Directions:

1. Print or download the following materials:

2. Review the sample responses for the graphic organizer and written response.

Graphic organizer

Similarities

Differences

Personal qualities
- Courage/Willingness to Take Risks
- Self-Control (nonviolence)
- Special Skills (both very talented at what they did—Jackie Robinson at baseball and Janet Guthrie at NASCAR racing)
Support
- From decision makers:
- Jackie Robinson: Branch Rickey and the baseball commissioner
- Janet: Rolla Vollstedt
Historical Context: Others Working toward Similar Goals/Role Models:
- Janet Guthrie: women’s movement
- Jackie Robinson: other successful black professionals, entertainers, athletes

Good Fortune: both were competing at a time when people were more ready to accept changes

Personal Support
- Jackie Robinson: inspired by his brother to become an athlete; mother to fight against segregation, moved into white neighborhood; wife at every game
- Janet Guthrie: no mention of support from friends or family/willing to take risks
Communication:
- Jackie Robinson: the media communicated his vision

Janet Guthrie: no mention of media support

Written Response -

Sample response (scorepoint of 3):

Janet Guthrie was a NASCAR driver who was the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 (1977) as well as the Daytona 500. She was also nominated for the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR in 2016. She was a leader in the acceptance of women in professional motor car racing. There were many factors that contributed to her success as a leader of social change. Some of these factors are similar to those that contributed to the success of Jackie Robinson in integrating baseball decades earlier, but there are also some differences.	Introduces the topic clearly with context about Janet Guthrie Provides a general observation (many factors contributed to her success) and focus (some factors were similar and some were different)
There were many similarities in the factors that supported the two athletes in changing their sports. Both Jackie Robinson and Janet Guthrie had personal qualities like courage and self-control which supported their success in being leaders of social change. Jackie Robinson often had to show self-control even when people were saying terrible things him. In Promises to Keep it says, “Even late into the 1947 season, opposing players struck Dad with their cleats, or even pitched the ball at him, hoping to start a fight. Dad contained his anger. He glared at his aggressor until he had gathered the strength not to throw a punch.”
“Janet Guthrie Pioneered the Fast Lane” describes a similar experience. After some people told Janet they didn’t want her to go out on the track and hoped she would crash, Guthrie, “went back to Rolla’s garage, and kicked a few tires, [and] made that [anger] vanish.” Another similarity is that Janet Guthrie and Jackie Robinson both had people who opened doors for them. Promises to Keep describes how people like Branch Rickey and the baseball commissioner opened doors for Jackie Robinson. The book says, “someone within the executive ranks of baseball had to commit to breaking the color barrier. ...with exquisite timing, Branch Rickey, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, stepped forward.” Janet Guthrie’s Branch Rickey was Rolla Vollstedt. “Janet Guthrie Pioneered the Fast Lane” explains that, “Guthrie’s biggest break occurred when Vollstedt invited her to test one of his Indy cars for the 1976 Indianapolis 500.” Both Robinson and Guthrie had special personal qualities as well as the support of a key decision maker. These were definitely important factors in their success in breaking barriers in sports.	Links ideas within paragraphs using words and phrases (“Another similarity…) Uses precise language to explain each factor
Although Guthrie and Robinson overcame huge obstacles, in some ways their stories were quite different. For Jackie Robinson, family support seems to have been a very important factor in his success. Promises to Keep describes how Jackie Robinson’s brother Mack inspired him and his mother showed him how to stand up against segregation. Jackie was also supported by his wife who attended every home game Jackie played. In the text and video on Janet Guthrie, however, there is no mention that Janet had particular support from family. Another difference was in the support of the media.
Promises to Keep explains that, “Determined to end institutionalized discrimination in baseball, sportswriters such as Wendell Smith of the Pittsburgh Courier, Frank A. Young of the Chicago Defender, Art Cohn from the Oakland Tribune, Sam Lacy of the Baltimore Afro-Americans, and Shirley Povich of the Washington Post wrote daily articles on the injustice of segregation within professional sports.” Janet Guthrie does not seem to have received the same support for her cause from the media. The support of family and the media were important factors in the success of Jackie Robinson, but Janet Guthrie appears to have succeeded without them.	Groups related information logically, organizing the similarities and differences into separate paragraphs Develops the topic with relevant facts and details, including direct quotations
The stories of Jackie Robinson and Janet Guthrie show that some of the same factors supported their success in social change, particularly their personal qualities and the support of a key decision maker. This suggests that to be a leader of social change, people need to have certain personal qualities like courage and self-control and that it helps to have the support of decision makers who have courage as well. While there seem to be some differences in the factors that led to the success of both athletes, more research would need to be done to be sure. Promises to Keep is a much longer and more detailed text than the sources on Guthrie. A text of the same length and detail about Janet Guthrie might reveal more similarities in the factors that supported the success of both leaders of social change.	Provides a concluding section reflecting on the information presented

3. Input students' final scores based on the rubrics below:

Graphic organizer

1 point	No credit
The response coherently organizes, summarizes, or paraphrases the information in notes.	The response is blank or does not coherently organize, summarize, or paraphrase the information in notes.

Written response

Provide students with a final score by dividing the total number of earned criteria by the number of criteria in the rubric above (earned points/11 points = final score).

For each row, calculate student points using the scoring guide below:

Beginning	1 point
Developing	2 points
Proficient	3 points
Advanced	4 points

Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Informative Essay: Comparing and Contrasting Athletes Who Broke Barriers Scoring Values & Guidance