Women on the Move

Grades 7-12

Lesson Plan Overview: The history of Route 66 is inextricably linked with the rise of automotive travel. While the image of the car was often associated with men, driving represented new opportunities for women to travel, pursue careers, start businesses, and assert their independence. In this lesson, students will use video clips from the documentary, Route 66: The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road, primary sources, and secondary sources to explore the histories of women who were impacted by Route 66. The lesson also includes two assessment options: a creative writing assignment and a pop-up museum. While the stories featured in the lesson only begin to tell the stories of women drivers, artists, and entrepreneurs in the 20th Century, they can provide a jumping off point for rich discussions about women’s mobility and the obstacles that still stand in the way for gender equity.

All materials available in Google Drive and PDF formats.

MATERIALS

  1. Slide Deck with lesson activities and video clips embedded

  2. Graphic organizers for video clips: 

    Early Women Drivers

    Female Business Owners

    Traveling Route 66

  3. Primary Source Analysis

  4. Reading: Women on the Move 

  5. Worksheet: ¡Get your Kicks on Route 66!

  6. Creative writing assignment: Letters from Route 66 

  7. Group project: Pop-Up Museum

  8. Optional: Graphic Organizer for all video clips

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Learn more about the history of the route and the stories in the documentary at the website, Route66Women.

Websites with information about the history of Route 66:

A number of states have information related to the Route in their state: 

ALIGNMENT WITH STANDARDS

ELA Common Core Standards: 

  • SL.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

  • SL.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

  • SL.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

  • SL.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

  • W.9-10.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

  • W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

  • W.9-10..5: Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

  • L.9-10.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

C3 Social Studies Standards:

  • D2.His.14.6-8. - Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.

  • D2.His.3.9-12: Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context. 

  • D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

  • D4.6.9-12. Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place