TITLE: Sports and Nationalism: Comparing Art and Two Cultures

WORLD HISTORY: Nationalism - French Cycling and Japanese Sumo Wrestling

TEKS:

113.33

OBJECTIVE:

To discover how sports can influence feelings of nationalism.

MATERIALS:

• Construction paper in several different colors
• Scissors
• Glue, Tape, Brads
• Pens, Markers
• See images below

FOCUS: 

Place the image of a sumo wrestler and the image of the cyclist on the chalkboard and have students write down their initial impressions of each.  How are they similar?  How are they different?

RESEARCH ACTIVITY: 

Have students research using the Internet and library resources to locate material on how sports influence feelings of nationalism.  Look for how many people attend each sport, how much money the sport generates, etc.  Make sure to research both sumo wrestling and cycling in France (looking specifically at the Tour de France).

CULMINATING PROJECT: 

Divide the students into two to four teams.  Each team will be instructed to create a board game that encompasses their research.  It can be done in any manner possible using construction paper, pens, markers, brads, scissors, glue, and any other supply deemed necessary by the teacher.  Give the students several days to complete their game.  Set aside one day in which everyone will play the games.  Each group needs to pick one member to stay with the game they created to explain the rules to the new players.  When the class rotates to another game, then the person explaining the game rules needs to be relieved so that they can enjoy the lesson as well.  Divide the class time equally according to the number of games created.  Grade on creativity, how well the group worked together, and presentation of the game.

CLOSURE: 

Have students list their favorite aspects of each sport and compare them with the rest of the class.