Subject: History, Social Studies
Lesson Length: 35 - 40 mins
Topic: World War II and Women’s Identity
Brief Description: Students will recognize and understand the impact women had on the developing identity of the United States as it emerged from WWII as a World Leader.
Know Before You Start: Students should have a good understanding of the daily life of women pre-World War II.
Hook: Introduce Rosie the Riveter, her origins, and what she represents. Explore the purpose of using Rosie the Riveter in propaganda.
Activity:
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Research the different jobs that women were able to do during WWII that were not open to them prior to the war.
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Create a one-panel comic that illustrates a specific role women had during WWII e.g., aircraft industry.
Closure: Share and discuss student comics.
- What did this mean for women in the United States?
- How did their participation in the war effort change the identity of the United States moving forward?
Display student comics digitally or in print.
Differentiation:
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Pre-teach vocabulary.
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Provide background knowledge of women’s rights pre-WWII.
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Allow students to work with a peer model.
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Provide sentence starters when necessary.
Resources:
- Comic to print or display: Comic.
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Students can work in groups, pairs, or by themselves.
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Teacher can provide a list of jobs that women held ahead of time for students to select from.
Suggested Content Packs:
World War II
The Laboratory
Suggested Story Starters:
