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I. Introduction
II. Objectives
III. Preparing the Students
IV. Presentation
V. Enrichment and Assessment Activities
VI. Additional Resources
VII. Relevant National Learning Standards
VIII. Planning a Videoconference?
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If your students believe baseball is only for boys,
they should think again. Rich with the history of women
who broke barriers to play the National Pastime, this
thematic unit covers 150 years of striving for equity
and diversity on the diamond. Meet the All-American
Girls Professional Baseball League, as well as the young
ladies of the 19th century who played the game long
before they even had the right to vote. What do skirts
and strawberries, charm school and chaperones have to
do with baseball? Each teaches an important lesson in
the story of gals who gave their all so that boys and
girls can play side-by-side today.
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A. Examine historical facts from various sources, including
museum and library collections, artifacts, primary source
documents, video and film, testimonials and Web sites.
B. Analyze milestones and events in the history of women's
baseball to determine how their achievements led to
a greater appreciation of equal opportunities in our
modern culture.
C. Understand, the challenges women overcame in the
19th and 20th centuries to inspire increasing levels
of confidence, accomplishment and respect in the classroom,
the clubhouse, the kitchen and the corporate arena.
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A. Background
Women have played baseball since the late 1800s, long
before the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 giving
them the right to vote. In 1943, women continued breaking
barriers in sports when the All-American
Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was
formed to keep baseball alive when many major league
players were fighting in World War II. In 1943, Phillip
Wrigley announced formation of the AAGPBL with four
teams from the Midwest. By 1948, the AAGPBL had grown
in popularity to 10 teams and one million fans. From
1943 to 1954, the AAGPBL was comprised of nearly 600
players from the United States, Canada and Cuba. Their
love of the game presented them with new opportunities
for travel, friendships, eventual career choices and
a place in history as having paved the way to new roles
for women in contemporary American society.
B. Vocabulary
Amateur
Artifact
Barnstorming
Barrier
Camaraderie
Chaperone
Charm school
Competitive
Contract
Demeanor
Demise
Disband
Diversity
Equity
Primary source
Professional
Resolute
Rosie the Riveter
Semi-professional
Sidearm
Strawberry
Suffrage
C. Pre-Program Activities
1) Students should research events in women's history
and organize them into three categories: Women in Baseball,
Women Changing Society and Women Breaking Barriers.
Students will decide which events from each category
they feel are the most impressive. Students will then
create three different timelines (one for each category),
inserting the events they have chosen into their timelines.
Timelines could be placed parallel from each other on
banner paper by several groups, or combined into one
large timeline, to be analyzed by the class. Lead a
discussion comparing and contrasting these events, their
significance and place in time. Encourage students to
look for patterns of change, periods of rapid advancement
and possible setbacks for women.
2) Students will each research one of the following
women in baseball history: Amanda Clement, Lizzie Murphy,
Alta Weiss, Edith Houghton, Effa Manley or the Bloomer
Girls. Using this information, they will write a biographical
essay about the player or team. Then they will use the
information to create a booklet of poetry, a diary of
the player, a picture book or a one-act play.
3) Locate the following cities on a map of the United
States: South Bend, Ind.; Rockford, Ill.; Kalamazoo,
Mich.; Racine, Wis.; Chicago, Ill.; Fort Wayne, Ind.;
Springfield, Ill.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Grand Rapids,
Mich.; Peoria, Ill.; Kenosha, Wis.; Milwaukee, Wis.;
Muskegon, Ill.; and Minneapolis, Minn. Using the scale
of the map, determine the distances between each of
these cities according to alphabetical order. Insert
your hometown in the list and determine its distance
from the last city in alphabetical order; find the cities
that are closest to and farthest away from your hometown.
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If you are participating in a school visit or videoconference
please do not review this section with your students.
It will be taught as part of the presentation.
A. Opening
1) Show a photograph of the Vassar College Resolutes,
a women's baseball team that played in the 1870s. Without
disclosing the purpose of the group, ask students to
suggest what kind of club this was. Discuss the dress
and demeanor of the women in the photo. Ask them to
guess when the photo was taken. Compare and contrast
the uniforms of the players and their inferred style
of play with those of baseball players today.
2) Discuss the team's name, the "Resolutes."
Why that name? What does it mean? Explain Vassar College
was a women's-only liberal arts college founded in 1861.
3) Introduce other women who played baseball at the
turn of the century - such as Amanda Clement, Lizzie
Murphy, Alta Weiss and Effa Manley - and explore with
students how their careers coincided with other milestones
in women's history, such as the suffrage movement and
passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, giving women
the right to vote. Engage students by asking them to
contribute what they know about these individuals and
events through research they've done.
B. Lesson
1) The advent of World War II provided opportunity for
women to assume some roles previously held by men, who
now left home to serve in the armed forces. Stories
of "Rosie the Riveter" depict images of women
working in stateside factories to support the war effort
overseas. Ask students how these new roles for women
changed American culture and society.
2) Discuss that many young women were presented with
new choices. Some elected to stay home and raise their
children; others chose to pursue various careers outside
the home. Discuss how World War II slowly opened the
door to newfound opportunities and decisions for women.
3) At the same time, many major league baseball players
left to serve in the military. Some of these included
Joe DiMaggio, Bob Feller and Hank Greenberg. Discuss
with students why the departure of these star players
caused concern among baseball team owners. What were
the implications of the war and its impact on major
league baseball? INSTRUCTOR NOTE: Refer to copy of President
Roosevelt's "Green Light" letter urging continuation
of baseball in spite of the war.
4) Ask students of their familiarity with Phillip Wrigley,
owner of the Chicago Cubs. Enlist creative thinking
to suggest how an owner might have identified ways to
sustain attendance at ballgames. How might a women's
league fit into a war-time marketing plan to prevent
declining attendance?
5) Introduce the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League (AAGPBL), founded by Phillip Wrigley in 1943
as a way of maintaining baseball's popularity during
World War II. Ask students if they are familiar with
the 1992 movie, "A League of Their Own."
6) Encourage students to question the presenter or teacher
about various topics associated with the AAGPBL. This
could be done as a simulated press conference where
the students' queries stem from details provided in
an announcement or news article with basic information
about formation of the league.
7) The presenter should portray or take on the character
of Wrigley, a player or another personality associated
with the league. Answers should be provided as if the
presenter is the character and has first-hand knowledge
of the league's history.
8) Use the simulated press conference to explore several
themes, such as breaking barriers (e.g. the popularity
of a women's league in a male dominated sport), life
in the league (e.g. geographic location of teams, salaries,
charm school and rules), style of play (e.g. skirted
uniforms, underhand to overhand pitching), teamwork
and camaraderie (host families, fan support, bus travel,
chaperones).
C. Conclusion
1) When the "press conference" concludes,
the "character" should step aside then re-enter
the scene as the presenter.
2) Explain that the AAGPBL ended play in 1954 when the
league disbanded. Ask students to speculate how the
women players might have felt about the demise of the
league. Encourage them to discuss various factors that
led to the downfall of the league (e.g. advent of television,
end of the War, improved quality of major league baseball,
declining attendance at AAGPBL games).
3) Discuss with students how the AAGPBL provided new
opportunities these young women might not have experienced
otherwise. What were some of these choices (e.g. careers,
returning home to raise a family, attending college,
continued involvement in athletics)?
4) Encourage students to list current examples of successful
women athletes. Point out that women recently played
professional baseball in competitive leagues, the most
recent example being the Colorado Silver Bullets that
played in the late 1990s.
5) Discuss how the AAGPBL helped pave the way for the
involvement of women in sports today.
If you are participating in a school visit or videoconference
please do not review this section with your students.
It will be taught as part of the presentation.
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A. Students will brainstorm as individuals or in groups
about items necessary for team travel. From this brainstorming
activity, students will list items, prioritize them
and defend their choices. As they make their selections,
keep in mind the relatively small size of suitcases
at that time. This information will be used to write
an essay describing what they will take with them. Follow
up activity: discuss with students how their choices
and options as to what to take would be different today
than in the 1940s and '50s.
B. To stimulate learning about travel and geography,
students can construct a suitcase resembling those carried
by players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League. To do so, students must exhibit teamwork, problem-solving
and critical thinking skills. Organize students into
groups of three to construct their own traveling suitcase.
When finished constructing the suitcase, students should
decorate it with travel decals just as the AAGPBL players
might have done after visiting new cities. These decorations
may either be hand drawn or computer generated. One
of the stickers should be the AAGPBL logo. In decorating
the suitcase, students may want to research an Internet
site to find reproductions of actual luggage stickers.
Print some of these from
the Internet and apply them to the suitcase. Study any
and all of the labels online to find only those from
cities or modes of transportation that could actually
have been frequented by players in the AAGPBL from 1943
to 1954. Each group should explain the various stickers
and artwork it selected to decorate the suitcase. Have
students talk about the cities and modes of transportation
represented in the labels and how these may have figured
into the economics and geographic history of the AAGPBL.
C. Encourage students to bring items from home to fill
the suitcase. These should be things similar to those
actually carried by the women when they traveled from
city to city (e.g. a uniform, baseball glove, leisure
clothes, toiletries, reading material, etc.). Ask students
to explain the items they chose to fill the suitcase.
Their explanation should include the rationale for why
these objects would be important to a traveling ballplayer.
This could be done as a writing assignment and/or a
group presentation to the class.
D. Encourage students to imagine they are the newly
appointed board of directors for a fictional women's
baseball team. Their task is to create a team identity
that reflects the pride and history of their local municipality.
To begin the lesson, students should discuss as a class
what makes their community or region unique. This discussion
should consider representative names, mascots, colors
and symbols of local industry or regional history. Following
discussion, the students develop an inventory sheet
of these elements, and reach consensus on the name,
mascot and uniform colors of the women's team. One class
period should be allowed for the group discussion. Have
students cut-out a 29"l x 12"w isosceles triangle
out of material selected by the group. Newsprint paper
is recommended. Have the students mock-up a pennant
with their selected inventory items. Have students transfer
their pennant elements to poster board for their final
design. Once the students have completed their final
design, then laminate the pennant. (optional) Have students
attach four tassels to the pennant.
E. Students may work individually or in groups of two.
Each student should be given a copy of the document
"Changes in the AAGPBL from 1943 - 1954".
Using the information in the table, students should
calculate the distance the catcher would have thrown
from home plate to second base. They should also find
the total distance a player would run, if she hit a
homerun. (You will probably want them to round their
answer, possibly to the nearest hundredth.) Each student
or group of two could either calculate this information
for all changes in base path length or, if this lesson
is done in conjunction with the "Play Ball"
lesson, only for the time period during which the size
baseball that they were assigned is being used.
F. Students will build models of different sized spheres,
given the circumferences. These models will represent
the six different sized balls that were used by the
AAGPBL from 1943 - 1954. They will calculate the radius
and diameter of each sphere. If appropriate to the class,
they could also compare the volumes of the spheres.
Upon completion, students will design a method of displaying
their sphere(s), listing all of the pertinent information,
such as the year(s) that size ball was used by the AAGPBL,
the circumference, radius, diameter, etc.
G. Students will each research one player of the AAGPBL.
Using this information, they will write a biographical
essay about the player. Then they will use the information
to create a booklet of poetry, a dairy of the player,
a picture book, or a one act play. They will also research
one topic connected with "Women in Baseball"
and write an essay.
H. Students should explain, in their own words, Title
IX (of the Educational Amendments of 1972 to the 1964
Civil Rights Act), without error; debate whether or
not Title IX should exist as it is today.
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A. Literature
Adler, David. Mama Played Baseball. Gulliver Books,
2003.
Berlage, Gai Ingham. Women in Baseball: The Forgotten
History. Greenwood Publishers, 1994.
Brown, Patricia I. A League of My Own. McFarland and
Company, 2003.
Corey, Shana. Players in Pigtails. Scholastic, 2003.
Galt, Margot Fortunato. Up to the Plate. Lerner Publications,
1995.
Gregorich, Barbara. Women at Play: The Story of Women
in Baseball Harcourt Brace & Co., 1993.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Girl Wonder. Simon and Schuster,
2003.
Johnson, Susan E. When Women Played Hardball. Seal Press,
1994.
Macy, Sue. A Whole New Ball Game. Puffin Books, 1993.
Madden, W.C. The AAGPBL Record Book. McFarland &
Co., 2000.
Madden, W. C. The Women of the All American Girls Professional
Baseball League - A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland
& Co., 1997.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Baseball
As America. National Geographic Books, 2002.
Rappaport, Doreen and Callan, Lyndall. Dirt On Their
Skirts. Dial Books, 2000.
USA Today, August 28, 2002. "Title IX Meeting Brings
Out Emotion."
B. Web Links
February 2008 interview with Ria Cortesio, the last female umpire in professional baseball
Official site of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Text of Title IX
Official site of the American Women's Baseball League
Information on the History of Women in Baseball
Information on Women's Sports and Title IX
Rosie the Riveter Trust
C. Multi-Media Gallery
Photo of
Vassar College Resolutes
Photo of Colorado
Silver Bullets
Photo of the
AAGPBL logo
Copy of President
Roosevelt's "Green Light" letter
Website devoted to the Colorado Silver Bullets
coloradosilverbullets.org
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A. History
1) Distinguish between past, present, and future time.
2) Interpret data presented in time lines and create
time lines by designating appropriate equidistant intervals
of time and recording events according to the temporal
order in which they occurred.
3) Reconstruct patterns of historical succession and
duration in which historical developments have unfolded,
and apply them to explain historical continuity and
change.
4) Hypothesize the influence of the past, including
both the limitations and the opportunities made possible
by past decisions.
5) Formulate historical questions from encounters with
historical documents, eyewitness accounts, letters,
diaries, artifacts, photos, historical sites, art, architecture
and other records from the past.
6) Obtain historical data from a variety of sources,
including: library and museum collections, historic
sites, historical photos, journals, diaries, eyewitness
accounts, newspapers and the like; documentary films,
oral testimony from living witnesses, censuses, tax
records, city directories, statistical compilations
and economic indicators.
7) Identify the gaps in the available records and marshal
contextual knowledge and perspectives of the time and
place in order to elaborate imaginatively upon the evidence,
fill in the gaps deductively and construct a sound historical
interpretation.
8) Identify the author or source of the historical document
or narrative and assess its credibility.
9) Identify the central question(s) the historical narrative
addresses and the purpose, perspective or point of view
from which it has been constructed.
10) Appreciate historical perspectives-(a) describing
the past on its own terms, through the eyes and experiences
of those who were there, as revealed through their literature,
diaries, letters, debates, arts, artifacts and the like;
(b) considering the historical context in which the
event unfolded-the values, outlook, options and contingencies
of that time and place; and (c) avoiding "present-mindedness,"
judging the past solely in terms of present-day norms
and values.
11) Draw upon data in historical maps in order to obtain
or clarify information on the geographic setting in
which the historical event occurred, its relative and
absolute location, the distances and directions involved,
the natural and manmade features of the place and critical
relationships in the spatial distributions of those
features and historical event occurring there.
12) Draw upon visual, literary and musical sources including:
(a) photographs, paintings, cartoons and architectural
drawings; (b) novels, poetry and plays; and (c) folk,
popular and classical music, to clarify, illustrate
or elaborate upon information presented in the historical
narrative.
13) Identify issues and problems in the past and analyze
the interests, values, perspectives and points of view
of those involved in the situation.
14) Evaluate the implementation of a decision by analyzing
the interests it served; estimating the position, power
and priority of each player involved; assessing the
ethical dimensions of the decision and evaluating its
costs and benefits from a variety of perspectives.
15) Investigate new forms of popular culture and leisure
activities at different levels of American society.
16) Analyze how the emergence of the "New Woman"
challenged Victorian values.
17) Specify and evaluate the extension of secondary
education to new segments of American society.
18) Assess how increased leisure time promoted the growth
of professional sports, amusement parks and national
parks.
19) Analyze the effects of World War II on gender roles
and the American family.
20) Explore the range of women's organizations, the
changing goals of the women's movement and the issues
currently dividing women.
21) Understand the extent and impact of economic reconversion
and its effects on the economy.
22) Explain the reasons for the "return to domesticity"
and how it affected family life and women's careers.
23) Understand the women's movement for civil rights
and equal opportunity.
B. Language Arts
1) Students read a wide range of print and non-print
texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves
and of the cultures of the United States and the world;
to acquire new information; to respond to the needs
and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal
fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction,
classic and contemporary works.
2) Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend,
interpret, evaluate and appreciate texts. They draw
on their previous experience, their interactions with
other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning
and of other texts, their word identification strategies
and their understanding of other textual features (e.g.,
sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context,
graphics).
3) Students adjust their use of spoken, written and
visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary)
to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences
and for different purposes.
4) Students employ a wide range of strategies as they
write and use different writing process elements appropriately
to communicate with different audiences for a variety
of purposes.
5) Students apply knowledge of language structure, language
conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media
techniques, figurative language and genre to create,
critique and discuss print and non-print texts.
6) Students conduct research on issues and interests
by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems.
They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety
of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts,
people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that
suit their purpose and audience.
7) Students use a variety of technological and information
resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks,
video) to gather and synthesize information and to create
and communicate knowledge.
8) Students develop an understanding of and respect
for diversity in language use, patterns and dialects
across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions and
social roles.
9) Students use spoken, written and visual language
to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning,
enjoyment, persuasion and the exchange of information).
C. Math
1) Analyze characteristics and properties of two- and
three-dimensional geometric shapes and develop mathematical
arguments about geometric relationships.
2) Precisely describe, classify and understand relationships
among types of two- and three-dimensional objects using
their defining properties.
3) Create and critique inductive and deductive arguments
concerning geometric ideas and relationships, such as
congruence, similarity and the Pythagorean relationship.
4) Use visualization, spatial reasoning and geometric
modeling to solve problems.
5) Draw geometric objects with specified properties,
such as side lengths or angle measures.
6) Use geometric models to represent and explain numerical
and algebraic relationships.
7) Recognize and apply geometric ideas and relationships
in areas outside the mathematics classroom, such as
art, science and everyday life.
8) Apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas
to determine measurements.
9) Use common benchmarks to select appropriate methods
for estimating measurements.
10) Select and apply techniques and tools to accurately
find length, area, volume and angle measures to appropriate
levels of precision.
11) Select appropriate methods and tools for computing
with fractions and decimals from among mental computation,
estimation, calculators or computers, and paper and
pencil, depending on the situation, and apply the selected
methods.
12) Develop, analyze and explain methods for solving
problems involving proportions, such as scaling and
finding equivalent ratios.
13) Build new mathematical knowledge through problem
solving.
14) Recognize and apply mathematics in contexts outside
of mathematics.
15) Select, apply, and translate among mathematical
representations to solve problems.
D. Economics
1) Understand like individuals, governments and societies
experience scarcity because human wants exceed what
can be made from all available resources.
2) Understand choices involve trading off the expected
value of one opportunity against the expected value
of its best alternative.
3) Understand the choices people make have both present
and future consequences.
4) Understand the evaluation of choices and opportunity
costs is subjective; such evaluations differ across
individuals and societies.
5) Understand incentives can be monetary or non-monetary.
6) Understand people's incomes, in part, reflect choices
they have made about education, training, skill development,
and careers. People with few skills are more likely
to be poor.
7) Understand entrepreneurs compare the expected benefits
of entering a new enterprise with the expected costs.
8) Can read short biographies of various entrepreneurs
and identify the risks each entrepreneur faced and the
entrepreneur's incentive(s) for accepting the risk.
E. Geography
1) Understand how to use maps and other geographic representations,
tools, and technologies to acquire, process and report
information from a spatial perspective.
F. Technology
1) Students use technology tools to enhance learning,
increase productivity and promote creativity.
2) Students use productivity tools to collaborate in
constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications
and produce other creative works.
3) Students use telecommunications to collaborate, publish
and interact with peers, experts and other audiences.
4) Students use technology to locate, evaluate and collect
information from a variety of sources.
5) Students evaluate and select new information resources
and technological innovations based on the appropriateness
for specific tasks.
G. Visual Arts
1) Students integrate visual, spatial and temporal concepts
with content to communicate intended meaning in their
artworks.
2) Students use subjects, themes and symbols that demonstrate
knowledge of contexts, values and aesthetics that communicate
in tended meaning in artworks.
3) Students analyze, describe and demonstrate how factors
of time and place (such as climate, resources, ideas
and technology) influence visual characteristics that
give meaning and value to a work of art.
4) Students compare multiple purposes for creating works
of art.
H. Physical Education
1) Demonstrates understanding and respect for differences
among people in physical activity settings.
2) Understands that physical activity provides opportunities
for enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and social
interaction.
A. Videoconference
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Women's
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