Kindergarden Multicultural Curriculum Lesson Plan - The School ...

Women’s Studies Curriculum – Fourth Grade Language Arts Lesson Plan
Women’s Sports and Lisa Leslie
Content/Theme: Women in Sports
Grade: 4
Literature Connections:
“Women’s Sports and Lisa Leslie” [attached]
Macmillan Series textbook - Unit 2 – “Women Pick up the Ball” by Jenny Hill (p.151)
Macmillan Series textbook – Unit 2 – “Mighty Jackie the Strikeout Queen” by Marissa Moss
(p.152)
Benchmark:
LA.4.1.7.3 The student will determine explicit ideas and information in grade-level text,
including but not limited to main idea, relevant supporting details, implied
message, inferences, chronological order of events, summarizing, and
paraphrasing.
Time: 1-2 class periods
Objectives:
• Students will understand about the overall disparity of attention and salaries in
women’s sports.
• The students will learn about the contribution of Lisa Leslie to basketball and the
National Olympic Team.
• The students will be able to distinguish between fact and opinion.
Teacher Preparation/Materials:
• Multicultural Information
• Student Handout/Transparency
Activities:
1. Read “Women Pick up the Ball” and “Mighty Jackie the Strikeout Queen”, located
in the Macmillan Series textbook and follow the before, during, and after reading
activities.
2. Ask students if they could name any famous men athletes. Chart their responses on
the board with the sport they play next to the name. Now ask students if they could
name any female professional athletes – chart these responses as well.

3. Add Lisa Leslie to the chart of women athletes and tell students that today you will
be learning about her. Ask students why they think they listed more male athletes
than female. Get students to realize that male sports, in general, are given more
media attention by asking if they see more men’s sports on TV or more women’s
sports on TV. Ask students if they could guess about the salary of one of the male
athletes listed and ask about the salary of Lisa Leslie, WNBA basketball star. Tell
students their salaries are not the same. Ask students if they think their salaries
should be the same if they have the same job.
4. Tell students that there was a time where women’s professional sports did not exist.
Very slowly, over the years, professional women’s teams have been created. There
are professional basketball and soccer teams, but not baseball. Tell students that
they are going to read about some differences between men’s and women’s sports
and find out about one famous woman basketball star, Lisa Leslie.
5. Use “Women’s sports and Lisa Leslie” as a handout or transparency for guided
reading purposes, or have students pair for reading and answer the questions
together. Review information about Lisa Leslie with the students. Have students
conduct fact and opinion activity in pairs. (Teacher may want to review fact and
opinion with students before activity.) Answers to quiz: 1. b 2. c 3. c 4.
Answers vary
6. Tell students to look in the newspaper (sports section) for articles about the WNBA
or about any female athletes. Have students share their article with the class.
7. Take students on a virtual tour of the biography of Lisa Leslie (use the internet with
the projector or media cart) by going to:
http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/lisa_leslie/bio.html and
ESOL Strategies: Read Aloud, Guided Reading, and Visuals
Review of Lesson and Assessment:
• Student participation, student work
Resources:
http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/lisa_leslie/bio.html

Multicultural Information:
It used to be people thought sports for girls was “un-lady-like.” People also thought
that girls weren’t strong enough to compete. But as women began to voice their opinions,
attitudes began to change. Then in 1972, the United States created a statute, a law, called Title
IX, making schools offer equal opportunity for girls in sports. It has taken many years, but now
professional women’s teams in basketball and soccer have been created.
Over the years, women have progressed in sports. Today, you can find women in every
sport, including basketball, soccer and even football. Unfortunately, professional female
athletes have not yet received the same dues as male athletes. The lack of media coverage
(television and newspapers) can be to blame. In sports sections of newspapers, females do not
get nearly as many headlines as males, unless it is a big event such as the U.S. Open. More
deeply, this discrimination runs in salaries. In addition, male athletics get paid more than
females. This may be due to the lower ratings female leagues get. It could be that male leagues
get more ratings and larger audiences so they get paid a lot more. At the same time, it’s much
easier to find NBA and NFL games on network television and harder to find professional
female sports. WNBA salaries range from $25, 000 to $65, 000, which is only a small fraction
of the million dollar salaries of many NBA players.
Lisa Leslie is one of these female WNBA athletes. She has been in the league since
1997. Lisa began her professional career playing for the Los Angles Sparks, and is still with
them as of the 2004 season. Before playing professionally, she played for her college and high
school. She has also been chosen to play for the United States Women’s National Team for the
Olympics in 1996 and 2000, where the teams won the gold medal each time. She has various
awards and highlights in her career such as, all-time leading scorer in 2002, and the first
WNBA player to slam-dunk in a game during a game against the Miami Sol in July of 2002.
Personally, Lisa has tried to put herself in the media as much as possible by modeling, and
staring in popular sitcoms like Moesha and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? When asked who
is her role model, Lisa says her mother. Lisa has proven that women can be strong and
successful in a male dominated sport, and she hopes more women will participate and be

treated equally in sports in the future. When she is finished playing basketball, she hopes to
continue in the sport by broadcasting.
NAME________________________________________________________________
Women’s Sports and Lisa Leslie

People used to think that women could not play sports as well as men. It was
very hard for women to train to be an athlete in high school and college. People were
too interested in the men’s teams. Back then, it was very hard for women’s
professional teams to get started. But, women began to speak up. They wanted to be
equal in sports. In 1972, the United States created a statute, a law, called Title IX,
making schools offer equal chances for girls in sports. It has taken many years, but
now professional women’s teams in sports have been created.
Today, you can find women in every sport, including basketball, soccer, and
even football. But many professional female athletes have not received equal
treatment like professional male athletes. Most male athletes get paid more than
female athletes in the same sport. This may be because more people watch male
sports than female sports. But, female athletes hope this changes in the future. For
example, in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) most of the
women make about $25, 000 to $75, 000, and in the men’s NBA, some of the men
can make millions of dollars.
Lisa Leslie is a WNBA athlete. She has been in the league since it was
created in 1997. Lisa began her professional career playing for the Los Angles
Sparks. She has been loyal to the Sparks as of the 2004 season. Before playing
professionally, she played for her college and high school. She has also been chosen
to play for the United States Women’s National Team for the Olympics in 1996 and
2000. Both times these teams won the gold medal for the United States. Lisa has
various awards and highlights in her career such as: all-time leading scorer in 2002,
and the first WNBA player to slam-dunk in a game during a game against the Miami
Sol in July of 2002. Lisa is one of the best players in the league.
Personally, Lisa loves to be in the media. She is also a great model. Lisa has
even starred in popular sitcoms like Moesha and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
When asked who is her role model, Lisa says her mother. Lisa believes that women
can be strong and successful, just like men, in sports. She hopes more girls and
women will participate and be treated equally in sports in the future. When she is
finished playing basketball, she hopes to continue in the sport by broadcasting.
NAME________________________________________________________________

QUIZ
WOMEN’S SPORTS AND LISA LESLIE
Directions: After reading the passage, circle the best answer to the following questions:
1. Which of the following changed the way schools treated girls in sports:
a. more newspapers reported girls sports b. a law, Title IX was created
c. girls sports were on the television d. girls stopped playing sports
2. Which of the following is evidence that women are not treated the same as men in
professional sports:
a. Women are not allowed to play in professional sports.
b. Women are not given contracts for commercials.
c. Women are not paid the same as men in professional sports.
d. Women’s teams do not have nice uniforms like the men’s teams.
3. When was the WNBA created?
a. 2002 b. 1996
c. 1997 d. 1970
4. List three FACTS and three OPINIONS that you found about Lisa Leslie in the passage:
FACTS
OPINIONS