Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Anne Hutchinson: Foremother of the American Women’s Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Many learners may be familiar with the legacy of figures such as Susan B. Anthony, but what about Anne Hutchinson? Hutchinson was a lesser-known woman who spoke up to patriarchal figures in colonial America, leading to her banishment....
Lesson Plan
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Propaganda and Women's Suffrage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Americans who backed the suffragist movement used posters to gain the support of others for their cause. Class members analyze the visual imagery and propaganda devices used in a variety of these posters. In addition, groups examine how...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Humor and Activism

For Teachers 8th - 12th
As part of their study of the women's suffrage movement, groups analyze political cartoons and drawings. They create a caption for an image from the time, add an exhibit label that provides a context for their drawing, and post as part...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Methods of Reform: The Lowell Mill Girls

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Although the girls and women who worked in the Lowell Mills are not often seen this way, they are the forbearers of the American labor movement. Pupils examine primary sources, including testimony about life at Lowell and labor laws, as...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

What Were They Thinking? Why Some Some Alabamians Opposed the 19th Amendment

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To better understand the debate over the 19th Amendment, class members examine two primary source documents that reveal some of the social, economic, racial, and political realities of the time period.
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Gloria Steinem, Feminism and “Living the Revolution"

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Excerpts from Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and from Gloria Steinem's "Living the Revolution" provide high schoolers an opportunity to study the feminism of the 1950s and 1960s, sometimes called the "Second Wave of Feminism."
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Things Change, Things Stay the Same

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Securing women the right to vote was a long time coming. Over the years, some aspects of the suffrage movement changed, and some things remained the same. Pupils research three time periods and collect evidence of key people,...
Lesson Plan
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Alabama Department of Archives and History

Voting Rights for Alabama Women

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
What were the arguments put forth by those who opposed the 19th Amendment? For those in favor? Class members examine primary source materials that illustrate the intense debate in Alabama about women's suffrage.
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Seneca Falls and Suffrage: Teaching Women's History with Comics

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
As part of the study of women's history, young scholars examine Chester Comix's strips about the Seneca Falls Convention and four 19th century leaders in the struggle for equal rights. After researching other elements of the Suffrage...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Taking a Stand: Woman Suffrage and Protest at the White House K-8

For Teachers 1st - 8th
A class discussion opens a lesson on women suffragettes. Learners imagine they are preparing to protest for women's voting rights. Scholars create a colorful poster to hold up high when marching in front of the White House.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Changing of the Guard: Traditionalists, Feminists, and the New Face of Women in Congress

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the role of women as Congressional leaders. In this women's rights lesson, students identify and investigate the impact of women representatives and senators in the U.S. Legislative Branch. Comprehension questions, data,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women's Rights Historic Sites

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars use maps, readings, floor plans, photos and cartoons to research the conditions of upstate New York in the first half of the 19th century, examine the issues that led to Women's Rights Convention of 1848 and consider...
Lesson Plan
National History Day

Challenging the Status Quo: Women in the World War I Military

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Why are some so resistant to change? The status quo is often to blame for a lack of forward movement in society. Following the events of World War I, women in America suddenly had a voice—and were going to use it. Scholars use the...
Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Mary Church Terrell

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Excerpts from an 1898 speech by civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell offers young scholars an opportunity to investigate how Black American women fought for civil rights long before Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement of the...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Local Color in the Late 19th Century

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Kate Chopin's The Awakening introduces readers not only to the lush Louisiana setting of Grand isle but also to the nuances of Creole culture. the second lesson in a three-part series examines how Chopin's use of literary realism and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women's Rights and Reform

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students evaluate primary source documents. They assess the development of women's rights in the United States. They identify other rights beside suffrage that were important to famous women reformers.
Lesson Plan
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NPR

Suffrage Lesson Plan

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Voting Rights History

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Why is voting so important, anyway? Learn more about the importance of exercising a right for which many men and women marched, fought, and legislated with an interactive timeline activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women’s History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the "Cult of Domesticity." In this women's history lesson, students visit the specified Web sites to engage in research related to the characteristics that were thought to represent true womanhood as well as information...
Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Voting and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How difficult was it for everyone to get voting rights? Understanding voting rights and the fight to get them for everyone in the United States can be tricky for some learners. However, they are clarified after engaging in the...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Susan B. Anthony: She's Worth a Mint!

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
A instructional activity all about Susan B. Anthony showcases the Civil Rights leader's contributions towards equality. A Susan B. Anthony coin sparks engagement. Scholars take part in a discussion that sheds light on what being an agent...
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Seneca Falls Convention

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention was a historic milestone in the quest for women's rights. After researching one of the participants of the Seneca Falls Convention, young historians craft and share a short presentation about their subject.
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

To What Extent Were Women's Contributions to World War II Industries Valued?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Women rose to the challenge when the nation's war effort called them—but were sent home when the GIs came back from World War II. Young historians consider whether the United States valued women's contributions during the war using a...