Research

1. Divide students into five groups based on the following time periods: 1860-1879, 1880-1899, 1900-1919, 1920-1939, and 1940-1959.
2. Briefly introduce students to the following American Memory collections:
• The African-American Experience in Ohio: Selections from the Ohio Historical Society
• Baseball Cards, 1887-1914
• By Popular Demand: Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
• History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Collection of the Denver Public Library

3. Demonstrate how to search American Memory:
• Discuss keyword searching using the Learning Page's Synonym List and introduce helpful Baseball Synonyms.
• Introduce search techniques using the Learning Page's hints on Finding Items in American Memory.
• Depending on the final product, students may need to examine the Learning Page's “how to” Informationabout bookmarking, saving and printing American Memory materials.
• Review the rules for Citing Electronic Sources.

4. Have students spend some time browsing the collections to get a feel for the sources available. They should be directed to consider specific words, including words that may not be in use anymore, that would be helpful in retrieving appropriate source material. Students consider the following questions for each type of source:
• Questions to Consider When Examining Images
• Questions to Consider When Examining Documents

5. Have each student search the digital collections to find one image and one textual document from the time period assigned to his or her group. Strongly encourage students not to choose the first sources they come across in their search. The image and text selected should capture the developments, trends, or patterns of race or ethnicity during the assigned time period, as seen through the lens of baseball.