Overview
Ever wonder what it would be like to have a professional sports team in your hometown? Using their entrepreneurial spirit, students will be given the opportunity to dream, design, and map out the details of a brand-new team to pitch to their peers. Dig out your jerseys and pennants – sports fever is about to hit your classroom!
What You’ll Need
- PowerPoint Presentation
Home Field Advantage - Our New Hometown Team Printable Booklet (see below)
- Online Design with available iPads and laptops (optional)
- Glue or tape
- Sticky notes
- Pencils
- Scissors
- Colouring Materials: crayons, pencil crayons, and/or markers
- Recyclable materials (cardboard boxes, paper, newspaper, etc.) – optional
Instructions
1. DISCUSSION: Using Slide 2 of the PowerPoint Presentation, see if students can match up the logos of Professional Sports Teams in Canada with their corresponding leagues. Using Slide 3, reveal the answers. Ask: “What do you notice? How many are women’s sports? Do you think there are some sports missing? How many of these teams are in New Brunswick? Which professional team would be the closest to us?”
Answer Key: NLL – Halifax Thunderbirds, Saskatchewan Rush (5 in total in Canada) CFL – Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Ottawa Redbacks (9 in total in Canada) NHL – Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadians, Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets (9 in total in Canada) NBA – Toronto Raptors (1 in total in Canada) MLS – Vancouver Whitecaps, CF Montreal (3 in total in Canada) MLB – Toronto Blue Jays (1 total in Canada) PHF – Women’s Professional Hockey – Toronto the Six (1 in total in Canada)
After looking at the professional sports leagues in Canada, have students in small groups or elbow partners discuss: “What are 2-3 things a town or city MUST have in order to have a professional sports team?” Have student share their responses and then read together Slide 4 of the PowerPoint Presentation.
Economics – Cities must be able to make money. Sports teams, though for joy and entertainment, are run like a business so financial decisions are critical to a team being successful.
Popularity – Host cities must have a loyal fan base. Ticket and merchandise sales go up when teams win, but it is also important to have a location that will support teams even if they happen to have a losing streak.
Media – In order for the fan base to grow, host cities must have some way to showcase their team via television broadcasts, radio shows, newspaper updates, and social media advertisements.
Population – Most host cities have millions of people. Perhaps one of the reasons New Brunswick does not have one of its own. Regina, Saskatchewan, however, has a population of roughly 250,000 and does have its own CFL team – Regina Roughriders.
2. OUR NEW HOMETOWN TEAM PITCH CHALLENGE:
a) Using Slide 5 of the PowerPoint Presentation, give students an opportunity to brainstorm a brand-new professional sports team HERE in New Brunswick! Looking at the map of New Brunswick, discuss where the people live and where your town or city is located. Write down their ideas (sport, team name, league additions) on a whiteboard and encourage them to think outside of the box: a new team within existing professional leagues, a new women’s team, a new co-ed team, a new sports team (tennis, curling, badminton, volleyball, golf, ping pong, professional tag, etc). Divide students into groups or allow them to work individually, if desired.
b) Challenge Criteria: Students will be asked to create a “pitch” for a NEW Hometown Team that they have created. They will present their new team idea in front of their peers. Classmates will be encouraged to vote on the best given pitch, with thought to all of the criteria. What is a pitch? It’s a persuasive presentation! And it’s not just for products – it’s also for ideas! Discuss and view Slide 6 of the PowerPoint Presentation. Then, read over Slide 7.
Students will use the printables below to design: a name, a logo, a sports facility location and sketch, how they will promote their team, and 3 great reasons why their sports team should become a reality. Students can also create a mini replica stadium/facility or sports memorabilia (uniforms, tickets, etc.) to go along with their “pitch” using recyclable materials. *If available, students can also create their logos, names, and facility designs digitally using iPads and laptops.*
Allow time for students and small groups to work on their pitch presentations and then create a schedule and order for groups to present.
c) Pitch your NEW Hometown Team – have each group set up a “display” for their pitch before starting. Have your students rotate around the classroom to hear each pitch. Encourage and celebrate each one. After hearing all pitches, have students then go back to Slide 6 of the PowerPoint presentation and review what makes a great pitch. Students can vote on the pitch that really stood out to them by writing that NEW Sports Team’s name on a sticky note and pass it to you for counting. Celebrate all teams and the congratulate the winning one!
3. REFLECTION: Gather as a group to discuss the following questions:
– What did you find most challenging about creating a sports team? How did you overcome your challenges? What would you change if you were able to do this activity again?
– Do you think a professional sports team is realistic for your hometown or New Brunswick? Why or why not?
– What did you learn about the ins and outs of a great “pitch” through this activity?
NB Career Connections
Looking at Slide 8 of the PowerPoint Presentation, take a few minutes to look at some of the New Brunswick jobs that include creating and delivering pitches as part of their daily work.
NB Cross-Curricular Outcomes
Personal Wellness :
GCO 4: Students will develop knowledge of self and explore the world of work
Literacy:
GCO 1: Students will speak and listen to explore, extend, clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences.
GCO 2: Students will be able to communicate information and ideas effectively and clearly, and to respond personally and critically.
GCO 3: Students will be expected to select, read, and view with understanding a range of literature, information, media, and visual texts
GCO 8. Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore, clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their imaginations
Visual Arts
GCO 2. Students will be expected to create and/or present, collaboratively and independently, expressive products in the arts for a range of audiences and purposes
Social Studies
3.1.3 Examine where people live and how people make a living in their province.
4.4.2 Examine the human landscape of Canada.
NB Career Education Framework
Thinking about my potential future in work – Elementary
Exploring the breadth of what the world of work had to offer: I have learned about jobs I never knew existed before.
Understanding the qualifications and experience (including soft skills) that will be needed to help me get the job I want: I am learning that different jobs require different levels of qualifications and experience (including, soft skills).