Ninth Grade Hispanic Studies Multicultural Curriculum Unit Baseball the National Pastime of the Dominican Republic

Transcription

1 Ninth Grade Hispanic Studies Multicultural Curriculum Unit Baseball the National Pastime of the Dominican Republic Content/Theme: Cultural and Economic Interdependence Grades: 9 Primary Benchmark: SS.912.H.3.1 Analyze the effects of transportation, trade, communication, science, and technology on the preservation and diffusion of culture. Time: 1-2 Class periods Objectives: 1. Students will understand how the game of baseball has helped shape the culture of the Dominican Republic. 2. Students will know how sports have helped to create a prosperous economy in many areas of the Caribbean. 3. Students will understand the special opportunities that the sport of baseball has helped to create for the poor people of the Dominican Republic. Teacher Preparation/ Materials: Reading passage, unit test, Internet access Activities: 1. Elicit student s background knowledge of the Dominican Republic. Review corresponding chapters in the textbooks before beginning lesson. 2. Draw a large world map showing the positions of the Dominican Republic in relationship to the United States and other countries where baseball is played. 3. Have students read the reading passage, either in groups, as a center with other alternative activities, or independently (ESOL read aloud and review vocabulary). Alternative Activities: Design a brochure to attract tourists to the Dominican Republic (Internet research.) Pick a city in the Dominican Republic and design a baseball team shirt for that city. Select a major league player and make your own baseball card of that player. On the front have his picture, and on the back write a short biography and give his current statistics. Research foods served in the Caribbean. Tell how the diet of a baseball player from the Dominican Republic might vary from one in the United States. ESOL Strategies: Cooperative learning Alternative assessment Read aloud

2 Review of Lesson and Assessment: 1. Create your own sports page with stories and information about players and teams from the Dominican Republic and other countries. 2. Create a word search with the names of players and teams from the Dominican Republic. 3. Make a timeline on the history of baseball, making sure to include the Dominican and other countries where the sport of baseball has grownup (Internet research). 4. Give students enclosed test: Answer Key: 1. Baseball 2. Sailors 3. Cuba 4. Caribbean 5. Marines 6. d 7. d 8. a 9. c 10. b Short Answer: Most are poor young boys between the ages of 17 &18. Sent to training camps where they make about $ per month, they play in Dominican leagues and hope to break into professional baseball in the United States. Resources: Rogozinski, Jan, A Brief History of the Caribbean, Plume Publishing Co. New York, 2000 Ruck, Rob, The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball and the Dominican Republic, Carroll & Graf Publishing, New York Showker, Kay, The Outdoor Traveler s Guide to the Caribbean, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, New York, Winter, Johah & Johan, Beisbol! Latino Baseball Pioneers & Legends, Lee & Low Books, Miami, 2001 Baseball and the Dominican Republic: When Dominican great, Juan Samuel, once said, You don t walk off the island. You hit. He was describing the national pastime of the Dominican Republic,

3 baseball. In the gritty town of Boca Chica, a town on the southern coast, barefoot ball players practice with sticks and old tennis balls, dreaming of one day playing professional baseball. In a country where more than one million of the eight million people have fled poverty to live in the United States, stars like Alex Rodriguez (born to Dominican parents in the U.S) proudly proclaim they are Dominicanos. Baseball in the Caribbean goes back to 1866 when it was first introduced on the island of Cuba by American sailors. When a ten-year war brought instability to Cuba, many Cubans fled to the Dominican Republic and brought the game of baseball with them. Although, some believe that baseball as we know it today was not introduced in the Dominican until 1916 with the eight-year occupation by the United States Marines. By the 1920 s, Dominicans were traveling to Cuba, Puerto Rico and North America to play games. In 1937, a three-team league brought together some of the best players money could buy. The 1937 season was memorable because the Ciudad Trujillo Drageons would prevail and win the series, but it took a financial toll on the country. Just like some professional teams today, the Dominican teams spent too much money on talent and the league went bankrupt. Professional baseball would not return to the Dominican Republic for 14 years. Even with the absence of pro teams, amateur baseball thrived. Dominican and American sugar mill owners approved of the sport and encouraged their workers to play. During the six-month dead season, sugarcane requires less maintenance and workers who were unemployed played in amateur leagues. Competitions were set up to pit one sugar mill against another. Young baseball players were soon being recruited from all over the Caribbean and the United States. The Dominican Republic now exports its finest native sons to America: 71 players were on major-league rosters in They include Pedro Martinez, the

4 Boston pitcher and Cy Young winner; Manny Ramirez, the Cleveland slugger; and Sammy Sosa, the famous home-run hitter. The country produces more majorleaguers than any foreign nation and, per capita, far more than any U.S. state. More than 20 major league teams now have baseball-training camps for prospective players. Some critics worry because so many teenagers drop out of high school for their baseball pursuits. They say young people should worry about diplomas, not contracts. But baseball players find nothing wrong with dreaming, and those players who are lucky enough to make the team are usually young boys between the ages of 17 and 18. Once selected, they are sent to the team s camp where they are housed, fed, and coached. The average player will make about $ a month. If a prospect shows promise, he is then promoted to the minor league system in the United States with hopes of making it to the majors. Unfortunately, out of the hundreds that tryout, only a handful will ever make it to the major leagues. Baseball and the Dominican Republic Quiz NAME DATE Directions: Fill in the blanks with words and concepts from the reading passage: 1. is the national pastime of the Dominican Republic. This sport was brought to the island by American 2.. A ten-year war in

5 3. brought many players to the Dominican Republic. Today the sport is played all over the islands of the 4.. In 1916 the sport as we know it today was taught to the Dominicans by American 5.. Directions: Choose the best answer to the following questions: 6. Of the following, choose a player who comes from the Dominican. A. Reggie Jackson B. Edgar Renteria C. Albert Pujols D. Sammy Sosa. 7. The first professional league in the Dominican failed because, A. all of the players moved to the United States. B. there was little support from the people. C. there was an invasion from Cuba. D. the team owners spent too much money on talent. 8. Even though the professional leagues failed Dominican leagues were formed A. at the sugar mills. B. at the local churches. C. at the local towns. D. at the local schools. 9. Many young Dominicans dream of playing baseball in A. amateur leagues. B. Cuba. C. the United States. D. European leagues. 10. Baseball leagues in the Dominican are structured around A. the American baseball season. B. the sugarcane growing season. C. the school year from September to May. D. the end of the professional soccer season. Directions: On your own piece of paper, answer the following short response question in complete sentences by using details from the reading passage. Write a profile describing a typical young Dominican man who would be striving to get into professional baseball.