USING SPORTS TO TEACH LITERACY IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CLASSROOM

Throughout my educational journey, sports have been an integral part of my life, whether playing kickball at recess, going to the river for rowing practice after school, or bonding over Sunday football games with my family while tackling homework. Despite my love for sports, I never had the chance to experience them in the classroom setting. Motivated by this absence, I embarked on writing this thesis to offer educators new ways to integrate sports into the English Language Arts curriculum. My initial exploration led me to Luke Rodesiler’s insightful guide, Integrating Sports into the English Classroom, which served as the starting line for further research. Striving for diversity, I searched for texts that encompassed a variety of sports and cultural perspectives. After selecting my texts, I developed a lesson collection comprised of fourteen individual lessons all aligning with sixth-grade Common Core Standards. Educational technology played a crucial role, as I incorporated digital storytelling platforms, podcasts, multimedia presentations, virtual games, and films into my lesson plans. By integrating these tools, alongside sports-centered novels, educators can effectively incorporate sports into their lessons, thereby creating an enriching learning space for their students.