Stem Lesson ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

When/where did baseball originate? Its most direct ancestors appear to be two English games: rounders (a children’s game brought to New England by the earliest colonists) and cricket. By the time of the American Revolution, variations of such games were being played on schoolyards and college campuses across the country.

They became even more popular in newly industrialized cities where men sought work in the mid-19th century. In September 1845, a group of New York City men founded the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club. One of those men would create a new set of rules that would form the basis for modern baseball, calling for a diamond-shaped infield, foul lines and the three-strike rule. He also abolished the dangerous practice of tagging runners by throwing balls at them. #ouch

Baseball is born! In 1846, the Knickerbockers played the first official game of baseball against a team of cricket players, beginning a new, uniquely American tradition. In 1888, the iconic American Poem “Casey at the Bat” is published in The San Francisco Examiner.

"Love has its sonnets galore. War has its epics in heroic verse "Love has its sonnets galore. War has its epics in heroic verse. Tragedy its sombre story in measured lines. Baseball has Casey at the Bat." Albert Spalding

First, let’s listen… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xWtysMlrcA

In your group… Group 1 – stanzas 2 and 3 Group 2 – stanzas 4 and 5

Now, in your group, FOR YOUR ASSIGNED STANZAS, complete the following: 1. Map out the rhyme scheme (entire poem) 2. Look for unfamiliar words and define (minimum of two). 3. Find one example of figurative language in each stanza. 4. Write a one sentence summary of each stanza. Be prepared to share your information with the class AND turn your work in!

Maddy at the Mall The Uber had just showed up, to Maddy’s lovely home She was headed to her happy place and wouldn’t be alone Her thoughts were looking forward, her mind was in the store, She’d shop until she’d spent it all, and then she’d shop some more. Macy’s was her very first stop, and she was in her happy place. Clothes and shoes and purses and a brand new blankie for her space The sights and sounds and colors were nearly too much to take She found a new perfume to wear and a Louis that wasn’t fake.

Write your own Casey Parody Start with a topic that you (and a partner if want) find interesting, and write a minimum of FOUR stanzas with four lines each. The rhyme scheme should be comparable to Casey (AA, BB, CC, DD, EE, FF,GG, HH). Watch the number of syllables that you use, and don’t make a line so long that it does not flow. We will share these with the class!