Activity 7

Locating the 30 MLB Teams on a Map

Objective of the Lesson

Students will use the knowledge from Activity 5 to locate the 30 major league baseball teams on a map of North America.

Materials Needed

• Internet Access
• Map of North America
• 15 red pushpins or sticky dots
• 15 blue pushpins or sticky dots

Prerequisite Activities

For students to complete these activities, they should have searched the web and found the 15 National League Teams and the 15 American League Teams. (SEE ACTIVITY 5) A list of teams and their home cities should be alphabetized and made available to the students.

Lesson Plan Procedure

1. Display a large map, preferably bulletin board size, of North America at a site visible to all students participating in Project Batter Up! For students practicing geography skills for the first time, you may  distribute a desk-size map to each student or small groups of students.

2. Using BLUE to denote National League Teams, locate each of the 15 MLB teams on the map. The pushpins or sticky dots should be used on the class/school map whereas a crayon or colored pencil should be used on the individual maps.

3. Repeat Step 2 using RED to denote American League Teams.

4. Use questioning techniques to elicit responses from the students at the conclusion of posting the 30 MLB teams on the map. Suggestions for questions are given below.

5. Photograph your wall or individual maps. Scan pictures and save as GIF files. Send files via e-mail, to the BatterUp! Project Coordinator. If scanning is not possible, send photographs or individual maps to the BatterUp! Project Coordinator via US Mail.

Here are some questions:

1. Which states have more than one MLB team? Are they in the same league?

2. What cities outside the US have MLB teams? What country are they in? What province are they in?

3. How many MLB teams are housed west of the Mississippi River?

4. What states house teams east of the Rocky Mountains?

5. Which two National League teams are farthest away from each other?

6. Which two American League teams are closest to each other?

7. Which team is closest to your home town?

8. Which team is farthest from your home town?

O.K....hope you have a good lesson...get busy and have fun!