Series: Teaching Justice

Identity. Diversity. Justice. Action. These learning activities engage students with the history of women's ongoing struggle for equality. Each lesson uses an item from the National Woman's Party collection or an aspect of the story of suffrage to make connections to broad questions of equity and the work of social change using anti-bias objectives from the Learning for Justice framework.

• Article 1: Teaching Justice: Ida B. Wells in the Suffrage Procession

  

  Have you ever wondered how to respond when you are told that you cannot do something? Have you seen someone else being excluded or left out? In this Teaching Justice activity using the Suffrage in 60 Seconds video about Ida B. Wells, students discuss the experience of being excluded unfairly. What responsibility do we have to stand up to exclusion, prejudice, and injustice? Read more

• Article 2: Teaching Justice: Protest

  

  When is protest an effective tactic for social change? Using two Suffrage in 60 Seconds videos about the National Woman's Party's campaign of picketing the White House, this lesson invites fourth grade students to discuss collective action against injustice. What strategies are most effective in convincing others to change their mind? Read more

• Article 3: Teaching Justice: Symbols of Suffrage

  

  Women in the suffrage movement had multiple items they wore that identified them as suffragists and supporters or advocates for the movement. Not only would they wear these items while they were protesting or picketing, but they would wear them to meetings and out in public settings. This activity designed for fifth grade students uses a historic photograph as a primary source to engage students with issues of identity, appearance, and bias. Read more

• Article 4: Teaching Justice: Forward Into Light

  

  How are signs and banners used for social change? In this anti-bias learning activity designed for fifth grade, students examine a suffrage banner and compare it to signs used by other movements for justice. They analyze how words and slogans have been used as strategies in the history of social justice and imagine how they can take a stand against bias and injustice in their everyday lives. Read more

• Article 5: Teaching Justice: Arrested

  

  How does identity shape our interactions with others? In this anti-bias learning activity designed for fifth and sixth grade, students examine three photographs of women arrested for protesting for the right to vote. Through discussion, students will recognize that people's multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals. Read more

• Article 6: Teaching Justice: Suffrage Prisoners Banner

  

  Have you ever spoken out when you saw someone mistreated? This anti-bias learning activity designed for fifth graders uses a photograph of Mary Winsor protesting against the imprisonment of suffrage protesters to spark discussion about the responsibility to stand up to exclusion, prejudice, and injustice. Read more

• Article 7: Teaching Justice: The Prison Special and the Courage to Speak Out

  

  When have you needed courage? In this anti-bias learning activity for fifth grade, students explore questions about when and how to take a stand against bias and injustice in their everyday lives. Using photographs of Lucy Burns, co-founder of the National Woman's Party and the woman who spent more time in prison than any other American suffragist, students engage with questions about the courage needed to speak out for social justice. Read more

• Article 8: Teaching Justice: Suffrage Cartoons

  

  How can art be used to change people's minds? What happens when we leave someone out of the picture? In this anti-bias learning activity, students evaluate the political cartoons of suffragist Nina Allender to discover how women are represented in her art, and who is left out. Then they will create their own artwork, responding to diversity by building empathy, respect, understanding, and connection. Read more

• Article 9: Teaching Justice: Anti-Suffrage Postcards

  

  How have you responded when you have been teased or ridiculed? In this anti-bias learning activity designed for sixth-eighth grade, students will examine four anti-suffrage postcards from the early 20th century and analyze how women (and men) are represented. They will make connections with the way women are characterized today while learning to exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way. Read more

• Article 10: Teaching Justice: She's Good Enough

  

  How can popular culture be used in the work of social change? In this anti-bias learning activity for sixth-eighth grade, students examine a suffrage illustration modeled on a popular cartoon circulated during Teddy Roosevelt's re-election campaign. They will analyze the use of cultural touchstones to change public perception about an issue, and evaluate which strategies are most effective when planning collective action against injustice. Read more

• Article 11: Teaching Justice: Six Reasons for Suffrage

  

  What actions should you take when facing injustice? In this anti-bias learning activity designed for sixth-eighth grades, students examine a flier created by the National American Woman Suffrage Association that lists six reasons that women should be enfranchised across the country by amending the U.S. Constitution. They will analyze the arguments presented by the suffragists and identify unfairness at the individual and systemic level. Extend the lesson and create a flier! Read more

• Article 12: Teaching Justice: Frenemies

  

  How do we resolve conflict? What happens when those working for change agree on the goal but not the methods? In this learning activity for 9th-12th grade, students examine tensions in the suffrage movement using essays and a video about the topic. They will recognize that people’s multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals. Using what they learn, they will develop conflict resolution strategies. Read more