Links to Curriculum Outcomes

Girl Power

Overview

In this unit students will explore the role of women and their empowerment from Confederation until 1920, and compare that to the role and empowerment of women in today’s society through their own experiences, media, and music.

Links to Curriculum Outcomes

Students will (be expected to)

·  explain how women became more empowered through their role in the social reform movements of the late 19th and early 20th century (social studies)

·  portray an understanding of the extent of empowerment of individuals, groups, and the nation up to 1920 (social studies)

·  examine the role and the influence of visual images in their daily lives, including mass media and popular culture (visual arts)

·  examine the roles that music plays in local and global communities (music)

·  use the cueing systems and a variety of strategies to construct meaning in reading and viewing increasingly complex print and media texts (language arts)

Links to Telling Stories: Themes / Key Words

·  Women

·  Empowerment

Art Work(s)

·  Miss Marion Taylor 1886-87, Robert Harris, CAG H-139

·  Portrait of Ellinor Morris, Robert Harris, CAG H-2100

·  Portrait of Mrs. Cooke, Robert Harris, CAG H-2237

·  Mrs. W.C. Harris Replica, Robert Harris, CAG H-270

·  Mrs. W.C. Harris, Robert Harris, CAG H-272

·  Rita Teppler, Robert Harris, CAG H-274

·  Portrait of a Young Woman With Flowers on Fichu, Robert Harris,

CAG H-7

·  Margaret Ellin Harris Cotton, Robert Harris, CAG H-81

·  Portraits, Robert Harris, CAG H-8262

·  Portrait of Mrs. Joseph Reitmeyer, Robert Harris, CAG H-85

Lesson#1: Ladies of the Past

Objective Students will investigate the role of women from Confederation up to 1920 and examine the ways in which women were empowered. They will make a comparison to women in today’s society.

Materials

·  pen

·  journal

·  computers

Activities

1.  Display the portraits by Robert Harris. As a whole group, study each piece individually. Consider the following questions to guide discussion:

·  Who is this woman?

·  How old is she?

·  What kind of education does she have?

·  What does she do for a living?

·  Is she married?

·  Does she have children? How many?

·  Why did Harris paint her?

·  What is she wearing?

·  Does she have any jewellery on?

·  What would a day in the life of this woman be like?

2.  Explain that the painter of these portraits, Robert Harris, lived from 1849 to 1919. Thus all of these portraits were painted prior to 1920.

3. Discuss the role of women in the family and in society prior to 1920 and ways in which these women were empowered. Discuss what these women probably accomplished in a day – from when they woke early in the morning to when they went to bed that night.

·  How does that differ from an average woman’s day in today’s society?

·  What are the most drastic changes?

·  What aspects have remained the same?

4.  Discuss what women can / would do now that they couldn’t / wouldn’t do then.

5.  Discuss the social reform movements that have changed women’s roles in society over the years.

6. Have students make a journal entry about their thoughts on the role and empowerment of women. Encourage them to reflect on the role of women in the late 19th and early 20th century as compared to that of today’s society.

Computer Option

·  Students might work in groups to research the social reform movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries – on the internet using a keyword search, or in reference books in the school library.

Lesson #2: Media Awareness

Objective Students will develop an awareness of how women are portrayed and represented in the media.

Materials

·  pre-recorded television commercials

·  variety of magazines

·  pencil

·  paper

Activities

1.  Choose a selection of 3-4 of Harris’ portraits to review with the class. Discuss how the women are represented or portrayed. What adjectives could you use to describe them? Make a list on the board of the adjectives suggested by the students.

2.  Show a selection of television commercials. Replay the commercials a second time, stopping after each one. Discuss how women are portrayed and represented in each commercial. Consider what product each commercial is promoting. Consider the audience the commercial is targeting. Is the commercial realistic? Effective? What adjectives could you use to describe the women in the commercials? Create a second list on the board of the adjectives used to describe the women in the commercials.

3.  Now, look at some magazine advertisements with the class. Students might work in groups of 4-5 to discuss the magazine advertisements, using the same questions as used for the television commercials. Rotate the magazines or magazine advertisements from group to group so that all of the groups see and discuss the same advertisements.

4.  Reunite the groups for the last 5 minutes of the class. Compare the adjectives used to discuss the women in Harris’ portraits to the adjectives used to describe the women in the commercials and advertisements.

·  Are there any common adjectives?

·  How are the lists different?

·  Discuss how women are portrayed and represented in general in the media.

Ideas for Assessment

Have the students choose a commercial or advertisement that they disliked, disagreed with, or thought was ineffective, and invite them to create an alternative idea for the commercial or advertisement. What would they do differently? How would this change the effectiveness?

Lesson#3: Ladies, Lyrics and Videos

Objective Students will take a critical look at song lyrics and music videos of society’s pop culture icons.

Materials

·  pen

·  journal

·  pre-recorded music videos

·  lyrics for 2-3 songs

Activities

1.  Remind students of the lists of adjectives created in Lesson #2 to describe Harris’ subjects and the women in the commercials and magazines. Explain that students are going to make a third list of adjectives – one to describe women in lyrics and music videos.

2.  Play a selection of 2-3 pre-recorded music videos. Discuss how women are portrayed and represented in each of the videos.

·  Have students suggest adjectives they could use to describe the women in the videos.

·  Are the music videos portraying an accurate representation of women?

·  How do these music videos affect their audience?

·  Are these music videos seen all over the country? The continent? The world?

·  What role does music play in other parts of the world? In Afghanistan, Japan, or India – does music have the same role and power as it does in our society?

3.  Examine the lyrics for 2-3 popular songs. Read through the song lyrics together.

·  Did students realize what was being said in the lyrics?

·  Are they surprised by the lyrics?

·  How do the song lyrics portray women?

·  What adjectives, if any, are used in the song to describe women?

4.  Add these to the music video list on the board.

5.  Compare this list with the lists created previously. Any similarities? Using which of the three lists of adjectives would the students in the class like to be described? What is suggested about our society and how women are portrayed and represented in the media and pop culture?

Ideas for Assessment

Have students make a journal entry reflecting on how women are portrayed in music videos and in song lyrics. Students might write about what they learned from this activity and how they will view music videos or listen to songs from now on.

Lesson #4: Women of the World

Objective In this lesson students will compare the role of women in Canadian society to the role of women in societies around the world.

Materials

·  computers

·  pen

·  paper

Activities

1.  Ask the students if they have ever visited, or seen on television or film, another country where women have a different role in society than they do here in Canada. If so, where was this? How was the woman’s role different?

2.  Organize students in groups of two and assign one of the following countries to each group. Students will research their assigned country to learn about how women are treated, what the role of the woman is in the family and in society, and then compare that to the role of women in Canadian societies.

·  Japan

·  Afghanistan

·  India

·  Australia

·  Russia

·  Haiti

·  Ethiopia

·  Guinea

·  Algeria

·  South Africa

·  Saudi Arabia

·  Ukraine

·  Taiwan

·  Sierra Leone

·  Iran

3.  Students might share their findings with the class or with other small groups before the end of the period.

Bringing it all Together / Wrapping up the Learning

Students might research women who have advanced the status of women, improved human rights for women, or empowered other women in some way. You might have the students research one of these women and celebrate their subject by teaching their classmates about her accomplishments during a Women as Heroes day.