Classroom Activities

A Tough Call

In A Tough Call, modern-day Little League player Danny discovers that learning the surprising past of his favorite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox, helps him make a difficult decision in his own life. The unit illuminates Chicago’s fascinating sports history and helps students grapple with the notion that people face ethical and moral dilemmas that can dramatically shape history. The unit integrates sensory learning, the language arts, and social studies to build students’ skills in chronological thinking, writing, listening, and speaking.

Lesson 1: Tactile Bag
Students will engage in a sensory learning experience through a tactile bag of White Sox baseball “artifacts.” They will expand their knowledge of Chicago baseball history and begin to grapple with the moral dilemmas posed by the Black Sox scandal.

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Lesson 2: Timeline
By creating a class timeline, students will learn key facts about the history of baseball and the Chicago White Sox and begin to understand the concept of change over time.

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Lesson 3: "Found" Poetry
Students will make personal connections with the characters in A Tough Call—both real and fictional—and express their interpretations by creating a "found" poem inspired by the story. This lesson was designed as a two-day activity, but may be altered at will (see Lesson 4).

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Lesson 4: "Found" Poetry (Part 2)
Students will present the "found" poems they created in Lesson 3 and take on the ethical challenge of Danny's struggle through both group discussion and written reflection.

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Lesson 5: Conversation in the Round
Students will identify the big themes posed in A Tough Call and be challenged to evaluate Danny’s ethical decision through a group discussion.

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