Presentation

 A.   Opening

1)     Ask students how they experience a baseball game today.  Possible answers might include television, radio, newspapers, attending an actual game, the Internet, etc.  Discuss their basic understanding of technology’s evolution and the history of mass communication.

2)     Show a photograph of a manual scoreboard from the 1920s that allowed fans to follow the action of a game without the benefit of sound or pictures.  Compare and contrast this example to current technology, such as mlb.com, that provides a modern version of the old-time play-by-play board.  Emphasize that technology has changed, but interest in experiencing the moment-by-moment details about a game has not.

3)     Using audio examples from an actual baseball broadcast, discuss how radio was not only auditory, but also used words to create an interpretive visual medium in the early 20^th century before the advent of television. INSTRUCTOR NOTE: Use only the audio of a televised baseball broadcast.  Point out how students “saw” the action in their minds through the description of the game.

B.   Lesson*

1)     Discuss sounds students heard in the aforementioned recording.  List the sounds and analyze ways in which those effects could be recreated in a simulated broadcast.

2)     Without showing their source, give actual examples of sound effects that could be associated with a baseball game.  Ask students, “What game sound did I just make?” Then reveal to students how the sound was actually produced.

3)     Using a photograph of broadcasters recreating a baseball game in the 1930s, emphasize that a game such as the one the students just heard could have been dramatized in the early days of radio.  Point out the longtime dependence on ticker tape game reports that were specially coded for broadcast purposes.

4)     Using the suggested script for this lesson, discuss the previously assigned roles, speaking parts and sound effects for each student.  Briefly practice the timing and coordination of those effects in conjunction with the action of the game.  Provide appropriate feedback.  INSTRUCTOR NOTE: Stress that realistic game sounds are not as dependent on volume as they are on consistency and pertinence to the action.  In other words, some sounds may fluctuate in their volume and intensity depending on the moment.

5)     Direct students through a performance of the suggested script.  Using a cassette player, preferably with one or more microphones, record the simulated broadcast for playback afterwards. If possible, position individual microphones to amplify and/or record those with specific speaking parts. 

*NOTE: Italicized activities are facilitated by the Hall of Fame during its videoconference and on-site education programs.

C.   Conclusion

1)     Play back the recording of the students’ simulated broadcast.

2)     Ask students to evaluate their own execution of the script according to the realism, enthusiasm and accuracy of the group performance.

3)     Use the students’ recording to emphasize the imaginative baseball experience that resulted from their teamwork, creativity and collaboration.

4)        Compare and contrast the students’ production with the approach of the three broadcasters in the earlier photograph.  Using the ticker tape as an example of a static game report, show how sound effects and color commentary transform play-by-play details into an effective and entertaining form of communication.