Lessons & Units

The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball 5th Grade Unit

Genre
Biography
Concepts Taught
Cause and Effect, Character, Classify and Categorize, Fact and Opinion, Point of View, Sequence, Voice

Lessons

Genre Lesson Biography/Autobiography Distinguish biography and autobiography using a story’s point of view.
Lesson 1 Author’s Opinion Infer an author’s unstated opinion about a subject using facts from the text.
Lesson 2 Retelling a Life Retell the events in the life of a main character.
Lesson 3 Events and Effects Explain the impact of a significant experience on a person’s life.
Lesson 4 Text Features Use a text feature to find and explain facts in a text.

Build Background Knowledge

Build background knowledge for this unit by introducing students to the history of baseball. Baseball is the oldest American league sport. It is often referred to as "America's pastime." Prior to the Civil War, Americans played cricket, a British game, and variations of street baseball. Soon, New York style baseball formed a national league, and within 10 years there were well over 100 clubs around the country. At this time, African Americans were not allowed to join the leagues. White teams faced off with African American teams in "barnstorming" competitions that were just for show. African American players were barred (not allowed) from playing in professional leagues. (Barnstorming is when fighter planes and jets put on a show for an audience. In baseball, this means that the games were just for show or fun). White managers tried to "sneak" African American players onto the team by describing them as American Indians or Hispanic, but often they were reprimanded for this effort. In Cuba and Central America, baseball was not segregated by race. Eventually, this caused African Americans to form their own league called the Negro National League, which Jackie Robinson played for before being recruited to play for Branch Rickey. Explain that baseball, the all-American sport, often reflected the prejudices in American culture at different times in history.

Teacher and Student Materials

Pacing Guide

Pacing Guide for The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball

Day 1

Begin Genre Lesson (through Guided Practice)

Begin Reading The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball,Introductory Letter-Chapter 3

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 1-3

Begin the Genre Lesson Independent Practice in the Student Packet

Day 2

Finish Reading The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball,Introductory Letter-Chapter 3

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 1-3

Complete the Genre Lesson Independent Practice in the Student Packet

Day 3

Begin Lesson 1

Day 4

Lesson 1 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 1 in the Student Packet

Day 5

Begin ReadingChapters 4-5

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 4-5

Day 6

Finish ReadingChapters 4-5

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 4-5

Day 7

Begin Lesson 2

Day 8

Lesson 2 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 2 in the Student Packet

Day 9

Begin ReadingChapters 6-8

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 6-8

Day 10

Finish ReadingChapters 6-8

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 6-8

Day 11

Begin Lesson 3

Day 12

Lesson 3 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 3 in the Student Packet

Day 13

Begin ReadingChapters 9-10

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 9-10

Day 14

Finish ReadingChapters 9-10

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 9-10

Day 15

Begin Lesson 4

Day 16

Lesson 4 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 4 in the Student Packet

Day 17

Review for the Unit Assessment

Day 18

Unit Assessment

User Comments

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Readwork

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Submitted by llenss_2078242 on 2/1/17

I love baseball! Going to use this book with Resource Students in 5th grade as an end of the year novel and hope to have an end of year baseball game. Well, maybe softball!

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I am a student teacher looking for information on 5th grade language arts unit plans.

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