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FACS:So you want to be a Professional Athlete?

Life Skills:

  • Employability

Time Frame:
1 class period that runs 45 minutes.

Group Size:
Large Groups


  

Summary:
Many students plan on being a professional athlete. In this lesson they will see that their chances are very small and they will need to have a back-up career.

Main Curriculum Tie:
Career and Technical Education Introduction
Standard 1 Objective 3
Assess and apply interests, personal skills, aptitudes and abilities to education planning and future career decisions.

Career Connections:

  • Social-Humanitarian

Materials:

  • A clear jar of 100 marbles or candy
  • 1 or 2 other clear jars, all quart size
  • An overhead or LCD projector

    Attachments

    Background For Teachers:
    Be familiar with the information on the web site- www.bankjr.com. Go to FACS, then careers, then "Planning on Pro Sports?"

    Student Prior Knowledge:
    NCAA- National Collegiate Athletic Association (College Sports) NBA- National Basketball Association NFL- National Football Association NHL- National Hockey League MLB- Major League Baseball MLS- Major League Soccer interscholastic- high school sports

    Intended Learning Outcomes:
    Students, especially those who plan on playing professional sports, will see that the probabilities of becoming a professional athlete are very small. They will learn that they need to have a career to support them in case they don't make the pros.

    Instructional Procedures:
    Introductory questions: 1. Who would like to play professional sports when they grow up? 2. Ask each one who raised his/her hand what sport he/she wants to play. 3. What are they doing to be prepared to play in the pros? 4. What will they do instead if they don't make the pros? 5. What do you think your chances are of playing in the pros? Show the overhead of the chart of probability of playing professionally. Explain how it shows the chances of playing in college, and then the chances of playing in the pros. Explain that percentage means a certain number out of 100. 45% means 45 out of 100. For every 100, 45 will be picked. Show the jar of 100 marbles. Using the information on the web site, show how many students out of 100, or 50, or 35 will play in college, and how many will play in the pros, depending on the sport. Have a student who wants to play that sport take out of the jar the number of people he thinks will get to play in the pros. Then show the correct amount. Questions for the conclusion: What does this tell you about your chances of playing for professionally? Should you still try for it? What will you do if you don't get picked for the pros? Other careers in sports include: physical therapy, sports medicine, trainers, managers, business managers, coaches, radio announcers, reporters, photographers, etc.

    Strategies For Diverse Learners:
    Using marbles to show probability helps the struggling student understand it better. At the beginning of the class the teacher could use the marbles to show 10%, 2%, and other percentages so they could understand the concept. The teacher could also have 10 students stand up and 5 sit down to show 50%, and so on. For the gifted student the teacher could ask them to calculate the number of high school students picked to play pro football, and do the same for other sports.

    Extensions:
    This lesson teaches the math concept of percentages, and also the application in some health careers. The teacher could discuss if trying for the pros is still something worthwhile and the class could discuss trying for a career that is difficult to get into.

    Assessment Plan:
    The assessment is determined by the comments of the students on how they understood the concept of the probability of playing a pro sport.

    Bibliography:
    www.bankjr.com

    Author:
    Utah LessonPlans
    ANNETTE CASTILLO

    Created Date :
    Aug 24 2005 20:11 PM

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