Teachers First - Thinking Teachers Teaching Thinkers

The WVU article "The Physics of Baseball" explains how science and sports work together in baseball. It covers topics like how speed, force, and spin affect pitching, hitting, and catching. The article is great for showing students real-life examples of physics. There's also a video included, but if your school blocks YouTube, the video might not be accessible. Teachers can use this resource to connect science lessons to a sport many students love.

tag(s): baseball (31), mass (19), temperature (34)

Stroll through time with the many Flickr photo albums containing images provided by the Library of Congress. Sorted by topics, pictures include subjects such as Civil War Faces and Baseball Americana. Choose any album for a first-hand look at America's past.

tag(s): 1900s (72), aeronautics (12), baseball (31), bridges (11), civil rights (219), civil war (142), gettysburg (15), images (263), jazz (17), lincoln (67), world war 1 (77), world war 2 (163)

Explore the sport of baseball through sound, movement, and art with this engaging interactive. Plan and design your own baseball field, create pictures or paintings about baseball; or create a skit based on baseball movements using ideas from the site. Be sure to check out the preparation, instruction, and standards links for everything needed to complete activities correlated to Common Core Standards and state standards.

tag(s): architecture (84), baseball (31), critical thinking (137), painting (54), plays (32), problem solving (233)

This site has strong content focused on the historical importance of the Negro Leagues Baseball teams. Clicking on Progams and About find the offerings of the NLB Museum, and a searchable archive of photographs and multimedia resources that can be used either in conjunction with the lesson plans (which include national standards benchmarks), or independently.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): baseball (31), black history (136), civil rights (219), racism (83), sports (85)

This new site focuses on the Negro Baseball Leagues from their beginnings in the late 19th century until the time that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Much of the content is the work of James A. Riley, one of the foremost experts in the study of the Negro Leagues. The site includes information on players, teams, video clips, resources and current issues. Only a few items still require Flash. The other information and videos don't, and are well worth your visit. The videos reside on YouTube. If your district or school blocks YouTube, they may not be viewable.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): baseball (31), black history (136), civil rights (219), sports (85)

The National Baseball Hall of Fame offers lots of information on famous players and the history of the game. It's a great starting point for students interested in baseball's impact on American culture, especially in the early 20th century. Visit the Sights and Sounds, link to view videos, hear authentic news clips and interviews, and more.

tag(s): baseball (31)

This Library of Congress collection has information on Jackie Robinson and lots more. This site includes lesson plans, class activities, and many additional resources. Standards are included. As always, the images are the star of the show, and there are pictures of early teams, documentation on Robinson's entry into the big leagues, and much more. This site also includes some information about primary sources. Well worth a visit.

tag(s): baseball (31), civil rights (219)

This is Major League Baseball's official site for kids complete with interactives, tips, videos, and links to favorite teams. The Game Zone features games such as "Suit Em Up" to create your own uniform, "Home Run Pursuit," and "T-Shirt Launcher." Meet the Pros or Travel the world of baseball at the Press Box or visit the Rec Room to view videos from This Week in Baseball. The News Stand contains the latest news, polls, and links to team's kid's pages.

Be Aware: some links lead to subscription and shopping sites so students may need to be introduced to the site to be made aware of links to avoid.

tag(s): baseball (31), statistics (120)

This site provides links to formulas and calculations used for finding baseball statistics. The site is written as a Baseball Stats 101 workshop providing a basic overview to statistics. Available links include common abbreviations, quotes about stats, and definitions and formulas. One of the most in-depth portions of the sites includes sample Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that can be used to track hitting and pitching, Little League individual player or team stats, odds of hitting a pitch, and major league team stats. Be sure to read some of the interesting quotes listed at the bottom of the page! This site does include some minor advertisements.

tag(s): charts and graphs (169), data (150), Microsoft (79), statistics (120)

Whether you are a lover of major league baseball or have a "soft spot" for overcoming the odds stacked against you and achieving a dream - the American dream, you will find videos and activities on this Web site that will surely capture your heart and the hearts and attention of the boys as well as the girls in your class.

Every year, people across the country pause on April 15 to celebrate the historic event that marks the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947. Use this educational unit (in PDf format) to bring the significance of Jackie Robinson's legacy to your classrooms. Although Breaking Barriers centers around an essay contest, you may choose to simply use the ideas to offer and assist your students in learning opportunities to teach them values that will enable them to face their own barriers and express themselves in written form. There are lessons, printables, book lists, videos, and more that align with language arts, math, and social studies national standards. The link to the videos is at the top of the second page.

tag(s): baseball (31), civil rights (219), sports (85)

The Library of Congress has collected this exhibit of 2,100 early baseball trading cards, published at a time when collecting was a passion among adults, not children. The site is interesting as a reflection of cultures and interests at the turn of the century, and also for its portrayals of some of the greats of the game as their contemporaries saw them. Click "View All" to see the trading cards.

tag(s): baseball (31)

This Library of Congress collection has information on Jackie Robinson and lots more. As always, the images are the star of the show, and there are pictures of early teams, documentation about Robinson's entry into the big leagues, and much more. Students can click on a time period (1860s-1890s, 1900s-1930s, 1940-1946, 1947-1956, 1957-1961, or 1962-1972) to learn more about the history of African-Americans and baseball.

tag(s): 1800s (75), 1900s (72), africa (170), african american (121), baseball (31), black history (136)

This website offers a math game built on a baseball theme. The problems (addition or multiplication) presented vary widely in difficulty, so the game could be used across several grades or with students of varying ability. Students have the option of choosing single digit questions, double digit questions, or a home run (difficult question).

tag(s): addition (127), baseball (31), multiplication (120)

The closest thing we've found to one-stop shopping for baseball physics, this site catalogs more than a dozen resources from simple explanations to graphs that plot fly ball trajectories, to aticles, to Power Point presentations. There are also videos, experiments, and countless other activities. You'll find lots of resources for building lessons or demonstrating principles. Although not aesthetically pleasing, this content-rich website provides unlimited information about baseball and the history and science of the sport. Some of the interactives still require Flash; however, there is plenty of information to learn from on this site.

tag(s): baseball (31)

Take me out to the ballgame.... This website provides unique vocabulary activities that all correlate with baseball! Some of the activities are interactive (word puzzles) and other activities are printable. There is also a few historical and reference facts. So take your students out to the ballgame and teach them some new science vocabulary terms.

tag(s): baseball (31)

Here is a tribute to baseball as an essential part of American culture. Learn everything you every wanted to know about each of the Major League ballparks, from seating charts to attendance figures, to the history behind former ballparks, you'll find it here. The site does include some minor advertisements.
This site includes advertising.

tag(s): baseball (31), sports (85)

Baseball America Online provides coverage of high school, college, and minor league ball as well as "the bigs." This site includes A LOT of information, podcasts, and more.

tag(s): baseball (31), statistics (120)

Major League Baseball has its own home page, an entry point for information on teams, player, statistics, and history. Keep up to date with current baseball news, video clips, and more.

tag(s): baseball (31), statistics (120)

Come to this website for one-stop learning about baseball. Some of the many activities and links at this website include "Stathead," "Teams," "Players," "Seasons," and more.

tag(s): baseball (31), sports (85), statistics (120)