Grade: Grade 4 Subject: English Language Arts Created by: Ian Osterland Lesson Length: 1 hour Keywords/Tags: Football, Teamwork, Practice, Leadership, Character, Coach, Quarterback, Sportsmanship Lesson Description: We will take a brief look at a football team and some of its members. We are going to see what a football team does and some of the things that the players learn by being on the team.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2d: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4a: Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed (aloud and silent) before starting to go through other lesson pages. Understanding the content of this passage is very important since the lesson activities will be all about this content. Feel free to print the passage if needed.
The Football Team
A team is a group of people with a common goal. A school’s football team has two goals. One goal is to win. That is what the team wants to do. The other goal is to build character. Character is what a person values, how a person relates to others. That is why schools have football teams. They want to help students build good values.
There are many character traits that a football player can develop. One is leadership. The quarterback of the team is a leader. The quarterback makes choices—which play to make, who will get the ball. The quarterback has a big job. The quarterback has to inspire the players to work together. If they are losing, the quarterback has to work even harder, to give the players hope they still can win.
There is another leader, too. The leader of the defensive group. When the defensive group is playing, that means the team may lose points. So the leader has to keep the team members working together to stop that.
Each team member builds character. They learn to cooperate. They learn to make good decisions. They work hard. They practice every day. They learn to follow the rules. If a team member does not follow the rules, the entire team suffers.
Each team member has a position. Each position is part of winning. No one player has the ability to win the game for the team. Only if the team works together does a team win.
People often say, “There is no I in TEAM.”
Whether the team wins or loses, at the end of the game they congratulate the other team. That is called sportsmanship. While they fight to win during the game, it is just a game. They cannot be angry with the other team. If they are, they’ll hear from their coach.
The coach makes sure the team reaches the school’s goal. The coach cares about the whole team. The coach gives each player advice. When the team wins, everyone celebrates. And the coach is glad. But after the season is over, the coach is still happy. The coach gets to see the players as they go to school every day. The character they have built is part of their success in school, too.
Some coaches say that if you go into a classroom at their school you’ll be able to tell the players. It is not that they are bigger than the other students. It is the ones who are helping other students work. Teamwork is part of their lives.
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity
(40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.
Vocabulary Questions
Word/Phrase: Quarterback | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q1
In the article we just read, the author talks about a quarterback when they talk about playing football. What does the word "quarterback" mean?
A. A leader and desicion maker on a football team. *
B. A way to score more points.
C. What a coach says when a team plays well.
D. The name of the most popular football team.
Which sentence below uses the word "quarterback" in the right way?
A. The coach yelled out,
B. The quarterback chose the best play so that the team would have a good chance to score. *
C. The Quarterbacks are my dad's favorite team.
D. One team was much better than the other one. They had way more quarterbacks that gave them more points.
Word/Phrase: Sportamanship | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q2
In our story, we learned about "sportsmanship". What is "sportsmanship"?
A. When the losing team has to buy the winning team dinner.
B. When a really good player wins an award.
C. The title that the defensive leader gets.
D. When both teams treat each other with respect, whether they win or lose. *
How would you use the word "sportsmanship" in a sentence?
A. The sportsmanship of the defense was used to being in charge of a lot of the players.
B. The coach was proud of the team when they showed good sportsmanship after they lost. *
C. Because we lost, we had to give sportsmanship to the winning team, so we took them for pizza.
D. The the sportsmanship awards, the team's best player won an award for scoring the most points.
Word/Phrase: Inspire | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q3
The story used the word "inspire". What is the correct definition of "inspire"?
A. To encourage someone else to do their best. *
B. To yell at someone when they make a mistake.
C. To cry when someone loses a game.
D. To let someone else use their equipment.
Which sentence uses "inspire" the right way?
A. When someone does something wrong, the quarterback likes to inspire them by yelling at them and making them feel bad.
B. There is one player on the team who likes to inspire his helmet to his teammates.
C. The coach always likes to inspire his team by telling them he believes in them. *
D. My little brother will inspire himself whenever he loses.
Word/Phrase: Cooperate | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q4
The members of a team have to cooperate. What does the word "cooperate" mean?
A. To share helmets with each other.
B. To fight each other.
C. To make fun of each other.
D. To work together. *
The word "cooperate" is in the following sentences. Which ones uses it the right way?
A. Whenever I ose my helmet, my friend always cooperates with me.
B. The coach knows when players are about to cooperate, so he usually separates them before they do.
C. Whenever my team cooperates, someone always has their feelings hurt.
D. Because the team can cooperate, they play better together. *
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4,
Task 2: Discussion Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: This discussion forum will have questions for students to respond. Read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.
Topic Title
Replies
How can someone "build character"?
What does it mean to "build character"? What are some of the ways that the players can build character?
Sent on: Feb 23, 2017 by: Ian Osterland
0
Why do players practice every day?
The article talks about the players on a team practicing everyday. Why is it important for players on a football team to practice everyday?
Sent on: Feb 23, 2017 by: Ian Osterland
0
What does the sentence "There is no I in TEAM" mean?
The authors tells us that the phrase "There is no I in TEAM" is a phrase that people use. What do you think this phrase means?
Sent on: Feb 23, 2017 by: Ian Osterland
0
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2d, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.4a,
Task 3: Writing Activity
(30 points)
Instructions: Many times, players can get hurt very badly when they play football. Write a 300 word essay and tell me why you think people still want to play football even though they know that they might get hurt.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a,
