third grade–fifth grade language arts part part ii persuasive writing; develop advertisements; and...

From NCAA Basketball Fast Break: Lessons Across the Curriculum With the NCAA, © 2003, NCAA.

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Third Grade–Fifth Grade Language Arts

Third Grade

Fifth Grade

Third Grade

Fifth GradeTHROUGH

PART IIPART II


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While exploring the exciting world of sport and the NCAA®, students par-ticipate in writing exercises in which they will develop research skills,communication skills and writing skills. In these lessons, students willpractice persuasive writing; develop advertisements; and write news ar-ticles, letters and character sketches.

Language ArtsLanguage Arts

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Play Like a ChampionStudents will explore the experience of sport through the use of figurative languagedevices such as similes and metaphors. The lesson will also introduce the concepts ofamateur versus professional sport and give an overview of the NCAA® organization.

National Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.6, NL-ENG.K-12.2Skill: Applying knowledge—figurative language, understanding the human

experienceEstimated Lesson Time: 30–40 minutes

Teacher PreparationDuplicate the Play Like a Champion worksheet on page 143 for each student.

Materials• 1 copy of the Play Like a Champion worksheet on page 143 for each student• 1 pencil for each student

Background InformationThis lesson will give students information about amateur versus professional sport. Itwill also introduce students to the NCAA organization. The NCAA is the organizationthrough which the nation’s colleges and universities speak and act on athletics mat-ters at the national level. The Association strives to maintain intercollegiate athleticsas an integral part of the educational program and the athlete as an integral part of thestudent body. The NCAA represents collegiate student-athletes and teams from morethan 1,200 institutions and conferences, and it administers 87 national championshipsin 22 sports.

Introduce the LessonExplain briefly to students the importance of exercise in their lives. Our bodies needphysical activity to be healthy and strong. Tell students that there are many types ofphysical activities, such as walking, biking and swimming. Ask who walks or bikes toschool or to friends’ houses. Tell students that this lesson will focus on one type ofphysical activity—sports—but emphasize that they can choose many other good waysto get exercise as well (e.g., climbing on playground equipment, gardening and so on).

Follow These Steps1. Ask students to name their favorite sports. Ask why they like to play those sports.

Do they like the running and kicking involved in soccer? Or the excitement of acompetitive basketball game?


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2. Tell students that people like sports for many different reasons and play at manylevels. At all levels, from park district teams for beginners to college and profes-sional teams, different organizations help organize sports so many athletes canplay. More than 1,000 colleges and universities belong to an organization calledthe NCAA (use Background Information to give students information about theNCAA). The NCAA helps make sure these student-athletes have time to studyand do their college work as well as play their sport. Student-athletes are ama-teur athletes. Amateurs do not get paid for playing a sport. Professional athletesdo get paid for playing a sport. No matter what level they play at, the athletesprobably enjoy their sports for many of the same reasons you do.

3. The people who write about sport, such as reporters who write articles for news-papers or magazines, try to use language to capture the spirit of the sport—thefeeling of movement, the excitement of competition, the agony of defeat. Stu-dents will learn some ways to use language to help bring their own sport writingto life.

4. Define figurative language. Figurative language is the use of a word or phrasethat helps the reader form an image in his or her mind. Two types of figurativelanguage are simile and metaphor.

• A simile is a comparison that uses the word like or as. It usually compares twoobjects that are very different from each other. For example, in the simile Hisbasketball shoes were as large as ships, we are comparing the size of shoes toships. Figurative language cannot be taken literally. In other words, his bas-ketball shoes were not really as large as ships, but the simile helps paint apicture in the reader’s mind.

• A metaphor is an implied comparison. It is a comparison that does not use theword like or as. A metaphor states that one thing is something else—for ex-ample, Her basketball shot is silk. The sentence compares her basketball shotwith silk. It is not really silk, but we can guess that her shot is smooth like silk.Think about this metaphor about a basketball pass: The basketball was a tor-pedo jetting across the court. What does that say about the way the basketballplayer threw the basketball?

5. Tell students that writers of poems, articles and stories use figurative languageto help their writing come to life. Making comparisons to things people alreadyknow about can help a writer explain something new and form an accurate pic-ture in the reader’s mind. If you are writing a story, a metaphor might help de-scribe the character’s point of view. What if a character who is trying to shoot abasketball for the first time says, “The net is no bigger than a grapefruit.” How isthat character feeling? How might a character describe the net if he is good atshooting a basketball?

6. Hand out the Play Like a Champion worksheet from page 143 to each student.Go over the directions and have students complete the worksheet. You may dothe first line of parts A and B as a class if you prefer. You may also allow thestudents to work in pairs or small groups.

Extend and Vary the LessonHave students read NCAA college basketball articles in local newspapers or from theAP wire at www.ncaabasketball.net. How many examples of figurative language canthey find?

www.ncaabasketball.net


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Play Like a Champion

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Figurative language can help capture the excitement, feeling and motion that are part of sport andexercise. It can bring your writing to life. Use your imagination when you complete these similesand metaphors.

Part A: Sport Similes

I can run as fast as a ______________________________.

I can shoot the basketball as far as a ______________________________.

I can jump as high as a ______________________________.

I can pass as far as a ______________________________.

When I win, I feel like a ______________________________.

Think of NCAA® college basketball student-athletes you know. Use similes to describe their talent.Follow this example: Basketball player Sue Bird runs like a deer.

______________________________ moves like a ______________________________.

______________________________ jumps like a ______________________________.

______________________________ is as quick as a ______________________________.

Part B: Sport Metaphors

If you are writing a story, a metaphor might help describe the character’s point of view. For ex-ample, “To José, the hoop looked no bigger than a peanut.” Write three of your own metaphors toshow a point of view. For each metaphor use one phrase from group A and one from group B. Youmay also make up your own words.

Group A: the basketball, the basket, my pass, my foul shot, the opposing player, my teammate

Group B: a watermelon, an elephant, a speeding jet, a torpedo, a tiny peanut, an attackingrhinoceros, a guided missile

Part C

Use the back of this sheet to write a short sports story, a poem or an article about amade-up sporting event. Use at least one simile and one metaphor in your writing.


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NCAA in the NewsIn this lesson, students will learn about the NCAA® and about what makes somethingnewsworthy.

National Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.3, NL-ENG.K-12.8Skills: Evaluation strategies, developing research skillsEstimated Lesson Time: 30–40 minutes

Teacher Preparation• Allow time in advance of the lesson for students to clip NCAA college basketball

articles about their local college or university team from newspapers or magazinesor read information on the Web. In addition, be sure to provide a supply of clip-pings in the classroom for those students who are unable to bring them from home.

• Duplicate the NCAA in the News worksheet on page 146 for each student.

Materials• Clippings of newspaper, magazine and Web articles about NCAA basketball

student-athletes and events, including one to be used as an example for the class

• 1 copy of the NCAA in the News worksheet on page 146 for each student

• 1 pencil for each student

Background InformationThe NCAA, or National Collegiate Athletic Association®, is the organization throughwhich the nation’s colleges and universities speak and act on athletics matters at thenational level. The NCAA represents collegiate athletes and teams from more than1,000 institutions and conferences, and it administers 87 national championships in22 sports.

News about the teams, athletes and events of the NCAA is always finding its way intonewspapers and magazines. Students will read and evaluate basketball articles aboutNCAA schools, teams and sporting events and write their own news reports aboutwhat they find. To find these articles, look in the sports section of the newspaper, readthrough sporting magazines or look on the Web (e.g., www.ncaabasketball.net).

Introduce the LessonAsk students where news writers work. (Newspapers, magazines, TV and radio newsprograms.) Tell students that this is their opportunity to learn what it takes to be agreat news writer. They will become sports reporters, writing about NCAA basketball.Tell students about the NCAA (see Background Information). Give examples of colle-

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giate basketball teams near you that belong to the NCAA. Explain to students how tofind articles in the newspaper or magazines (or on the Web) about NCAA basketballevents or student-athletes. (Caution: Look for college, not professional, athletics.) Askstudents to look in today’s paper and bring in clippings of articles about NCAA eventsor student-athletes. Tell them to look for articles about both men’s and women’s col-lege basketball.

Follow These Steps1. Tell students that a news writer who writes an article about an event has to

make sure the event is newsworthy. Ask students what makes something news-worthy. (Events must be timely, true, unusual and interesting.) Together, make upexamples of newsworthy and “un-newsworthy” basketball events, explaining whyeach is or is not newsworthy. (e.g., A student-athlete who made one free throw isprobably not a newsworthy event. A student-athlete who made 100 free throws isprobably newsworthy.)

2. Tell students the kind of information that must be included in good newswriting. Goover “who, what, when, where and why or how” and why this is important informa-tion to include in all newswriting. Tell students that the goal of the news writer is toinform readers about what is happening. The writing must catch the readers’ atten-tion and give them the information they need (who the article is about, what hap-pened, when it happened, where it happened and why or how it happened) quickly.Read an example of a local college basketball news article and, as a class, write thewho, what, when, where and why or how on the board. Now, as a class, ask studentsto form this into their own quick college basketball news statement.

3. Now discuss two other aspects of interesting newswriting: hooks and headlines.

• Talk about writing attention-grabbing headlines. Have students brainstormdifferent headlines for the example news article (it is OK to let them be silly).

• Talk with students about possible ways to write “hooks” for news stories, suchas starting with a question or with the most unusual, funny or exciting part ofthe story. Have the students brainstorm different hooks for the example newsarticle (again, it is OK to let them be silly).

4. Hand out the NCAA in the News worksheet on page 146 to each student, andguide them to complete it.

5. Allow the students to share their work with partners or the class.

Extend and Vary the Lesson• Tell one group or individual to write on a piece of paper the who, what, when,

where and why or how of a made-up basketball event. (It is OK to let them befunny.) Give the paper to another group or individual and let them write the storybased on the information. Read some stories aloud to the class.

• Have the students edit each other’s news reports (as written in the precedingextension), underlining the who, what, when, where and why or how.

• Give students extra public-speaking experience by encouraging them to retell theirstories as TV news broadcasts.

• For advanced students, see also the sixth grade–eighth grade language arts les-son 5 on page 292.


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NCAA in the News

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Read an article about an NCAA® college basketball event. Look closely at the article. In the firstparagraph or two, it should tell you who it is about, what happened, when it happened, where ithappened and why or how it happened. Find these things in the article and write them down in thespaces below.

Who: ______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What:______________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

When: _____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Where:_____________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Why or How: _______________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

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Think of a good “hook” for your news report. A hook is an exciting first line that grabs the readers’attention and hooks them into reading the rest of your story. Think of an attention-grabbing head-line for the article you studied. _________________________________________________________

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Dr. Naismith’s Original RulesWhen Dr. Naismith, the inventor of basketball, wrote his original rules for the game, heused the normal convention of the time—the passive voice. Now writers are encour-aged to use the active voice. This lesson will give students an opportunity to “changethe rules of the game.” They will review subjects and verbs and learn how to write inthe active voice.

National Standard: NL-ENG.K-12.6Skill: Applying knowledge of language structure and conventionsEstimated Lesson Time: 25–35 minutes

Teacher PreparationDuplicate the Changing the Rules of the Game worksheet on page 149 for each stu-dent.

Materials• 1 copy of the Changing the Rules of the Game worksheet on page 149 for each

student


Background InformationWhen Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball in the late 1800s, he wrote13 rules so that players could understand the game. One of Dr. Naismith’s rules statedthat when the ball goes out of bounds, the first person to touch it throws it back in.This caused many problems in early games as players dove wildly out of bounds afterthe ball, each trying to get to it first. Spectators did not like to be a part of theseviolent scuffles, so they chose not to sit close to the court. Around the turn of thecentury, some teams constructed cages around their playing courts to keep the ball(and the players) from going out of bounds, thus the nickname for basketball stillused today: cage ball. This arrangement allowed spectators to sit safely near the court.Eventually, however, Dr. Naismith’s original rule was changed so that now, the teamthat last touches the ball before it goes out of bounds loses possession of the ball.

Over time, some of Dr. Naismith’s rules have stayed the same and others havechanged. The NCAA® has made rules to protect the fairness of the game, both on andoff the court. NCAA rules are designed to promote fair competition and well-organizedplay and to protect the well-being of colleges and student-athletes.

Just as the rules of basketball have changed over time, the conventions of writinghave, too. Dr. Naismith wrote his basketball rules using the passive voice, a normalconvention at the time. Good writers now prefer to use the active voice because it ismore direct and engaging.

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Introduce the LessonRelate the preceding story, sharing with the students the way the rules of basketballhave changed. Explain that rules are necessary for many things, from basketball towriting. Many of the rules of writing show us how to structure a sentence.

Follow These Steps1. Define or review subject. The subject in a sentence is the thing that is doing the

action.

• A subject can be singular, as in the sentences John dribbles the ball or The girlcaught a pass—one person is doing the action.

• A subject can be plural, as in the sentence The players shot baskets all after-noon. The players are doing the action.

2. Define or review verbs. The verb tells the action. In the preceding sentences theverbs dribbles, caught and shot are all action verbs. Some verbs contain a helperverb combined with a main verb. For example, in the sentence The ball wasthrown by the player, was is a helper verb and thrown is the main verb. Thrown isthe verb that tells the action.

3. Explain that there are two voices of verbs: active and passive.

• In the active voice, the subject acts upon something or does something to some-thing else. The active voice has a direct object. The direct object is the thingthat is being acted upon. For example, in the sentence The player threw theball, player is the subject, threw is the active verb, and ball is the direct object.

• In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon by something else. The sen-tence The ball was thrown by the player is written in the passive voice. It showsthe direct object, the ball, being acted upon, or thrown, by the subject, theplayer. Explain that although using the passive voice is still correct grammar,the active voice is the way we prefer to write now. Active voice keeps thereader more involved and interested. Ask students to listen to the two sen-tences The player threw the ball and The ball was thrown by the player. Whichis simpler and more direct?

4. Hand out the Changing the Rules of the Game worksheet on page 149 to eachstudent.

5. Read aloud the instructions and the sample sentence.

Extend and Vary the Lesson• For students with difficulty reading, read the sentences out loud to them.

• Do the entire worksheet as a class exercise.

• Have students review the sentences they have written in the active voice on theirworksheets. The subject in the old (passive voice) sentence becomes the directobject in the new sentence. Ask students what the subject is in the new activevoice sentences. Help them understand that the subject is an implied You. Askthem for other examples of implied you sentences, such as Come here.

• Have students make up three sentences using the active voice. Now have themmake up three similar sentences using the passive voice. Ask for volunteers toread some sentences aloud. Ask them to name some differences they hear be-tween the two styles of writing. Why are the styles called active and passive?


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Changing the Rules of the Game

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Here are some of Dr. James Naismith’s 13 original rules for basketball. Over the years, basketballrules have changed so the game is more organized and safer to play. Some of the rules of writinghave also changed since Dr. Naismith wrote these rules. He used the passive voice. Now writersprefer to use the active voice. Your job is to help Dr. Naismith rewrite his rules using the activevoice.

First, circle the subject and put one line under the helper verb. Put two lines under the main, oraction, verb. Here is an example:

The ball may be thrown in any direction.

Now rewrite the sentence in the active voice. Begin with the action verb. Use the active form of theverb. Follow the action verb with the subject. In the active voice, the subject is now the directobject. Notice that helper verbs are not included in your new sentence. When you complete thesentence it looks like this:

Throw the ball in any direction.

1. The ball must be held with your hands.

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. The ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket.

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. The ball shall be thrown into the field of play.

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. The game shall be played in two fifteen-minute halves.

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5. The side making the most goals shall be declared the winner.

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Sport LibraryStudents will read from a selection of resources and develop research skills as theybuild a character sketch about a basketball student-athlete of their choice.

National Standard: NL-ENG.K-12.8Skill: Developing research skillsEstimated Lesson Time: 1–1.5 hours

Teacher Preparation• With the help of your school’s media specialist, assemble a selection of college

basketball-related nonfiction books, magazines and newspaper articles.

• Duplicate the A Student-Athlete I Admire worksheet on pages 152-153 for eachstudent.

Materials• A selection of college basketball-related nonfiction books, magazines and newspa-

per articles (work with your school’s media specialist)

• 1 copy of the A Student-Athlete I Admire worksheet on pages 152-153 for eachstudent


Background InformationThe popularity of sport continues to grow, with sport participation increasing amongyoung boys and girls. This has spurred an interest among many children to learn abouttheir sports heroes and to find information about the sports that involve or interestthem. Many nonfiction books, magazines and newspaper articles are available tohelp children find the information they seek. You can find AP wire stories at www.ncaabasketball.net. You can also contact your local college or university Sports Infor-mation Director (SID) to obtain men’s and women’s basketball media guides that canbe used by the class for this lesson.

In this lesson, students will select from a variety of nonfiction books, magazines ornewspaper articles. They will learn to use a book’s table of contents and index to helpthem research a student-athlete of their choice. The worksheet provided is designedto guide students’ research so that they are prepared to write a character sketch. Acharacter sketch is a brief written description of a person’s personality or character.It could be explained as using words to “paint a picture” of a person, describing his orher traits, background, interests and ideas.

Introduce the LessonAsk your students, “What are your favorite sports? Do you have a favorite student-athlete, someone who is well known in his or her sport? What do you know about that

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student-athlete? Would you like to know more? How could you learn more about thestudent-athlete you admire?” After a brief discussion, say, “Books that tell about aperson’s life are called biographies. We will use books and articles in magazines andnewspapers to find out more about some of your favorite student-athletes.”

Follow These Steps1. Have each student select a book, magazine, newspaper or Web article from those

you have gathered. Give them a few minutes to look through the resources andselect a student-athlete to study.

2. Tell your students about the table of contents, including where it is found in abook or magazine, how it is set up and how it is used. Say, “You use a table ofcontents when you want to quickly see what type of information is in a book, orwhat articles are in a magazine.” Show an example. Ask students to turn to thetable of contents in their book or magazine. Find several volunteers to each readaloud the name of one article or chapter from the table of contents and the pageit is found on.

3. Tell your students about the index, including where it is found in a book, how itis set up and how it is used. Explain that most magazines (and some books) donot have an index. Say, “You use an index when you want to find information ona specific topic.” Show an example. Ask students to turn to the index in theirbooks. Find several volunteers to each read aloud the name of one item from theindex and the page it is found on.

4. Hand out the A Student-Athlete I Admire worksheet on pages 152-153 to eachstudent.

5. Go over the questions on the worksheet. Explain to students that the worksheetasks questions to guide their research. If a question does not apply to thestudent-athlete they are studying, they may leave it blank. Once they have filledout the answers that apply, they will use the information to write a charactersketch about that student-athlete. Explain the term character sketch.

Extend and Vary the Lesson• Have students work in pairs or small groups, each member looking through a

different resource to research the same student-athlete. Each member can con-centrate on researching and answering a certain number of questions on theworksheet. Afterward, students can write individual reports using the group’s in-formation.

• After students write their character sketches, have them introduce their student-athletes to the class in oral reports. Explain to students how to prepare for publicspeaking, including writing down key words, practicing, looking at the audiencewhile speaking and speaking loudly and clearly.

• To shorten lesson time, instead of presenting an oral report to the entire class,students may introduce their student-athletes to other members of a small group.Or have students do the research and fill out the worksheet without writing acharacter sketch.

• Create a “wax museum” with students dressing as their athlete and giving theirreports to visitors touring the “museum” (stations in the classroom). Have eachstudent design a clever way for visitors to “turn on” his or her “wax” character.


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A Student-Athlete I Admire

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Choose an NCAA® basketball student-athlete and read about him or her. Fill in answers to thequestions below. When you are done, use this information to write a character sketch.

What is the student-athlete’s name? ___________________________________________________

What is the student-athlete’s nickname? ________________________________________________

Does the student-athlete play on a team? If so, what team?_______________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What position does the student-athlete play? ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What makes the student-athlete stand out in his or her sport?_____________________________

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Where is the student-athlete from? ____________________________________________________

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Where does the student-athlete live now? ______________________________________________

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What is the student-athlete’s age? _____________________________________________________

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How long has the student-athlete been playing this sport?________________________________

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What is the student-athlete’s greatest achievement? _____________________________________

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What is one thing the student-athlete enjoys about his or her sport? _______________________

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What is something the student-athlete is not very good at doing? _________________________

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Has the student-athlete ever experienced failure? How did he or she overcome it? ___________

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Find a quote from the student-athlete (something he or she said): _________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

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Find some interesting details about the student-athlete (other interests, family, pets and so on):

___________________________________________________________________________________

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Basketball TalkTraveling, dribbling, alley-oop—basketball has a language all its own. Students willexplore the diverse uses of language and develop the skills they need to communicateeffectively with different audiences.

National Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.4, NL-ENG.K-12.8, NL-ENG.K-12.9Skills: Communication and research skills, multicultural understanding, under-

standing language in contextEstimated Lesson Time: 30–40 minutes

Teacher PreparationDuplicate the Basketball Talk worksheet on pages 156-157 for each student.

Materials• 1copy of the Basketball Talk worksheet on pages 156-157 for each student


Background InformationWhen basketball was invented in the late 1800s, players used soccer balls or footballsto play the game. Sometimes basketball was referred to as “indoor football” becausethe season followed so closely after football season. Successful shots into the basketwere sometimes even called “touchdowns.” Since those early days of basketball, thesport has developed its own equipment and its own vocabulary. Basketball no longerneeds to borrow terms from other sports. It has a language all its own.

In this lesson, students will explore the idea that vocabulary has different meaningsfor people of different cultures and backgrounds. For example, the slang phrase “What’sup?” might cause an unfamiliar audience to look skyward. The word travel has onemeaning on the basketball court and a different meaning off the court. Students willstudy basketball terms and then write statements to two different audiences, learningto evaluate the audience and tailor their communication differently to each audiencethey address.

Introduce the LessonTell your students that words can have different meanings for people of different cul-tures and backgrounds. Say, “For example, in Europe, the sport of soccer is calledfootball. Even people of different ages have different ways of speaking. If you like some-thing, you may say it is ‘cool.’ Your parents may say it is ‘nice.’ Basketball has its ownlanguage, too.”

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Follow These Steps1. Ask students to name words or phrases they normally use that people of a dif-

ferent age or culture might not understand. Write these on the board. Have stu-dents pick three terms and, as a class, write definitions of the terms for an audi-ence unfamiliar with them.

2. Have students brainstorm basketball terms. Write them on the board.

3. Ask them if any of these terms have other meanings off the court (e.g., dribble,travel).

4. Tell them, “When we write, we have to keep in mind who will be reading ourwriting. Our readers are called our audience. We must make sure to write in away that best communicates with the audience we are addressing.”

5. Hand out the Basketball Talk worksheet on pages 156-157 to each student.

6. Review the worksheet instructions.

7. When students have had sufficient work time, you may review their answers.

Extend and Vary the Lesson• For students who have difficulty reading, read the definitions out loud to them.

• Have students think of terms used in sports besides basketball, such as footballand soccer. Ask them to define these terms for an audience unfamiliar with thesport. Can they think of any terms (such as foul, strike or walk) that mean differentthings in different sports?

• Have students look at part B of their worksheets (“On the Court/Off the Court”).How are the basketball terms similar to the off-the-court meanings of the word?Have students explain why they think these particular words were chosen as bas-ketball terms based on the similarities in meaning. For example, the on-the-courtdefinition of traveling is moving without dribbling the ball. The off-the-court defi-nition means to take a journey. Both definitions involve movement from one placeto another. Make up two sentences using two or more of the basketball terms inpart B. For example, The player traveled three times during the first two minutes ofthe game, so the coach asked him to sit on the bench. Now read the sentences,thinking of the off-the-court meanings of the words. Are the sentences funny? Why?

• Write a four- to five-sentence paragraph about a basketball game. Talk about howthe players dribble the ball, pass to each other and shoot the ball. (1) Write thedescription for an audience that knows basketball. (2) Now write the descriptionfor an audience that does not know basketball. Use the terms on the worksheet tohelp you describe the action.


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Basketball Talk

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Part A: Basketball Terms Glossary

Match each term on the left with its correct definition on the right.

1. Defense

2. Foul

3. Free throw

4. Guards

5. Offense

6. Pass

7. Rebound

a. To throw the ball to another player

b. The two players on a basketball team who bring theball down the court toward the basket

c. To grab a missed shot

d. The team without the ball that tries to stop the otherteam from scoring

e. A shot thrown from behind the free-throw line

f. The team that has the ball and tries to score

g. A bump, slap or grab that results in a penalty

Part B: On the Court/Off the Court

The following words mean one thing on the basketball court and another off the court. Match eachword with its correct meaning.

1. Dribble—on the court

2. Dribble—off the court

3. Dunk—on the court

4. Dunk—off the court

5. Shot—on the court

6. Shot—off the court

7. Travel—on the court

8. Travel—off the court

9. Turnover—on the court

10. Turnover—off the court

a. A vaccination against diseases

b. A filled pastry made by folding half the crust overthe other half

c. To walk or run without dribbling the ball, which re-sults in a penalty

d. To take a trip or journey

e. To let something fall in drops or to drool

f. The instance of a team losing the ball without tak-ing a shot and the ball going to the other team

g. To stuff the ball through the basket

h. An attempt to throw the ball into the basket

i. To dip, as a cookie into milk

j. To bounce the basketball by pushing it to the floorwith one hand


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Bonus Activity

Write two sentences about a basketball game. Talk about how the players dribble the ball, pass toeach other or shoot the ball. (1) Write the sentences for an audience that knows basketball. (2)Now write the sentences for an audience that does not know basketball. Use the terms and defini-tions on the worksheet to help you describe the action.

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Tell It Like It IsGirls today are able to take advantage of a huge variety of athletic opportunities, thanksin many cases to the 1972 passage of the antidiscrimination law known as Title IX. Inthis lesson, students will think about discrimination and the power of public opinion.Pretending it is a time before 1972, they will practice their writing skills by developinga commercial to promote the idea of women participating in sports.

National Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.4, NL-ENG.K-12.6Skills: Communication skills, applying knowledge of language structure and

conventionsEstimated Lesson Time: 30–45 minutes

Teacher PreparationDuplicate the Tell It Like It Is worksheet on pages 161-162 for each student.

Materials• 1 copy of the Tell It Like It Is worksheet on pages 161-162 for each student

• 1 sheet of notebook paper for each student


Background InformationFor most of human history, sports and athletics have been dominated by men. Untilthe mid-1800s, public opinion held that girls were physically unable to compete insports. Many doctors even said that it was unhealthy for women to exercise. Slowly,with the help of pioneer female athletes, public opinion began to change. Still, formany decades, opportunities for female participation in organized sports were few.This changed in 1972, when Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the 1964Civil Rights Act was passed by Congress. The law, more commonly known as Title IX,reads, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded fromparticipation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination underany educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance” (20 U.S.C.§ 1681).

Public and private institutions of learning that receive federal assistance must prac-tice Title IX. Title IX does not apply to private colleges and universities that do notreceive any federal assistance. Since 1972, many new opportunities have become avail-able for female athletes to participate in sports. New teams were formed and neworganizations established. By 1976, the number of females participating in high schoolathletics had risen to 1,645,039. In the 2000-01 school year, the number of femalesparticipating in high school athletics was 2,784,154. (These statistics are according to

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the National High School Federation [NFHS].) In 1982, the NCAA® began administer-ing championship tournaments for women in many sports, including basketball, soc-cer, golf and tennis.

Introduce the LessonShare this short story with your students: The year was 1961. Pam was a high schoolstudent who loved the game of basketball. She played basketball with friends and prac-ticed all the time. However, Pam could not play basketball for her high school. Girlswere not allowed on the boys’ basketball team and there was no girls’ basketball team.Eventually, Pam lost her interest in basketball because she had no chance to compete.

Follow These Steps1. Explain the concept of discrimination. Ask students what are some traits that

might bring on discrimination. (Age, race, gender.) Discuss the gender discrimi-nation involved in the preceding story. Ask students if they have ever experi-enced discrimination (e.g., You cannot play with us because you are a boy [orgirl]; you are too young; you are not our friend). How did it feel?

2. Discuss with students the history of women’s involvement in sports using thebackground information from this lesson. Include discussion about public opin-ion and social pressure (e.g., Females cannot play sports and should not exer-cise). Discuss ways in which public opinion influences discrimination (e.g.,coaches who think it is unhealthy for women to participate in sports will not letthem participate). Ask students how they feel about these ideas and the dis-crimination against women in sports.

3. Discuss how public opinion has changed. How did this change occur? (Scien-tists, doctors and pioneer female athletes all proved that women could successfullycompete in sports.) Discuss how discrimination has changed. Talk about Title IX(use background information from this lesson).

4. Ask the students to think about what it might be like if they lived in the timebefore Title IX went into effect. How could they help change public opinion andstop discrimination against girls participating in sports? (They might gather girlsinto informal teams and invite those in charge of boy’s sports programs to see thesuccessful way girls can play; they might write persuasive letters to people in chargeof sports programs giving them information about girls’ athletic abilities.) Discussthe means people use to change others’ opinions. (Commercials, which try togive consumers either a positive opinion about a product or a negative one, suchas antismoking commercials; books; persuasive speeches [e.g., those by Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr.].)

5. Discuss the important aspects of persuasive writing, including

• using a “hook” (a strong beginning to capture the audience’s attention; seealso lesson 2, “NCAA in the News,” on page 144),

• presenting a strong main idea and maintaining focus,

• providing support for the main idea and

• ending with a strong conclusion.

6. Hand out the Tell It Like It Is worksheet on pages 161-162 and notebook paper toeach student.

7. Guide the students to complete the assignment.


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Extend and Vary the Lesson• Have students work in small groups to develop a college basketball commercial

using their persuasive language.

• Have students present their commercials to the class. Explain to students how toprepare for public speaking, including practicing, looking at the audience whilespeaking and speaking loudly and clearly.

• Instead of presenting to the entire class, students share their commercials withinsmall groups.

• Choose one or two commercials to be broadcast over the school’s PA system. Orhave each student or group present their work to another class.

ReferencesMacy, Sue. 1996. Winning Ways: A Photohistory of American Women in Sports. New

York: Henry Holt.National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2000. Middle School Madness. Indianapolis,

IN: NCAA.


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Tell It Like It Is

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Pretend it is before 1972, when Congress passed the Title IX law. You are going to create a com-mercial to convince the teachers, coaches and students of your school that girls and women shouldbe able to play organized sports. Pretend that your commercial will be broadcast over the PAsystem so everyone in the school will hear it. Think of a form for your commercial. Should it be aspeech? A short story? Interviews? Something else? Use the prompts below to organize your com-mercial.

Commercial’s “hook” (a strong beginning to capture the audience’s attention): _____________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Commercial’s main message: _________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Support for the main message:________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Personal story (about you, someone you know or a made-up character): ___________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Examples of women in sports: ________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________


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Evidence that women can play sports: _________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Quotes from experts: ________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion: ________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Now write your commercial on a separate sheet of paper.


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Dear PlayerIn this lesson, students explore the power of communicating with the written word.

National Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.4, NL-ENG.K-12.5, NL-ENG.K-12.12Skills: Communication skills, communication strategies, applying language

skillsEstimated Lesson Time: 40–50 minutes

Teacher Preparation• Allow time in advance of the lesson for students to attend a college basketball

game, find information on the Web at www.ncaabasketball.net or read collegebasketball articles in the newspaper.

• Duplicate the Dear Player worksheet on pages 165-166 for each student.

Materials1copy of the Dear Player worksheet on pages 165-166 for each student

Background InformationThe NCAA® is made up of student-athletes who want an education and who excel insports. The fact that these individuals have made it to college-level athletics suggeststhat they have a strong degree of determination, a positive attitude, a good work ethicand a healthy lifestyle. All of these are qualities that your students might look for in arole model. Through attendance at a collegiate basketball event or research usingWeb or newspaper articles, students will select a collegiate basketball student-athletewho interests them. Students will then explore the art of writing through a mock e-mail exchange of information with this college basketball student-athlete. By doingso, students may learn strategies that could help them connect with other potentialrole models. Learning the power that language holds in this type of communication,as well as ways to use language for communication and connection, is the ultimategoal of this lesson. Students will also gain opportunities to think about the positiveattributes of student-athletes and other good role models.

Introduce the LessonTell students about the many NCAA college-level sports and teams. Write on the boardthe many sports in which collegiate student-athletes compete (e.g., basketball, swim-ming, gymnastics and so on). Visit www.ncaasports.com to view the entire list of 22NCAA sports. Tell students that playing on a college team in any sport may involvetrying out and competing against other student-athletes from high schools and col-leges across the country. Ask, “Is it easy to play on a college-level team?” (No.)

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Follow These Steps1. Ask students what qualities student-athletes might need and choices they should

make to compete in college-level athletics. (Determination, a positive attitude,hard work, healthy eating, other healthy choices.) Write these qualities on theboard.

2. Say to students, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to get to know one of these basket-ball student-athletes? If you had a chance, what might you ask them? What wouldyou want them to know about you?”

3. Tell students they will be writing a mock e-mail to an NCAA student-athlete. Firstthey will need to select a student-athlete. To learn about individual players inthe NCAA, they can attend a college sporting event, look in the sports section ofthe newspaper for information about college basketball games, or go to the NCAAWeb site at www.ncaabasketball.net. This site will link them to any of the NCAAmen’s and women’s Division I, II and III basketball programs. They can also go towww.ncaasports.com to get information on all NCAA sports.

4. After student-athletes have been chosen, hand out the Dear Player worksheeton pages 165-166 to each student. Review the initial questions (part A) on theworksheet, telling students that filling in the answers to these questions willgive them some basic information and ideas on which to base their e-mails. Givestudents time to fill this out.

5. Go over part B of the worksheet, reminding students about the proper form ofan e-mail. The handout includes space for a subject heading and an e-mail ad-dress (make up the e-mail address or leave it blank, since this is a mock). Fromthere the handout follows the format of a letter, including the salutation (greet-ing), the body, the closing and a signature. In the case of these student e-mails,the signature would be the student’s name, school and grade.

6. Review the first drafts with students. Give (or have peers give) suggestions forediting. Have students edit and rewrite into a final draft.

7. Point out that the same qualities that make for top-notch student-athletes help aperson be successful in other areas of life, such as school, art, dance and ca-reers.

Extend and Vary the Lesson• For younger or less experienced students, omit the last three questions of part A

on the worksheet.

• Have students think of other potential role models in their lives. What positivequalities do these people have? How might the student learn from these role mod-els?

• Either the teacher or students read several finished e-mails aloud to the class.


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Dear Player

Name_____________________________________________ Date______________________

Writing a letter is a great way to get to know someone new. Here, you will write a mock e-mail toan NCAA® basketball student-athlete of your choosing.

Part A: Getting to Know You

What is the student-athlete’s name? ___________________________________________________

What is the student-athlete’s sport? ____________________________________________________

Where does the student-athlete live now? ______________________________________________

What are some of the student-athlete’s special qualities? _________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What subjects is the student-athlete studying in college? _________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What is your name? _________________________________________________________________

What is your favorite sport?___________________________________________________________

Where do you live now? _____________________________________________________________

What are some of your special qualities? _______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What do you and the student-athlete have in common?__________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

What would you like to know about the student-athlete? (For example, the student-athlete’sother interests, how the student-athlete stays in shape, why he or she likes this sport.)

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________


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What would you like the student-athlete to know about you? (For example, your interests, howyou feel about sports, what you think about the athlete’s sport.)

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Do you know about a recent basketball game or sporting event the student-athlete participatedin? Tell the student-athlete what you know about it. Ask questions. Show appreciation for whathe or she did.

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Part B: Writing Your E-Mail

Use the information above to write a mock e-mail.

E-mail Address:

Subject:

Dear ____________________,

Sincerely,

(Name, grade and school)

third grade–fifth grade language arts part part ii persuasive writing; develop advertisements; and...

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