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Revisiting Casey at the Bat

"Casey at the Bat" is a classic poem with a timeless message. Students will explore its themes and illustrate an image of Casey playing baseball.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    "Casey at the Bat" (Full name: "Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888") is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. Have students read the poem and discuss its themes of overconfidence, arrogance, the power of hope, and the unpredictability of events. Ask students to reflect on how athletes might feel when a large crowd is putting all their hope in them. How do they think the cheering or the booing would affect them? Can they understand how "hero worship" of athletes can cause them to feel excessive pride or a feeling of superiority?

  • Step 2

    Ask students to portray Casey as he's batting that shows the emotion(s) he might be feeling. They can begin by moistening a piece of paper and then use a paintbrush to flick some watercolor onto the damp paper. When the background is dry, have them use colored pencils or markers to draw Casey. Will he be portrayed early in the poem showing an air of confidence? Will he look worried when he only has one more chance for a hit before strike three? Will he be scowling as he strikes out?

  • Step 3

    Have students present their art and talk about the expression they gave to Casey. Then have them talk about how having self-confidence is beneficial, but being overly confident and arrogant is detrimental.

Standards

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

SS: Explore factors that contribute to one's personal identity such as interests, capabilities, and perceptions.

SS: Identify and describe ways family, groups, and community influence the individual's daily life and personal choices.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Adaptations

Ask students to imagine they're Casey after the game and write a journal entry describing the game. How might he have felt as he stepped up to bat? How might the crowd have affected him? What lessons might he have learned? What might he do differently in the next game?

Have students write an original poem about a challenge or situation they faced and the emotions it evoked.