This is the final project for the women’ s studies unit on childhood.   Students will have already studied child development, from the psychological perspective, and students will have background knowledge on feminism and gender issues in childhood.

Geography

Standard 6. Levels III and IV. Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

3. Knows the ways in which culture influences the perception of places and regions (e. g. , religion and other belief systems, language and tradition; perceptions of "beautiful" or "valuable")

2. Understands how individuals view places and regions on the basis of their stage of life, sex, social class, ethnicity, values, and belief systems (e. g. , perceptions of distance, impressions about what makes a place secure, views of public housing or wealthy urban neighborhoods)

Career Education: Arts and Communication

Standard 2. Level IV. Knows and applies appropriate criteria to arts and communication products

3. Knows ways in which to evaluate the sincerity and credibility of various media messages and productions (e. g. , detect gender and ethnic bias; compare print and non-print versions of the same story, assess facts of news media for completeness, bias, accuracy and relevance; detect emotional appeals and propaganda devices; evaluating ad campaigns for various products)

World History

Standard 44. Level IV. Understands the search for community, stability, and peace in an interdependent world

12. Understands gender roles across the globe (e. g. , conflicts in the perception of gender roles in various religions, especially the role of women; how the legal status of women varies around the world in Muslim societies, and how the status of women from different classes has changed in the past century)

Behavioral Studies

Standard 4. Level IV. Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions

11. Understands that mass media, migrations, and conquest affect social change by exposing one culture to another, and that extensive borrowing among cultures has led to the virtual disappearance of some cultures but only modest change in others

Students will be able to:

• analyze theories of gender development using specific examples
• use play theories to discuss how children learn gendered behavior
• identify specific gender stereotypes
• evaluate theories of gender development
• create a toy that does not conform to gender stereotypes

textbook: Half the Human Experience 7 ^th Ed. Janet Shibley Hyde

• five to six basic Barbie dolls
• scissors
• scrap material
• needles
• paper
• glue
• staplers
• markers
• other various craft tools as needed

(Note: Students will work in groups of two to three. )

Review the Challenge: (55 minutes)

1. Students are required to recreate a Barbie doll (the most basic one available).   Their only limit is that the new Barbie must be a positive, empowering Barbie. In this stage, there is a lecture on Barbies and body image in girls.   Students watch various Barbie commercials from 1959-2009 on Youtube.

Investigate the Problem: (45 minutes)

1. Students will have read articles on Barbie and dolls and the development of gender roles. They will look at alternative Barbies and think about their own experiences with dolls and how to make them better.

2. Students will write a reflection on body image and Barbie dolls.

Frame/Reframe the Problem: (30 minutes)

1. Students will identify the traditional gender roles that Barbie reinforces and identify what they most want to change about the doll.  

2. Based on their research, students will write a reflection that frames the problem, specifically, “ What is it that is so objectionable about Barbie?”

Brainstorm: (15 minutes)

1. Brainstorm ideas on how to create a more positive Barbie. In this stage, students will record possible alternatives to the traditional Barbie doll.  

Edit Ideas: (20 minutes)

1. Students will finalize design ideas for their Barbies and start creating the final draft.   Remind students of time and materials constraints.   In this stage, students are sketching ideas but not making any permanent changes to their Barbie dolls. In this stage, students will note what materials they need to provide for their Barbie redesign.

Share and Evaluate: (30 minutes)

1. Students will do a tuning protocol with one other group to give and receive feedback.

Finalize the Solution: (75-100 minutes)

1. Students will work with their Barbie to create final draft of the redesigned Barbie and packaging. Students will have a limited amount of materials in class, but can take the Barbie home or bring in their own materials for the next class.

Articulate the Solution: (45 minutes)

1. Students’ Barbies will be on display at the Spring Art Show.   Accompanying the Barbies will be a short one paragraph description of the redesign, justifying the changes made to the doll.

Students will assess each other’ s Barbie dolls in a gallery walk, and fill out the rubric for each group.   Students will also assess each other within the groups.   There will be check-ins with each group and the instructor.