K-4

Oral History
Time Required:
Variable. This can be an overnight project or completed in two or three class periods.
Purpose:
Students will learn a little about their family history
Objectives:
The student will:
Ask a woman in their family about her life and have mom or dad write what she says (2-4 graders can write the story themselves)
Draw a picture of that woman
Share that story with the class
Skills:
Asking learning questions
Relaying learned information to others

Research
Time Required:
Variable. This project could take as little as one night or as much time as you like.
Purpose:
Students will learn to how to use a library and newspaper.
Objectives:
The student will:
(K-1) Cut a picture from the newspaper and have mom or dad read the story.
Come to school and tell about the woman.
(2-4) Check a book out of the library about women's history.
Give a book report about the story.
Skills:
Social skills-talking before the class
Writing-practicing complete sentences

Show-N-Tell
Time Required:
Variable. This project could take as little as one night or as much time as you like.
Purpose:
Students will learn about the women in their family while having fun.
Objectives: The student will:
Collect pictures that represent women in their family (magazines and newspapers are probably best, rather than glueing real pictures). Make a collage of these images. Tell about the collage during class.
Another option to this project is to have the students bring a woman from their family to class to discuss their life.
Skills:
Social skills-talking before the class

5-8

Oral History
Time Required:
One Week. This is a project in which the student should invest some extra time.
Purpose:
Students will learn a little about their family history.
Objectives:
The student will:
Interview a woman in their family (i.e. mother, grandmother, sister, etc.) and record her answers. Students should write their own questions following a guideline and questions could relate to eras discussed in the "A Gathering of Women" exhibit (i.e. Depression, World War II, Baby Boom, etc.)
Interview questions should include:
Date and place of birth, parents occupation, education level, job experience, etc. Older students should incorporate these answers into the overall scheme of women's history and women's place in Arkansas history.
Skills:
Learning interview skills.
Placing people into the context of historical eras.

Research
Time Required:
Three to four weeks.
Purpose:
Students will learn research skills.
Objectives:
The student will:
Pick a specific woman or organization from the web site and research her using 2-4 sources. Magazines, journals, and books are appropriate. Older students should place her in the larger scheme of Arkansas history.
Skills:
Research skills. Organizing information from several sources.

Show-N-Tell
Time Required:
One week.
Purpose:
Continue interview skills.
Objectives:
The student will:
Ask different women from your family about their jobs.
Bring a picture of the women and report to the class about your family.
Compare to other student's family.
The teacher should lead a discussion about typical jobs for women and how women today are trying to break those stereotypes.
Sample questions would include:
How much education a job requires.
Is it a job or career? what is the difference?
Do they have children at home? And how do they balance the demands?
What other jobs has she held?
Skills:
Compiling information.
Comparing and contrasting.

High School

Oral History
Time Required:
Three to four weeks.
Purpose:
Students will learn about women's and Arkansas history.
Objectives:
The student will:
Interview a woman in their family (i.e. mother, grandmother, sister, etc.) and record her answers (videotape if possible).
Students should write their own questions following a guideline and questions relate her life story to topics discussed in the "A Gathering of Women" exhibit and web site (i.e. Depression, World War II, Baby Boom, etc.)
Interview questions should include:
Date and place of birth, parents occupation, education level, job experience, etc.
Students should also ask the interviewee about how women's rights and roles have changed in Arkansas during her lifetime.
Students should incorporate these answers into the overall scheme of women's history and women's place in Arkansas history.
Skills:
Learning interview skills.
Researching and writing interviews.

Short Essay
Time Required:
One Week.
Purpose:
Explore the basics of women's history.
Objectives:
The student will:
Write a short essay (2-3) pages on how they see their mother's life as being different from their grandmothers. They may ask a few questions, but this is not to be an oral history project.
Skills:
Writing short essays in preparation for college.

Group Research Project
Time Required:
All semester. This is a project that should prepare students for the AP exams and college.
Purpose:
Students will explore how society redefined women in different decades of the twentieth century.
Objectives:
The students will:
Work in groups of three or four to explore a particular decade from 1930-2000.
Use both primary and secondary sources to compare changes in that era in Arkansas to national changes.
Use particular women of Arkansas as examples of the changes or how things did not change.
An added exercise would be a debate between groups as to which decade advanced women the most. Ideally, only one group per decade.
Skills:
Practicing research skills. Working in a group.

Individual Research Project
Time Required:
One month.
Purpose:
Students will become familiar with researching on their own and using newspaper collections.
Objectives:
The students will:
Chose a woman from Arkansas history, i.e. Daisy Bates, Hattie Caraway, Blanche Lincon, etc.
Follow newspaper coverage (two papers) of her story for three weeks.
Write a short paper on the news story, comparing and contrasting how different papers covered the story.
Skills:
Practicing research skills.