Could BASEBALL transform my classroom? Aubrey Brammar

My Goal: To meet my United States History students were they were in terms of interest in history Final product: How did baseball impact America, and how did America impact baseball? Due: April 29,2011 Task: You are to come up with your own project that answers the question, “how did baseball impact America, and how did America impact baseball?” Time period: You must include: Presidents Music Wars Natural disasters Five most impactful inventions Top 10 greatest moments in America 15 greatest baseball events *Remember your project must show America through the eyes of baseball. Your project should be creative and unique. You may not make a poster.

How was I going to get my students to this point? 2 current events ( all of our current events relate the past to what is currently going on) 1 field trip to Turner Field History Museum 1 timeline test connecting baseball with post civil war history 1 essay on the history of baseball and the effects of the Civil War Recorded interviews with Great Depression survivors 2 cyber hunts 2 quizzes 2 films (Eight Men Out and The Jackie Robinson Story 1 documentary (Red White Black& Blue) 1 encyclopedia workday 3 internet research workdays 4 surveys along the way

How was I going to get to the place to be able to teach my students about a sport I really didn’t know that much about? Step 1: Inform parents about your new adventure Step 2:Research articles, books, websites, timelines, encyclopedias *Helpful books & Articles: Browne, R. B. (2007). Baseball in the Classroom: Essays on Teaching the National Pastime by Edward J. Rielly, Editor. Journal of American Culture, 30(3), 335. doi: /j X x Cooper, B., & Walker, D. E. (1990). Baseball, popular music and twentieth-century American history. (Cover story). Social Studies, 81(3), 120. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Edgington, W. D., & Hyman, W. (2005). Using Baseball in Social Studies Instruction: Addressing the Five Fundamental Themes of Geography. Social Studies, 96(3), Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Fischer, D. (2007). The Ultimate Question and Answer Book, Baseball. Irvington: Hydra Publishing. McElmeel, S. L., & Holbrook, B. (2000). Baseball--In Every Corner of the Classroom. Library Talk, 13(3), 30. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Tope, J. (2008). Fighting the Second World War in Paradise with a Bat and Glove: Major League Baseball Comes to Hawai'i. Hawaiian Journal of History, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. White, R. (1999). Jackie Robinson and History in the Classroom. BLACFAX, 9(37), 4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Step 3: You do not have to recreate the wheel. Borrow, borrow, borrow. Step 4: give the students ownership to discover some of the information on their own. Step 5: Have students design their own work Step 6: Let students find baseball connections to history because they have already been taught to research, connect ideas, and critically think. Step 6: Learn as you go!

Comments on the teaching of history through baseball work in my classroom Our baseball unit started on March 14 and ended on April 29. (Next time I will make it a shorter time period) Originally I taught baseball concepts first and then the history lessons, after our first quiz grade I switched to teaching history first and adding baseball anecdotes. Often times, the students I was trying to reach loved baseball and therefore thought they didn’t need to study for our first test. My students turned in the best current events they had ever done. My students seemed very interested during the research process for the final project. ( Topics being studied: drug use, Atlanta, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, stadium development, city growth and many more) Our field trip was the most interesting one had been in our current school year.