Lesson 5: Big Four Baseball

Grade Level & Subject: Middle School History
Lesson: Big Four Baseball


State Standard and Benchmarks
Social Studies. Strand 1 Historical Perspective. Standard 1.2 Comprehending the Past. Students will understand narratives about major eras of American and world history by identifying setting and sequencing the events. Benchmark 1.2.9. Students will use narratives and graphic data to describe the settings of significant events that shaped the development of Michigan as a state and the United States as a nation during the eras prior to Reconstruction. Standard 3.4 American Government and Politics. Students will explain how American governmental institutions, at the local, state, and federal levels, provide for the limitations and sharing of power and how the nation’s political system provides for the exercise of power.

Lesson Objectives
Students will be able to
• Identify the four individuals who were described as the “Big Four”
• Understand the similarities and differences between these men
• List the years when these men were on the bench together
• Give an example of the significant cases that were decided by the Big Four and continue to have an impact on Michigan law

Rationale/Purpose for Lesson
This lesson is designed to clarify and increase the knowledge of the students with regard to the “Big Four”.

Resources/Materials Needed
• Questions for BIG FOUR Baseball

Review the material covered yesterday. Remind students that the men who were referred to as the Big Four set the standards of how the Michigan Supreme Court would function.

1. Have students share their Ven Diagrams from yesterday’s class. Discuss their findings.
2. Explain the rules and procedures for BIG FOUR Baseball
3. Divide the class into 2 teams
4. Flip a coin to see who goes to “bat” first
5. Play BIG FOUR Baseball

Review the justices who were known as the “Big Four”.

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Documents for this Lesson