One-Handed Catch- MJ Auch

Auch, Mary Jane(Author). One-Handed Catch   [1-HANDED CATCH] [Hardcover]. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2006. Print.

 

Summary

Norman Schmidt is just a normal eleven year old boy when an accident changes his life forever. While working at his family's store, a freak accident occurs, in which Norm loses his left hand. Simple things like tying his shoes become obstacles, and baseball seems out of the question. Norm adapts to his new life and comes up with creative ways to go back to his normal life. His dream of playing baseball still lingers in the back of his mind, and he spends the summer of 1946 practicing one-handed catches. Will Norm make the team? Find out in this story of resilience and determination and ask yourself: Can dreams really come true?

 

Key Vocabulary

• Amputation
• Orienteering
• Mellophone
• Handicapped
• Rations

Electronic Resources

Pete Gray

The story of Norm Schmidt is ficticious, but the story of Pete Gray is anything but. Pete Gray was the only one-armed man to play major league baseball. Students can learn more about his miraculous story and how Pete Gray looked past his disability and did what he loved to do: play baseball. Pete Gray, like Norm Schmidt, proves that nothing is impossible.

Understanding Children Who Are Different

Education World offeres several lesson plans, activities, and even informational sites to help children become aware about different disabilities. From children with physical disabilities (like Norm) to those with learning disabilities, this site covers all of them. Teaching about differences isn't always easy, and this site provides support to aid teachers along the way. April is Special-Education Month, so that might be a perfect time to teach children all about diversity!

Teaching Suggestions

Before Reading: Certain vocabulary may need to be explicitly taught before reading. This book has a focus on baseball, so there is a good amount of baseball terminology that may need to be explained as well. Students may want to focus on the 1940's before reading One-Handed Catch to better understand what life was like back then. They can learn about the impact of World War II and specifically what it was like to be a kid during this time period. Students can interview grandparents to get an eyewitness account and practice using primary sources. Learning about the 1940's will help set the scene for reading One-Handed Catch.

During Reading: Students can make a character web for Norm Schmidt. They could analyze him before his accident and later how the accident changed him. What did Norm have to do differently? How did his friendships change? How did his relationship with his parents change? Students can also have literature circles to guide their reading.

After Reading: Students can write journal entries as if they were Norm. What would their lives be like? What creative ways can they come up with to accomplish tasks such as getting dressed? Students can work in small groups and each group can be given a task. It will be the groups job to determine how they can accomplish the task with one arm, like Norm. Can the task be accomplished at all, or would it have to changed entirely. Norm proved that nothing was going to hold him back, including playing baseball. Do students feel the same way?