American History With Sports
There are a million ways to teach history without a textbook: books, movies, food, or clothing. (Here are some more ideas to get you started!) Using these are excellent springboards into showing how people really lived back then. They can take boring black and white photos and random dates and places in history textbooks and help students make connections with their world.
When I came across Dan Gutman’s Baseball Card Adventures series, I realized there were so many ways to help connect history with sports, which is especially great for sports-loving students. For example, learning about baseball player Jackie Robinson is an excellent introduction to the Civil Rights Movement. Here are a few more examples of using sports to teach history.
Eric Liddell
Born the son of Christian missionaries to China, Eric Liddell attended boarding school before heading to Edinburgh University where he participated in several sports. There the athlete’s talent was noticed, and he ceased playing rugby began to focus all of his training and practice towards the 1924 Olympics. In Paris that year, he took home the gold medal in the 400-meter race as well as the bronze in the 200 meter, giving God the glory for each victory.
Liddell then moved back to China, devoting his life to sharing the gospel no matter the cost. When Japanese forces threatened to overtake the area, Liddell continued to provide medicare care and food to his neighbors in need. He faithfully worked for the peace of those around him until a brain tumor took his life in 1945.
Resources for Early Elementary Students:
- Torchlighters: The Eric Liddel Story – animated tv show
- Eric Liddell: Are You Ready? (Little Lights) by Catherine MacKenzie
- Hero of the Faith: Eric Liddell Virtual Sunday School (YouTube)
- Eric Liddell: Running for a Higher Prize by Renee Taft Melochee
Resources for Late Elementary Students:
- Something Greater than Gold by Janet and Geoff Benge
- Chariots of Fire (G movie)
- Eric Liddell: Finish the Race by John Keddie
Resources for Middle/High School Students:
- For the Glory: Eric Liddell’s Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr by Duncan Hamilton
- The Story of Eric Liddell- Inspiration for the fim ‘Chariots of Fire’ (YouTube)
- Eric Liddell, Men and Women of Faith Series by Catherine Swift
- Eric Liddell, Champion of Conviction DVD
Extended Resources About Running and the Olympics:
- Magic Tree House: Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne
- Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Ancient Greece and the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne
- What are the Summer Olympics? by Gail Herman
- Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
- Go for the Gold (Interactive Site for Kids)
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali was a world champion heavyweight boxer and Olympic gold medalist. As a teenager, a police officer who doubled as a boxing coach first introduced him to the ring. He started to win match after match and continued to rise in fame. He converted to Islam in 1964 and soon became extremely outspoken against the Vietnam war and civil rights issues.
Resources for Early Elementary Students:
- Muhammad Ali by Isabel Sanchez Vegara
- Muhammad Ali: The People’s Champion by Walter Dean Myers
- I Shook Up the World: The Incredible Life of Muhammad Ali by Maryum Ali
Resources for Late Elementary Students:
- 12 Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
- DK Readers: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Leslie Garrett
- Who is Muhammad Ali? by James Buckely Jr.
Resources for Middle/High School Students:
- The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers
- King of the World by David Remnick
Extended Resources About Boxing and the Vietnam War:
Jackie Robinson
A natural athlete, Jackie Robinson grew up with his hand in several sports. At UCLA, he played and lettered in basketball, baseball, football, and track. When lack of funds led to his dropping out of college, he joined the military to make ends meet. Upon his return to civilian life, Jackie joined the Negro Baseball League, of which he was a proud member until he caught the eye of the Brooklyn Dodgers president. Jackie was the first African American player the team had had since the segregation of baseball in the late 1800s. His amazing success put him in the spotlight and helped pave the way for further desegregation of sports.
Resources for Early Elementary Students:
- Dad, Jackie, and Me by Myron Uhlberg
- A Picture Book of Jackie Robinson by David Adler
- I Am Jackie Robinson by Brad Metzler
- Magic Tree House: A Big Day for Baseball by Mary Pope Osborne
- Facttracker: Baseball by Mary Pope Osbourne
Resources for Late Elementary Students:
- The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson
- What Were the Negro Leagues? by Varian Johnson
- Who Was Jackie Robinson? by Gail Herman
- Child of the Dream by Sharon Robinson (Jackie’s daughter)
Resources for Middle/High School Students:
- 42 – movie (PG-13) (Here’s my movie guide)
- Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson by Barry Denenburg
- I Never Had it Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson by Jackie Robinson
Extended Resources About Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement:
- We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
- She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick
- Club Major League Baseball (Interactive Website)
- Baseball Poems and Songs (Interactive Website)
- Civil Rights Movement Books for Kids
- Civil Rights Movement Picture Books
- Civil Rights Movies for Middle and High School Students
Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax loved sports from a young age. In school, he focused on basketball and rarely played baseball, but at college, he discovered the sport that would make him famous. Koufax played professional baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was notable for being a left-handed pitcher. He was also the youngest player ever to be admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Koufax is Jewish. In 1965, he decided not to pitch at the World Series because it fell on the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. Koufax is a great introduction to Jewish history in the United States.
Resources for Elementary Students:
Resources for Middle/High School Students:
- Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy by Jane Leavy
- Sandy Koufax Documentary (YouTube)
