Megan Mackey

10/14/2014
EDSE 457
Lesson Plan #2: Comprehension
Title: Gender and Modern Society
Grade: Eleven
Purpose: To introduce students to modern gender roles and how they changed in the late Cold
War era. Students will increase in their understanding of womens changing roles in the late
1950s and 1960s suburban society through reading and comprehension.
California State Standard 11.11.3: Describe the changing roles of women in society as
reflected in the entry of more women into the labor force and the changing family structure.
Common Core ELA Standard: 2.0 Reading Comprehension (Focus on Informational
Materials): Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They describe and
contrast essential ideas, arguments, and perspectives of the text by using their knowledge of
textual organization and purpose.
Time: One 45 minute class period.
Materials:

PowerPoint presentation
Stevenson primary source article with accompanying anticipatory guide
Double Bubble Think map worksheet
White board with markers
Students dialogue journals

Access to Background Knowledge: Motivation and Introduction

1. Stevenson anticipatory guide (15 minutes)
a. I will pass out an excerpt of Adlai Stevensons commencement address to Smiths
College in 1955 entitled A Womans Place.
i. I will also pass out an anticipation guide worksheet to accompany the
article. There will be three sections on the worksheet for the students to fill
out what they think before they read, after, and what the author says.
ii. Students decide if they strongly agree, agree somewhat, or disagree with
statements concerning a womans place in the world. See activity 1.
iii. This activity introduces students to the topic and gets them to read a
primary source. In order to complete the activity they must be able to find
what the authors opinion is; increasing comprehension.
iv. Students must think about their own opinions on the topic accessing their
background knowledge and experience.

b. We will debrief the worksheet

i. First we will cover what they authors opinions were based on the
worksheet to make sure that everyone comprehended the piece.
ii. Next we will talk about what they thought about women before they read
the article and if their opinions had changed. By doing so I can further
understand my students backgrounds and biases so I can teach them more
effectively. In addition, by asking them if and how their opinions changed
I can further assess how well they understood the article.
iii. Finally we will briefly discuss bias and how to analyze a primary source
for information.
iv. Leading into the lecture, I will use the activity to demonstrate the contrast
between traditional 1950s gender roles and modern gender roles. By
comparing the article to todays standards I hope to make the lesson more
alive and realistic.
Teaching Sequence: Focus on Comprehension
1. Lecture on the modern Woman. See slide set A. (7 minutes)
a. Brief lecture on changing womens roles in the 1950s and 1960s. This is meant to
be an introduction lecture.
b. Using a PowerPoint presentation I will include pictures in the lecture to make it
more visually interesting and interactive.
c. The content emphasizes education for women and womens writing in order to set
up following writing activities.
d. The slides themselves contain full sentences, but also incomplete bullet points.
This is to ensure that students have a basic framework to write down, but also
need to listen and comprehend what I say during lecture to fully understand the
content.
i. It will be challenging at first to teach students to take notes like this, but
over the course of the semester I will have less and less words for students
to copy down, increasing comprehension.
2. Group Activity: Think Map (7 minutes)
a. I will provide students with a double-bubble think map. See activity 2.
i. Students will work in groups of about four to fill it out together.
ii. The map will compare and contrast traditional post-WWII gender roles
against developing modern gender roles in suburban society.
b. Using the think map students must critically think about both roles, what they
have in common and how they are different.
c. By thinking critically and organizing the information, students need to
comprehend both the readings and the lecture.
d. I want students to work in groups that Ive assigned. Comprehension is difficult
for many students. Working in a group setting take the pressure off of on student
and allows for collaboration of ideas and perspectives.

e. I will assign groups so that students who struggle with comprehension can work
with those who are more advanced readers.
i. Advanced students will help and teach struggling students which increases
advanced students information retention as well and increasing their
critical thinking skills.
ii. Struggling students get the benefit of group work and non-pressured help
from a friend. They can also pick up on advanced students
comprehension techniques.
3. Brief Lecture on Women and the Family Structure (7 minutes)
a. Accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation this lecture includes information on
gender and sex and its implications on the family structure. It covers social fears
from the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s to introduce how society blamed
women for destroying the family unit. This will easily transition into further
lessons. See slide set B.
b. This lecture is comprehensive. It includes ideas and arguments from the earlier
lecture and activities. Students need to put all information together to fully
comprehend lecture.
c. The lecture is also the more complex and abstract, which is why it is last. We
started with easier and more concrete arguments and build on them to create a
comprehensive view of society.
Assessment and Evaluation
1. Dialogue Journals (10 minutes)
a. Precedent that students write in their dialogue journals once or twice a week
during class time. I provide a prompt and respond to entries over the course of the
week.
b. Prompt: Pretend you are a journalist in a progressive new feminist magazine.
Write an advice article for readers who feel trapped by traditional gender roles.
Include your opinions on education, marriage, dating, family structure, and how
they fit into society.
c. By having students write, they must think about what they have learned and form
opinions based on the information. They also have a chance to work on their
writing in a judgment-free environment.
d. When I read through their entries I can see who understood the lesson and what I
might need to review. They also give more insight into my students lives so that I
can further tailor my lessons to fit their needs.
e. Providing personal feedback to students solidifies bonds and lets students know
that I care.