Boars and Baseball: Making Connections

Materials and Technology

Student Interactives

Printouts

Websites

Preparation

 

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY

• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
• Chart paper/white board and markers

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   3 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Graphic Map

The Graphic Map assists teachers and students in reading and writing activities by charting the high and low points related to a particular item or group of items, such as events during a day or chapters in a book.

 

Grades   3 – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Compare & Contrast Map

The Compare & Contrast Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to organize and outline their ideas for different kinds of comparison essays.

 

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PRINTOUTS

• Double-Entry Journal
• Connection Web
• Making Connections Poster: Text-to-Self Connection
• Making Connections Poster: Text-to-Text Connection
• Making Connections Poster: Text-to-World Connection
• Boars and Baseball Project Choices
• Boars and Baseball Peer Review

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WEBSITES

• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
  

  This site provides two different synopses of the novel for background information.

• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
  

  The publisher’s site provides a brief synopsis of the novel, award and purchase information, and other books by the author.

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PREPARATION

1. Prior to the lesson, students should finish reading In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson either individually, as a group, or as an entire class.
2. Familiarize yourself with the Making Connections strategy, which includes three types of connections: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world.
   • Text-to-self connections are connections that readers make between the text and their own life experiences. Example: "This story reminds me of a visit to my grandmother's house."
   • Text-to-text connections are connections that readers make to other things they have read, such as other books by the same author, or other stories related by genre or topic. Example: "This character has a similar problem to one that I read about in a story last month."
   • Text-to-world connections are broader connections that readers make while reading. A text might remind students of something they learned through movies, television, newspapers, or magazines. Example: "I saw a movie that showed some of the ideas in this story."
3. Print the Making Connections Posters (Text-to-Self Connection, Text-to-Text Connection, and Text-to-World Connection) and either post them in your classroom or copy them onto transparencies to present to students.
4. Make a copy for each student of the Double-Entry Journal and Connection Web. Also, make a display copy of both, either by drawing a large version on chart paper or making an overhead transparency.
5. Make one copy per student of the Boars and Baseball Project Choices printout and enough of the Boars and Baseball Peer Review forms so that each student is able to assess every other student.  You may wish to staple these into a peer review packet or place them into folders to be used when the projects are ready to assess.
6. Review In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson.  Make a list of personal connections you find with this text for use as examples when you model the making connections strategy.  Be sure to plan some connections that clearly enhance understanding and others that are merely “there.”  This will assist you later in your discussion with the students about productive and not-so-productive connections.
7. Test the Interactive Timeline, Graphic Map, ReadWriteThink Printing Press, Interactive Venn Diagram, Compare and Contrast Map, Essay Map, Persuasion Map, Letter Generator, and Postcard Creator student interactives and make sure that you have the appropriate software installed for them to run effectively.  You will need computers with internet access for each student who chooses to use these interactives for their final project.  If computer accessibility is a problem, print out paper copies of the interactives and make enough copies for each student who wishes to use them. If you need additional help with these interactives, please visit our Technical Help page.

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