Writing-Girls & Success
Title: Girls Mean Business
Description: Encouraging girls
to move forward in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology is
targeted in this lesson that serves as an introduction to a unit on this
theme. Telecommunications is featured in this lesson.
Hardware and Software: Computer,
telecommunications
Other Needs: Telecommunications
addresses of several contacts who have agreed to help the girls with this
project. It is important to ask the contacts for permission to use their
addresses for this project.
Time Required: One 45-50 minute
period
Objectives:
- To provide motivation for a unit that will encourage
girls to move forward in fields traditionally dominated by men
- To give introduction to/experience with telecommunications
- To encourage teamwork among girls
- To begin information search for women who have been/are
successful in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology
Procedures:
Note: To make this lesson
especially effective, it is best to work as a team with another staff member
or a parent so that the girls and boys may be divided for the lesson. The
boys should work on their own team-building projects with one staff member
while the girls begin "Girls Mean Business".
Ask the girls to name one famous woman in the field of
mathematics, science, or technology. Don't be surprised if they come up
with only one name or none at all. Then request names of men who are known
for these fields. After they make a list of men, ask them why they couldn't
name any or very many women.
Divide the girls into groups and give each group about
5 minutes to come up with a list of suggestions that will help them to
find information on successful women in the fields of mathematics, science,
and technology. Encourage the girls not to limit their thinking to famous
women, but to target women in their own community and in other communities.
Bring the girls back into a large group and work with
them to compile a list of ideas for information gathering. If a group suggests
telecommunications, save that for last and let it lead directly into the
next part of the lesson. If telecommunications is not suggested, bring
up the idea of communications by computer.
Ask the girls how telecommunications would be useful for
locating successful women in these fields and what they might ask these
women. Together with the girls, create a brief message to connections.
Have one girl type in the message, another add the addresses of the contacts,
and another send the message.
Follow-up/Extensions: Work
with the girls as they make use of the suggestions on the list to gather
information on successful women in the target fields. The activities will
probably include: writing letters, making telephone calls, asking parents,
surveying the community, inviting resource people to help, using the library,
etc.
Assign girls to respond to letters/telecommunications, follow-up upon suggestions,
and thank connections for their help.
Future lessons in Girls Mean Business might feature: word
processed letters to selected contacts to be send by traditional mail and
email, data base of successful women, newsletter on ideas for helping girls
move forward in these fields, a computer presentation or HyperCard stack
on "Girls mean Business;" a live presentation for parents and
community members; computer-created graphs of findings, etc.
Adaptations: You may want
to work with the girls to find web sites that are approprite for this topic.
Lesson Plan Disclaimer
