Prepare a list of well-known NBA players from the previous season. The list should also show the number of points each player scored for each of 15 games.
Instruct your students to pick a player. Multiple students can pick the same player.
Instruct your students to find the median, mean, mode and range of the player's number of points scored in each of the 15 games. Each player has 15 separate games listed, therefore there are 15 numbers for each player on the list. To find the range of a player's points, for example, a student identifies the highest number of points scored from those 15 games and the lowest number of points scored, then finds the difference between those two numbers. Using a calculator is at the teacher's discretion.
Practice using parentheses by asking students to figure out how many of each type of basket that their player scored. For example, if a player scored 21 points, he could have shot six 2-pointers and three 3-pointers, therefore (6 x 2) + (3 x 3) = 21 would be one correct answer.
Practice cross-multiplication to figure out what fraction or percent of the game's points each player scored. For this, the list must also contain the total number of points scored in each game by the player's team.
Prepare a list of questions you would like students to answer. For example, if you want students to review fractions, a sample question might be "What is 5/12 minus 1/4?" Each question is worth a single base hit unless you choose to use leveled questions equating to a double, triple or home run. For example, if the aforementioned question is worth a single, "What is 29/32 minus 4/5?" would be worth a double, due to the higher level of difficulty in finding a common denominator.
Draw a baseball field on the board. Include squares for first, second, third base and for home plate.
Pass out scratch paper for each team member to use. Calculators are optional.
Divide your class into two teams. Flip a coin to see which team goes first.
Select a spokesperson from each team. This student will consult with the team before answering each question.
Ask the team a question and set a timer for a predetermined time aligned with the difficulty of the question. If all questions are worth one base hit, the amount of time given to answer the question is the same each round. If the questions are leveled, choose one from a hat. Tell the team how much the question is worth (a base hit, double, triple or home run). Set the timer to match the level of each question. For example, give 30 seconds for a base hit, one minute for a double, 1.5 minutes for a triple and two minutes for a home run.
Warn the team when 10 seconds remain. If the spokesperson states the correct answer, make a mark on the appropriate base. For example, if the question is worth a double, make a mark at second base. Use different colored markers for each team. If the answer is incorrect, the team has one out. Keep track of each team's outs and total score on the board using tally marks.
Continue with the first team until it has three outs. Play then goes to the second team. Repeat Steps 6 and 7 while keeping track of the number of innings played. Play ends after a predetermined number of innings. The team with the highest number of runs wins.