1. BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
(5 MINUTES)

Before reading the article, have students watch the video “When Women Took the Field,” clips from a 1940s newsreel showing the South Bend Blue Sox and Racine Belles of the women’s professional baseball league.

2. INDEPENDENT READING
(20 MINUTES)

Have students read the article on their own, writing down any comments or questions.

3. CLOSE-READING QUESTIONS
(10 MINUTES)

Have students write their answers to each question, or use these prompts to guide a discussion.

• ANALYZING DETAILS: What prompted the creation of the first women’s professional baseball league?
  (It was created to keep Americans interested in baseball while many major-league ballplayers were fighting in World War II.)
  
  
• CITING TEXTUAL EVIDENCE: What were some of the rules the female ballplayers had to follow?
  (to act “ladylike,” be accompanied by a team chaperone, wear “feminine attire” at all times, and attend charm school)
  ​
  
• DRAWING CONCLUSIONS: What was a lasting effect of the women’s baseball league?
  ​(It planted the idea of women as professional ballplayers and led to growing acceptance of female athletes in all sports.)

4. TEST COMPREHENSION
Find out how well students understood the article by assigning the skills sheet Know the News—A Whole New Ball Game. Go over the answers as a class.