Women's History and Future: Activism, Careers, & Exciting Roles Ahead!

1.To introduce this lesson, the teacher will ask the class: "Let's list the names of famous men in 30 seconds.  They cannot all be actors or athletes, but also men who are reknown for work or contributions in many different fields...science, math, music, health, social action movements, government, etc.  They can be living or dead. We need someone who writes fast to scribble the names. (choose that person & let them get ready)  We will be using "popcorn" answers...(get timer ready )...GO!"

2. "Now, let's name some famous women in  30 seconds.   Same rules apply, not just actors or athletes, but the other categories we mentioned above, and can be living or dead... We still need our note-taker, ok?  (choose) Ready...GO!'' 

3.  After the session, POST the lists of men/women in front of class, men on one sheet of chart paper, women on another. Discuss: Did  famous men come to mind easier than famous women, how did the numbers of these 2 groups of "famous people" compare? ( Note: were there any famous women astronauts? scientists? politicians? Was it easier to think of more men in significant positions, and positions of "power," than recalling women in these careers or with historical fame? 

(Hopefully, this "spark" activity will bring students' awareness to the disadvantages women have endured in earlier times in the U.S.) 

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4. Students will be assigned to groups of 3 . Each group will watch 2 videos, take notes, and then STOP & DISCUSS those 2 videos as a group. On a "group posterboard", make notes about the career benefits or drawbacks, and any comments about what is learned from the historical videos.  Continue until all videos have been viewed, and group comments have been noted on the poster board.

1. "POPCORN" ANSWERS: If you're not familiar with this technique, it requires for students to vocally call out an answer ( they must wait & listen until no one else is calling out an answer, then "pop" their idea vocally, out loud)...it sometimes gets a little energetic, but teacher can moderate (keeping good humor, and a spirit of excitement, hopefully)!

2. Lesson progression:  Please accept all names offered for famous men or famous women, regardless of your own personal preferences...unless students are being silly or inappropriate.  

3.  It's very helpful to have the final lists of people displayed on large chart paper, where all students can see them after the "popcorn" listing of famous men / famous women has been finished. 

Choose  2 of these options to complete.

1.  Write an application for a job position that is one of the careers you viewed in the videos.   Describe why you would be a great candidate for the job, what your career goals are, and any past experiences that help  qualify you.

2.  Make a scrapbook of 10 women that you admire.  This can be a physical scrapbook, made of construction paper, or an electronic scrapbook using your chromebook.  The scrapbook must have: *a cover, with the title and your name as the author * an illustration on the front cover * a page for each of the 10 selected women,  each page with a photo of the  person, and at least a 6 sentence  paragraph about the person, also 1 sentence about why you admire them.  

3. If you like music, write a song about one of the careers listed that you find interesting.    Try to imagine a story happening at "the job"  or at "the interview", and write rhyming lyrics to tell the story, 2 or 3 verses. DON'T FORGET...a song needs a good chorus in-between verses, with a "sing line" that's easy for listeners to learn & sing.  (As a great example, listen to Dolly Parton's oldie but goody hit song "9 to 5", about the challenges of a secretary or office assistant's job.)

4. If you like art, design a "movie poster" (posterboard) advertising a popular movie where the lead character is a male; but change the name of the movie slightly, change the main character to a female, and then draw, paint, letter the poster for the soon-to-be-premiering film.

5. If you enjoy acting or public speaking, write a monologue as if you are recruiting new employees for your company.  Describe the job/career position being offered, the duties, the qualities that you want to see in an applicant, benefits, etc.   You want the BEST workers, so make it sound GREAT!

6.  Research and write a "catalog" of 10 volunteer organizations that could be helpful to women and families, or furthering women's careers, or voting rights, etc.   The catalog needs a front cover, and 10 pages... 1 page for  each  different volunteer organizations in your city or state, but closer to your city is best. MUST INCLUDE contact information for each volunteer agency/ phone # / web address / physical address, etc.  

6. If you have a special idea for a project not mentioned above, work with your teacher to create a unique project that will fulfill the requirements for lesson credit.