OBJECTIVES:

 1.      To inform students of the life of Jackie Robinson and his role in paving the way for other members of minority groups to enter Major League Baseball.

 2.      To show the importance of four significant people in Jackie Robinson’s life:  his mother, his wife, Branch Rickey and the sportswriter, Wendell Smith

3.      To have students process information so that they can draw conclusions about a person with strong character traits and to be able to find examples from the passage where those character traits are demonstrated.

 4.      To enable students to take notes while listening, which is a major component of the 8^th grade English Language Arts Exam.

BACKGROUND:

1.      Remind students of the definitions of the terms prejudice, discrimination, racism, racial epithet, bigotry and integration.  These terms have previously been studied by the students in connection with the study of the Holocaust and the reading of the play, “The diary of Ann Frank” and the novel, The Devil’s Arithmetic.  

2.      Students will also have been taught many examples of character traits.  There have been over 25 posters of examples of character traits placed about the classroom.

DESCRIPTION:

Students will listen to a passage about the life of Jackie Robinson.  They will take notes as they listen.  After the passage has been read two times, students will fill in one graphic organizer, answer two short questions, and write on long multi-paragraph response – all based on the notes taken.

MATERIALS:

Students will be given lined paper for their notes.  After they listen to the passage two times, they will also be given a packet in which are contained the questions and the room for their answers for the graphic organizer, the two short questions, and the essay. 

DISCUSSION:
All parts of this listening exercise could be used for discussion questions. 

ASSESSMENT:
The student responses to this ELA Exam – related question will be used as a grade.  The responses will also be analyzed and critiqued for what students have done well and also how their responses could be improved upon.

EXTENSIONS:

1.      This lesson will be used as a lead-in to a shorter analysis of the life of Satchel Paige and his challenges and sometimes amusing episodes in playing baseball as a Black man.

2.      This lesson will also be used as background for student reactions to some of the documents, threats and literature that resulted in the aftermath of Jackie Robinson’s entrance into Major League Baseball.

3.      Furthermore, students will write and later dramatize dialogues they imagine may have taken place between Jackie Robinson and the four significant people in his life as he faced various situations.