Enrichment and Assessment Activities

 A.     Ask students to write a fictional newspaper account of a game involving Jackie Robinson.  In the article, refer to his performance and the demeanor of the crowd.  Include quotes from Robinson, his teammates and opponents.

 B.     Write a letter about Jackie Robinson to Branch Rickey.  Choose one of the following and write it from that perspective: (1) a white fan in the Northern states; (2) an African-American fan in the Northern states; (3) a white fan in the Southern states; (4) an African-American fan in the Southern states; (5) a fellow team owner opposed to integration; and (6) a fellow team owner in favor of integration.  Try to use ideas and feelings each person might have actually expressed.

C.     The poem, “Dream Deferred,” by Langston Hughes is a commentary on the postponement of a vision.  Read the poem and answer the following questions.  Hughes uses many images to tell what may happen to a “Dream Deferred.”  Choose one of these images and explain what it means to you.  What do you think the last line means?  How is this literary work relevant to Jackie Robinson’s integration of Baseball?  Write your own poem related to the “dream” or how Jackie Robinson helped begin to fulfill the dream.

D.     Develop a role play scene or skit to recreate one of the following situations: (1) Jackie Robinson’s first interview with Branch Rickey; (2) the presentation of a petition by some Brooklyn Dodgers in an attempt to prevent Robinson from playing with them.  Manager Leo Durocher and General Manager Branch Rickey refuse the petition; (3) Robinson in a game situation dealing with hostile, abusive fans.

E.      Write a creative story about Jackie Robinson or a famous Negro leagues player.  Incorporate in their proper context as many of the vocabulary terms for this lesson as is possible.

F.      Using a digital camera, ask students to create their own baseball trading card.  The front should show the player in full uniform of a Negro leagues team, holding either a bat or glove and ball.  The back of the card may show a smaller view of the player and should list personal reflections on Jackie Robinson’s greatest achievement, as well as how he or she can make the world a better place by ending prejudice and promoting racial harmony.

G.     Using an artistic medium, such as sculpture, paint or illustration, create an award for Jackie Robinson or another prominent Negro leagues figure that commemorates a scene from his or her life, a great achievement or significant contributions as a humanitarian.

H.     One of the Negro leagues’ most popular routines was called Shadow Ball in which the defensive team in the field would warm up with a diving catch of a line drive.  A hard grounder would be scooped up and thrown on the run to the first baseman, who dug the ball out of the ground and make the out – all without a ball.  In small teams, create an inning of Shadow Ball with no words.  Come up with some great plays, and after rehearsing, present your routine to the class.

I.       Create a PowerPoint presentation that chronicles the history of the Negro leagues, including some of its most successful figures and milestones.  When appropriate, integrate photographs, statistics, graphs, primary source documents, text, audio or video files, and key vocabulary terms.