TP-14.4

The storyof inspirational sportswomanKathrine Switzer, the first female tocompete inamarathon, forms thebasis for this engaging lesson. Pupilswill discover thatwomenwerenot always allowed to compete insome sports andwill have theopportunity toexplore their ownattitudes togender inequality. Asking the children toparticipate inadrama to persuade theheadof themarathonassociation that womenshouldbe allowed to runwill appeal topupils’ strong senseof justice andmotivate themtoproduce some fantasticoutcomes. 1 | KATHRINE’S STORY Check that pupils understand the concept of a marathon first, then hook their attention by watching a video of the compelling story of Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to compete in one, at tinyurl. com/tpkathrine . Stop the video at the following points to discuss: 1:16 – how did Kathrine’s father encourage her? How do you think this influenced her attitude to running? 1:58 – Kathrine’s coach suggests that women are too weak and fragile to run a marathon. How do you think she felt when she heard that? 4:25 – How do you think Kathrine felt when she got pushed by the race official? Do you think it’s OK to treat someone like that? Stop the video at 5:23 and ask pupils to retell Kathrine’s story and talk about the values she showed, such as courage and perseverance. Explain that this event took place in 1967 and help the children work out how long ago this was. Was it fair that women weren’t allowed to run in the marathon? 2 | HOT-SEATING The sense of injustice in Kathrine’s story will be highly motivating for the children. Introduce the idea of interviewing her and ask the children to generate questions they could ask. Talk about the difference between closed questions, which only have a one-word 74 | www.teachwire.net START HERE MAIN LESSON WHAT THEY’LL LEARN l Consider how gender equality contributes to mutual respect l Explore ideas of gender equality l Ask relevant questions to extend knowledge and understanding l Write for a range of different purposes l Articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions PSHE & English KS 2 LES SON PLAN Prepare for the lesson by downloading our gender and jobs Powerpoint from teachwire. net/teaching- resources/ gender-equality . It shows people who do different jobs, including a female doctor, male nurse, male ballet dancer and female footballer. Before showing the images to the children, read out the profession and ask the children to draw a picture of the person doing this job. Then reveal the image and talk about any differences. Why do we think some jobs are done by men and some are done by women? @abbykingwrites abbykingwrites.com Explore an inspirational sport story Introduce the concept of gender equality by learning about runner Kathrine Switzer, says Abby King