Okay Gals, Play Ball!

I received a couple enthusiastic emails about my Women in Baseball post, so when I ran across this little documentary of the Racine Belles, thought I'd drop it in here for my readers.

A League of Their Own: Women in Baseball

Ask most people what they know about women's professional baseball and they're apt to sheepishly mutter that they once saw A League of Their Own. A good movie; no complaints there. But women created a much richer legacy in the history of baseball that deserves exploration.

Once you've checked out the summaries of the books below, refer back to the Extra Innings post for themes, questions, cross-curricular extensions, and some pretty cool websites. I've included just a few extra resources below to enhance your use of these titles.

Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women who Won the World Championship
by Doreen Rappaport and Lyndall Callan
Illustrated by E.B. Lewis

The true-life 1946 championship game between the Rockford Peaches and the Racine Belles sets the scene for a young girl's first professional baseball game. We experience the excitement of the moment with her through multiple perspectives of the event. Interspersed are brief historical notes, baseball idioms, and beautiful uses of figurative language. Illustrator E.B. Lewis once again contributes his considerable artistic talents (see Across the Alley in the previous post) to make this book a satisfying read.

One way Lewis accomplishes this is by showing us varying points of view throughout the book. First we see young Margaret in the stands with her mother, visibly excited. We then find ourselves sitting in the stands with her, looking out at the field. Next we're facing the batter straight on (from the pitcher's mound), and so on. These visual perspectives are an excellent lead-in to any novel which deals with multiple character/narrator perspectives. I've used this book for exactly that purpose prior to class readings of books such as Poppy by Avi and Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen, where a grasp of differing points of view is essential for understanding the narrative.


Mama Played Baseball
by David Adler
illustrated by Chris O'Leary

Amy helps her mother to get a job as a player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League while Amy's father serves in the army during World War II. Like the above book, this one provides excellent background about both the women's baseball league and the role that women played in the workplace during the war. This book seems to make the argument that what were doing at home to support the war effort was nearly as important as what the boys themselves were doing overseas.

This is illustrator Chris O'Leary's first picture book, and I think half this book's charm comes from the fact that the pictures are so reminiscent of the 1930's mural art (such as Early Spanish Caballeros, pictured to the right)created by Works Progress Administration artists during the Great Depression.

A brief history of the WPA, plus links to WPA murals in many states, can be found here. Have students compare some of those works to O'Leary's to discuss similarities and differences.

Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen
by Marissa Moss
illustrated by C.F.Payne

I love this true story of the seventeen year-old girl who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, back to back, during a 1931 exhibition game in Chattanooga. This is a perfect example of a picture book at its finest, giving the reader "just enough information" to care, while leaving the reader wanting to know more. C.F. Payne, one of America's greatest illustrators, is totally on his game here (you knew I had to throw in a baseball idiom eventually).

Unfortunately for Jackie, women's time in baseball had not yet come, and to read the Author's Note about her career in the game is somewhat heartbreaking. But Jackie proved that any girl can achieve great things once she chooses to commit herself to a dream, with heart, soul, mind, and body.

This book clearly illustrates the sexism which was present at this time, and can certainly be used as a discussion starter for sexist remarks which continue to this day such as, "You throw like a girl." A question for students to consider might be, "If Jackie was as good as any male pitcher, then why wasn't she permitted to play in the major leagues?"

Extension Ideas: Language Arts

• After you read aloud the Author's Note at the end of Mighty Jackie, have students write a letter to Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the then-baseball commissioner, providing reasons why Jackie should be permitted to play. At this time (1931), what strides were other women making that were proving that they were as good as, if not better than, men?
• Share a version of Casey at the Bat with students (the reworking by Christopher Bing is one of my favorites). Have students work in pairs to rewrite the poem, telling how Jackie Mitchell struck out the Babe.

Extension Ideas: Social Studies

• The All American Girls Professional Baseball League site is full of histories, records, pictures, and player information. Have students learn about a player from their geographical area. Students can also map all known players and try to determine if a majority of them came from any one region of the U.S. If so, why?
• Have students design a team logo or uniform for a newly formed team from a town or city of their choice? What's the team's name, you ask? That's up to students! Through a bit of research, students can find an animal or other symbol of that region to create a team name.

Going Extra Innings with Baseball Picture Books

Baseball is America's great pastime. But baseball is also history, science, biography, statistics, and story. Here I discuss just a few of the dozens of titles available for exploring this beloved (and to many, sacred) sport. And no worries, ladies; you'll get your turn at bat in the next post. Those ladies with "dirt on their skirts" have equally amazing stories to tell.

Universal Themes:
Acceptance, Accomplishment, Change, Culture, Determination, Differences, Enthusiasm, Excellence, Generations, Heroism, Inspiration, Leadership, Loyalty, Memory, Origins, Perspectives, Prejudice, Pride, Respect, Social Change, Success, Teamwork, Tolerance, Tradition

Before Reading Questions

• Who here has ever played baseball or softball?
• How do you feel about baseball as a sport?
• Who has ever been to a stadium to see a game? Do you prefer major leagues or minor leagues?
• Who collects baseball cards? Why? Who has a favorite player, or who has a mom or dad that has a favorite player?

Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth
written by Robert Burleigh
illustrated by Mike Wimmer

Through one at-bat, this story eloquently retells how Babe Ruth changed baseball forever. The illustrations are bold and immediate; each one puts us squarely in the action. Many, especially those that depict the crowd, are nostalgically reminiscent of Norman Rockwell paintings. The large text is almost poetry, and finer historical details are provided on the backs of baseball cards which adorn each page. For those of us who may have forgotten just how large a shadow the Babe cast (literally and figuratively), these facts remind us. For example, in 1921, with 59 home runs, Babe had more than most other entire American League teams.

Teammates
written by Peter Golenbock
illustrated by Paul Bacon

While most Americans can identify Jackie Robinson and his achievement in becoming the first black player to play on a Major League baseball team, few know much about the players of the Negro Leagues and their contributions to the game. This simple picture book provides just enough background for students to understand the difficulties and sacrifice involved with Robinson's decision, and it beautifully illustrates how Pee Wee Reese stood by his friend when even his own teammates disparaged and ostracized Robinson openly.

I often use this book to introduce the concept of conflict. We discuss the conflict of character vs. society when Jackie chooses to leave the Negro Leagues for the Major Leagues at a time when American society was still widely and systematically segregated. Character vs. character conflicts are evident in both the fans' and teammates' rejections of Robinson. Finally, Jackie faced a conflict with himself as he struggled to find the courage to persevere through the most trying times. Players on opposing teams tried to spike him with their cleats or beam him in the head with high pitches. He received death threats from both individuals and organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. But Pee Wee Reese's single, bold show of solidarity and friendship proved to Jackie and the world that nothing could stand in the way of an idea whose time had come, ushered in by a man of good heart and great talent.

Across the Alley
written by Richard Michelson
illustrated by E.B.Lewis

Abe and Willie are next door neighbors but can't play together because Abe's grandfather feels that Jewish boys shouldn't waste their time with baseball. Little does Grandfather know that every night Abe pretends he's Sandy Koufax, and he and Willie toss a ball back and forth across the alley. But what happens when they're discovered by Grandfather?

There's obviously more to this story, but I want you to experience it for yourself. In addition to some beautiful imagery and language, the author introduces readers to Sandy Koufax, Satchel Paige, and Jascha Heifetz, but only by name. Who were these people? Why are they mentioned? We also hear references to the Negro Leagues and the Nazis, but again, we're not given full explanations. So this book offers many opportunities for students to create their own historical context for a better understanding of the story's core ideas.

Oliver's Game
by Matt Tavares

When Oliver discovers an old jersey in the back of his grandfather's shop, he's surprised to learn that it belongs to Grandfather. "But you never played for the Cubs," protests Oliver. And so Grandfather retells the tale of the jersey and how one fateful day (December 7, 1941) changed the life of every American.
This book recalls the heroism of those who chose to serve their country, and it also points out that baseball is for everyone, not just the lucky few who can play on the field.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

You might argue that this isn't a picture book since it's divided into chapters. Well, I don't know what book you're talking about, because mine is divided into innings. It's also filled with some of the most outstanding artwork to grace the pages of any book in recent memory. Kadir Nelson's paintings are heroic, iconic, and simply mesmerizing. They dare the reader not to explore the lives of these great players of Negro baseball. Read in "installments" over a period of days, this book will prove a big hit with your students. Another thing I love about it: it's narrated in the first person, using "we." We are there to witness the tribulations and triumphs.

Post Reading Questions

Extension Ideas: Language Arts

• Apart from baseball, what else was this book about?
• Which parts of this book do we know are real? Which parts might be fiction? Does it matter which are which?
• What were some difficulties the main character faced in this book?
• What do you think happened next?
• Many students will want to write about their own experiences playing baseball. Those who prefer another sport or activity or who have had little experience with playing or watching baseball can either write about their own sport, or create a fictional narrative about any sport they choose.
• The Educator's Reference Desk features a Negro League Baseball lesson plan on writing which uses the picture book The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. The plan includes printable activity sheets.
• Have students brainstorm a list of baseball-inspired idioms (such as "batting a thousand"). Each students can then define and illustrate one of those expressions for a class book on Baseball Idioms. (This activity was adapted from a set of ideas which can be found at Education World).

Extension Ideas: Math

• Imagine sports without numbers. What problems would that cause? Have students first brainstorm a list of ways in which numbers are used in baseball. Then, ask student teams to redesign the game so that numbers would need to be used in any way for player identification, field designations, scoring, seating, ticketing, concessions, etc.
• Teach your students how to calculate a batting average. Students can then use this skill to calculate their own batting average after playing a virtual batting game online, such as the one found at the kids' section of the Major League Baseball site. Illuminations provides a more complete, structured lesson plan for middle and high school teachers wishing to do more with the math concepts behind batting averages.
• Batter's Up gives kids a good math work-out while swing the bat at multiplication facts.

Extension Ideas: Science

• The Science of Baseball at Exploratorium is a well-designed site with a retro feel. It features baseball history infused with the science behind the game. Lots to explore here, including a neat simulation that allows students to change variables of batting in order to try hitting one out of the park, and a simulation testing reaction time when swinging at a 90 mph major league pitch.
• Science of Baseball from the Why Files isn't nearly as interactive or charming, but provides the rest of the science behind the game for any student interested.

Extension Ideas: Social Studies

• Kaboose features a neat baseball timeline. Students can use this as a starting point for researching some of baseball's most important events. An exhaustive site such as the Baseball Almanac will help provide additional facts. Your kids may also enjoy the online companion to Ken Burns' phenomenal Baseball mini-series on PBS.

For Further Study:

At this same site I've also written about Women in Baseball, as well as a wonderful picture book that teaches kids how to keep a scorecard at a ball game. 

Teachers First has many more sites and ideas for teachers seeking to really extend the baseball topic in the classrooms.

Also, the folks over at TeqSmart (a company which develops some really awesome SMART applications) came up with one cool baseball link I hadn't seen before, the Kids' site from the West Michigan Whitecaps, featuring baseball content categorized by subject area. More math ideas, baseball terms, and fun historical facts, plus a cool glossary of baseball-related injuries.

ABC3D

This is a preview of ABC3D by Marion Bataille. Not a picture book, but a unique, creative look at the alphabet. A great introduction and inspiration for students who want to create pop-up books or reports.

Want to create your own cool pop-up books with students? Check out this post with a great mentor text, plus links to pop-up sites.

Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
by Mem Fox

Universal Themes:
Change, Connections, Discovery, Generations, Identity, Loss, Memory, Relationships

Before Reading Questions

• What do you think of when I say the word "warm"? How about the word "sweet"? How about the word "fun"?
• Why didn't we all share the same ideas for those words? Who heard someone else share an idea that you've never heard of, or never experienced?
• Why can we remember some things that happened to us when we were just three years old, but we can't remember what we had for lunch two weeks ago?

Summary

Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge lives next to an old folks' home, and he knows and loves each person there. That is why he is dismayed upon learning that his "favourite person of all" (note the Australian spelling of favorite) has lost her memory.

Wilfrid wonders what a memory is, and begins asking each of the residents of the home. One answers, "Something warm, my child, something warm," while another answers, "Something from long ago, me lad, something from long ago," and so on.

Intent upon giving Miss Nancy her memory back, Wilfrid collects items which he feels match the description of memory shared by his friends. (Something warm, for example, is a freshly laid egg).
When he shares his collection of gathered treasures with Miss Nancy, she remarks, "What a dear, strange child to bring me all these wonderful things." Then she starts to remember.

Each object retrieves from her memory a long forgotten pleasure, such as days at the beach, eggs found in nests, and a farewell to a brother off to war, whom she never saw again. And the final object helps her to recall the day she had first met this sweet little boy, and all the secrets they had shared.

After Reading Questions

• Why did each person tell Wilfrid a different answer when he asked, "What's a memory?"
• What other object could he have collected for something warm? Something that makes you cry? Something that makes you laugh?
• Why does Wilfrid like Miss Nancy the most? (She has four names, just like him). How else are Wilfrid and Miss Nancy alike?

Extension Ideas: Language Arts

• A day or two before sharing the book, ask each child to bring in a small object that holds a special memory for them. Have students write a short paragraph describing that memory. These can be shared aloud, or all of the objects can be displayed, and the teacher can read each description aloud (omitting the name of the object) and students can guess which object matches each description.
• Students can create simile poems describing favorite places. The ocean might be described as "salty as a pretzel," and the sand as "blinding as a light bulb." Or , the simile poems can deal with opposite sides of each student's personality. A student might write, "At school I am as quiet as a mouse, At home I am as loud as a tornado."
• Students can interview parents, grandparents, older uncles and aunts, or residents of a senior citizen's home. They can ask standard questions about favorite memories, or, keeping more in line with the book's theme, students can ask, "What was something warm you remember from when you were a child? What was something that made you laugh?" and so on.

Extension Ideas: Science

Conduct a memory experiment using Kim's Game.

• First, gather 30-40 common objects from home and the classroom. Arrange these objects on a table in the classroom and cover them with a tablecloth or blanket. Have students gather around and make some hypotheses about what might be under the blanket. What are some likely items? (kickball, scissors, rulers) What are some unlikely items? (the teacher's car, a classmate)
• Second, inform students that once the cloth is lifted they will have thirty seconds to look at (but not touch) all of the items on the table. They are to then go back to their desks and individually create a list from memory (and the tablecloth is again placed over the objects). Younger students might be paired with upper grade students or parents who can record their items quickly (and help recall them as well, if desired).
• Third, take a quick survey of how many items each child could recall. If the lists seem especially short, the teacher might provide memory-prompting questions such as, "Were there any items that were silver? Did any of the items have numbers on them?" These prompts can later lead to a conversation of how and why scientists categorize things into groups (reptiles, birds, mammals, etc.) based upon common criteria.
• Fourth, (and this is important!) have students draw a thick, dark line under the last object on their list. Then, tell students that they will now be placed into groups. Each group can share ideas, and students can add to their lists if they agree.
• Fifth, after some time sharing in groups, get together and debrief: "How many total objects could your group list? There were actually ___. Raise your hand if your group got at least ___. Great! Raise your hand if your group helped you to add some items which you couldn't remember. What does that tell us about working together? Now, let's see if we can recall what was under that blanket. Let's start with those objects I mentioned earlier, that had numbers on them. Who can tell me what they were? (watch, ruler, playing card) How about objects that were black and white, with no other colors? (domino, dice, Oreo cookie) And so on.
• Sixth, ask, "If we did this activity again, what could we possibly do so that we could remember more of the objects once they're covered up again?" What's fantastic about this activity is that it introduces, in a very concrete manner, scientific behaviors including hypothesizing, observing, recording, communicating, classifying, confirming, evaluating, and drawing conclusions.

Ruby the Copycat

Ruby The Copycat
by Peggy Rathman

Universal Themes:
Change, Identity, Uniqueness

Before Reading Questions

• What does the term "copycat" mean?
• Is it considered good or bad to be a copycat? When might copying someone be a good thing? (Some students may notice the step-by-step drawing of the cat on the back cover, which is a good example of how copycatting might be a good thing).
• Look at the front cover. Which character do you think is Ruby? How do you know? (Note that Ruby's flowers are really pinned on, and she is copying Angela's answer, oblivious to the fact that she is solving an entirely different math problem).

Summary

Class newcomer Ruby admires Angela's bow. After skipping home to lunch, Ruby returns to class wearing a similar bow in her hair.

Another day Ruby admires Angela's handpainted T-shirt and sneakers. Coincidentally enough, Ruby returns after lunch with a hand-painted T-shirt and sneakers. "Don't touch," she warns, "I'm a little bit wet."

This continues until Angela, who had been flattered at first, grows tired of Ruby's replications, which are stealing the thunder from Angela.

Finally Miss Hart, the girls' teacher, asks Ruby to stay after school for a talk. I what seems like the final scene, Miss Hart encourages Ruby to be herself, to be the best Ruby she can be. Miss Hart smiles at Ruby. Ruby smiles at Miss Hart's long, painted fingernails. (A great scene to revisit for a discussion of foreshadowing).

When Ruby returns after the weekend with long, painted (fake) fingernails, and continues to copy what her classmates say, an exasperated Miss Hart asks, "And what else did you do this weekend?" Ruby responds, "I hopped." She then demonstrates her unique hopping skills for the class, and the teacher, seizing upon the moment, turns on some music and has everyone copy Rudy.

Thus dignified for her own unique gifts, Ruby hops home with Angela in a satisfying happy ending.

After Reading Questions

• Why do you think Ruby felt it was necessary to copy Angela?
• Why did Angela enjoy it at first and then become upset?
• What clues gave Ruby away? For example, how did the teacher know that Ruby hadn't been a flower girl?
• What advice do you think Ruby would give another child who came into this class as a brand new student?
• When might there be times that it's hard to be ourselves?

Extension Ideas: Math

• Extending patterns is an excellent math concept that connects the idea of pattern and repetition with copying. Many books offer examples of both numerical and graphic patterns.

Extension Ideas: Language Arts

• Create a class poem titled "Sometimes." The lead-in phrase would be "Sometimes I wish I could..." and each student offers a talent which they feel is uniquely their own. So the poem might read: "Sometimes I wish I could /Swim like Ronald/ Cook like Margaret/ Build with Legos like Anthony/ etc." The final line of the poem might be "But most of the time I'm happy just to be me."
• Play the drama game called "Mirror." One student is the actor, and she slowly changes her hands, body, or face. Her partner must mirror, or copy, the movements. Let students practice this for some time, and you'll find that it becomes difficult to tell who is the actor and who is the mirror.

Ruby the Copycat is an excellent beginning of the year book, and also a wonderful common-culture-creator for an introduction to other books (especially novels) related to the theme of Identity.