Jackie Robinson: Innings and Beginnings

Popular name: Jackie Robinson: ELA
Grade Level of Lesson: Grade 7-12
Discipline: English Language Arts

Standards and Performance Indicators Context

New York State Learning Standards: English Language Arts

Standard #1: Language for information and understanding

Learning Objective (which will become the dimensions/elements of the rubric)

Students will research the life and impact of Jackie Robinson on society. They will identify a personality trait that contributed to his character and select another famous character (real or fictional) who shares that trait. After recording information from research on a comparison graphic organizer, students will use it to prepare an outline for a comparison essay. As a result of these pre-writing tasks, students will produce a 3-5 paragraph essay comparing Jackie Robinson and another person that the student admires.

EXPLORATORY PHASE

Step 1: The students will be asked to write a journal entry about three people (storybook characters/celebrities/role models) whom they admire that explores the similarities between those people and themselves. In this entry, they should discuss at least three qualities and/or characteristics about the person that they admire. (List of personality traits can be distributed.)

Step 2: The students will then get in pairs and share with each other one of the role models that they listed in their journal entry and their reasons for admiring that person.

Step 3: Students will reiterate what their partners told them about the person they admire.

Step 4: Students go back to journal entry and choose one of the three people they listed in Step One to write about in a three to five minute exercise.

DISCOVERY PHASE

1. The students’ final assignment will be a 3-5 paragraph essay comparing Jackie Robinson to another admirable person who shares at least one trait with him. The person should be some type of historical figure who made an impact on society similar to Jackie Robinson’s.

2. They will need to find four sources (two for each person,) and they will have four days to research in the computer lab/library.

3. They will record their information as they go on a graphic organizer that compares Jackie Robinson and the other person that they chose. This is handed in after the four days of research.

4. The students will then prepare a full-sentence outline developed from their graphic organizer which will include a thesis statement, a topic sentence for each paragraph, and a conclusion.

5. After the sentence outline is handed back, they will have a peer-editing session for one class period to hone and cement their ideas and revise their thesis statements so that they are clear and focused.

6. Two days later, the students will have short (2-4 minute) conferences with their teacher to be sure the project is coming along smoothly, allowing for them to ask any questions or share problems they are encountering. The final product will be due 2-3 days after this conference.