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Grade: 11/12th
Timeline: 4 Weeks
Team Members
Subjects History History ELA
Rationale:
This unit is designed to have students learn about the feminist movement in the United States, focusing
on how the movement is split into different waves, the accomplishments of each wave, and the
connections between the waves all the way up to the fourth, which is modern-era feminism. From the
perspective of history, students will examine different events and accomplishments within waves and
which events created the distinction between each one. From the English perspective, students will
explore historical pieces of writing from authors and/or activists prominent within waves and discover
what social issues were existent at the time and how the literature/writing from those authors
represented the rights women were fighting for. By combining these two elements, students should
finish the unit having an understanding of how social movements evolve over time, how participants
express their needs and struggles through different forms, and what events become significant within
the movements.
From the English perspective, students will read works such as Susan B Anthony’s speech On
Women’s Right to Vote and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and learn how the social factors of
the time a story or speech was written in, the historical context, affect what the author was writing
about/the message they were trying to convey. They will learn about the literary and rhetorical
techniques and themes those authors utilize within their writing and speeches to emphasize their
stances related to issues existent within the time period and wave of feminism they were based in.
They will keep a reading/writing log that details the author of a text, the main points of the text read in
class, and the historical context behind that work of writing. By the end of the unit, they also should
have a more thorough understanding of the power of literature in social movements and how it is used
to critique aspects of society such as the oppressors of certain groups of people -- in this case, women
critiquing expectations and roles generally established by men leading a patriarchal society.
From the history perspective, incorporating content constructed on events and consequences of the
four waves of feminism is relevant to the teaching of civil rights movements, advocacy, and empathy.
Students will be able to analyze and understand the cause and effect relationship between historical
events and their outcomes, recognizing that each additional feminist wave evolved from its
predecessor. This will demonstrate to students that change and progression can evolve from both
individuals and members of a community working towards a common goal. As the content focus
progresses through each feminist wave, students will begin to recognize the spectrum of interpretations
included in the study of feminism. Diminishing the presentism mindset while studying the feminist
waves will allow students to empathize with the movements. Towards the end of the unit, evaluating
and discussing present perspectives and interpretations of the feminist movement, without historical
empathy, will allow students to begin analyzing why feminism currently has a negative connotation.
Student Learning Outcomes
Focus Standards
11-12.RI.8 Delineate 11-12.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or
English and evaluate the imagined experiences or events using effective
rhetorical effectiveness technique, well‐chosen details, and well‐structured
of the authors' event sequences
reasoning, premises,
purpose, and argument
in seminal U.S. and
world texts.
11-12.RI.9 Analyze
foundational U.S. and
world documents of
historical and literary
significance for their
themes, purposes, and
rhetorical features.
History Course
Considerations for
High School US
History: Postwar
United States including
the economic boom and
social transformation of
the United States, the
Cold War, the impact of
conflicts in Korea and
Vietnam, domestic and
international policies,
and the struggle for civil
rights and equality
Enduring ● Understanding Theme-Related ● How do the goals of
Understanding: the Essential minority movements
Important misconception of Questions change over time?
Concepts feminism - “bad ● How have the goals of
rap” based on minority movements
different been shaped by the
“categories” of past?
feminism ● How has the definition
o Understan of social equality
ding the changed over time?
accurate
definition ● How does the definition
of of equality change,
feminism depending on different
and how it identities?
has ● What is the overall role
evolved of women throughout
throughou history and how has it
t the changed within
waves different eras?
● Understand how ● How are women
the demands and represented in literature
expectations of and history and how
society affect does it change
what women depending on who
were able to creates those narratives?
accomplish ● How has the way that
within each wave society views women
● Understand the changed for better or for
intersectionality worse? How has it
of sex with other remained the same?
identity elements ● How does our own
such as race, social standing affect
class, and/or age the way we view the
● Understanding goals of social
how a person’s movements we might
sex affords them be considered outsiders
different to?
privileges in
society
● Understanding
how a society is
structured to
afford more
privileges to
some people than
to others
● Understanding
how social
movements
evolve over time
and build off their
past phases
● Understanding
the importance of
acknowledging
past activists and
their
accomplishments
in social
movements
Interdisciplinary In the last week of the unit, after students have familiarized themselves with each
Project of the waves of feminism, key events and notable people within the waves, and
literature and speeches by feminist writers/activists or categorized as “feminist,”
they will be tasked with a two-part project. The first part is a brief speech:
The speech requires students to place themselves within one of the four waves of
feminism. Their speech must be written as if they were an activist within that
wave, fighting to resolve some sort of issue related to women’s rights/gender
inequality, or standing up for an existing cause/right related to gender equality.
With that in mind, historical accuracy is critical to the effectiveness of the content
of their speech, so they must use the information and evaluative skills acquired in
their History class. Students will also be evaluated on how they present their
speech to their classmates, meaning that they must consider the speech techniques
that were identified and discussed using works like On Women’s Right to Vote in
their English class.
As it will be presented in front of the class, the speech is only required to be 1.5 -
3 pages long. The evaluation of it will lie more in historical accuracy and their
delivery of it and use of effective speech techniques.
The second part of the project is a visual element: a picket sign. Using the same
wave and issue that they discuss in their speech, one side of the sign must have a
self-made visual representation of the topic they have selected, along with a
catchy/creative slogan that encompasses what they are fighting against or
standing up for. The other side of the sign has to include five points that are or
were relevant or essential in relation to their chosen issue/wave/era. The points
are brief, only being a few words up to two sentences, along with a small visual of
the point (can be pulled from the Internet and credited, does not need to be self-
created).
Essay Prompt Choose a notable person who had a significant role during one of the waves of
feminism discussed in class. Write 3-5 pages on your selected activist using
accurate historical context from a minimum of two sources. Include a brief
background of their life, what their role within the movement was and why they
were significant to the movement. Students have the choice of two formats for
this essay:
● Narrative - Step into the shoes of your notable person. Write your paper
from their perspective as if the notable person had written it themself.
● Interview -Play the role of a journalist interviewing your significant
person. Write an article discussing your interview. What questions would
you ask him/her? How would him/her answer?
● Document Analysis
● Reader’s Theater
● Research-based activities
ELLs
● Anticipation guides
● Sentence Starters/Writing Templates
● Modified Document for Analysis (Highlighted areas to be labeled, modified vocabulary)
● Group/Teacher Guided Reading.
Special Education
● Anticipation guides
● Semi-filled out graphic organizers
● Group readings + discussion/inquiry
● Guided research sources list
GATE
● Create personalized, different graphic organizers for appropriate assignments
● Propaganda/PSA-type video instead of picket sign for Interdisciplinary Project
● Role as discussion director (Philosophical Chairs - discuss/moderate both positions of
questions, Debate - role as Debate Moderator)
SP2: Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to identify, compare, and
evaluate multiple perspectives about a given event to draw conclusions about that event
since there are multiple points of view about events and issues.
SP4: Thinking within the discipline involves the ability to analyze relationships among
causes and effects and to create and support arguments using relevant evidence.
H2: Cycles of conflict and cooperation have shaped relations among people, places, and
environments
H4: Patterns of social and political interactions have shaped people, places, and events
throughout history and continue to shape the modern world.
Reading
11-12.RL.2 Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their
development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another
to produce a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.
11-12.RL.6 Using a variety of genres, analyze how the narrative point of view impacts the
implicit and explicit meanings in a text
*11-12.RL.9 Drawing on a wide range of time periods, analyze how two or more texts treat
similar themes or topics
11-12.RI.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is
particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the effectiveness of the
text
11-12.RI.8 Delineate and evaluate the rhetorical effectiveness of the authors' reasoning,
premises, purpose, and argument in seminal U.S. and world texts.
11-12.RI.9 Analyze foundational U.S. and world documents of historical and literary
significance for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
Writing
11-12.W.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, well‐chosen details, and well‐structured event sequences.
11-12.W.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question
(including a self‐generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when
appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the
subject under investigation.
11-12.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources,
using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in
terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to
maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and
following a standard format for citation.
11-12.W.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection,
and research.
11-12.SL.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, use of evidence, and use of rhetoric,
assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone
used.
Texts/Resources Assessment
Address at Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 - Formative: Summative:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Reading annotations Unit notebook
On Women’s Right to Vote - Susan B. (for all readings) including notes,
Anthony specific assignments
Model-writing based and worksheets,
Ain’t I a Woman? - Sojourner Truth on Anthony’s speech. quickwrites/journal
writings, etc.
The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins In-class discussions
Gilman on themes in texts Interdisciplinary
like The Yellow project and essay.
The Feminine Mystique - Betty Friedan Wallpaper or The
Feminine Mystique.
We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie Unsent Letters based
on TFM.
Link for more resources/resource list
Identifying bias in
articles group
checklists.
Mini-essay
(informative) on
gender-related issue
Philosophical chairs
based on We Should
All Be Feminists
Learning Plan: Scope and Sequence Differentiation
Journal entries or quick writes would be When discussing a text/video, students will be
given most days to help activate prior given prep time before to gather information
knowledge of concepts related to they may need to participate or to discuss the
feminism/gender equality. topic with their peers in small, informal
groups. With the Philosophical Chairs, some
Week 1: students will be provided with the list of
questions that will be given throughout the
Introduce overview of what the unit is about, discussion activity before the activity actually
what we will be doing and discussing begins, rather than having to wait for each
throughout it. Students will be given a mini question to appear on the board and needing
reading/writing notebook assignment to to come up with a stance on the spot.
compile throughout unit.
For speech technique activity, ELL/SPED
Introduce the origins of feminism in the U.S., students will be provided with a second, two-
first wave feminist literature, Seneca Falls column graphic organizer with a quote from
Convention - Students begin reading the speech in column, which then only
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Address at Seneca requires them to determine which speech
Falls in 1848 technique is being used.
Students begin learning speech techniques. ELL students will be provided with actual
They are given a worksheet/graphic organizer templates to fill out/modify for each possible
that lists the names of different speech model paragraph from Susan B. Anthony’s
techniques and an example (ethos, pathos, On Women’s Right to Vote that they can use
logos, tone, etc.). After reading the speech as to complete their model-writing assignment.
a class (teacher read-aloud, students annotate
text), teacher explains definition and ELL/SPED students will work in a group with
examples of the terms on the worksheet. the teacher to read The Feminine Mystique in
Worksheet will go in their notebook once a reader’s theater-style so the teacher can
completed. After explaining a term, students guide/assist them as necessary to complete the
are tasked with looking through Stanton’s reading.
speech to find what may be an example of
the speech technique. Discuss with the class For bias activity, ELL students will be
how and why Stanton might have used these provided the same article/website print as
techniques. Who was her audience and what their group members, but theirs will have
was her purpose? areas highlighted as indicators of bias/non-
bias. They will only have to explain why that
Students read Susan B. Anthony’s speech On area was selected as an indicator.
Women’s Right to Vote for homework. In
class, students and teachers work to identify Struggling writers can do a mini-
techniques again. Students are assigned to do PowerPoint/presentation about a gender
a writing-style imitation piece using issue/significant woman rather than an mini-
Anthony’s speech. They can choose from essay. (They do not need to present it in front
paragraphs 1, 4 + 5 (“It was…” + “For of the class - as with essay, the main element
any…”), 6, or 8. They must choose a social of assessment is ability to select informational
issue, take the paragraph they’ve selected, and sources)
then write about the social issue using the
paragraph as a sort of model, following the Gifted students can become the discussion
same style and using similar vocabulary as directors for the Philosophical Chairs activity.
SBA does. It is due the first day of the They will present the questions, ask peers to
following week. elaborate on positions, guide neutral students
to a side or have them defend neutrality,
Student’s read Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a moderate exchange between sides, etc.
Woman? and using Save the Last Word for
Me, students discuss the historical context of Gifted students can be assisted with writing a
the speech and Truth’s purpose and message script/storyboard for their alternate PSA video
(alternate between small-group and whole- assignment for the interdisciplinary project.
class)..
Week 2:
Week 4