Home Court Advantage
February in Indiana brings to mind gray skies and
"cabin fever" for young and old alike. It also brings with it that phenomenon
known as Hoosier Hysteria that accompanies the advent of basketball tournaments.
Fourth grade teachers at McCormick's Creek Elementary School hope to capitalize
on that phenomenon and to bring excitement in to their classrooms during the
months of February and March by implementing an interdisciplinary unit focusing
on a basketball theme. Fourth-grade teachers Sheila Sparks, Tina Lonneman, Rosie
Bault, and Tricia Potts along with special education teacher Deana Stickels
will be utilizing activities from "Hoosier Hysteria", an interdisciplinary unit
on Indiana basketball developed by Avon teachers Mendy Smith and Lori Simpson.
Hoping to make that content even more meaningful for their students, MCES teachers
included guest speakers who are either associated with the history of Hoosier
Hysteria or who will help them understand new concepts using basketball as a
overlying theme. Rather than take the students to the experts, which would cost
valuable instructional time in travel, they have elected to make contact through
distance connections; thereby, giving the students a Home Court Advantage.
Students will also have opportunities to attend both local and (college-level)
basketball games and tour a stadium. Indiana History is a required subject covered
in 4th grade. One component of this project involves looking at the changes
in Indiana basketball over the years and determining the impact of those changes
on our communities. This proposal is literature-rich and will provide students
time to practice many of the language arts proficiencies. As recommended in
the Indiana reading proficiencies for fourth grade, students will have many
opportunities to read a variety of grade-level appropriate expository texts,
to compare information from several sources, and to determine the author's message
in nonfiction text. These proficiencies blend well with the 4-Blocks method
of language arts instruction recently adopted at McCormick's Creek Elementary
School. They will also have many opportunities to solve problems involving addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers and to understand
the concept of fractions and decimals. Their final project will provide students
with opportunities to "use more than one source of information, including speakers,
books, newspapers, media sources and online information."
McCormick's Creek Elementary is not only a new Vision Athena site, but also a new school that opened its doors to students for the first time in the fall of 2000. Encouraged by the success of Testing the Waters, a project involving two third grade classes at the opening of the school year, these teachers hope to create another model for appropriate and effective use of videoconferencing as a way to complement classroom instruction. The five teachers range in experience from "veteran" Vision Athena users to first-time participants in this type of activity.
The project will involve approximately 110 fourth grade students, with over 15% being inclusion students. Owen County schools are considered to be rural schools with low-income levels. Approximately 30% of the students participate in free and reduced lunch. Families rarely travel more than 45 to 50 miles away from their homes, so their life experiences are somewhat limited. As a general rule, ISTEP scores in the district have been below average in most skill areas. Home Court Advantage will allow our students share the rich history of Indiana basketball with people who have been a part of it. It is our hope that students will leave this project with a new appreciation for that history and it's effect on the communities. At the same time, students will have a chance to practice daily fundamental skills in a format that will be more exciting for them.
Home Court Advantage will begin with a celebration after-school activity that will involve having the students watch the movie "Hoosiers" while treating themselves to pizza. Later that evening they will travel to the local high school to see a real basketball game.
Use of the existing Hoosier Hysteria curriculum will be a daily part of the project and encompasses nearly all subject areas. Activities covered as part of this curriculum will serve as pre-activities for the distance connections. Four connections are scheduled as part of the unit. John Laskowski will talk to the students about teamwork and how learning to work together will make them successful in their chosen careers. Bob Hammel will share his experiences as a sports writer and talk about the history of class basketball in Indiana. Our own DLC Dave Bartlett has agreed to work with this project and provide a lesson about computing and understanding sports statistics. "Becoming a Hero" sponsored by the IMAX Theater will allow the students to interact with a well known sports figure and to talk about the qualities that make someone a hero. This connection will not only tie into the basketball theme of the project, but will also include standards that promote tolerance and respect for differences of opinion. As a special treat, sports legend Bobby Plump has agreed to donate his services and visit McCormick's Creek Elementary as a guest speaker.
Throughout this project students will participate in the "guided reading" component of 4-Blocks by reading a fiction book that has basketball as a theme. The four novels selected represent the different reading levels present in those fourth grade classes. Each room will receive copies of all four novels in order to accommodate students' ability levels. After reading the novels, students who have read the same book will meet to discuss that novel. The "independent reading" component of the 4-Blocks program will be met as students choose from a variety of books in each classroom on basketball and sports figures. This collection will be a combination of books purchased by the media center, books purchased with grant money, and classroom books purchased by the school. Each room will also have a copy of Salt in His Shoes that will be read aloud by the teacher. The school will provide newspapers for students to allow them to keep track of current basketball news and statistics.
The culminating activity for this project will be a basketball tournament with each of the four classrooms developing their own team identity. Student-designed posters will advertise the event and will decorate the gym during the celebration. Everyone will enjoy popcorn and soda and prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the event.
Evaluation of Home Court Advantage will be based on journals and writing activities that will take place throughout the unit. Students will also be expected to make a presentation at the conclusion of the event based on research they have done and information obtained through distance connections. Students will have a choice of formats for their presentations that may include oral presentations as well as the use of PowerPoint or videotapes. Students will evaluate the project using a rubric designed by the teachers participating in this project. Information about the unit will be shared with the local newspaper, other staff members, and the local school board.
[Home] [Vision Athena schools] [DIAL Projects] [DIAL Awards] [Technical Tidbits] [Teachers' Resources] [News Letters] [Site Map]
Created: Apr. 17. 2001 Last updated: Apr. 17, 2001. Comment to Dave Bartlett.