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Role of Women During WWII

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Subject: History, Social Studies

Lesson Length: 35 - 40 mins

Topic: World War II and Women’s Identity

Grade Level: 5

Standards / Framework:

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:

  • Research the different jobs that women were able to do during WWII that were not open to them prior to the war. 

  • 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:

  • Pre-teach vocabulary.

  • Provide background knowledge of women’s rights pre-WWII.

  • Allow students to work with a peer model.

  • Provide sentence starters when necessary.

Resources:

  • Comic to print or display: Comic.

  • Students can work in groups, pairs, or by themselves.

  • Teacher can provide a list of jobs that women held ahead of time for students to select from.

Suggested Content Pack(s):

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