The Two Diamond Baseball Review Game can be adapted to reinforce/review content in any subject area.
Objectives
Students
review skills by playing this fun game.
exhibit good sportsmanship as they make a team effort.
Keywords
baseball, review game, game, vocabulary game, spelling game, math game, geography game
Materials Needed
question cards (subject- and grade-appropriate cards created by teacher)
two dice
masking tape or chalk for marking the base paths on the classroom floor or outdoor playing surface
Lesson Plan
Before the Game
Prepare plenty of content related questions for use in the game. You can adapt this game to reinforce most any skill -- spelling, all math skills, grammar, vocabulary, history, geography…
Use chalk or masking tape to mark two baseball diamonds on the classroom floor; or if you want to play outdoors on a nice spring day, use chalk to mark a diamond on a paved playground area. The baseball diamonds need not be large. The lines between bases might be as small as 6 to 10 feet long.
Playing the Game
Uses of the Game
This game can be adapted for a wide variety of uses.
Spelling. The game is a perfect fit for the spelling bee format.
Geography. It can be used to reinforce geography facts such as state capitals, river locations, famous landmarks and their locations…
Math. The game can be used to reinforce a wide range of mental math skills. Provide students will small write-on pads and the game can even be used to reinforce paper-and-pencil math skills.
The game can be adapted for use in reinforcing many more skills. Its use is only limited by your imagination!
Arrange students into two teams of equal size. (Try to create teams in which students' ability levels are roughly equal.) Have each team choose a captain; each captain will
choose a player to be the team's die roller, and
arrange a "batting order" for the team.
Set up a flat surface where the die rollers from each team can roll a die. Each roller will monitor and verify the other roller's die tosses. The die rollers will work cooperatively to keep track of the number of runs scored.
Assign each team to one of the "baseball diamonds" lined on playing surface. The players will line up in their established "batting order."
Flip a coin to determine which team goes first.
The teacher "pitches" a question to the first player on the first team.
If the player gives the correct response to the question, the team's die roller will toss the die and call out the number that results.
--- If a 1 is rolled, the player earns a single for the correct response. The player runs to first base.
--- If a 2 is rolled, the player earns a double for the correct response. The player runs to second base.
--- If a 3 is rolled, the player earns a triple for the correct response. The player runs to third base.
--- If a 4 is rolled, the player earns a home run for the correct response. The player circles the bases and scores a point ("run") for his or her team.
--- If a 5 or 6 is rolled, the player earns a single for the correct response. The player takes his or her place on first base.
If the player gives the incorrect response to the question, a "fly ball" is called. The first player on the other team has an opportunity to answer the question.
--- If that player gives the correct response, his team's die roller tosses the die and that player earns the appropriate "hit." An out is called on the team that answered incorrectly.
--- If that player gives the incorrect response to the "fly ball" question, no bases or outs are earned or recorded. The two players who answered the question incorrectly go to the end of the batting lineup.
The second batter on the first team comes up to bat.
Play continues in this way, until the first team records three outs. The number of runs in the inning are recorded; and the second team is up to bat. They bat until they record three outs.
Adapting the Game
You can adapt this game in any way you see fit. Adapt it for different subjects. Or give each team only two outs instead of three. Or…
Education World columnist Fred Jones, author of Tools for Teaching, offers another version of this game as one of his Preferred Activity Time (PAT) reward activities. In Jones's version of the game, he creates questions at different levels of difficulty. "Single" questions are the easiest ones and earn first base for a correct response. "Double" questions are a little harder, and a correct response earns two bases. And so on… In addition, he alternates teams until time is up instead of giving each team three outs. See Fred Jones's version of the game -- Double Diamond Baseball.
Assessment
Did students have fun? Did they learn as they practiced?
Lesson Plan Source
EducationWorld.com
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
This activity can be used to meet a wide range of national standards.
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"Two Diamond Baseball" Review Game