Preparing the Students
A.
Background
The heritage of baseball mirrors the
history of America. The game reflects the
story of an expanding, growing nation in the
emergence of new cities and modern stadiums
as a burgeoning population fueled the
popularity of our National Pastime.
Westward migration created the need for
improved transportation, which led to the
Industrial Revolution in the United States.
As society progressed because of
industrialism, becoming more urban and less
agrarian, baseball slowly evolved from a
sport for simple recreation to an economic
stimulus sought out by emerging metropolitan
areas and their residents.
The result is an extensive network of
baseball teams at every level – from the
major leagues to the little leagues – that
represent the communities and environments
in which they play. From the colors, names
and symbols of the teams – to the foods
served at ballparks which reflect the local
landscape and culture – a simple game that
began with a bat and ball is now a
comprehensive case study of how people,
trade, transportation and geography are
interrelated.
B.
Vocabulary
Altitude
Architecture
Artifact
Barnstorming
Cardinal Direction
Chronological
Construction
Convergence
Culture
Decades
Economics
Facade
Geography
Industrial Revolution
Intermediate Direction
Landforms
Legendary
Migration
Mortar
Pennant
Population
Primary Source Documents
Region
Sampling
Scale
Transportation
C. Suggested Pre-Program Activities
1)
Play
a game of “I Have, Who Has?” Using 50 index
cards, write the name of a state on one side
of each card, and three clues about the
identity of another state on the
reverse side. For example, the name of the
state on one side could be Alaska, while the
clues on the reverse could pertain to
Illinois. Students should research the state
and write the clues themselves. The teacher
begins the game with card number one and asks,
“Who Has?”, giving three clues about a state.
The student with the matching state says, “I
Have…” then asks, “Who Has?” followed by the
clues regarding another state. The student
who has the state matching those clues then
repeats the steps.
2)
Assign each student a current or historical
ballpark. Ask them to research several facts
about the stadium (e.g. when it was built,
where it is located, teams that have played
there, historic moments, etc.). When the
research is complete, students should create
one of the following: trading cards showing a
photo or illustration of the park, and listing
historical facts on the back; posters;
multimedia presentations, such as PowerPoint;
or a timeline depicting the chronological
listing of all ballparks researched.
3)
Students should plan a tour of seven stadiums
throughout the United States, traveling to all
five regions (northeast, southeast, Midwest,
southwest, west). Beginning where their
school is located, students should map the
shortest route to each ballpark, calculating
distances and total mileage for the entire
trip. They should map a route returning to
their home school upon completion of the trip.
4)
Choose a single stadium, past or present, and
create a timeline that depicts events in
American history during a single decade of its
existence, as well as baseball milestones that
occurred in that stadium during the same
period.
5)
Research the cities and stadiums in which
teams from the Negro leagues (1929 to 1956)
and the All-American Girls Professional
Baseball League (1943 to 1954) played.
Compare those cities with cities where Major
League Baseball teams currently play to show
geographic similarities and differences. This
could be done with three separate maps or a
single map using three different colors or
symbols to represent teams in the three
leagues. Working in three groups, students
should explain why teams from the Negro and
women’s leagues might have played in different
regions and cities compared to those in the
current Major Leagues.
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