Educational Curriculum Materials: Bringing Baseball to the Classroom

Grades 4-6

This curriculum aligns with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts.

MATHEMATICS

GRADES 4-6

Focus: Understand how to calculate the area of various rectangles.

Materials Needed: Paper, pencil, graph paper, calculator, and ruler

Use the following information to answer questions 1-5:

Your hometown has just decided to build a brand new baseball field for your Little League Team. The City Council has set aside $100,000 to build this new field. A rectangular piece of land (275 feet X 600 feet) has been donated to the city for the purpose of building this field. In order to build the field, it first must be determined if the new field will fit on the donated land, and also if the city has budgeted enough money to do it.

  1. What is the area of the donated land? Area=length X width
  1. Use graphing paper and create a scaled outline of the donated lot.
  1. Use the following table of measurements for a Little League baseball field to draw an outline of the proposed baseball field within the scale outline you created in Question 2.

Base to Base / 60 feet
Pitching Rubber to Home Plate / 46 feet
Backstop to home plate / 25 feet
Pitchers mound to the grass line of the in-field / 50 feet
Foul lines / 180 feet
  1. Based on the dimensions of the Little League field, will there be enough room to build the Little League baseball field on the donated land?
  1. What is the area of the in-field?

SCIENCE

GRADES 4-6

Focus: Understand an important law in science and conceptualize an innovation that would improve the performance of a baseball player or stadium worker.

Materials Needed:pencil/pen and paper

  1. What is Newton’s First Law of Motion? Identify 2 baseball examples of Newton’s First Law.
  1. Choose one of the following clients: batter, catcher, fan, fielder, food vendor, pitcher, ticket taker, or usher. You must improve one element of the client’s baseball experience. For example, improvements can include a new tool, improvement on an existing tool, adjustment to the client’s working environment, or something the client may wear. In the space below, describe your improvements. The improvements mustbe able to be completed in three steps and be easily built using common materials. You can include drawings and diagrams to illustrate improvement.

GEOGRAPHY

GRADES 4-6

Focus:Locate points on a map given longitude and latitude coordinates and identify the latitude and longitude of a given location.

Materials Needed:pencil/pen and U.S. map

  1. Complete the table:

Major League Baseball Team / Location / City
Diamond Backs / 33°N, 112°W
Mets & Yankees / New York, NY
Red Sox / 42°N, 71°W
Mariners / Seattle, WA

HISTORY

Grades 4-6

Focus:Understand the impact of segregation and create a timeline of significant events in the history of baseball.

Materials Needed: pen/pencil and paper

  1. What does segregation mean? What actions result from segregation?
  1. Using any reference materials available to you, create a timeline from 1860-1920 on the separate sheet of paper provided and place the following events on the timeline in chronological order.
  • Bud Fowler joined the Lynn Live Oaks
  • Moses Fleeetwood “Fleet” Walker joined the Newark Little Giants
  • President Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation
  • Southern governments began passing “Jim Crow” laws
  • The 13th Amendment was ratified
  • The 14th Amendment was ratified
  • The 15th Amendment was ratified
  • The Civil War Ended
  • The Cuban Giants were organized
  • The “Gentleman’s Agreement” began
  • The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court Decision
  • The Toledo Blue Stockings joined the International League

HISTORY OF BASEBALL 1860-1920 TIMELINE

ENGLISH

GRADES 4-6

Focus: CCS.ELA-Literary.W.3.3, W.4.3, W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

  1. Using the space provided, write about an amazing sporting event you either watched on TV or played in. Include as many details as you can and don’t forget to use language to help your reader understand how exciting it was.

ANSWER KEY

Mathematics:

  1. 165,000 ft.²
  2. Answer can vary
  3. Answer can vary
  4. Yes
  5. 8,100 ft.²

Science:

  1. An object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. Examples of law will vary
  2. Answers will vary

Geography:

  1. Answers in Red

Major League Baseball Team / Location / City
Diamond Backs / 33°N, 112°W / Phoenix, AZ
Mets & Yankees / 40°N, 74°W / New York, NY
Red Sox / 42°N, 71°W / Boston, MA
Mariners / 47°N, 122°W / Seattle, WA

History:

  1. Segregation is the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by the use of separate facilities, restricted areas; or by other discriminatory means; answers to the second part of the question can vary
  2. Timeline:
  • President Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation: 1862
  • The Civil War Ended: April 1865
  • The 13th Amendment was ratified: 1865
  • The 14th Amendment was ratified: 1868
  • The 15th Amendment was ratified: 1870
  • Southern governments began passing “Jim Crow” laws: 1877
  • Bud Fowler joined the Lynn Live Oaks: 1878
  • The Toledo Blue Stockings joined the International League: 1884
  • The Cuban Giants were organized: 1885
  • Moses Fleeetwood “Fleet” Walker joined the Newark Little Giants: 1887
  • The Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court Decision: 1896
  • The “Gentleman’s Agreement” began: 1907