Cover All Sports — With Thought

Introduce Sports Coverage
Journalism, Media Arts, Physical Education, Reading

Unlike most other sections of the paper, SPORTS is seasonal. Teachers might begin by writing the names of the twelve months across the board and work with students to chart the months spanned by each sport — baseball, field hockey, football, basketball, golf. These may be limited to those in your school’s athletics program, or include collegiate and professional sports. Give students "Sports Identity" to guide their review of The Post's SPORTS section.

• What sports are currently “in season?”

• Do any sports occur all year long? 

Next, make a list of the reporters and columnists in SPORTS. After each name indicate the team(s) they cover, whether local, collegiate or professional. What do students discover about beats?

• Do any reporters or columnists cover only one sport?

• How might sports be covered beyond the dates of the “official” season?

The next step in this activity is to review their school's student media. What do students know about their newspaper, online news, yearbook and broadcast program coverage of sports? Use part two of "Sports Identity" to guide this discovery and evaluation step.

Classify Sports
English, Journalism, Media Arts, Physical Education, Reading

Sports could be classified as “spectator sports” and “participant sports.” Discuss what these terms mean.

• Which sports are considered “spectator sports?”

• Which are largely played without observers, more “participant sports”?

• Which sports have become more like “spectator sports” because they are broadcast?

• Which school spectator sports are so poorly attended by your students that they are “participant sports”?

• What might the athletes do to increase attendance? What might student media do to encourage attendance? Do these sports events require admission fees?

Learn Some Sports History
Ethics, U.S. History, Physical Education

Fred Bowen writes about sports every Thursday for KidsPost. Read his “In World Series history, great moments and great players stand out.”

Discussion questions might include:

• Why would players strike?

• How might the strike influence a World Series?

• Who have been some of the great baseball players of the past?

• Who are current stand out players in baseball?

• What other sports have had great players? What were their qualities?

Consider Sports Photography and Captions
Art, Journalism, Media Studies, Photography, Physical Education, Visual Arts

An earlier Post curriculum guide, Sports — In Word and Image, contains an excellent tutorial by Staff Photographer Jonathan Newton, “Out the Door Every Day: Sports Photography at The Washington Post.

In our current guide, we focus on the use of a strong, dominant photograph (portrait or candid), informative caption and subhead serving as a caption. Give students “The Story in Photographs and Captions.” The first page of this activity gives examples of smaller-size photographs and captions in a rail or sidebar that provide brief but pertinent information and photographs to illustrate considerations to get better photographs. The following articles demonstrate how a dominant photograph — portrait, posed or candid — combined with a brief, catching headline and informative subhead do not need a caption. The image and layout work together with well-chosen words to communicate to readers.

• “A Sport of Their Own” represents OPPORTUNITY, part of a Post series. In this series, Change Agents, “female athletes speak out, demand a more level playing field with their male counterparts even as they continue to train and excel in their sports.”

 “The U.S. women's soccer team files suit for equal pay and working conditions” represents EQUITY in the series. 

• “She had her leg amputated and 14 rounds of chemo by age 3. Now she plays varsity basketball." Compare the layout of the print edition with the online format. Which has the most impact when first seen?

• “Through the Flames: Almost a year ago, fire ravaged an equine center near San Diego, killing 46 horses. A filly and trainer are helping each other heal.

Teachers may also wish to share the In Sight visual narrative by Kenneth Dickerman and Matt McClain, “A Post photographer steps back in time to rekindle his love of sports.” As you view the photographs, discuss the angle, action, foreground and background, whether candid or poised, action or reflection.

A photographer’s visual perspective on wrestling is found in “A photographer’s childhood love for wrestling is realized with ‘Ring of Honor.’” Check out the photographs that could be taken at your high school matches. Where was the photographer?

With Thought, Plan Headline and Photograph Unity
Art, English, Journalism, Physical Education, Visual Arts 

Writing a short headline that conveys the essence of the activity, that works with the dominant photograph and that can be interpreted on more than level can be very challenging, but very satisfying. Give students "Down to Earth Unity." Examples from Washington Post SPORTS section front page coverage of the 2019 World Series illustrate this skill. The second page provides a front page for students to annotate.

Write a Sports Story

English, Physical Education

Basics of writing a sports article are found in a previous NIE curriculum guide. Check out “Write a Sports Story” in INSIDE JOURNALISM: Shirley, One of the Best. While in this curriculum guide also review “Meet the Editor — Cindy Boren,” “Sportswriting by the Numbers” and “Classic Sport Stories in the 20th Century.”

In Sports — In Word and Image provides a handout with a variety of approaches to sports article ledes.   After reviewing these examples, teachers might ask students to find new examples of each type of lede or write their own about your school’s teams.

Give students “Loss, Caps and Options.” The examples of sports ledes in this activity include a first-year coach and a losing season, the business and contract sides of professional sports, and the impact of illness on a team and the athlete. Annotation of these ledes includes questions for students.

Is it Slang, Jargon or Essential Vocabulary?
English, Journalism, Media Arts, Physical Education, Reading

“Vernacular” is the language or dialect native to a region. It is also the language and expressions of a group. There is a vernacular of the tennis group, the soccer group and a vernacular that is native to other sports. 

“Jargon” is confused and unintelligible language. It can be very technical and sophisticated, but cannot be easily understood by the outsider. For example, computer experts are said to speak a jargon, but to each other, the words are clear expressions. So what is common, or vernacular, to the golfer, can be jargon to one who doesn’t know a tee from a putter. 

Explain these distinctions to students. Then find examples of the use of vernacular and jargon in sports coverage. Are sports stories written for fans and people who have played the sport? Do sports page readers expect a certain amount of jargon to be used? 

Go Beyond the Sports Section
Physical Education, U.S. History

Consider possible topics beyond game articles and team profiles. A stadium or high school field, parents and coaches, equipment and memorabilia, and racial and economic divisions can all be part of the story. Before giving students “Think Like a Reporter | Beyond the Sports Pages,” teachers may wish to read John Kelly’s column “For black baseball fans, Griffith Stadium offered a ‘separate but equal’ experience” [Print headline: “Let’s not forget Washington baseball’s segregated past”] This Metro section article provides D.C. history through a sports and baseball lens.

Other John Kelly’s Washington columns that relate to the World Series offer ideas for going beyond usual sports stories. If time allows, have students read and discuss how his focus might apply to your school.:

• “A 1924 pendant is a golden link to Washington’s last World-Series winning team”

• “In October 1924, all Washington could think about was its first-ever World Series”

An A or News section article by David Nakamura supplies a local history angle:

“To host a World Series again, it took a team of the evicted”

And this article by Michelle Boorstein, The Post’s religion reporter, takes readers behind the scenes to others that support a team:

“‘Bless these bats’”

Think Like a Reporter — Ethics and Heart
Character Education, Journalism, Media Arts, Physical Education

This activity applies four principles of best practices found in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Give students “Think Like a Reporter | Use Heightened Sensitivity.”

“Reporters of racial taunts against Arizona high school volleyball team under review” is reproduced in one of two resource guides to read and apply the principles.

For younger students, teachers may wish to use Fred Bowen's KidsPost article, "The champion Nats learned this lesson by heart: Never give up." 

 Do the Math
Journalism, Mathematics, Physical Education

Teachers may ask students to brainstorm ways that mathematics is part of sports.

Examples will include scores, points won per goal, number of wins/losses, batting average, individual points per game, weights, lengths, distances, averages, heights, speeds, stadium attendance, jersey numbers, “purses” or winnings, number of players on a team, team and individual standings, minutes per quarter, half and number of innings.

After student ideas are exhausted, the SPORTS section can be checked for examples and additional math applications. This could be done as an e-Replica activity with pairs or small groups of students given different days to compile their examples. Teachers could repeat this activity in different seasons or give students dates to explore that are in different sport seasons.

Contracts, Salary Caps and Tickets
Business, Economics, Mathematics

From the first set of sports cards to Big Four and Young Guns, collectible cards intrigue collectors. Will young fans be so lucky to have a cap, card or shirt signed by a player — any player, but especially one who goes on to be a Hall of Fame inductee? And can parents persuade that child to keep it in mint condition for future profit?

Ask students to think about the business side of sports. 

Select one of the following to read about in the media and to research in one specific case. What are the benefits (potential profits) and downsides (loss, injuries, taxes) 

After completing the research write an explanatory essay with one illustration or informational graphic to visually present the information.

• Team merchandise (caps, T-shirts, hoodies, jerseys)

• Collectible trading cards

• Season block ticket ownership (by individuals, by businesses)

• Player and team salary caps

• Team ownership

• Non-athlete careers in sports

• Equipment and training manufacture, technology use, team uniforms

• California’s Fair Pay to Play Act

• Sports medicine (trainers, therapy, techs)

• Contracts and agents

• Personal and financial advisers

Teachers may share one or both articles from a previous Post curriculum guide, 2018 Winter Olympic Games that deal with how athletes support their quests for Olympic gold and to what extent countries may profit from hosting Olympic games.

Read Sports Books
English, Physical Education, Reading, Social Studies

If you have reluctant readers in your classrooms, teachers may consider having a bookcase with enticing titles — to be read or browsed when other work is completed. Who knows, maybe one of the titles and first chapters will encourage reading the entire book. In the sidebar, teachers will find some classics of the sports genre. These can be appealing. For younger readers works by Matt Christopher, Mike Lupica (Travel Team, Heat), Gary Soto (Baseball in April), Jake Maddox (Digging Deep) and Alex Morgan (The Kicks series) are good starters. Don't forget books by Fred Bowen who writes a weekly sports column for KidsPost.

Post NIE Guide Editor | Carol Lange
Post NIE Guide Art Editor | Carol Porter