PBS
Jackie Robinson's Complicated — and Important — Legacy
Americans tend to lock their heroes in history, holding these icons to a particular event or time. Jackie Robinson is such a hero, remembered by most for becoming the first African American to play in the Major Leagues. Young historians...
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Jackie Steals Home
Learners draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...
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Sports
Students examine the concept of racism and how it has affected sports. They discover how different sportmen have dealt with the issue of racism in their sport. They consider how racism in sports can be avoided.
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"Bursting" Stereotypes
Students comprehend the meaning of the word steretype, work in groups to come up with stereotype statements, discuss whether the statements are fair, and write what they learned from the activity. Balloons are used as a conduit in this...
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Sporting Tolerance
Students investigate African-American baseball players from the early 20th century. They read an article, answer discussion questions, write a journal entry, and create a poster-size baseball card for an athlete.
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The End of the Civil Rights Movement
Middle schoolers examine the relationships between blacks and whites in their community. In this racial discrimination lesson, students make race relations observations within their community and then write letters that reveal their...
US Holocaust Museum
Nazi Olympics: Berlin 1936
The Olympics are about more than sports—at times, the games are also a place of racism and prejudice! Pupils investigate the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They analyze the meaning behind the materials included in the United States...
Anti-Defamation League
Major League Baseball and the Negro Leagues: Correcting an Injustice
It's been a long time coming! In 2020, MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manifred, Jr. stated that "the Negro Leagues would be recognized as official major leagues." Middle schoolers investigate the history of the Negro Leagues and use evidence...
PBS
Ken Burns: Jackie Robinson Taking the Measure of a Man
During his first few games as the first black player in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson proved that he could withstand the wily curveball of Johnny Sain as well as the racial epithets shouted from opposing teams' dugouts. A short...
National Park Service
Teaching with Historic Places: Discover the Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Can sports and popular culture change public opinion? That's the essential question asked by a lesson plan that looks at the role Jackie Robinson's appearance at City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida played in the desegregation...
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Baseball, Race Relations and Jackie Robinson
High schoolers interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this race relations lesson, students discover details about how Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in professional baseball.
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Muhammad Ali
Students analyze the lifetime accomplishments of Muhammad Ali in the area of sports and his role as a catalyst for social change.
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Politics and the Olympics
Students discover details regarding Olympics controversies. In this international politics lesson, students research Olympic games of the Modern Era noting the controversies surrounding Beijing Olympics. Students create brochures that...
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Communication In U.S. Society; Radio In America
Students see how radio began the modern consumer society, shaped societal views on peoples and cultures and changed family home life forever. Radio shrank the world by bringing far-away places, events, and individuals into peoples living...
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Chart This!
Students collect and analyze data. In this middle school mathematics lesson, students collect data on three to four traits or favorites. Students analyze their data and create a chart of graph for each trait or favorite they researched.
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Perceptions - Accuracy
Students recognise the link between the accuracy of their perception of another person and their knowledge of that person. They partner with each other and make one list of five things (television programs, school subjects, leisure...
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Chart This!
Students collect data and graph or chart the information. In this data organization activity, students poll their classmates about certain topics and chart or graph the information to show the results of their research.
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Which team?
Students identify the many groups to which they belong and consider how groups are formed. They explore group dynamics and how group rules influence individual choice and develop strategies that might influence their groups.
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Paul Robeson: The Renaissance Man
Students research the life of athlete, actor, singer, cultural scholar, author, and political activist, Paul Robeson. They answer the question, "Which was most important to American culture -Robeson's work as a scholar, a performer, an...
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Football Hooliganism
Students evaluate the problm of hooliganism and its possible solutions. Through videos and news stories, students analyze examples of hooliganism. They discuss the problem and ways to help stop the violence.