Lesson Plan - Is Playing Video Games a Sport?

Watch a Video: Video Games - Then and Now
Discuss: What are some ways that video games have changed over time?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know. 

• enthusiasts
• exerting

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them assess which argument they find more convincing.

1. What is the purpose of the paragraph about Brady Donbeck?
The purpose is to get readers’ attention by highlighting similarities and differences between Rocket League and traditional sports. In Rocket League, Brady plays every day, plans with teammates, and competes. But he does it on his computer, not on a field.
^{R.5 Author’s Craft} 

2. Why does Daniel Kane compare esports to skateboarding?
Kane compares esports to skateboarding to emphasize the idea that what counts as a sport changes over time. Skateboarding was once not taken seriously; now it’s an Olympic sport.
^{R.8 Reasons and Evidence}

3. Summarize why some people do not think playing video games is a sport.
Some people argue that video games don’t require enough physical exercise to count as sports and that esports are more similar to games like chess than they are to traditional sports.
^{R.2 Summarizing}

FEATURED SKILL: Opinion Writing
Use the Skill Builder “Seeing Both Sides” to have students plan and write an opinion paragraph based on the debate.  
^{W.1 Opinion Writing}