National Endowment for the Humanities
Cultural Change
High schoolers research the passage of the 19th Amendment as an illustration of the mutual influence between political ideas and cultural attitudes. They also read the Seneca Falls Declaration and explore the cultural shifts it both...
Curated OER
Lesson: Skin Fruit: Propaganda of the Deed
Art can express acts of injustice and move society to action. Upper graders analyze contemporary art relating to specific moments in history. They discuss propaganda, anarchy, sociology, and violence as activism. After researching and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Women's Equality: Changing Attitudes And Beliefs
Students analyze archival materials contemporaneous with the birth of the Women's Rights Movement, and begin to appreciate the deeply entrenched opposition the early crusaders had to overcome. They discuss whether or not such attitudes...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Equality
What if society sought equality by handicapping the gifted and dispelling any traces of diversity? Kurt Vonnegut Jr. offers one possible answer to this question through his incredibly engaging and thought-provoking satirical...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Freedom and Religion
The United States of America was founded on firm ideals of both the pursuit of happiness and a spirit of reverence. Through a close reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The May-Pole of Merry Mount," you can examine what some consider was a...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: National Identity and Why It Matters
Combining a close reading of a classic American text with the study of history can be a very powerful strategy, and this is most certainly the case with this resource using Edward Everett Hale's The Man without a Country. Consider themes...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Self-Command
Even for one of the most accomplished men in American history, there was room for improvement. Challenge high schoolers to use Benjamin Franklin's Project for Moral Perfection to analyze text, make inferences, connect to historical...
Curated OER
Susan B. Anthony Day
The history of women's suffrage and Susan B. Anthony are examined in this social studies activity. Third and fourth graders participate in a simulation of a vote, develop slogans for women's suffrage, complete a KWL chart, write a...
Curated OER
Women's Rights and Reform
Young scholars 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.
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19th Century Women's Suffrage - Sheltered Activities
Students reenact The USA v. Susan B. Anthony and discuss women's suffrage and the 19th Amendment.
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How Can Children Make A Difference In Their World As Human Rights Activists?
Students define term activist, identify and analyze contributions of activists of the past, realize that students can make a difference in their world, identify personal characteristics of students activists, recognize impact on...
Curated OER
Resources for Teaching Women Writers
Twelfth graders explore, discuss and experience a wide variety of texts from around the world written by women. They analyze the different genres covered and view a lot of unique point of views from different female perspectives. Topics...
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Women Today: An Editorial
Students complete Internet research to write an editorial about a topic relating to the women's rights movement and the issues presently surrounding women's rights in America and around the world.
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Hawthorne: Author and Narrator
Students read various pieces of literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne to recognize the difference between a narrator and author. Students in small groups report on the narrative point of view represented in a story they have read.
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How Women Won the Right to Vote
Students consider how women gained the right to vote in America. For this suffrage lesson, students investigate major events of the suffrage movement and conduct research. Students also role play petitioning to President Wilson to get...
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Stephen Crane - Surrealism and the Antihero
Students analyze the work of Stephen Crane as a lesson on surrealism and an antihero. In this surrealism lesson, students complete discuss activities for the topic. Students then analyze Crane's poetry, his use of surrealism, and the...
Curated OER
Women’s Suffrage
Students examine several aspects of the Women's Suffrage Movement. In this women's rights lesson, students explore several primary and secondary sources regarding the events of the movement, opposition to the movement, and the effects of...
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Confict, Consensus, and Conclusion
Students debate the key issues dealing with women's rights and the rights of African Americans during and after the Civil War. They analyze the women's rights movement in relationship to the desire for suffrage. They utilize the...
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The Struggle For The Right To Vote
High schoolers identify historical figures who helped lead others in the voting rights movement, and research historical struggles for voting rights. They develop plans to involve young voters in the election process.
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Before Rosa Parks: Upper Grades Activity: Frances Watkins Harper
Students analyze the rhetorical strategies Frances Watkins Harper used, such as tone, emotional appeal and descriptive language
Curated OER
Powerful Signatures
Students experience famous historical documents that were initiated and propelled by signatures such as Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution. They create a school amendment using the information gathered.