Lesson 3: Women's History (Advanced)

1. To begin this lesson, give students a few minutes to brainstorm and write down the names of sports journalists or sports reporters that they are familiar with. They can be from local stations or national networks such as ESPN.

2. Ask each student to name at least one person from their list. Write down students' ideas on the board or on a sheet of chart paper. If a student doesn’t have a new one to add, or couldn't think of one, go on to the next student.

3. How many did the class come up with at the end? Have the class count the number of men and women on the list. If there are more men than women, ask the students why they think this is.

4. Ask students when they think women first entered the field of sports journalism.

5. Discuss that in the 19th century it was considered laughable that a woman might have the insight and knowledge to write about the game of baseball. Even so, in 1890, a woman's byline began appearing regularly in The Sporting Life. Her name was Ella Black, and her typical column ranged from an analysis of clubs and leagues to discussions of the players' talent and performance. Her readers also learned of the latest baseball fads among the women in the stands, and why Ladies' Day was a good idea.

6. Ask students what challenges Ella Black may have faced as she pursued her career in sports journalism.

7. Because she was female, Ella Black often had issues of access. She was not granted interviews with players or front office staff. She was also unable to gain access to the sort of places where insiders talked over the games. Her columns were based upon her examinations of other sports media, informal conversations in the stands and on the street, and, as she admitted, plain eavesdropping. She stated, "I only wish that...I was able to do some interviewing, for I think I might get some things that others miss. You know a woman's ideas are often different from those a man will have."

8. Ella also faced the obstacle of establishing credibility. Headlines to some of her early columns highlighted and sometimes belittled her perspective. For example, "A Novelty in Base Ball Literature - The Base Ball Situation Considered and Commented Upon From a Female Standpoint," and "Only A Woman: But She Has Some Ideas About the Makeup of the Pittsburgh Club." One of her readers even argued that she must really be a man to write about baseball as knowledgably as she did.

9. Ask students to share their thoughts on women in sports journalism today. How has society's view of women changed since the late 19th century? Do women in the field of sports journalism still encounter any of the same obstacles faced by Ella Black in the 1890s?

10. Have students respond to the following question in their journals: Do you think that in the field of sports journalism men and women are equal? Why or why not? Give students about 5 minutes to write their responses, and then have a few volunteers share their thoughts with the class.

*Optional* Invite a local female sports journalist or sports reporter to come into your class and present. Have her talk about her experiences in sports journalism and how she got to where she is. How did she decide to become a sports journalist?

1. Explain that students will be doing surveys of different types of media to determine the numbers of male and female sports journalists represented.

2. Divide students into 5 groups. Each group will be responsible for analyzing a different type of sports media.
• Newspaper sports pages (either local or national)
• Sports magazines
• Sports websites
• Cable sports networks
• Local television networks

3. Provide each group with the appropriate Sports Journalism Media Analysis Worksheet.

4. You may choose to have students work on the survey project using the resources of your school's library or media center, or you may have students complete the project outside of school.

Conclusion:

To conclude this lesson, have each team report to the class on their survey findings. How do the numbers of men and women in sports journalism compare in each of the different media categories? Were there any sports or sporting events that were primarily covered by men or women in each of the media categories?

To check for understanding, have students write a one-page journal response about this project. Were the survey results what they expected? Were they surprised by any of the results?

W.9-10.1., W.11-12.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

W.9-10.2., W.11-12.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

SL.9-10.1., SL.11-12.1. Initiate and participate 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 and persuasively.

SL.9-10.2., SL.11-12.1. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

SL.9-10.4., SL.11-12.4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

SL.9-10.5.,SL.11-12.5. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

SL.9-10.6., SL.11-12.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Applicable Common Core State Standards (Mathematics):

S-IC.1. Understand statistics as a process for making inferences about population parameters based on a random sample from that population.

S-IC.3. Recognize the purposes of and differences among sample surveys, experiments, and observational studies; explain how randomization relates to each.

S-IC.4. Use data from a sample survey to estimate a population mean or proportion; develop a margin of error through the use of simulation models for random sampling.