Big League Dreams

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: How can professional sports change people’s lives?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• per capita GDP (p. 9)
• infrastructure (p. 9)
• debut (p. 10)
• accolade (p. 10)
• supplemented (p. 11)
• dignitaries (p. 11)

3. Engage
Have students think about and discuss the reasons that sports have been such a uniquely effective arena through which social progress is made. If needed, remind students to consider the financial benefits of sports, the nature of competition, and how fandom might change the way people think about social issues. 

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Big League Dreams, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• What are the central ideas of the article? What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article? (Central ideas, author’s purpose) (Through the experience of a girls’ cricket team in a small Indian village, the article tells the story of how cricket—and the introduction of a professional women’s league—is changing social norms, providing new economic possibilities, and expanding opportunities for girls in India. The author’s main purpose in writing the article is to tell the inspiring story of the cricket team and to show its effects on Indian society.)

• The first and last sentences of the article include descriptions of the girls “in their white uniforms.” What could the uniforms represent, and why do you think the article opens and closes with this detail? (Analyze details, text structure) (Answers may vary, but students may note that a uniform is the representation of someone’s membership on a team. Referring to the uniforms at the beginning of the article and at the end creates a framing device that implies that the uniforms, or the girls’ membership on the team, are not only important to the their identities but are central to everything that happens to them throughout the article.)

• What does the data in the sidebar “India at a Glance” show? What does the sidebar add to the article? (Analyze data, Integrate multiple sources) (The sidebar contains three datapoints that compare the per capita GDP, life expectancy, and literacy rate of India and the U.S. In each case, the number is lower for India. This sidebar shows the reader that life in India may be more difficult than life in the U.S., which helps the reader understand the extent of the challenges the girls in the article face in making better lives for themselves.)

• The author writes, “For [India] to meet its full economic potential, it must chip away at [the] gender divide.” Using details from the text, explain what he means. (Word meaning, cite text evidence) (The author is saying that moving beyond traditional gender roles and encouraging more women to work outside the home is crucial for India’s success. The author supports this idea when he quotes the coach telling his players that, unless they play cricket, their futures will likely be limited to being wives and mothers; when he notes that only 20 percent of Indian women participate in the formal workforce; and when he attributes that low job rate to India’s rigid gender roles.) 

• In the section “A Local Legend,” the author writes that Harmanpreet Kaur “embodies this moment’s transformative potential for women’s sports.” How does she do this? (Analyze information) (Harmanpreet Kaur embodies transformation because she played for a boys’ team until the coach created a girls’ team around her, which created more opportunities for other girls to play. She also had to work side jobs because she didn’t earn enough playing cricket. Now that she’s a star, she’s inspiring a new generation of girls to follow in her footsteps. She is also paid well, which shows girls how the sport can change their lives.) 

• How does the final section, “New Confidence,” represent each of the article’s central ideas? (Integrate multiple sources, text structure) (In the final section, the girls travel a long way to watch a men’s team practice, which shows how important cricket is to them. After the game, they sit in V.I.P. seats, which implies that they can become important people. Afterward, seven girls make a competitive team, which shows that hard work can pay off and that cricket can give the girls new opportunities.)

6. Writing Prompt
Write a four- to five-paragraph essay about an instance in which professional sports led to social change in America.

7. Video
Watch the video about India’s rise. What does it add to your understanding?

8. Classroom Debate
Should girls around the world be given more opportunities to play sports?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess comprehension and Analyze the Graphs to review graph interpretation skills.