TOP TEN Casey at the Bat, by Ernest L. Thayer, with illustrations by Joe Morse. Published: Toronto: KCP Poetry, 2006. ISBN: 9781553378273

 

  Annotation: Morse’s artwork infuses the well-known classic baseball poem with new life and vibrancy, using his powerful imagery to make it appealing to the young readers of today

 

  Media:  oil and acrylic on paper

 

  Rating: 5Q/5P

 

  Curriculum Connections: Literature, Language, Sport

 

  Lesson plan:

 

Lesson Plan: Sports Poetry

 

Grade Level: Upper Elementary or higher

 

Objectives: Students will become aware of popular poetry based on sports, increasing their interest in poetry and in sports

 

Time allotted: Two classroom hours—one for initial presentation of assignment and topic discussions; one to revisit the discussions at the conclusion of the assignment. Time allotted to students for the assignment would depend on age/grade, and when in the school year the assignment was given.

 

Curriculum Connections: Literature, Language, Sports

 

Introduction:

Have students read:

 

·         Casey at the Bat, by Ernest L. Thayer, with illustrations by Joe Morse. Published: Toronto: KCP Poetry, 2006. ISBN: 9781553378273

 

·         Extra Innings: baseball poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, ill. by Scott Medlock. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers, 1993. ISBN: 9780152268336

 

Discussion Topics:

 

·         How well can sports be portrayed in poetry

 

·         Will someone who has no liking for poetry, appreciate it when on subject matter he/she is interested in

 

·         How would you interest someone who has no appreciation for sports in a particular sport? What other subject matter could this method of developing interest be applied to

 

Materials or Activities:

 

·         Computer with Internet access and printer

 

·         School or local library

 

·         Pens, writing paper, and pencils

 

·         Eraser

 

 

Assignments:

 

·         Read at least five poems on the sport of your choice and write a paper on your impressions of how well or poorly each captures the mood of the sport (2 to 5 pages—depending on age/grade level)

 

Suggested activities:

 

·        Write a short poem on your sport of choice

 

 

lss August/2009

 

 

 

---

 

Casey At The Bat by Ernest L. Thayer and Joe Morse, ill. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1-55337-827-3

 

Annotation: Re-imagined by Morse’s urban illustrations, Casey At The Bat brings the emotionally charged final inning to a new generation, focusing on the facial expressions of Casey/K.C. and the crowd.

 

Media: Oil and acrylic on paper.

 

Rating: 5Q/5P.

 

Curricular connections: Literary Adaptation, Poetry, English/Language Arts, Sports.

 

School level: Middle school or junior high, High school.

 

NP 07/29/09

 

---

 

APA Citation	Thayer, E. L. and Morse, J. (2006). Visions in poetry: Casey at the bat. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.
ISBN	978-1-55337-827-3	Rating	5Q/5P	Top 10	no
Media	Oil and acrylic		Grades/Subject	All; English, civics
Annotation	The classic poem about a brief tragic moment in baseball, graphically recast in an urban setting.

 

 

 

Thayer, E. L. Casey at the bat. (2006). llustrations by Joe Morse. Tonawanda, NY:  KCP (Kids Can Press) Poetry.

ISBN-13: 978-1-55337-827-3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ernest Thayer’s baseball classic is morphed into a modern contest featuring a multiracial cast of tough-looking, baggy-jeaned, music-toting teens set against the urban backdrop of high-rise buildings and mental fencing.  Pairing the updated artwork with the original text should entice new readers to this often-quoted classic rhyme.  “Oh somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere and somewhere hearts are light, and Somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout; But there is not joy in Mudville – Mighty Casey has struck out.”

 

 

 

Pair with Robert Burleigh’s Hoops

 

Curricular connection:  Compare and contrast with alternate versions

 

Thick line drawings colored with oils and acrylics in spray paint—shades of blue, gray, and black

Artwork Discussion:  Ernest Thayer’s classic 19^th century baseball poem “Casey at the Bat” is transformed into a remarkably believable 21^st century event by the modern oil-and-acrylic artwork of Joe Morse.  Thick, black lines shaded in with spray paint in light grays, browns, greens, and blues give the urban setting, complete with saggy-pantsed teens, an industrial feel.  In graphic novel style, with speech bubbles and occasional paneled illustrations, the intensity of the scenes is palpable, especially on the faces of the teens.  “’Kill him! Kill the umpire!’ shouted someone on the stand.”  The text and illustrations blend seamlessly. The occasional drips, typical of spray paint, on the teens’ skin and clothes are reminiscent of sweat.  Without a doubt, Morse’s version is sure to interest new readers, even teens who normally eschew poetry, or even reading in general. An interview with Joe Morse can be found at http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2006/05/illustrator-interview-joe-morse-on.html .

 

Subject:  Baseball

 

Theme:  We all strike out sometimes.

 

Literary Devices:  Rhyme; Sophisticated language

Category: Poetry

 Other titles from the Visions in Poetry series include Poe's The Raven, Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat; Carroll's Jabberwocky; Noyes' The Highwayman, and Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott

Age Level Recommendation:  High School

Supplementary learning material, including discussion topics can be found at 

 

Rating: 5Q/4P

AAS 5-3-08

 

 

 

Lesson Plan: The Power of Pictures (AAS 5-4-08) 

 

 

 

Objectives:  To compare, contrast, and reflect on the mood, feeling, and interpretation evoked by two picture books, both with the same text or story but different illustrations.

 

 

 

Grade Range:  5^th through 8^th but can be adapted higher

 

 

 

Standards: Adaptable to a variety of English Language Arts Content Standards depending on the grade level of the students – see suggestions below (Also relates to the history of the late 1800’s.).

 

 

 

English-Language Arts Content Standards – California

 

 

 

Grade 5 ELA/Reading/Literary Analysis: Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature. They begin to find ways to clarify the ideas and make connections between literary works.

 

 

 

Grade 5 ELA/Reading 3.3 Contrast the actions, motives (e.g., loyalty, selfishness, conscientiousness), and appearances of characters in a work of fiction and discuss the importance of the contrasts to the plot or theme.

 

 

 

Grade 5 ELA/Reading ELA 3.7 (Literary Criticism):  Evaluate the author’s use of various techniques (e.g. appeal of characters in a picture book, logic and credibility of plot and settings, use of figurative language) to influence readers’ perspectives.

 

Grade 5 ELA/Writing Applications 2.2 Write responses to literature:  a. Demonstrate an understanding of a literary work. b. Support judgments through references to the text and to prior knowledge. c. Develop interpretations that exhibit careful reading and understanding.

 

Grades 6-8 ELA/Reading/Literary Analysis: Students read and respond to historically or culturally significant works of literature that reflect and enhance their studies of history and social science. They clarify the ideas and connect them to other literary works.

 

 

 

Grade 6 ELA/Reading 3.6 Identify and analyze features of themes conveyed through characters, actions, and images.

 

Grade 6 ELA/Writing Applications 2.4 Write responses to literature: a. Develop an interpretation exhibiting careful reading, understanding, and insight. b. Organize the interpretation around several clear ideas, premises, or images. c. Develop and justify the interpretation through sustained use of examples and textual evidence.

 

Grade 7 ELA/Reading 3.6 Analyze a range of responses to a literary work and determine the extent to which the literary elements in the work shaped those responses.

 

 

 

Grade 7 ELA/Writing 2.2 Write responses to literature:

 

 

 

Grade 8 ELA/Reading/Literary Analysis 3.4 Analyze the relevance of the setting (e.g., place, time, customs) to the mood, tone, and meaning of the text.

 

Grade 8 ELA/Writing Applications 2.2 Write responses to literature:

 

 

 

Picture Books:

 

 

 

Five versions of Thayer’s classic Casey at the Bat

 

 

 

Casey at the bat / Ernest L. Thayer ; with illustrations by Joe Morse.  KCP Poetry, 2006. (Illustrations reflect modern urban setting and inner-city kids; thick black lines, some color, oil and acrylic paint applied by spray)

 

Casey at the bat : a ballad of the Republic sung in the year 1888 / reported by Ernest L. Thayer ; illustrated by Christopher Bing. Handprint Books, c2000. (Illustrated with a period feel in faux-scrapbook collage style and scratchboard art that were blended electronically and look aged)

 

Casey at the bat : a ballad of the republic sung in the year 1888 / by Ernest L. Thayer ; illustrated by C. F. Payne. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2003. (Illustrated in acrylics, watercolor, oil, ink, and colored pencil to have a humorous, period feel)

 

Casey at the bat / drawings by LeRoy Neiman ; written by Ernest Lawrence Thayer ; introduction by Joe Torre. Ecco, 2002.

 

(Illustrations are charcoal drawings)

 

Casey at the bat : a ballad of the Republic, sung in the year 1888 / Ernest Lawrence Thayer ; with additional text and illustrations by Patricia Polacco. Putnam & Grosset Group, 1997, c1988. (Additional text puts the game in the context of Little League; illustrations consistent with Polacco’s recognizable style)

 

 

 

Other Books to Consult:

 

Casey back at bat / by Dan Gutman ; paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. HarperCollinsPublishers, c2007. (This humorous picture-book sequel to original poem places the context as the following season when Casey tries to redeem himself.  Illustrations are amber-tinted, period-feel paintings blended with scrapbook-style collages of news clippings, advertisements, maps, etc.)

 

 

 

The night Casey was born : the true story behind the great American ballad Casey at the bat / John Evangelist Walsh. Overlook Press, 2007. (Not a picture book; helps give an understanding of the time period in history)

 

 

 

Casey on the Loose: What Really Might Have Happened by Frank DeFord (This book began as a Sports Illustrated article and was turned into a slim book that is now out of print.  The premise of the book are the circumstances surrounding Casey’s situation, including his relationship with a woman named Flossie.)

 

 

 

Anticipatory Set:  “Have you ever read a book and then seen the movie only to think that the actor chosen to play the lead role looks nothing like you imagined?” (Examples) “Well, the written word can be interpreted in many ways.  When we read, we develop images in our minds of what the words portray.  The illustrations in picture books not only add extra meaning, they also interpret the text.  No two illustrators would interpret the same text the exact same way.  Also, sometimes an illustrator is deliberately trying to reinterpret an old text.  We are going to compare and contrast two artists’ interpretations of the same text.”

 

 

 

Teaching:

 

1. Read the title of the classic poem “Casey at the Bat” and ask if anyone is familiar with it (show of hands).  Read a couple of the famous lines (beginning and ending), then ask who recognizes it.  Finally, read the full text without illustrations.  Discuss the basic meaning of the poem and the time period in which it was written.

 

 

 

2.Students should have familiarity with a Venn diagram.  If not, explain how one works before proceeding.  Read aloud two different picture book versions of the poem.  It would likely be best not to use the most different of the 5 versions in the example (the version illustrated by Morse).  Using two rather similar versions makes students focus on finer differences. Draw a large Venn diagram on a chart.  Through whole class discussion the students contribute the information to complete the Venn diagram as they compare/contrast the two poems.  Discuss the mood and interpretation of each version.  Does each version work equally as well to illustrate the words?

 

 

 

Guided Practice:

 

3.You will need two copies of each of the 5 versions.  In addition to the pair of books already read to the class, you can make 9 other pairs (if the books are numbered, the 10 pairs are as follows:  1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 3-4, 3-5, 4-5).  Create 9 groups of students, 3 and sometimes 4 students in a group.  Each group reads their pair of books and creates their own Venn diagram comparison.

 

 

 

4. Roam among the groups providing guidance and direction.  Make sure each group reads each book of their pair thoroughly and attends to the illustrations. Meet with each group to discuss and validate their conclusions which they must defend with examples. (Optional at this point – Sharing these Venn diagrams whole group.)

 

 

 

Independent Practice:

 

5.Keep the students in the same groups but assign them a different pair of texts (one of the two books may be a repeat).  Have the students use what they learned from their group’s first Venn diagram to compare and contrast this new pair of books on a chart-size Venn diagram.

 

 

 

6. The three versions that had not been read to the class previously are read aloud.  All the groups share and defend their Venn diagrams with the class.  Discussion follows with a focus on the change in mood, feeling, and interpretation that is generated by different illustrations.

 

 

 

7. Have students each choose a version and make a list of what makes that version unique among the set of five.  Compile these lists into a single list for each version.

 

 

 

8.  Have students vote by secret ballot as to which is their favorite version, including listing a reason why.  Discussion follows when vote is counted.  Do you think the illustrator created this popular version because they thought it would be the most popular?  Why?

 

 

 

Closure:

 

Post the cover images of the 5 versions with compiled lists of what makes that version unique including a winner ribbon on the most popular version.

 

 

 

Optional:  Learn more about the time period of 1888.

 

 

 

Optional Extensions or Variations:  Other stories can be utilized.  There are many variations of traditional tales.  Finding different versions of a single story can be as simple as searching the library catalog or a vendor’s database.  One advantage of a vendor’s database (such as Follett’s Titlewave.com) is that multiple reviews are often available in full-text, allowing the selector insights into which versions may suit his/her purposes best.

 

 

 

Three versions of The Little Match Girl

 

The little match girl / by Hans Christian Andersen ; illustrated by Rachel Isadora.  Putnam, c1987. (Illustrations in traditional, old-fashioned Victorian flavor)

 

 

 

The little match girl / Hans Christian Andersen ; adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Puffin Books, 2002, c1999. (This version moves the setting from Europe to the crowded tenements of 1920’s America.)

 

 

 

The little match girl / Hans Christian Andersen ; with pictures by Kveta Pacovska ; translated from the Danish by Anthea Bell.  Penguin Young Readers Group, c2005. (Illustrations described as an innovative, avant-garde version)

 

 

 

Try a different sport (or even mix and match sports)

 

 

 

Around the world / by John Coy ; illustrated by Antonio Reonegro and Tom Lynch. Lee & Low Books Inc., c2005. (With comic book-style dialogue and illustrations, the basketball game shifts to settings around the world.)

 

 

 

Hoops / Robert Burleigh ; illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson.  Harcourt, 2001, c1997. (Modern poetry describing the nuance of the game; illustrated in pastels)

 

Mount Olympus basketball / Kevin O'Malley. Walker & Co., 2003. (Mythological figures battle it out on the court: humorous illustrations have a comic feel)

 

 

 

Jabberwocky : the classic poem from Lewis Carroll's Through the looking-glass, and what Alice found there / Lewis Carroll ; reimagined and illustrated by Christopher Myers.  Hyperion Books for Children, 2007. (Illustrated with contemporary images of the game on urban basketball court)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. Exhibit careful reading and insight in their interpretations.

b. Connect the student's own responses to the writer's techniques and to specific textual references.

c. Draw supported inferences about the effects of a literary work on its audience.

d. Support judgments through references to the text, other works, other authors, or to personal knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. Develop interpretations exhibiting careful reading, understanding, and insight.

b. Organize interpretations around several clear ideas, premises, or images from the literary work.

c. Justify interpretations through sustained use of examples and textual evidence.