Go to page
 |
Build vocabulary by finding words related to the lesson concept. |
 |
Listen for sequence. |
Homework Send home this
| Day 1 | How did an adventure by two famous women break tradition? |
| Day 2 | How are Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt different from most other women of their time? |
| Day 3 | Why do you think Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt enjoyed each other's company so much? |
| Day 4 | How were Louise Arner Boyd's adventures like and unlike Amelia Earhart's adventures? |
| Day 5 | Revisit the Day 1 question to wrap up the lesson. |
1. |
When did U.S. companies begin hiring large groups of women to perform jobs men typically did? (during World War II when many men were fighting in the war) Sequence |
|
2. |
What happened to women in the workplace after World War II ended? (Many of them lost their jobs when the men returned home, but they fought to get them back and to get fair wages.) Sequence |
[Not many people know the role Rosie the Riveter played] in helpingOnly 65 years ago, most Americans expected women to stay at home, clean the house, and tend the children. They were supposed to wear skirts and sew. And heaven forbid they should act unfeminine! Things are different now. World War II caused some of the biggest changes. It was one of the bloodiest wars ever. Millions of people died fighting, and even more were wounded. But the fighting was only half the war—the other half happened at home.All across the U.S., men left their jobs to fight. Factories, newspapers, and hospitals were desperate for workers. So they began hiring women.Suddenly, propaganda posters went up everywhere. One said, "Women in the War—We Can't Win Without Them!" Women began doing blatantly "unfeminine" things, like putting together airplanes and reporting for newspapers. They dropped their kids off at daycare, put on their overalls and boots, and went to work—and nobody tried to stop them!More and more women joined the war effort—welding and reporting, typing and nursing. Over six million women got war jobs; African-American, Hispanic, White, and Asian women worked side by side. Rosie helped bridge the gaps between race, class, and gender. Women became part of the military, too. In 1942, Congress established the Women's Army Corps (WAC), where a woman could take the place of a man in a non-combat military job.When the war ended in 1945, the soldiers returned home. People expected women to stop working for pay and be housewives again. Many women lost their jobs. The government quietly put the Rosie posters away.But women didn't forget Rosie. She'd sparked a blaze of independence. Women started wearing pants outside the workplace. They continued to put their kids in daycare. They fought to get their jobs back, and then they fought for fair wages. They fought for equal marriage and education rights—and they won. Because, as Rosie said, "We can do it!"Now, Rosie's a celebrity. People can buy Rosie posters, Rosie t-shirts, Rosie mugs, and Rosie action figures. There's even going to be a Rosie the Riveter National Park in California!Why is Rosie so popular? Because she influenced almost every civil rights movement in the U.S. Now we're on our way to equal rights for EVERYONE. And for that, we can thank the stern-faced, well-muscled, determined woman who stared defiantly out of posters throughout the war—Rosie the Riveter.