Students will be able to recall the names and influence of several female athletes. 

Students will be able to identify the effects that these female athletes had on the formation of new female athletic associations.  

Students will be able to understand how female and male athletics are different and why it was a big deal for these athletes to be playing with males. 

Identifying Players (Hook)- 1 min

• Students will be asked to recall the names of several famous male and female athletes. 

• See if there are any trends based on recognition and gender. 

Why do we have separate sports for men and women?- 3 min

• Ask students to evaluate whether or not they think the previous athletes displayed could compete against each other and at the same level. 

• Ask students if they would prefer to have all genders play together. 

Billie Jean King; Source: (Greenspan, “Billie Jean King”)- 5 min

• Ask students if they recognize her from a photo.  

• Fast Facts: 

  • One of the greatest female tennis players of all time. 

  • 1971: First female athlete in any sport to earn more than $100,000 in prize money in a single season ($117,000).

  • 1973: Founded the Women’s Tennis Association.

  • 2003: One of six inaugural inductees into the Court of Fame at the USTA National Tennis Center.

• Battle of the Sexes

  • Ask students if they have heard about this match and if they know the outcome. 

  • Play students a video that recaps the match and what happened between Riggs and King. 

  • https://youtu.be/T9zu7g2fjf0 

• Significance 

  • BJK took on the challenge of playing a male in a tennis match and proved that women can play at a high level. She also showed the strength of herself and other females and their willingness to fight for recognition. BJK played this match in hopes of bringing more attention to the women’s tennis tour, “‘I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match,’ she said later. ‘It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self-esteem’” (Greenspan). 

Mo’ne Davis; Source: (Adams)- 5 min

• Ask students if they recognize her from a photo. 

  • If they recognize, ask students about her significance/impact. 

• Fast Facts: 

  • Female baseball player from Pennsylvania who played on the little league world series team for the Mid-Atlantic team. 

  • Only 20 girls total have participated in the LLWS since its creation. 

  • There is not an alternative for girls who want to play baseball; they have to play with the boys. 

  • “The 13-year-old from Philadelphia made history as the first girl to pitch a winning game at the Baseball World Series. She was the first Little League baseball player ever on the cover of Sports Illustrated and named one of Time Magazine's Most Influential Teens of the year. She won an ESPY in 2015 for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year and was recognized by Michelle Obama and Billie Jean King” (Adams). 

• Mo’ne’s Game 

  • Show students clips of Mo’ne playing and how she was extremely impactful on and off the field. 

  • https://youtu.be/viXkxf7BCB0 

• Significance: 

  • Many girls from home watched Mo’ne and saw her show that it is possible for a girl to succeed in this situation. Mo’ne expresses “she hopes her success in baseball and the success of girls who have played after her will help continue to expand access to the sport for future female Little Leaguers” (Adams). 

  • Since her success there have been two other extremely successful girls to play in the LLWS. 

Babe Zaharias; Source (Bio:LPGA) -5 min 

• Ask students if they recognize her from a photo. 

• Fast Facts: 

  • From a very early age Babe presented herself as a high level athlete, she played many sports and shined in all of them. She has often been called one of the greatest female athletes of all time. 

  • “Her swaggering style and athleticism gave her 41 professional wins, with 10 victories prior to the LPGA’s start in 1950, with 36 professional titles on the LPGA Tour, including 10 major championships. She still holds the LPGA’s record as the player who reached 10 wins, 20 wins and 30 wins the fastest” (Bio: LPGA).  

  • Zaharias played an event on the PGA in which she performed quite well,and was the only woman to make the cut on a PGA tour event.

• Zaharias in Action: 

  • Play a video for students so they could see how athletic Babe was and how she affected the game of golf.

  • https://youtu.be/Uflxq6La5m4   

• Significance: 

  • Zaharias gained recognition for female golfers and her success boosted her ability to help create a legitimate league for women on their own. 

  • Without athletes like Babe leagues for women may have never been created and women would not have the chance to play a sport like golf professionally.

Have you ever played a sport with a member of the opposite gender?; Conclusion- 1 min

• Ask students how their experiences have been playing with someone who was a member of the opposite gender. 

• Ask them if they noticed any extreme differences in play style or intensity.