WOMEN USING THEIR GUNS: Women During WWI

by Tina Gersdorf - Whobrey

Summer Fellowship 2007

LESSON SIX – Conserve!

Abstract

Another way that women were encouraged to help on the home front was by conserving resources such as material, food, or metal. There were pamphlets created to inform the public about the conservation efforts and the students will look at one of these and create a poster to encourage others to take part in conservation.

Essential Questions

• How did the Women’s Council organize the conservation efforts during WWI?
• What actions did people take in order to conserve resources for the war efforts?
• How can a poster be effective in convincing people to take action?

Duration

2 class periods

Assessments

• Completed conservation poster
• Completed Conservation Department Survey

Materials

· Conservation Booklet

· Poster Directions

· “Conservation Survey”

Setting the Purpose

· Explain to students what conservation means

· Ask what and how people conserve today. Possible answers may include:

o conserve energy by riding bikes

o conserve water by watering lawns less

o conserve landfill space and create less waste by recycling

o conserve resources by purchasing used items

Procedure

1. Display Page 2 of the Conservation Booklet on projector and read “Its Aim” and “Its Agencies”.

a Discuss with students what they think is being referred to in each ‘aim’.

b What is the purpose of the “Its Agencies” sections and what is listed?

i. Anyone can help do anything they feel will be beneficial to the cause.

ii. There are informational materials at the Headquarters.

2. Review some of the points in the remainder of the booklet (I suggest #1, 4, 8, and 10-13 by highlighting main points within each point).

3. Put students into groups of 3 or 4 and assign roles (see Lesson 3, number 4 for grouping suggestions).

4. Hand out Conservation Booklets and Poster Directions sheets to each group and explain their task. Students will look through the booklet and choose one way to encourage people to conserve. They can choose something straight from the booklet or create their own way to conserve that falls under one of the categories listed in the booklet. Students will create a poster that advertises their purpose.

5. When students have finished their poster, give them a “Conservation Department Survey”. They should fill this out and put it into their portfolio.

Annotated list of materials and resources

• Conservation Booklet

Woman’s Committee of Council of National Defense: Illinois Division and Women’s Organizations, State Council of Defense. Conservation Department. Chicago, IL.