Lesson Plan

Women's Suffrage for Grades 1-2

Overview

The focus for younger students in Women's Suffrage is on citizenship and the value of voting. Students will read through Effie Hobby's story and have a chance to ask questions.

Objective

Students will:

  1. Discover the history behind women's suffrage
  2. Develop vocabulary related civics and citizenship
  3. Explore world and U.S. maps
  4. Draw conclusions about patterns in women suffrage dates
  5. Make personal connections to suffrage history

Materials

  1. Women's Suffrage Activities

Set Up and Prepare

  1. Depending on the grade level and maturity level of each class, activities can be facilitated as independent work, collaborative group work, or whole class instruction.
  2. If a computer is available for each student, guide students to the activities either through printed URLs on handouts or on the board.
  3. If you are working in a lab, set up the computers to be on the desired Web site as students walk into class. If there are fewer computers than students, group the students by reading level. Assign each student a role: a "driver" who navigates the web, a timer who keeps the group on task, and a note taker. If there are more than three students per computer, you can add roles like a team leader, a team reporter, etc. If your classroom is set up in collaborative groups, try learning stations. Have rotating groups working on the computer (s), reading printed background information, holding smaller group discussions, writing first drafts to a given writing prompt, etc.

Directions

  1. As a class, discuss the role of a person in a democracy. Ask students about the government in the United States and ask how that government is put into place. Encourage students to talk about voting, not only for governments but also in their lives. For example, school elections or even when parents give their kids a choice on what to eat for breakfast. Write words on the board like vote, citizen, participate, decide, etc.
  2. Depending on the availability of computers and the class reading level, read Effie Hobby's story about voting in 1920. You can do this with a projector or print out the story beforehand, reading aloud to students as you would a book. Discuss each Think About It question as you read aloud. If several computers are available and students are relatively independent readers, have students grouped around the computer where they can read along as you read aloud.
  3. Regroup for a class discussion about Effie's story. See Discussion Starters below. As a class, come up with questions for Effie and submit those questions before March 20, 2004. Effie will answer a select number of questions. Have different students enter questions one at a time to practice keyboarding skills.

Discussion Starters

  • What does it mean to live in a democracy?
  • Why would women ever not have the right to vote?
  • Who has the right to vote today?
  • Who does not have that right?
  • What does it mean to be a citizen?
  • Why is it important to vote?
  • Why do you think Effie Hobby has voted in every Presidential election?
  • How can kids be good citizens?

Supporting All Learners

International Reading Association (IRA) & National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Standards:

Women's Suffrage helps students meet the following standards Sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the International Reading Association (IRA).

  • Students use spoken, written, and visual language for learning, persuasion, and exchange of information.
  • Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (libraries, databases, computer networks) to gather and communicate knowledge.
  • Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
  • Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
  • Students conduct research by gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing data from a variety of sources, and then communicate their discoveries to different audiences for a variety of purposes.

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS):
Women's Suffrage meets the standards of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), which promote the development of students as good citizens in a culturally diverse, interdependent world. The content and activities of this project are especially appropriate for the themes of:

  • Time, Continuity, and Change: Students focus on how the world has changed in order to gain perspective on the present and the future.
  • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Students study interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
  • Power, Authority, and Governance: Students study how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance.
  • Civic Ideals and Practices: Students gain an understanding of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.
  • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions: Students study interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions.
  • Power, Authority, and Governance: Students study how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance.
  • Civic Ideals and Practices: Students gain an understanding of the ideals, principles, and practices of citizenship in a democratic republic.

Technology Foundation Standards for Students:

  • use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity
  • use technology tools to collaborate, publish, and interact with peers, experts, and other audiences
  • use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences
  • use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources
  • use technology tools to process data and report results employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world
  • Subjects:
    Citizenship, Civil Rights, Democracy, Reading Response, Vocabulary, Civics and Government, Elections and Voting, Equality, Fairness, Justice, United States, Maps and Globes, Human Rights, Women's History and Experience, Women's Rights Movement, Women's Suffrage, Tolerance and Acceptance, Prejudice and Tolerance Experiences, Communication and the Internet, Computers, Educational Technology, Teaching with Technology
  • Skills:
    Online Sources, Social Studies, Vocabulary
  • Duration:
    2 Class Periods
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