Template for Unit of Study

A Stitch In Time (American History Grades 4 - 8)
Wear your team colors proudly in this chronological look back at history through the button hole of a baseball jersey.  Using textiles and clothing styles, students will learn about many social and technological changes since the early 1900's.  Here is an exciting unit that connects each decade of the last century by highlighting major milestones as reflected in the ever-evolving baseball uniform.  From benchmarks to the batter's box, fashion trends lead the way to a dyed-in-the-wool study of how the fabric of American society has changed one stitch at a time.

Baseball Grows Up  (Technology/Evolution of Equipment Grades 4 - 8)
Bottom of the ninth, two men on, two out, the score is tied.  With the crack of the bat and the soft thud of a hardball settling into a leather glove, the games goes to extra innings - just as the story of equipment never ends.  Have you ever tried catching a baseball without a glove or hitting a pitch with a flat bat?  How about standing in against a flame-throwing pitcher without the protection of a batting helmet?  The equipment makes the game and mirrors important developments in history and industry.  As baseball grew up, safety, technology, available resources and a desire for greater effectiveness have led to invention, change and standardization of equipment.  Students in grades four through eight can slide home in this engaging unit that encourages observation, estimation and reasoning.

Baseball Coast to Coast (Geography Grades 4 - 8)
Have a hot dog at he home park and some cotton candy at the coliseum as you take your students on this interactive road trip that teaches geography concepts of direction, scale, landforms, regions and population. From the Green Monster at Fenway to a "Mile High" in Denver, students in grades four through eight will journey to famous baseball stadiums in this barnstorming study of how technological advances, transportation and westward migration have shaped American history in every decade since the 1890's.

Batter Up!  (Mathematics Grades 4 - 8)
It's the final day of the 1941 season and Ted Williams' batting average is .39955.  What will he do?  sit this out and guarantee a historic .400 season or take a chance and aim for mathematic immortality?   Find the answer to this and other exciting stories in a dugout full of whole numbers, fractions and decimals, percentages, proportions and problem-solving.  Fun for fifth-graders and above, this thematic unit teachers, fundamental concepts that connect the calculator and the clubhouse while learning, using and interpreting the statistics of famous ballplayers.  Computation is the key in determining batting averages and slugging percentages.  Will it be a single, double, triple, or home run?  It all depends on the hitter's math skills in this interactive game where long division and the long ball are one and the same.  Batter up!

Before You Could Say Jackie Robinson (Cultural Diversity Grades 4 - 8)
Want to motivate your students to learn about segregation and the importance of cultural diversity?  Here is a colorful unit, designed for grades four through eight, that illustrates  how baseball reflected and led critical social shifts in American history from the Civil War to the modern-day Civil Right movement.  Beginning with the origin of the Negro leagues to Jackie Robinson's integration of Major League Baseball in 1947, untold stories of honor, courage and perseverance are brought to life through interactive lessons spanning several subject areas.

Dirt on Their Skirts  (Women's History Grades 4 - 8)
If your students believe baseball is only for boys, they should think again.  Rich with the history of women who broke barriers to play the National Pastime, this thematic unit covers 150 years of striving for equity and diversity on the diamond.  Meet the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of the World War II era, as well as the young ladies of the 19th century who played the game long before they even had the right to vote.  What do skirts and strawberries, charm school and chaperons have to do with baseball?  Each teaches an important lesson in the story of gals who gave their all so that boys and girls can play side-by-side today.

Going, Going, Gone! (Communication Arts Grades 4 - 8)
The electrifying crack of the bat, the pop of the ball, the roar of the crowd - it's going, going, gone!  Experience the drama of re-creating a moment in baseball history through the simulation of an old-time radio broadcast.  Students of all ages are there for an unforgettable moment in baseball history by reliving the roles of announcers, commentators, spectators and sound effect producers just as broadcasters did in an earlier era when the National Pastime was, as Phil Hirsch of the Chicago Tribune said, "the only game you could see on radio."

Painting the Corners  (Fine Arts Grades 4 - 8)
Art is window into history and vision into the future.  Artists throughout history have interpreted historical moments through prints, painting, drawing, sculpture and photography.  In baseball art, the artist specifically tells a story of a significant moment in American history that can be analyzed and interpreted by the viewer.  By examining artwork, students will become investigators of life through the history of baseball.  By using knowledge of history, art and baseball students will discover clues left by artists to tell the story of baseball as it related to American culture.

The Business of Baseball (Economics Grades 4 - 8)
"You mean a hot dog only cost 10-cents in 1929, and a World Series ticket was just $5.50 in 1940?"  The varying worth of money is the basis of this lesson for teaching students how baseball reflects American economics since the early 20th century.  Hands-on math applications and factors of trade and industry-such as labor, transportation, materials, energy ad the concept of supply and demand - are illustrated through primary source documents from baseball's olden days and modern age to help students analyze the ever-changing value of a dollar.
 

Other Programs
 

Math and Baseball
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Pat LaFond
Education Director
National Baseball Hall of Fame
607.547.0362
25 Main Street
PO Box 590
Cooperstown, New York  13326
plafond@baseballhalloffame.org