A rare set: Spring View Middle School creates Renaissance baseball cards

Spring View Middle School teacher Patricia Onorato is doing her best to virtually keep connected with her students during stay-at-home orders in Rocklin. It has been a challenge for everyone in her seventh-grade world history class, she said. "It's been a huge adjustment for everybody, including the teachers," Onorato said. "The key has been to engage them. That's what really seems to motivate them, so I try to make my lessons as engaging as possible." One recent assignment Onorato gave to her class before spring break was to create a set of digital baseball cards that featured figures from the Renaissance. In lieu of traditional player stats on the back of the cards, students were asked to provide historical facts and contributions. It was a hit with her students. "It was a great opportunity for kids to showcase what they've learned," Onorato said. "I gave them a choice on how to display their knowledge. They could use a pen and paper or a template I made. It really let them show their artistic ability." Realizing that the era of baseball card prominence might as well be another piece of ancient history to her seventh-graders, Onorato provided her students a YouTube link that explained the history of Topps baseball cards to help steer the students in the right direction. "Some of the students asked, 'Are they like Pokemon cards?'" Onorato laughed. "I'm not sure how many actually knew what baseball cards were but so many of them are so creative. And I thought my athletic kids who are missing that time with baseball, softball and soccer, that sport idea might be engaging to them." Nistha Selwal, a student in Onorato's class, said that this assignment beat having to complete a regular textbook project. "It was a really creative way to learn," said Selwal, who featured William Shakespeare, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Niccolo Machiavelli. "Reading out of a textbook can get boring and bland. It's not the same as keeping a memory in your head or not being engaged. It was pretty fun to do. I learned more about the Renaissance and the people who made an impact on what we know today." Twin sisters Alyssa and Kaelyn Grosser put some artistic freedom into their projects. Alyssa drew her own designs while Kaelyn digitally created hers. "I like how much freedom we had with how it looked and what information we used," Kaelyn Grosser said. "It was really fun." She made cards for Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Titian and Nicolaus Copernicus while Alyssa highlighted Da Vinci, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Isabella I and Albrecht Durer. "Most of them are artists or scientists," Alyssa Grosser said. "That's what made me choose them because I'm interested in marine biology and art." While Onorato expressed great appreciation for the efforts of her school district and Principal Scott Collins during a time of distance learning, her students had high praise for their world history teacher. Said Alyssa Grosser, "Ms. Onorato is the best history teacher I've ever had and probably will ever have."