Lesson 1: Women's History (Intermediate)

Objective: Students will be able to:

• Conduct research on female executives who have been involved with baseball at different levels during the 20th and 21st centuries.
• Discuss the importance of female executives to women's advancement in sports.
• Analyze a political cartoon as a primary source.
• Create their own cartoons based on the subject of women in sports today.

Time Required:

1 -2 class periods

Materials Needed:

- Copies of the "Executive Profile" graphic organizer for each student (included)
- Copies of the “Diamond Dreams” profiles on female executives (included)
- Copies of the Cartoon Analysis Worksheet for each student (included)

Vocabulary:

Perspective - A position or a way of regarding situations or topics

1. Introduce the topic of leadership in sports. Activate prior knowledge by asking students to identify women who are or have been leaders in sports.

2. Explain that students will be examining short biographies of four different women who have been leaders in professional baseball.

3. Provide each student with a copy of one of the four “Diamond Dreams” profiles included with this lesson, and an “Executive Profile” graphic organizer. Students should work individually to complete the graphic organizer based on their assigned subject:
• Helene Britton
• Effa Manley
• Judy Scarafile
• Linda Alvarado

4. Once students have finished working, have students with the same profiles gather in small groups to review their answers.

5. Have students from each group present their profile subjects to the rest of the class using their graphic organizers as guides.

6. Once all groups have presented, hold a class discussion about women in leadership roles in baseball. Use the following questions as a guide:
• Have women always been accepted as leaders in baseball?
• What challenges did these women face as they pursued their careers?

7. Introduce the activity.

1. Discuss that the brief biographies students read during this lesson are secondary sources. Ask students, “What if we wanted to find out about people’s opinions and perspectives on these women as their careers were happening? What types of sources might we look for?”

2. As a class, brainstorm a list of source ideas. Point out that two of the subjects: Linda Alvarado and Judy Scarafile are contemporary leaders in baseball. Primary sources by or about them could possibly be found in the media today. The other subjects: Effa Manley and Helene Britton are historical. Primary sources by or about them would be located in older documents.

3. Discuss the idea of examining political cartoons as primary sources. Cartoons can provide information about historical events, and they can reveal the attitudes of society at a given time. Remind students that a cartoonist is expressing an opinion – not a fact.

4. Provide students with a “Cartoon Analysis Worksheet.” Explain that in this cartoon, the artist portrays Helene Britton, the first female owner of a major league baseball team.

5. Give students a few minutes to examine the cartoon and answer the questions on their worksheets.

6. Review students' worksheet responses.

Conclusion:
To conclude this lesson and check for understanding, have each student draw his or her own political cartoon based on the subject of women in sports today (it doesn’t have to be baseball). Have them present their cartoons to the class, and have students analyze one another’s work using questions similar to those given in the “Cartoon Analysis Worksheet.”

RI.6.1. Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.6.3. Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
RI.7.1. Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.7.3. Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events, or how individuals influence ideas or events).
RI.8.1. Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.8.3. Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
RH.6-8.1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
RH.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
RH.6-8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
RH.6-8.7. Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
SL.6.1., SL.7.1., SL.8.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade-appropriate topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL.6.2., SL.7.2., SL.8.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.