A Glimpse Into the Lives Of Ontario Women: The Working Women Of World War II

Grade 10 - History – Canadian History Since World War I (CHC 2D)

Overview

This lesson requires students to use a number of skills, including interpretation and analysis, critical thinking, research, and communication. The primary source documents paint a picture of women working and participating in recreational activities in the “Scarboro” Plant during WWII, which was built by the General Engineering Company.

In 1941 the General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited (GECO) built the Scarboro Plant , which was owned by the Government of Canada, make fuses and igniting devices for heavy weapons such as machine guns, artillery pieces, and tank and aircraft weaponry. C.D. Howe, the Minister of the Canadian Department of Munitions and Supply, oversaw operations of the Scarboro Plant.

The President of the Scarboro Plant was Robert McLean Prior Hamilton, who ran the plant with his brother (who was the vice-president) until it was sold ca. 1969.

Description

In the first activity students will be divided into four (4) “home” groups of at least four (4) students per group (if you have a bigger class, create double groups and have each half class do a jigsaw). Students will be given an activity package that is comprised of photos, magazine extracts, and radio broadcast transcripts. Students will then be numbered and sent off to their “expert” groups and be required to answer questions corresponding to their assigned document sets. Once they have completed their own document sets, students will return to their “home” groups, where they will gather information about the rest of the document sets by answering the remaining questions in their activity package.

The second activity requires students to complete “The Women of the Scarboro Plant” assignment. The assignment will be evaluated according to the marking rubric, which reflects the achievement categories in the Ontario curriculum.

Getting Organized

Prior Knowledge Required:
Students should be familiar with the causes of WWII, major European battles, and what was happening on the Home Front – conscription, the economy, the successes and struggles of the Canadian military at home and overseas, and women returning to the workforce.

Students should also have an understanding of how to study primary source documents and how to analyze them. Also, they should be familiar with the APA and MLA formats for citing sources.

Required Time:
3 sessions

Session 1: Teaching and Learning Strategies # 1-3
“Hook”/Mental Set, Review, and Jigsaw Activity (begin the activity)

Session 2: Teaching and Learning Strategies # 3-5
Finish the Jigsaw Activity and debrief, begin assignment

Session 3: Teaching and Learning Strategy # 5
Work on assignment

Planning Notes:
Students may be pre-arranged into groups before the activity is conducted, or the teacher may allow students to choose their own groups in class.

The teacher should, if possible, pre-arrange the classroom so that the desks are organized into groups.

Materials Required for Teacher

• Teacher notes and textbook
• Dictionary
• Cue cards
• Student handouts (activity package; “The Women of the Scarboro Plant” assignment + marking rubric)
• Chalk/white board markers and eraser
• List of pre-arranged student groups (if necessary)

Accommodations/Modifications:
For students who do not have access to a computer with internet access at home, they should be given class time to work on their final copy of the assignment in the school library or computer lab.

Assessment/Evaluation Description:
Students will be formally evaluated on “The Women of the Scarboro Plant” assignment. The assignment will be evaluated according the marking rubric, which reflects the achievement categories in the Ontario curriculum.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Day 1

1. “Hook”/Mental Set
   • Think/Pair/Share: Students should brainstorm with the person beside them and come up with five (5) words/phrases to describe women and their role in society during the 1920s and 1930s (they should keep in mind societal expectations, values, education, work, the home, fashion, etc. when thinking of ideas). Students will write their words/phrases on individual cue cards provided by the teacher. They may use their textbook and notes to help them brainstorm.
   • Small Group Discussion: Student pairs will then group up with two other pairs to form a large group of six (this may vary depending on the class size). Putting their lists together, each group will choose the best five (5) words/phrases that they agree upon.
   • Class Discussion: Each large group will elect a student to write their best five (5) words/phrases on the board. Once the students finish writing, the teacher will then condense the list by eliminating the same or similar words/phrases to complete the class list of ideas. A short discussion should ensue revolving around why students chose these words/phrases to describe women of the 1920s and 1930s. The teacher should remind students to keep these ideas in mind as they move into the next activity.
     
     Keep these words/phrases on the board or written down on a piece of paper for future reference
2. Review (if needed) Have students read the section of their textbook (or provide a reading if there are no textbooks) that describes the wartime situation in Canada, specifically in regards to activities on the Home Front. This is to help set-up the frame of reference for the next activity. If the teacher feels a review is not necessary, they may skip to # 3.

Days 1-2

3. Jigsaw Activity
   
   This should be a student-run activity as much as possible, with little or no interference from the teacher. This activity promotes active engagement and involvement from students, and gives them a strong sense of independence and responsibility. It also allows them to practice their oral communications and listening skills.
   • Students will either be pre-arranged into groups or be allowed to choose their own groups. They should move to their work area as designated by their teacher
   • Option 1: If your class size is under 25 students, you can divide the class into four groups of approximately 5-6 students per group, and assign one package of materials per group. Each group can then designate 1-2 people to present their findings and observations to the class.
   • Option 2: If your class size is more than 25 students, you can divide the class into eight groups of approximately 4-5 students per group, and assign two groups the same package of materials. Each group still works apart from each other, and once they are finished, they combine with the group with the same package of materials (four larger groups are formed) to combine the best of their answers. Each larger group can then designate 1-2 people to present their findings and observations to the class (and still only have four presentations, instead of eight).
4. Jigsaw Activity Debrief
   
   Teacher-led class discussion address any lingering questions from students, what they learned, and how these impressions now differ from the words/phrases they used before they did the activity (see board or piece of paper for the words/phrases that students came up with)

Days 2-3

5. “The Women of the Scarboro Plant”
   
   Assignment Students will begin work on their assignment, which requires them to write a 2-page essay evaluating the question “what story do these documents tell us about the women of the Scarboro Plant?” They will have the remainder of class time to work on their rough draft, but the final copy will have to be completed outside of class time. All instructions are provided on the assignment handout, and the teacher should review the assignment and address questions before students begin working on it.