The Cleveland Indians are going to the World Series! Clevelanders everywhere have been waiting for this achievement. Congrats to my hometown team!
Years ago, when the Indians were in the playoffs, I made sure there was a classroom of students in San Antonio who were enthusiastic Indian fans. I would refrain from giving them homework the day after a Cleveland playoff win. I remember parents telling me they all became Indians fans watching the games. They enjoyed watching championship baseball and the bonus of a homework free afternoon was like watching a homerun ball sail out of the park.
It was always a treat to use baseball fever to enhance my teaching. I used to begin my unit on rounding numbers to the nearest ten or hundred by teaching my made-up version of "rounding baseball." First I had to give my students a class on stealing bases. Then I used that idea to help my fans, (I mean students), decide if a number should be rounded up or down to the nearest ten or hundred.
Here's how rounding baseball works. Imagine that there are 10 steps from one base to the other. In rounding to the nearest ten, begin by counting the bases by tens. Let's use 40 and 50 as your bases. Now look at the digit in the ones place. That number represents the number of steps you take from one base to another. If you're on base 40 and you take enough hops to get you to 44 or less before the pitcher sees you're trying to steal a base, that means you have taken 4 or less steps to your next base. That's less than half way to the next base so it's more logical to return to 40 rather than go on to 50. Therefore, 44 rounds back to 40.
If you've gone 5 steps, you're half way, but you have the momentum on your side, so it makes more sense to keep on running to the next base. Of course if you've gone 6 or more, then you're more than half way to the next base, so keep those legs moving in the same direction. You can make it to the next base before the pitcher throws the ball to the base you're trying to steal! Therefore, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 round up to 50.
I'm not sure who had more fun playing rounding baseball. This was back in the "old days" when I had to use an overhead projector and draw the baseball diamond on an overhead sheet, using those markers that stained my fingers. As I drew the hops from one base to the other waiting for the imaginary pitcher to turn around and see me running, I would cheer in delight if the fans directed me in the right direction to make it safely to the correct base.
I'm thankful to have memories and souvenirs of my classroom adventures. I hope some of my former students will take a walk down memory lane as they see the Indians go on to the World Series. They're now old enough to teach their own kids the excitement of rounding baseball. That's how long it's been since the Indians have even been in sight of the World Series. It's about time!
The World Series is real in Cleveland this year. No imaginary pitchers or steps drawn on an overhead projector for my Cleveland team. You got this, Indians! Round those bases and hit those homeruns! Let's win the whole series!!!
I'll be cheering from San Antonio.
Years ago, when the Indians were in the playoffs, I made sure there was a classroom of students in San Antonio who were enthusiastic Indian fans. I would refrain from giving them homework the day after a Cleveland playoff win. I remember parents telling me they all became Indians fans watching the games. They enjoyed watching championship baseball and the bonus of a homework free afternoon was like watching a homerun ball sail out of the park.
It was always a treat to use baseball fever to enhance my teaching. I used to begin my unit on rounding numbers to the nearest ten or hundred by teaching my made-up version of "rounding baseball." First I had to give my students a class on stealing bases. Then I used that idea to help my fans, (I mean students), decide if a number should be rounded up or down to the nearest ten or hundred.
Here's how rounding baseball works. Imagine that there are 10 steps from one base to the other. In rounding to the nearest ten, begin by counting the bases by tens. Let's use 40 and 50 as your bases. Now look at the digit in the ones place. That number represents the number of steps you take from one base to another. If you're on base 40 and you take enough hops to get you to 44 or less before the pitcher sees you're trying to steal a base, that means you have taken 4 or less steps to your next base. That's less than half way to the next base so it's more logical to return to 40 rather than go on to 50. Therefore, 44 rounds back to 40.
If you've gone 5 steps, you're half way, but you have the momentum on your side, so it makes more sense to keep on running to the next base. Of course if you've gone 6 or more, then you're more than half way to the next base, so keep those legs moving in the same direction. You can make it to the next base before the pitcher throws the ball to the base you're trying to steal! Therefore, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 round up to 50.
I'm not sure who had more fun playing rounding baseball. This was back in the "old days" when I had to use an overhead projector and draw the baseball diamond on an overhead sheet, using those markers that stained my fingers. As I drew the hops from one base to the other waiting for the imaginary pitcher to turn around and see me running, I would cheer in delight if the fans directed me in the right direction to make it safely to the correct base.
I'm thankful to have memories and souvenirs of my classroom adventures. I hope some of my former students will take a walk down memory lane as they see the Indians go on to the World Series. They're now old enough to teach their own kids the excitement of rounding baseball. That's how long it's been since the Indians have even been in sight of the World Series. It's about time!
The World Series is real in Cleveland this year. No imaginary pitchers or steps drawn on an overhead projector for my Cleveland team. You got this, Indians! Round those bases and hit those homeruns! Let's win the whole series!!!
I'll be cheering from San Antonio.
RSS Feed
