Title: What does it mean to be a woman?

Lesson plan elaborated by: Magdalena Trysińska

Topic:

What does it mean to be a woman? Gender stereotypes.

Target group:

8th‑grade students of an eight‑year primary school.

Core curriculum

I. Literary and cultural education

1. Reading literary works. Student:

1) recognises literary genres: epic, lyric and drama; determines the characteristics of particular types and assigns the work to the appropriate type;

8) defines the aesthetic values of the literary texts being studied;

9) uses in the interpretation of literary works references to universal values related to social, national, religious and ethical attitudes and makes them hierarchy.

2. Receipt of cultural texts. Student:

1) searches for the necessary information in the text and cites relevant parts of journalistic, popular or scientific texts;

2) organises information depending on their function in the message;

4) recognises the differences between the fine literature and scientific literature, popular science, journalism and determines the functions of these types of writing;

6) defines the aesthetic values of the learned cultural texts.

III. Creating statements.

1. Rhetoric items. Student:

6) carry out the inference as part of the argumentative argument;

7) agrees with other people's views or polemicizes with them, substantively justifying their own opinion.

IV. Self‑study. Student:

6) develops skills of independent presentation of the results of his work;

8) develops the ability to think critically and formulate opinions

The general aim of education

The student learns what the stereotypical traits attributed to women and men are and learns to recognise them in the literary text.

Key competences

• communication in the mother tongue;

• communication in foreign languages;

• social and civic competences;

• cultural awareness and expression.

Operational objectives

Student:

• defines a cultural stereotype;

• describes the stereotypical features of a woman;

• combines the stereotypical features of a woman with the stereotypical features of a man;

• reads the message of Wisława Szymborska's poem „Woman's Portrait”;

• recognizes stylistic means in the poem and I can point them;

• determines the character speaking in a row;

• determines the mood of the poem;

• sees the difference between poetic text and popular science text.

Teaching methods / techniques

• problematic: directed conversation, discussion;

• programmed: using a computer and e‑textbook;

• practical: subject exercises, work with poetic text and popular science text.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• collective activity;

• group activity.

Lesson plan overview (Process)

Introduction

1. The teacher defines the purpose of the class, which is a reflection on the stereotypical traits attributed to women. He/she gives students the criteria for success.

2. The teacher informs the students that over the centuries the perception of the category of womanhood and, consequently, the role of women in society have changed. Some of the features of women and men have proved to be permanent and some have changed.

The teacher invites students to talk about how the role of a woman has changed in family and social life over the centuries.

Realization

1. The teacher divides the class into four groups. Each group deals with one aspect of women's lives:

a. Appearance, woman's outfit.

b. Domestic duties (the role of a woman at home).

c. Education.

d. Professional work of women (performed professions).

Groups elaborate the indicated aspect in relation to modern and old times. Then the students place their conclusions on the interactive board. In this way, the class together creates a map of thoughts about the role of women.

2. Students individually read a fragment of Dorota Pankowska's text „Wychowanie a role płciowe”.

3. Students individually perform the task in the abstract: they divide the given characteristics into two groups: stereotypical features of women and stereotypical characteristics of men. Then, in groups, students compare their choices, discuss differences.

4. Students write down a sentence with the word „stereotype”.

5. The teacher begins the second part of the lesson. Based on the information in the abstract, he/she prepares students to read a poem by Wisława Szymborska. Students read the poem „Portret kobiecy”.

6. Course participants perform tasks related to the poem:

• they indicate stereotypes of women that are in the poem and compare them with the stereotypes indicated by Dorota Pankowska;

• they wonder who imposes on a woman; indicating appropriate quotes to justify the answer;

• indicate quotes that deny stereotypes about women, and then reconstruct the image of a woman emerging from a combination of contrasting opinions about her;

• they wonder what the function of numerous calculations relating to women in the poem is;

• they wonder what connects the content of the poem with the saying „A woman is changeable”;

• they interpret the ending of the poem.

Summary

1. The teacher asks students what they have learned today, whether the lesson was interesting for them. He/she asks them to evaluate their own work during the lesson. For this purpose, he can use the questionnaire or decision tree prepared earlier or carry out an oral evaluation.

2. Students write in their notebooks the key words to the lessons they consider the most important.

Homework

Write – following the example of Szymborska's text – a poem entitled „Male portrait”. Make sure that the man will also be characterised by some stereotypically considered female features in your poem.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

What does it mean to be a woman?

Wisława Szymborska was able to incorporate the most complicated topics into her poetry in an original and illuminating way. She knew how to talk about very complex, ambiguous matters in a compelling and often playful manner. Her work is characterised by an original approach to universal themes (for example such as love, death, transience and gender). The poet is notable for her perception, including what is obvious and natural alongside elements of a mysterious, unknown, invisible world.