Reading informational texts. Directions: Today you will be taking a short test using what you have learned about reading nonfiction texts.

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1 Name: Date: Teacher: Reading informational texts Lesson Quick Codes for this set: LZ962, LZ1558, LZ1559, LZ1560, LZ1561, LZ1562, LZ1563 Common Core State Standards addressed: RI.3.1, RI.3.10, RI.3.3, RI.3.5, L.3.4d, W.3.8 Lesson Text: The Declaration of Independence and the First Fourth of July by Michael A. Signal Assessment Text: Play Ball! by Kira Freed, adapted from America s Story, courtesy of the Library of Congress Directions: Today you will be taking a short test using what you have learned about reading nonfiction texts. 1) (RI.3.10) Preview the article Play Ball! by Kira Freed using the picture shown below. What do you predict this article will be about? Why?

2 2. (RI.3.1) Before you begin reading, take a few moments to write down what you already know about this topic. 3. (RI.3.5) Identify three text features in this article. Then in the space provided, write down your observations about each feature. Text Feature I notice Observations I notice I notice

3 4. (RI.3.5) After jotting down what you noticed in the text features, think about what this text will teach you. The non-fiction article Play Ball will teach me (L.3.4d) Use the glossary in this article to find the definition of the word evolved. Then, rewrite the sentence using your understanding of the word evolved. Although it may have evolved from an English game, baseball is now considered an American sport.

4 6. (RI.3.3) What is the main idea of the section of text below? Baseball isn t only a passion among Major League fans. People across America cheer for their favorite farm team or Little League team. The game is played on school fields, in neighborhood parks, and on college diamonds. Baseball is also popular around the world, most notably in Canada, Japan, Cuba, China, Korea, and many Latin American countries. In addition to devoted fans, those countries have also produced many outstanding players who have come to the United States to play in the majors. 7. (W.3.8) Take notes on the section of text below by completing the outline with details and the main idea. The game of baseball wasn t just thought-up out of thin air. Instead, it was likely based on an English game called rounders or four-old-cat. Rounders had many of the same features as modern baseball. Gradually, as people played rounders, they began adding new rules and challenges, over time, the game had changed so much, it was an entirely new one. Today, the one major difference between baseball and rounders is that in rounders, a fielder can put a batter out by hitting him with the ball! Detail: Detail: Detail: Main Idea:

5 8. (RI.3.1) Imagine that one of your classmates who has not read the article, Play Ball! asks you to tell her about the article. Teach your classmate about the article using three sentences that start off with the words, This text teaches me This text teaches me This text teaches me This text teaches me

6 Play Ball! America s National Pastime Adapted by Kira Freed From America s Story courtesy of the Library of Congress 1 America s Game Crack! The sound of a baseball bat hitting a home run is one of the most familiar sounds of summer. Add cheering crowds, the smell of hotdogs, and the call of the peanut man, and you ve got yourself a game! Baseball is just about as old as the United States itself. For over two centuries men, women, boys, and girls have played baseball in parks across the country. Although it may have evolved from an English game, baseball is now considered an American sport. Baseball s Beginnings The game of baseball wasn t just thought-up out of thin air. Instead, it was likely based on an English game called rounders or four-old-cat. Rounders had many of the same features as modern baseball. Gradually, as people played rounders, they began adding new rules and challenges, over time, the game had changed so much, it was an entirely new one. Today, the one major difference Did you know? between baseball and rounders is that in rounders, a fielder can put a batter out by hitting him with the ball! Baseball was even played by American soldiers during the Civil War. This photograph, from 1859, shows the New York Knickerbocker baseball team. What do you notice about these players that is different from pictures you ve seen of modern baseball teams? Is anything the same? That all changed in In that year, a committee from the New York Knickerbockers decided that in order to get a base runner out, an opposing player only needed to tag him with the ball instead of hitting him with it Page

7 From that point on, baseball was played using a hard ball. With a developed set of rules, the game soon began to be played on a much larger scale. In the 1840s and 1850s, baseball became an organized game. By 1860, baseball had replaced the British game of Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier Baseball was a segregated sport well into the 1940s, segregated means that black and white players could not be on the same team. Black players were not allowed to play on white professional teams. It was not until 1945, when Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed a contract with a talented player named Jackie Robinson, that baseball policies separating black and white players changed forever. Jackie Robinson was a talented athlete. He was also a brave American, who had served in the Army and was involved in civil rights. Jackie Robinson put on his first Dodgers uniform in April Both Branch Rickey and Jackie knew that being the first black player to play on a white professional team would not be easy. Many people still did not want to desegregate baseball. Jackie had to be prepared for people to insult him. He would also need to avoid getting into fights, even when people openly showed their hatred. At the time, people, including fans and other baseball players, had different reactions to Jackie. Some happily welcomed him, others were angry. Jackie even received death threats. However, no one could deny his talent on the field. He won respect as well as the first Rookie of the Year Award in In 1949, he was named the National League s Most Valuable Player. Robinson retired from baseball after the 1956 season. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Page cricket as America s most popular sport. Baseball Today Major League Baseball (MLB) today is made up of thirty teams. Twenty-nine of these teams are based in the United States, and one (the Toronto Blue Jays) is based in Canada. Nearly 30,000 people attend each MLB game, making it the fifth among the most-attended sports leagues in the world. The baseball season runs from the early spring into the fall. Teams have a tough schedule during this time, playing six days a week. But in July, the regular games stop for the All-Star Game. The All-Star Game brings together baseball s best players, pitting the National League against the American League. Despite team loyalties, players chosen for the All-Star Game come together in a spirit of friendship. They respect the game as well as other players athletic talents. The baseball season ends with the World Series. In the World Series, the season s best teams from the American League and National League go head-to-head for the championship. The first World

8 Series was played in It has been played every year since then except 1904 and Baseball isn t only a passion among Major League fans. People across America cheer for their favorite farm team or Little League team. The game is played on school fields, in neighborhood parks, and on college diamonds. Baseball is also popular around the world, most notably in Canada, Japan, Cuba, China, Korea, and many Latin American countries. In addition to devoted fans, those countries have also produced many outstanding players who have come to the United States to play in the majors. Glossary civil rights (n) The rights of all citizens of a country to freedom and equality centuries (n) a century is a period of time equal to one hundred years contract (n) a legal, written agreement between two or more people evolved (v) changed or developed slowly over time opposing (v) to be in competition with, to be the opposite of overruled (v) decided against, usually by a higher authority such as a judge pitting (v) setting in competition with policies (n) rules, laws, or guidelines 3 Page segregated (adj) having groups that are kept separate based on