Overview
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Author(s) :
This unit was researched, authored, and edited by the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, California Indian Education for All, and the San Diego County Office of Education. Key writers and researchers of this unit are Elia Mahoney, Cassiopeia Guthrie and Taylor Melgoza. The unit resources were designed and created from funding through the California Department of Education’s Native American Studies Model Curriculum grant and contract.
Grade(s) : K-2nd Grades
Suggested Amount of Time : 90 minutes
Curriculum Themes:
- History
- Cultural Strengths
- Law/Government
- Cross Curricular Integration
Learning Goals
Students will understand the challenges and barriers faced by Native American athletes in the early 20th century, especially in major leagues like MLB.
Students will learn about the importance of the World Series in the early 20th century and how it served as both a personal and cultural milestone for players like Bender and Meyers.
Students will develop empathy by examining the personal stories and experiences of Bender and Meyers, relating to their perseverance and achievements
Lesson Overview
Students will understand the challenges and barriers faced by Native American athletes in the early 20th century, especially in major leagues like MLB.
Students will learn about the importance of the World Series in the early 20th century and how it served as both a personal and cultural milestone for players like Bender and Meyers.
Procedures
Engage
Activating Prior Knowledge
Have you ever played a sport before? What type of qualities make a strong team player?
Explore
Introduce anticipated vocabulary from the story
indigeneity/history (e.g. indigenous, heritage, reservation)
baseball (e.g. inning, double, homerun)
Highlight text features
Point out the over art, and ask, “What do you see on the cover of the book?”
Ask students to make predictions about what the story will be about.
○ Read the story to the students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xAlTUFreQo
Explain
Introduce the author
Introduce Traci Sorell who is a Cherokee and the author of the book.
Discuss the author’s Native American heritage, their tribal nation, and their tribal nation’s seal
Cherokee Nation Website: https://www.cherokee.org/
Re-read the story to the students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xAlTUFreQo
Elaborate and Extend
Have students answer the reflective questions centered around the 6Ps:
6Ps Reflective Discussion Questions
Place
● Think about the significance of home or community for athletes today—how do their places of origin still impact their journeys in sports?
Presence
● How is the author of the story helping people know more about Native American athletes and the community are still here?
Perspectives
● Why do you think it is important to make sure everyone shares their views, opinions, stories, experiences and perspectives?
● Why is it important for Native American communities to share their stories and perspectives?
Political Nationhood
● Every nation has a flag or seal that represents them. Compare and contrast the California flag and the Cherokee seal. What do you notice?
Power
● Think of a time when you needed to be strong. What helped you get and maintain that strength?
Partnerships
● What is something new you learned about Native American communities and cultures?
● What did you learn about the author of Contenders, Traci Sorell and her tribal nation?
Student baseball cards
Have students create their own baseball card similar to the ones shared in the book.