Students who participate in this lesson will learn a good deal about the World Series, baseball's final hoorah each fall, and something about creating an almanac, or particular kind of reference book. This lesson might profitably be done in the fall, during the "baseball classic," but could be done at any time of year.
1. As background, show students the definition of "almanac" on the website listed below. The second definition reads:
"a usually annual reference book, composed of various lists, tables, and often brief articles relating to a particular field or many general fields."
2. During a whole-class discussion, ask students to decide which statistics about the World Series they think should be included in the almanac. Students may want to browse the websites listed below to get some idea of what kinds of stats are available.
3. Divide students into five groups. Using the websites listed below, each group will be responsible for finding and recording statistics about the World Series for the following years:
4. When the statistics have been researched and recorded, each student should select one subject (game, player, annual Series, etc.) to be the subject of a short article, which should also be included in the almanac.
5. Students should design and produce their almanac, including a cover, when all data has been collected and written.
- Almanac, definition
- History of the World Series
- World Series Firsts
- A Year by Year Chronicle of the World Series
This lesson was developed by Averil McClelland, Kent State University.