Brief Description
In this activity, students advance the bases as they give correct answers to review questions.
Objectives
Students will
- apply the game of baseball to a fun review activity.
- earn a base for each question correctly answered.
Keywords
baseball, review, math, skills, grammar, punctuation, spelling, facts, biography
Materials Needed
- bases (four student desks might be arranged to create four "bases")
- quiz questions prepared in advance
Lesson Plan
The rules of baseball are adapted in this lesson that provides review practice for students. With a little creativity, the lesson can be adapted to almost any subject or skill.
Before the Lesson
Prepare a long list of questions that provide math practice, information recall, or skill application. Following are some examples:
- If you teach math, you might collect simple questions or math problems that reinforce your students' skills or provide math fact practice.
- If you teach language arts, you might prepare sentences that include one grade-appropriate error of punctuation, grammar, or spelling. Or you might provide a word and two definition choices; the students' job will be to identify the correct definition.
- If you teach science or history, you might create questions of fact recall or vocabulary. Or you might create riddles that provide clues to the identity of an important figure in history/science, followed by the question, "Who am I?"
The Lesson
Set up a "baseball field" in your classroom. Identify the locations of home plate, first base, second base, and third base. You can use actual bases or four desks.
Arrange the class into two teams. Flip a coin to determine which team will be "up to bat" first. Pose the first question to the first batter. If the batter gets the question right, s/he goes to first base. If the second batter correctly answers the next question, s/he goes to first base, forcing the student on first base to move to second and so the game goes. Which team scores the most runs?
If a "batter" misses a question, that batter is out and the next batter gets a chance to answer the same question. Three misses and the other team takes the field.
Extending the Lesson
You might
- provide questions of varying levels of difficulty. Students could opt to answer a "double" question. Double questions are more difficult, but a correct answer will earn students two bases; that way, they can move along the runners more quickly.
- opt to give each team 4 or 5 outs per inning (if you feel there is too much movement in the game).
- keep track of their own hits, runs scored, runs batted in, and batting averages.
Assessment
This activity is the last step before introducing an assessment activity to students.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
This activity can be adapted for use in almost every subject and for almost any skill.
Click to return to this week's lessons, Reviving Reviews: Refreshing Ideas Students Can't Resist.
Originally published 03/28/2003
Last updated 04/29/2008
|