A Stitch In Time
 

Preparing The Students A.     Background Clothing styles often reflect what is happening in society or a community, either by what the textile represents or how it is produced.  The cut of the pattern, an emblem sewn on a sleeve, or the selected fabric can be an indicator of a particular belief, mode of self expression or reaction to something that has occurred.  When studied as a type of clothing and popular fashion, changes in baseball uniforms provide a meaningful baseline for measuring important events in U.S. history. B. Necessary     Classroom  Materials Teacher should provide photographs of the following historical events and figures:  Wright Brothers’ 1903 flight  Ford assembly line  Titanic  WWI trench warfare  Suffragette  Charles Lindbergh/  Spirit of St.   Louis  1929 stock market crash  Franklin Delano Roosevelt  Jesse Owens  Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona  WWII era female factory worker  WWII/Iwo Jima  Sputnik  1960’s astronauts  Neil Armstrong  Vietnam war scene  or anti-war  demonstration  1970’s gas crisis  Space shuttle  Challenger explosion  Berlin Wall being torn down  Map of the USSR  The Persian Gulf War   (Desert Storm)  Historical baseball photographs referenced throughout the lesson are available through active links.   C.      Vocabulary Assembly Line Benchmark Century Chronological Communication Cotton Decade Emblem Evolution Fabric Information Manufacturing Mass Production Patch Polyester Satin Synthetic Technology Textiles Timeline Transportation Uniform Wool D.  Suggested                  Pre-Program Activities 1)     Discuss with the students the concept of a timeline and emphasize the different parts of a timeline and how it is used.  Familiarize the students with the following words: timeline, chronological, century, decade. 2)     Have students select a familiar item such as a radio, an airplane, or an automobile.  Consider how this item may have changed over the course of time.  Draw four pictures illustrating how this item may have changed.  Students may also project what these items may look like in the future. 3)     Have students bring in clothing representing a wide range of materials.  Have students identify the materials.  Have students classify themselves according to the materials they are wearing.  Discuss the origins and characteristics of these items.  How and when were the materials used?  A professional baseball team will be moving to your hometown.   Create your own design of uniform to be worn by this team.  Choose the colors, fabrics, emblems as well as team name.

     Examine historical data from v