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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Players in Pigtails (Social Studies Mentor Text)

Time certainly does fly by! I can't believe it has been over a week since my last post. I'm excited to link up with Collaboration Cuties to share a social studies mentor text with you.



I'm always on the lookout for books that teach students about something they have never heard of before. Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey does just that. This book is during the time period of World War II, all the men were heading off to war and President Roosevelt became worried that the nation's national past time, baseball, was going to fall apart. Philip Wrigley decided to open it up to girls, and that is how the All American Girls Baseball League began. 


My students love the book. Most of them have never heard that girls played baseball, in fact a few of my boys tried to correct me and tell me that girls play softball. They were amazed that the book was based on a true story. I love using this book during our Historical Fiction Unit.


Do any of you have a favorite mentor text for something that isn't very well-known to students?


6 comments:

  1. I have a book called Mama Played Baseball. This book looks perfect for comparing and contrasting since they are on the same topic.

    Thank you!
    Mary
    Fit to be Fourth

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  2. I have this book! I think I am going to have to break it out when we start talking about World War II. I love sports books! The book reminds we of the movie A League of Our Own.

    Rosie
    Rosie's Rambles

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  3. "There's no crying in baseball!" I loved Tom Hanks in that movie :)
    What an awesome book. I don't teach WWI, but this would be great for my kids when we discuss the concepts of fairness, equality and open-mindedness. I'd include it with our civil rights studies as women have also had to fight back against discrimination.
    Thank you for sharing!
    Karli
    Creating a Thoughtful Classroom

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  4. This looks great! I've never heard of it but I will have to get it for when we talk about women's rights, etc! Thanks so much for linking up!
    Have a great week Bethany!!
    Amanda
    Collaboration Cuties

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  5. This looks like a very interesting book. I am going to have to look for it. I love how the boys thought you were wrong!
    Barbara
    Fourth and Goal in Fourth Grade

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  6. How fun! I immediately thought of "A League of Their Own" - loved that movie. I had no idea there was a book related to the topic. Thanks for the recommendation!

    Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late
    Follow me on Bloglovin!

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