Chasing Dreams Educational Programs Weave the excitement of baseball into your school curriculum and enjoy a Museum activity or a classroom lesson (available for download at http://www.nmajh.org/Education). These programs offer K-12 educators a unique opportunity to examine a variety of history and social studies topics through the lens of baseball, and encourage a close examination of primary sources and historical objects.

The Home Team: Baseball, Teamwork, and Community (Grades K-3) Main Idea: The history of baseball―with its traditions, values, and associated memories that are passed down from generation to generation―is a powerful way to tell the stories of various communities in America. As America’s national game, baseball inspires intergenerational bonding, brings neighbors together, and nurtures communities. This program introduces the many meanings of the word "community" and asks questions such as: What makes us members of different communities? What role do communities play in our lives? How can we learn about a community through personal stories? Through pictures, stories, and songs, students learn how baseball connects people, and how a baseball team or any group of people can promote ideals of playing fair, treating others with respect, and acting thoughtfully. The program concludes with a discussion about role models in the students’ families and communities and an activity in which students create individual baseball cards that represent them. Older students (grades 2-3) are challenged by the question: How can you become a role model?

The Four Sides of a Baseball Diamond: Identity, Diversity, Integration, and Community (Grades 4-7) Main Idea: For immigrants and diverse ethnic and racial groups, baseball served as a way to overcome social challenges and to identify as American. Since its advent in the 19th century, baseball has been part of the fabric of American life and has embodied the American spirit. Immigrants and their descendants saw baseball as a pathway for understanding American values, culture, and behaviors. Baseball also served as a way for members of diverse ethnic and racial groups, which faced legal and social barriers, to identify as American. Introducing terms such as identity, diversity, integration, and community, this program highlights the experiences of Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants, as well as African Americans, whose fascination with baseball shaped their lives. The program also discusses the role baseball has played in challenging racism and discrimination, and in shaping American society. Students work in small groups to analyze select primary sources, participate in game-based activities, and discuss questions like: How does it feel to be on the outside looking in? Eventually, they learn to recognize diversity as a source of strength on a sports team as well as in a community.

Breaking Barriers: Baseball, Social Change, and Civil Rights (Grades 8-12) Main Idea: The breaking of the racial barriers in baseball was a watershed moment for American society and a precursor to the Civil Rights movement. The history of baseball reflects the best and worst of America. Baseball is a symbol of American values but it also witnessed significant challenges, including the struggle for racial integration and equal rights. Racial prejudice, antisemitism, gender discrimination, and cultural stereotyping have all been debated through our national pastime. This program follows the stories of Baseball Hall of Fame stars Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, and Roberto Clemente, who became the new faces of baseball’s ethnic diversity while confronting racial prejudice. It explains how their involvement in baseball served as a crucial indicator of the slow change in American values. Special emphasis is placed on the fact that the breaking of racial barriers on the baseball field preceded the legislative efforts to ensure civil rights and civil liberties for all Americans. Conveying a message of “people make change,” the program inspires students to think about the importance of social awareness, courage, imagination, and aspiration in their own lives, and motivates them to apply these ideals to their everyday actions and decisions.

Applicable Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3-12.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade appropriate topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

Additional Relevant National Learning Standards: (Based on Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) Civics. Standard 11. Level II [Grade: 3-5], Level III [Grade: 6-8], Level IV [Grade: 9-12] Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society. United States History. Standard 29. Level IV [Grade: 9-12] Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties. United States History. Standard 31. Level IV [Grade: 9-12] Understands economic, social, and cultural developments in the contemporary United States.

For more information about our curriculum, please contact us at 215-923-3811 x 158 or [email protected]