Topic: History of Racial Tension in Baseball (The main character of “Al
Capone Does My Shirts” is an avid baseball fan and the sport is a prominent
theme throughout the book)
Grade Level: 7th Grade
Standard:
8.3.7.D: Examine conflict and cooperation among
groups and organizations in U.S. history.
·
Ethnicity and
race
Essential Question: How did the conflict of race and segregation in the
United States affect the Major League Baseball during the great depression?
Materials:
1. Access to a computer with a projector or Smartboard attachment
2. Student journals
3. Classroom set up for a Socrative seminar
4. “I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson”
Activating Strategy:
1.
Ask students to think of one person who they
thought changed the way we viewed racism in the United States
a.
Have students write this down on a piece of
strap paper
b.
Have students share who they wrote down on the
piece of paper with a neighbor
c.
Take volunteers to share whom they wrote down
and what they know about this particular person
i.
Example: Martin Luther King Jr. – he passively
fought for the freedom of blacks in the south
ii.
Example: Barack Obama – the first black
president of the United States; broke barriers for blacks by defeating the odds
of running our country
d.
Ask questions but allow the students to think
about them quietly
i.
Express your thoughts on racism of any ethnicity
and examine why this particular group of people is being targeted over others
in a community or culture.
ii.
Has the fight against racism ended?
iii.
Based on your prior knowledge of the Great
Depression, defend your opinion on whether or not you think racism was better
or worse during this time period and explain your answer.
2.
Ask students to get their journals out
3.
Show the movie trailer of “42” about Jackie
Robinson
b.
Ask students to respond to the trailer in their
journals.
i.
How did you feel?
ii.
What did you see?
iii.
Has the fight against racism ended in today’s culture?
iv.
Do you think Moose liked the Dodgers?
Teaching Strategy:
1.
“Today many of the MLB players, as well as,
other professional sports leagues have black members on their teams. Even our
president of the United States is black. In the twenty-first century it isn’t
unusual to have a black man or woman on TV, on sports teams, or in our own
neighborhoods or houses. Compared to the movie trailer we just watched, it is
obvious how things have changed over the times from the early 1930’s to today.
Before Jackie Robinson played on the Dodgers team, all professional baseball
players were Caucasian males. Jackie Robinson was one man who helped change the
way whites viewed blacks in the United States. Today the number “42” is retired
in the MLB and cannot be worn by any other player. Robinson opened the doors
for many other blacks in the United States and in the MLB. While the book we
are reading doesn’t directly discuss the racial tensions in the Major League
Baseball, it was something that was still going on during the same time. The
MLB organization and Jackie Robinson made a large impact on how we view blacks
today and how one person made a small step towards equality in the United
States.
2.
Read a 4 page insert from the autobiography
entitled, “I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson” aloud to
the class.
a.
The Preface
b.
Discuss how the book was originally published in
1974
c.
Ask students if they would like to add anything
to their journal about their reactions on Jackie Robinson
3.
Class discussion about how the MLB changed the
conflict about race and ethnicity during the early ages of baseball in the
United States through a Socrative Seminar
i.
This discusses the rules of the seminar for
those who are unfamiliar
b.
Prepared questions for seminar
i.
Express your thoughts on racism of any ethnicity
and examine why this particular group of people is being targeted over others
in a community or culture.
ii.
Has the fight against racism ended?
iii.
Based on your prior knowledge of the Great
Depression, defend your opinion on whether or not you think racism was better
or worse during this time period and explain your answer.
iv.
In your opinion, why did the MLB allow Jackie
Robinson play in an “all white” sport?
v.
How did the conflict of race and segregation in
the United States affect the Major League Baseball during the great depression?
4.
Ask students to return to their seats after
seminar is completed.
Summarizing Strategy:
1.
Read the obituary of Jackie Robinson
b.
The first half
2.
Have students compare and contrast how people viewed
Robinson from the beginning of his career to his death on a T-Chart.
Homework:
Finish the compare and contrast T-Chart.
Beginning Death
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