TP-14.4

www.teachwire.net | 75 answer, and open questions, which will give us more information. Which questions might be better and why? You’ll want to model some examples, so the children feel confident with generating their own questions. Furthermore, doing this in mixed ability pairs will feel supportive for children who might find this more challenging. Ask each pair to come up with two questions, then take feedback from the class. Are there any duplicates? How can we select our best five or six questions as a class? Ensure there are questions about why women were excluded from marathons and how they felt about it. Once you’ve clarified who will ask which questions, use drama or hot-seating to interview Kathrine. Play the role of Kathrine yourself or ask a confident child or another adult to do it. 3 | SPEECH WRITING Download our pre-prepared letter from the Association of International Marathons at teachwire.net/teaching- resources/gender-equality and show it to the children after the drama, explaining that they have been invited to argue the case for why women should be able to participate in marathons at their next meeting. Model writing a short persuasive speech that gives reasons for the argument. Help the children understand that to structure their work they will need an opening statement such as ‘We have come here today to argue that…’ and a concluding statement such as ‘and that’s why we believe…’. Asking the children to work in threes and providing some sentences starters will be a helpful scaffold for those who might find the activity challenging. Once pupils have completed their speech, ask them to practise reading it aloud, modelling how to use pacing and intonation to emphasise their argument. When the children are ready, set up a drama where they present their case to the head of the Association of International Marathons. Inject some fun by asking your headteacher to play this role, if possible. Abby King has worked in KS1 and 2 and is a class teacher at St John’s CE Primary in Birmingham. “The sense of injustice in Kathrine’s story will be highly motivating for the children” l Watch the rest of the video to find out what Kathrine Switzer did after competing in the marathon. Ask the children to create a presentation about her life and work, focusing on how she used her fame to help other women. l Imagine you are going to present Kathrine Switzer with an award for all her work in women’s sports. Ask the children to design and create the award and explain their reasons for why their design would be appropriate to celebrate Kathrine’s achievements. l Read Bill’s New Frock by Anne Fine and help the children explore the issue of gender inequality further. Can they think of any examples of this today? Can they see any of these happening in their school or community? What can they do to help change things? EXTENDING THE LESSON l Have you ever felt like you couldn’t do something just because you were a boy or a girl? l Have you ever seen someone being treated unfairly because of their gender? l Will that question give us lots of information or not? USEFUL QUESTIONS Free online resources Download accompanying resources to help you deliver this lesson from teachwire.net/teaching- resources/gender-equality