NWSL Teams

National Women's Soccer league is a women’s professional soccer league run by the United States Soccer Federation. The league consists of 14 teams.

Objectives

Materials

  • Pencil
  • Worksheet
NWSL Teams

Academic Standards

Grade 6
Social Studies 6.3.A The student is expected to identify and explain the geographic factors responsible for patterns of population in places and regions.

Social Studies 6.3.C The student is expected to identify and locate major physical and human geographic features such as landforms, water bodies, and urban centers of various places and regions.

Social Studies 6.19.C The student is expected to organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps.
Grade 7
Social Studies 7.20.C The student is expected to organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps.
Grade 8
Social Studies 8.29.C The student is expected to organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps.

NWSL Teams

Discussion Questions

  1. What does NWSL stand for?
  2. How many NWSL teams can you name?
  3. What NWSL teams are closest to you?

Reflection Questions

  • What is something that stuck out to you about one or multiple teams in the NL West Division?
  • What would your dream road trip to visit multiple MLB stadiums and games look like?
  • Did anything surprise you about this lesson?

Answer Key

Image from source document

NWSL Teams
NWSL Teams

Setup

  • You can choose to keep this lesson simple and follow the worksheet, or make it a little more complex by providing more history and background about the NSWL.

Vocabulary

NSWL: National Women's Soccer League

NWSL Teams

Activity

  • Start the lesson by leading students in a short discussion to assess their prior knowledge using the questions provided or your own.
  • History of NSWL
    • The NSWL, established in 2012 was actually the third attempt to set up a professional women’s soccer league in the US. (They succeeded the Women’s United Soccer Association, 2000-2003 and the Women’s Professional Soccer, 2007-2012)
    • The Houston Dash joined the NSWL at the end of 2013.
  • Growth of NSWL
    • After the USWNT won the 2015 Women’s World Cup, hosted in Canada, attendance and interest in the league soared.
    • The success of the USWNT has been pivotal in the growth of the league. They have won:
      • FIFA Women's World Cup: 4 titles (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) - more than any other nation .
      • Olympic Gold Medals: 5 gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2024) - more than any other nation .
      • Total Major Championships: 9 world championships (4 World Cups + 5 Olympics). The rest of the world combined has 8 .
      • Record Streak: The USWNT held the #1 spot in FIFA rankings for 13 consecutive years
  • Houston Dash and the USWNT
    • Three Houston Dash players will join the USWNT for upcoming games
      • Jane Campbell, goalkeeper
      • Avery Patterson, Defender
      • Yazmeen Ryan, Forward
  • Before moving on to the worksheet, ask students to list down as many NSWL teams they can. They can do extra research using the link: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/
  • Move on to the worksheet - use the logos, word bank, and map to complete the exercise. Match the team name and the city/location associated with each of the 16 NWSL team logos using the word bank provided. Use the word bank to label the 16 NWSL team names on the correct location on the map below.
  • Lead students in a short discussion at the end of the lesson using the reflection questions provided or your own.

Additional Activity

  • Complete the 3-2-1 Exit Ticket:
    • On a slip of paper, students write:
      • 3 key events or facts they learned about the NWSL's history.
      • 2 reasons why the USWNT has been so successful.
      • 1 question they still have about the NWSL or USWNT.
NWSL Teams