Sunday, June 14, 2020

United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. 2018

Robinson's Values
Inspiration Book:

The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta; illustrated by Christie, R. Gregory — Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2018 : 796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.5. Tells the true story of Jackie Robinson's battle against prejudice while serving in the military during World War II, covering his court-martial for refusing to move to the back of an integrated bus.
Rationale: For such a time as this : pandemic, demonstrations, riots, BLM, police brutality and shooting, equality/inequality, white supremacy, white guilt, wokeness, racism, etc., I have decided to explore books from 2018 that reflect outstanding people of color who are positive examples for the weeks on which I post social studies entries. The Inspiration Book is about one of those example. We most often hear about Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. But he was an advocate for and fighter for civil rights years prior to his baseball career. The Inspiration Book mentions his strong mother who stood up for equal rights. Both Jackie’s college experiences and especially his military experiences are emphasized in this picture book.  His moral courage is emphasized, and is worth discussing. A lesser person may not have been able to stand up against biased college and military coaches. The Inspiration Book looks at Robinson through the eyes of a young man, not a ball player. 
Two weeks ago I posted an entry for Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Thorndike Press, 2018) about police shooting as an entry that was part of a series for BOOK BREAK. The BOOK BREAK concept is an excellent method to use to make students aware of a book or a topic--it’s a method to motivate students to read a book, but involves little discussion or internalization of concepts and values.
A second method that I often use is what I term Wisdom Books, or using picture books for all ages. By using a picture book, the book is introduced, but then followed up with a discussion or activity. Please read the blog entry about Wisdom Books for my take on using picture books with all ages. https://www.mybooksalive.com/search?q=wisdom+books. You will note in that entry that I select a theme for Wisdom Books. I suggest you follow some of the ideas in that entry. We will  look at outstanding people of color who are positive examples continuing through the summer. Make this your theme idea but not a specific catch phrase.
For this particular Inspiration Book, The United States v. Jackie Robinson, here are a few discussion points to use for an introduction or follow-up:
  • What is a hero? Think of someone who is alive today and considered a modern-day hero. What makes him or her heroic? (List some of the characteristics and adjectives on the board or on chart paper.) For example, a politician; a celebrity; someone who has founded a charity or organization; an activist, etc. (Parents or teachers may provide ideas and assistance with information.)
  • Read aloud The United States v. Jackie Robinson. Was Jackie Robinson a hero? Why or why not? If yes, what makes him heroic?
  • Did anyone doubt Jackie Robinson was a hero during his lifetime? (coaches, teammates, etc.)
  • What did Jackie Robinson say to explain his or her choices? 
  • How has our world changed because of Jackie Robinson?
  • What would you like to say to him if he were alive today?
  • Jackie Robinson had special interests, abilities, and characteristics that made him seem different, but helped him achieve great things. What were those special interests, abilities, and characteristics.
  • As a class or in small group or individually (depending on experience), write an acrostic poem using either the first or last name.
  • As a class, make an ABC poster using words that describe Jackie Robinson (A = achiever, B = ballplayer, C = courageous).
This discussion and activities  can be repeated as each outstanding person of color is shared, in this case, via a book published in 2018.
Addendum: Jackie Robins showed courage throughout his life, as a baseball player and a promoter of civil rights after his retirement from baseball. A more thorough study of his life could become an extension of this lesson. Below are resources for additional books about Robinson and resources. Another twist, use only books about his life as a baseball player or only use the biographical books Robinson’s daughter Sharon wrote. Her books emphasize Robinson’s role as a father.
Related Books and Teaching Resources:
Official site of Jackie Robinson http://www.jackierobinson.com/
Testing the ice : a true story about Jackie Robinson by Robinson, Sharon — Scholastic Press, 2009--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 2.5 As a testament to his courage, Jackie Robinson's daughter shares memories of him, from his baseball career to the day he tests the ice for her, her brothers, and their friends. 

Video Book Reading narrated by illustrator Kadir Nelson Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson Audiobook excerpt narrated by illustrator Kadir Nelson. https://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=16923


I am Jackie Robinson (Ordinary People Change The World) by Meltzer, Brad; illustrated by Eliopoulos, Chris— Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2015 796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.3. An illustrated look at the life and career of Jackie Robinson.

Video Book Trailer for series Ordinary People Change the World https://www.teachingbooks.net/booktrailer.cgi?id=2455





Child of the dream : a memoir of 1963 by Robinson, Sharon  — Scholastic Press, 2019 973.92; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.7. The author shares her experience growing up during 1963, an important year of the civil rights movement.

Dad, Jackie, and me by Uhlberg, Myron  — Peachtree, c2005 p2010--E-; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.8 In Brooklyn, New York, in 1947, a boy learns about discrimination and tolerance as he and his deaf father share their enthusiasm over baseball and the Dodgers' first baseman, Jackie Robinson. 



In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Lord, Bette — HarperTrophy, c1984 p2003 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.8. In 1947, a Chinese child comes to Brooklyn where she becomes Americanized at school, in her apartment building, and by her love for baseball.
Discussion Questions from Dr. Betty Powers Francis https://www.teachingbooks.net/media/pdf/BF/YearBoarJackieRobinson_DG.pdf




Lesson Plan from Small Planet Communications http://www.smplanet.com/planetbookclub/novels/boar

When Jackie and Hank met by Fishman, Cathy Goldberg  — Marshall Cavendish Children, 2012: 796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 3.8. Relates the moment when baseball players Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg met at a collision at home plate, and, despite being encouraged by the crowd, decided not to engage in a fight, and discusses the challenges the two men overcame throughout their lives and their legacies. 

The hero two doors down : based on the true story of friendship between a boy and a baseball legend by Robinson, Sharon — Scholastic Inc., 2017 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 3.9. Eight-year-old Steve Satlow is thrilled when Jackie Robinson moves into his Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1948, although many of his neighbors are not, and when Steve actually meets his hero he is even more excited--and worried that a misunderstanding over a Christmas tree could damage his new friendship.
Discussion Guide from Sunshine State Young Readers Award https://www.floridamediaed.org/uploads/6/1/4/2/61420659/2017es-herotwodoorsdown.pdf
Video Book Trailer from Scholastic https://www.teachingbooks.net/booktrailer.cgi?id=5689

Jackie & me (Baseball Card Adventure, Book 2) by Gutman, Dan — Avon Books, c1999 p2000 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 4.8. With his ability to travel through time by using baseball cards, Joe goes back to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson, turning into a black boy in the process.
Extension Activities from Scholastic https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=13068

A picture book of Jackie Robinson by Adler, David A — Holiday House, 1994--796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 4.9 A biography of the first African-American player in the major leagues, who was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1962. 

Jackie Robinson : American hero by Robinson, Sharon — Scholastic, 2013 796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.4. A biography of Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American baseball player in National League of Major League Baseball.

42 is not just a number --the odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American hero by Rappaport, Doreen — Candlewick Press, 2019 796.357; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 5.9.  Early on, young Jackie Robinson was taught to fight back when faced with racial slurs and prejudice, and he did, first as one of the few black kids in his neighborhood and later as one of the few black officers on his army base. But those injustices and the indignities he endured while playing for Negro league baseball were dwarfed by the hostility shown by many white players and fans when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. While children’s books on Jackie Robinson are plentiful, this well-researched, concise biography clearly shows the extraordinary burdens he carried and recognizes his significance as an agent of change within American society. A Dodgers fan as a child during the Robinson years, Rappaport offers an engaging account of the man’s life and presents enough background information about American racism during the 1930s and 1940s to help young readers understand the depth of his courage and the magnitude of his achievement as “a one-person civil rights movement.”
Audiobook Excerpt narrated by J.D. Jackson and Doreen Rappaport (4:57) 

Stealing home : Jackie Robinson, against the odds by Burleigh, Robert — Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007--796.357; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 5.9 Presents a brief biography of legendary baseball player for the old Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, who, in 1947, became the first African-American to play in major league baseball. 

Teammates by Golenbock, Peter  — Harcourt Brace, 1990. 796.357; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.5.  Describes the racial prejudice experienced by Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American player in Major League baseball and depicts the acceptance and support he received from his white teammate Pee Wee Reese.

Of thee I sing : a letter to my daughters by Obama, Barack  — Knopf, 2010--973; Int Lvl: K-3; Rd Lvl: 6.0 In a letter to his daughters, Barack Obama reflects on the traits of thirteen groundbreaking Americans, such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackie Robinson, and George Washington, and shares how children embody them. 
Lesson Plan from Indiana Library Federation https://www.teachingbooks.net/media/pdf/YHBA/OfTheeISing.pdf

Promises to keep : how Jackie Robinson changed America by Robinson, Sharon— Scholastic Press, 2004 796.357; Int Lvl: 3-6; Rd Lvl: 6.8. A biography of baseball legend Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the major leagues, as told by his daughter.
Unit Plan from Expeditionary Learning https://curriculum.eleducation.org/curriculum/ela/grade-5/module-3

Hand in hand : ten Black men who changed America by Pinkney, Andrea Davis — Disney/Jump at the Sun Books, 2012 973; Int Lvl: 5-8; Rd Lvl: 7.5. Offers insight into the lives of ten influential African American men from different times in the history of the United States.



Jackie's nine : Jackie Robinson's values to live by : courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, persistence sic, commitment, excellence by Robinson, Sharon Follett eBook — Scholastic, 2001. 796.357; Int Lvl: 5-8. Baseball hero Jackie Robinson's daughter discusses nine values that her father held dear, shares memories from her life and her father's that illustrate those values, and profiles individuals whom she considers heroes, including Christopher Reeve and Oprah Winfrey.

Play ball, Jackie! by Krensky, Stephen Follett eBook (multi-user access) — Millbrook Press, 2011 -Fic-; Int Lvl: 3-6. Ten-year-old Matty is excited to see Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers take on the Boston Braves in 1947, but many of the fans are not happy to see an African-American player in the major league.
























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