Games. We Play. by Julia Lee HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Transcription

1 Games We Play by Julia Lee HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

2 Games We Play by Julia Lee PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy. Title Page The Art Archive/Greenaway Collection Keats House. 2 C Squared Studios/Getty Images. 3 C Squared Studios/Getty Images. 4 The Art Archive/Chateau de Blerancourt /Gianni Dagli Orti. 5 Bettmann/CORBIS. 6 Mary Evans Picture Library/The Image Works. 7 The Art Archive/Greenaway Collection Keats House. 8 Illustration from A Little Pretty Pocket-Book published by Applewood Books. 9 (l) C Squared Studios/Getty Images. (r) North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy. 10 Bettmann/CORBIS. 11 The Granger Collection, New York. 12 The Granger Collection, New York. 13 Joe Marquette/AP Wide World Photos. 14 Comstock. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida Printed in China ISBN-13: ISBN-10: If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

3 Table of Contents Sports for All 3 Native American Games 4 Games in Colonial New England 5 Colonial Children s Games 6 Batter Up! 9 Basketball A Truly Original Sport 10 Sports in Public Schools 12 Equal Chances for Girls 13 Sports Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow 14

4 Sports for All You may be one of the thousands of students in the United States who play sports. You may play softball with friends. You may play basketball for a school team. You may practice jumping rope for a double-dutch competition. Can you imagine a time when boys and girls did not play softball or basketball, or did not jump rope? Sports in the United States have a long history. But they have not always been a big part of everyday life. Let s take a trip back in time. Let s look to see just what sports were like in this country many years ago. 3

5 Native American Games To begin, let s go back to the early 1400s before Christopher Columbus reached North America. We are in the area known today as New York State. The native people play various games. Let s look closely at one of those games. One group of Native Americans plays a game called baggataway. Two teams play with sticks and a ball. The sticks have leather nets that players use to carry, throw, and catch the ball. Each team tries to get the ball to the other team s goal. Today, this game is called lacrosse. A 19th-century game of baggataway 4

6 Games in Colonial New England A bowling game in colonial America Now let s move ahead to the 1600s in colonial New England. Large numbers of European settlers arrive. They grow their own food. They live through harsh winters. Life is full of hard work. The settlers have little time for fun and games. This day is a holiday, however. The settlers celebrate and play games. One popular game is an early version of football. The game does not have a written set of rules. People also run foot races. They even play a game that is a little like today s bowling. 5

7 Colonial Children s Games During the colonial period, boys and girls have many chores. They get lots of exercise from these daily activities. For fun, they may fly kites or go fishing. Like the Native Americans, many colonial children play games that have one common element, a ball. Stoolball is one game they like to play. From the name, can you guess what this is? A player on one team throws a ball at a threelegged stool. A player on the other team tries to keep the ball from hitting the stool. Kite flying, a popular colonial pastime 6

8 Dodging the blindfolded player in blindman s bluff Children also play simple games that do not need special equipment. Some of these games are hopscotch, marbles, and blindman s bluff. In blindman s bluff, one player s eyes are covered with a blindfold. The blindfolded player is spun around. Then that player tries to tag the other players. Those players try to avoid being tagged. No one wants to be it! Girls and boys play these games together. However, sometimes girls are encouraged to be ladylike and play with dolls instead. 7

9 A game of barn ball in the colonies Some colonial boys play another game called barn ball. For this game, they use a small ball and a wooden stick. One player tosses the ball to the striker, who holds the stick. If the striker hits the ball, he runs between or around bases. Does this sound like a game you know? In colonial times, there are many games like barn ball. The games have different names such as old cat, nine cat, and base. Each game is slightly different. Sometimes the rules change from one day to the next! 8

10 Batter Up! Let s move ahead in time again. Now we are in the 1800s. During this period, barn ball becomes you guessed it baseball. In 1842, a group of men in New York City form a baseball club. Alexander Cartwright is a club member. In 1845, he writes down a uniform set of rules for the game. One rule says that each team should have nine players. Another rule says a batter will be out after three strikes. Some rules are changed, and new ones are added. Soon, every team is playing by identical rules. Teams form around the United States. Baseball is becoming more popular. It is becoming America s favorite pastime. Baseball in the 19th century America s favorite pastime 9

11 Basketball A Truly Original Sport James Naismith, the creator of basketball Now let s move ahead to the 1890s. This is when basketball is born. Many sports in the United States develop slowly over the years. Basketball is different. In the winter of 1891, a man named James Naismith teaches exercise classes in Springfield, Massachusetts. His students are boys who want to become physical education teachers. Because of the cold weather, they cannot go outside to play football or baseball. Naismith wants to find an indoor sport for his students to play. After several weeks of trying different games, Naismith remembers a childhood game called duck on a rock. In this game, players throw rocks to hit a target. Naismith now has an idea for a new game. 10

12 He hangs two peach baskets 10 feet above the floor. He writes a set of rules and gives them to his students. The rules say that the boys should play on teams. Each team must try to toss a soccer ball into one of the baskets. This is harder than the boys expect! After much practice, the sport of basketball is finally mastered. The game catches on fast among boys and men. Soon, a coach named Senda Berenson makes a set of rules for women. All across the nation, people begin to play basketball. A drawing of the first official basketball game in

13 Sports in Public Schools Around the time that basketball is invented, public schools begin to offer exercise classes to keep students healthy. Then, as basketball and other team sports become popular, schools begin to add these sports to their exercise programs. High school boys play football, baseball, and A girls basketball game in the late 1800s basketball. They run, jump, and throw in track and field events. Boys teams begin to compete. Basketball is a popular sport for high school girls. But girls are treated differently from boys. Many people in schools believe it is not healthy for girls to compete on teams. Girls do not have this chance. 12

14 Equal Chances for Girls Let s move ahead to the 1950s. Girls are now allowed to join track teams and swimming teams. But few schools offer them other sports, such as softball, soccer, or basketball. This unfair treatment changes in 1972 when the government passes a law called Title IX (nine). This law forces schools that get money from the government to offer sports for boys and girls. The law says that if no girls team exists in a certain sport, girls can try out for the boys team. After Title IX passes, a lot more money goes toward girls sports. Three years later, a million more girls are playing high school sports. Title IX Two members of Congress play key roles in passing Title IX. They are Edith Green of Oregon and Patsy Mink of Hawaii. Patsy Mink 13

15 Sports Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Now let s return to the present. Today, American boys and girls play many different team sports. Still, girls do not always have the same opportunities as boys. For example, the boys at one school have their own baseball field. But the girls at that school have to practice on the school s front lawn. Many people still work hard to make sure boys and girls are treated fairly. Our tour of sports history is complete. We know more about sports in the past and about how today s sports developed. All that remains is to see what sports will be like in the future! 14

16 Responding TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events What is the sequence, or order, in which people begin to play different games and sports in North America? Copy and complete the chart below. Add boxes, if needed. Event: In the 1400s, Native Americans play a game called baggataway. Event:? Event:? Write About It Text to World Choose a game or sport described in Games We Play. Imagine you are among the first Americans to play the game. Write a paragraph telling what happens. Use words that tell the sequence of events. 15

17 TARGET VOCABULARY competition element identical intimidated mastered qualifying recite routine uniform unison TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events Identify the time order in which events take place. TARGET STRATEGY Monitor/Clarify As you read, notice what isn t making sense. Find ways to figure out the parts that are confusing. GENRE Narrative Nonfiction gives factual information by telling a true story. 16

18 Level: Q DRA: 40 Genre: Narrative Nonfiction Strategy: Monitor/Clarify Skill: Sequence of Events Word Count: 1, HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: ISBN-10: