TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME!

Check the library or shop your local indie bookstore.

I just finished reading The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson. Truth be told, it's been sitting in my pile for sometime and it's a level T so that means a couple hours for a "grown up" reader! But I digress, the year is 1948, the hero is Jackie Robinson and the author of this mostly true story is Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. I absolutely love the cover and would reinforce one of my favorite teaching mantras, "every picture tells a story." We would start by looking at the picture and imagine what the story might be about. The story is a perfect read for baseball season in 3rd or 4th grade - with a teacher leading and in addition to presenting a love of family and baseball it touches themes of friendship, prejudice and self-control. If you see your students every day you could easily read this book in two weeks. 

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Other books that could also be read with this title include the following:
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson & Kadir Nelson
Who was Jackie Robinson? by Gail Herman
We Are The Ship Story and Paintings by Kadir Nelson
Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey

The list is actually endless when it comes to forming a cohesive, meaningful and FUN unit around these books. In book me if you need assistance, otherwise let me know if you do a unit like these and how it goes.

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.

Here are a few more resources to add to your planning:
MLB's (Major League Baseball) Breaking Barriers in Sports and in Life
http://www.scholastic.com/motherdaughterbookclub/pdf/Scholastic-MDBC-HeroTwoDoorsDown.pdf
https://www.floridamediaed.org/uploads/6/1/4/2/61420659/2017es-herotwodoorsdown.pdf
https://www.rainbowresource.com/pdfs/products/prod009283_smpl0.pdf
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/videos/teaching-content/kadir-nelson-reads-we-are-ship/

Check your library or shop your local indie bookstore.