Rounding the Bases

Teacher's Guide

Procedure

• Preparation - Materials needed before beginning the lesson.
• Introduction - Two lessons to introduce students to the topic and project.
• Research - Students search American Memory for photographs and text related to their assigned topics.
• Discussion - In groups, students discuss their chosen primary sources.
• Final Product - Student groups write a newspaper article based on their chosen primary sources.
• Student Page - Page directed at a student audience that compliments teacher pages.

Evaluation

1. The Evaluation of Discussion and Evaluation of Final Product rubrics can be used for evaluation purposes.

Extension

The unit may be extended by further reading, writing, and research on the topics of race and ethnicity and the history of baseball, such as the following.

Reading

1. Provide students with a copy of Past Time: Baseball as History by Jules Tygiel. Have them read any chapter from this book that relates to the time period that they have been assigned to study.
2. Then have students compare Tygiel's views to their own. Have them consider the following questions:
   • How were your impressions of this time period different from Tygiel's?
   • How were they similar?
   • How do you explain your different perspective?

Writing

1. Provide students with an opportunity to react to this statement made by Jackie Robinson:   "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
2. Have students write an essay addressing the following questions:

   • How can you relate this quote to the current debate about Native American sports mascots?
   • What role does respect play in the discussion between those who seek to get rid of Native American mascots and names and those who seek to keep them?
   • What does the debate reveal about American culture today?  How "far" have we come since Jackie Robinson spoke these words?

Research

1. Have students research minorities in administrative positions in baseball since the 1970s. For example, students might examine the careers of Frank Robinson or Henry Aaron, both important African-American pioneers in baseball management. Students should address the following questions:
• What trends do you perceive?
• Why are more Hispanic, Latino, and Asian players becoming a part of major league rosters?
• What does this trend portend for the future?

2. Have students research the increasing diversity of major league players since the 1970s. Students might use the sources indicated by Dr. Mark Rosentraub, a professor at Cleveland State University's College of Urban Affairs who researches important aspects of baseball today.