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I. Introduction
II. Objectives
III. Preparing the Students
IV. Presentation
V. Enrichment and Assessment Activities
VI. Additional Resources
VII. Relevant Learning Standards
VIII. Planning a Videoconference?
Printable
Format
Note: In addition to the standard "Batter Up" program,
the videoconference version has added a "New York Yankees" option.
All subject matter and questions focuses on the New York Yankees.
There is no additional charge for these variations, just
indicate your choice when booking your program. Also, please
keep in mind the New York Yankees will not be present for this program.
Brand new! Click here
for the online thematic unit "Circling the Bases: Baseball & Geometry," for grades 6-10.
It's the final day of the 1941 season and Ted Williams'
batting average is .39955. What will he do? Sit this
one out and guarantee an historic .400 season or take
a chance and aim for mathematic immortality? Find the
answer to this and other exciting stories in a dugout
full of whole numbers, fractions and decimals, percentages,
proportions and problem solving. Fun for fifth-graders
and above, this thematic unit teaches fundamental concepts
that connect the calculator and the clubhouse while
learning, using and interpreting the statistics of famous
ballplayers. Computation is the key in determining batting
averages and slugging percentages. Will it be a single,
double, triple or home run? It all depends on the hitter's
math skills in this interactive game where long division
and the long ball are one and the same. Batter up!
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A. Examine how everyday mathematical concepts, such
as addition, subtraction, fractions, decimals, etc.,
apply to baseball and the real world.
B. Analyze baseball statistics and interpret data in
terms of fundamental mathematic operations.
C. Understand the application of baseball statistics
and how they are calculated using basic mathematical
principles.
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A. Background
Baseball fans love the numbers of the game. True enthusiasts,
especially those who have studied the history of our
National Pastime, are able to tell you the significance
of numbers, such as Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak
in 1941, Ted Williams' .406 batting average in 1941,
Barry Bonds' 73 home runs in 2001, and Ty Cobb's .367
lifetime batting average. Some could even tell you why
and how numbers such as: Babe Ruth's 60 home runs, Ty
Cobb's 4,191 lifetime hits, and Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive
games played have been surpassed by larger numbers.
Through studying baseball statistics and daily box scores,
students not only learn about the game, but also about
math - especially fractions and decimals. Knowing that
one hit in four at bats represents the fraction 1⁄4,
which in turn computes to a batting average of .250,
can provide an early introduction to whole numbers,
fractions and decimal conversion, percentages, proportions
and problem solving.
B. Vocabulary
At bat
Average*
Batter
Batting average
Box score
Decimal*
Double
Doubleheader
Earned Run Average (ERA)
Fraction*
Grand slam
Hit
Home run
Inning
Lineup
Percentage*
Pinch hitter
Proportion*
Ratio*
Single
Slugging percentage
Statistics*
Total bases
Triple
*Mathematical definitions
C. Suggested Pre-Program Activities
1) Ask students to brainstorm everything they know about
baseball and any related math concepts that come to
mind (e.g. batting average, on-base percentage, etc.).
Discuss their ideas; list all words and concepts on
a "word wall" so they can see their responses.
Categorize the words if necessary.
2) Using baseball cards, put the players in order according
to their respective batting averages beginning with
the highest batting average descending to the lowest
batting average. Use statistics from the most recent
year listed on the back of the baseball card.
3) Pass out note cards with simple fractions to each
student in the class. Ask the students to convert the
fraction into a batting average. Students should put
themselves in order from the highest batting average
to the lowest. Add the fractions to compute a collective
batting average for the entire class.
4) Collect statistics from actual softball, baseball
or physical education games in which the students are
involved; after the unit is complete, ask students to
calculate individual and class batting averages or slugging
percentages using these statistics.
5) Teach the students to score an actual baseball game
and convert the players' performances into individual
and team batting averages.
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If you are participating in a school visit or videoconference
please do not review this section with your students.
It will be taught as part of the presentation.
A. Opening
1) Tell the story of Ted Williams. Show a picture of
Williams and tell of his heroic exploits in World War
II and the Korean War. Explain that on the final day
of the 1941 season, his average was .39955 - rounded
to the nearest hundredth as .400. Did he sit out the
last two games of the year and protect his .400 average?
Or, did he try for an even higher average and risk his
record-setting season? What would you do if you were
Ted Williams? We'll find out what happened at the end
of this lesson.
2) Ask what Derek Jeter's batting average would be if
he has one hit in three at bats. Explain that a decimal
representation of that fraction, .333, also represents
his batting average. Next, ask what his average would
be if he went two for four in the following day's game.
Add his numbers from the two games (three hits in seven
at bats) to compute a combined batting average (.429)
using fractions and decimals. Now, what would his cumulative
batting average be if he goes hitless in three at bats
the following day? The answer: three hits in 10 at bats
equal an average of .300. INSTRUCTOR NOTE: The player's
name and numbers can be changed to reflect a local team
or favorite athlete.
B. Lesson
1) Using the Batter Up! game
guidelines, play two innings of a simulated game
where batters (students) complete math problems of varying
difficulty. Students should be organized into teams
with lineups. Correct answers result in singles, doubles,
triples or home runs depending on their degree of challenge.
Incorrect answers result in outs. Play two to three
innings of a game, giving each student at least one
at bat.
2) After the final inning of the game, return to the
story of Ted Williams. Ask students to again guess what
Ted Williams did on the final day of the season. Suggest
different scenarios that might have resulted if Williams
had gone hitless. What if Williams had gotten two hits
in eight at bats? What if Williams had gotten three
hits in eight at bats? What if Williams had gotten four
hits in eight at bats? What would have happened to his
.400 average in each of these cases? Would his average
have gone up or down?
3) Reveal Williams'
career statistics. Ask students to locate his final
average for 1941. Explain that, in the final doubleheader
of the season, he chose to play and went to bat eight
times. With six hits in those eight plate appearances,
his batting average rose to .406. No player since then
has reached the .400 plateau.
4) Using an analysis of Ted
Williams' career statistics as the model, distribute
baseball cards to the students and ask them to answer
various questions related to the data on those cards
(e.g. Does anyone have a player with more than 300 home
runs? Does anyone have a player who was born in the
1960s? Does anyone have a shortstop, a pitcher, an outfielder?).
C. Conclusion
1) Review with students what has been learned today,
including the various mathematical concepts that were
used in the game.
2) Ask students what they have learned about baseball
history while playing this game.
If you are participating in a school visit or videoconference
please do not review this section with your students.
It will be taught as part of the presentation.
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A. Research the statistics for two baseball players
of choice. Compare their performances and determine
which of the two had a better year statistically. Write
an analysis that justifies your position.
B. Write a skit or produce a video simulating a sportscast,
incorporating statistics from a real or fictional baseball
game. The announcer should use vocabulary terms that
describe the game's action and its statistical highlights.
C. Pretend to be a newspaper sportswriter and create
an article about a recent game, either real or fictional.
Use vocabulary terms that describe the game's action
and its statistical highlights.
D. Have students design and create baseball cards for
themselves. The cards should list their position and
include statistics, such as games, at bats, hits, doubles,
triples, home runs, batting average and runs batted
in. Use a computer and scanner to incorporate a photo
of the student.
E. Design a baseball stadium using scale, proportion
and angles. The ballpark can be based on an actual stadium
or it can be fictional.
F. Ask students to hypothesize how changing distances
in ballpark dimensions and baseball rules would affect
statistics and player performance. These changes might
encompass the distance to the outfield fence, distances
between bases or the distance between the pitcher's
mound and home plate.
G. Given a group of players and their individual statistics,
order them according to their batting averages and slugging
percentages. Compare and contrast the two lists, reasoning
why some players might be higher on one list and lower
on the other.
H. Using the principles learned in this lesson, encourage
those students interested in other baseball statistics
to learn how a pitcher's earned run average (ERA) is
calculated (earned runs x 9 ÷ innings pitched
= earned run average. EXAMPLE: 4 earned runs x 9 ÷
5 innings pitched = 7.20 earned run average). Apply
this equation to the computation of a collective ERA
for an entire team.
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A. Literature
Bench, Johnny. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Baseball.
Alpha Books, 1999.
Buckley Jr., James. The Visual Dictionary of Baseball.
Dorling Kindersley, 2001.
Dickson, Paul. The Joy of Keeping Score. Harvest Book,
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1996.
Jennison, Christopher. Baseball Math: Grandslam Activities
and Projects for Grades 4-8. GoodYearBooks, 1995.
Lorimer, Lawrence. The National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum Desk Reference. Dorling Kindersley, 2002.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball
As America. National Geographic Books, 2002.
Scheidt, Tim. Fantasy Baseball: An Integrated Mathematics
Unit. Giant Step Press, 1999.
Smith, Robert. Thematic Unit: Baseball. Teacher Created
Materials, Inc., 2001.
Thorn, John. Treasures of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Villard, 1998.
B. Web Links
baseballhalloffame.org
Official site of the National Baseball Hall of Fame
and Museum
Baseball Math in Your Class
Free resource for teachers and students to examine box scores and answer questions relating to batting averages, slugging percentages and other math concepts covered in "Batter Up." Updated (mostly) every weekday.
baseball-almanac.com/bstatmen.shtml
The Baseball Almanac (statistics)
mlb.com
Official site of Major League Baseball
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/instructor/baseballmath.htm
Scholastic.com Math Baseball site
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
CNN and Sports Illustrated
D. Multi-Media Gallery
Photograph
of Ted Williams
Photograph
of Joe DiMaggio
Photograph of Barry Bonds
Photograph
of Babe Ruth
Photograph
of Ty Cobb
Photograph
of Lou Gehrig
Photograph of Derek Jeter
Ted Williams' career
batting statistics
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Click here for appropriate learning standards.
This link provides .pdf versions of national education standards and also standards by select states and grades met by this program.
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A. Videoconference
Checklist (PDF)
B. Guidelines
for Batter Up! Game
This provides clarification and elaboration of the rules
for the Batter Up! game. These are written for the teacher
and should be reviewed with the class prior to the videoconference.
C. Rosters
D. Review
Materials (PDF)
Teachers should review this material. It contains important
mathematical concepts that your students will need to
be familiar with prior to the videoconference.
E. Pre-Videoconference
Prep Quiz (PDF)
Teachers may want to give this to their students as
an assignment so they can evaluate what students need
to review prior to the videoconference.
F. Pre-Videoconference
Prep Quiz Answer Key (PDF)
G. Sample Batter Up questions
(PDF)
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