I Remember Papa

Math

This is a story about baseball. Have the students do some fun math by figuring baseball statistics - earned run averages, batting averages, etc. Also, check out the exact dimensions of a baseball diamond. Have the students figure how far a play would run if he
hit 60 home runs, 21 triples, 45 doubles, and 200 singles  during a season. Use the dimensions to ask other math questions of this nature. Also, the baseball dimensions are given in feet - have students convert them to meters.   

This story is set in 1950. Another fun math project would be to compare a list of prices of various items and entertainment costs in 1950 to present.  You could pass out a list of items to find the cost of to groups of students and let each group have a decade - one group could take 1950, one 1960, one 1970, etc. Then, the students could chart their findings and compare results.  

Creative Writing

The story is told by an adult about an incident he remembers from his childhood that was very important to him. Talk to the children about memories and have them write about something they remember that was very special to them. It could be with a family member, or a friend.