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We are adding inquiry-based lessons every week and constantly seeking those that are already out there by others. If you have one to contribute, email us at remedialherstory@gmail.com.
Inquiries are provided in chronological order. Click here for How to Teach with Remedial Herstory Lessons. |
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The Post-War Era: Contradictions for Women
Woman fingerprinted. Mrs. Rosa Parks, Negro seamstress, whose refusal to move to the back of a bus touched off the bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala. December 1, 1955. Archived in 1956. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/94500293/.
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Why were Black women’s stories overlooked in the Montgomery bus boycott?
Black women were at the heart of the Montgomery movement, but history erased all but Parks-- Parks, a decades long NAACP field agent, was turned into a fatigued seamstress. But that's not the real story. In this lesson, students will investigate what really caused the boycott. Students will know the stories and names of Recy Taylor, Gertrude Perkins, and Jo Ann Robinson-- as well as the truth behind why Parks refused to move that day. 
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Lessons from Others
- Women in the 1950s:
- Stanford History Education Group: The happy housewife is a common image of the 1950s. The lives of most women at this time, however, did not resemble this image because of economic and racial barriers. For those who were housewives, was this ideal a fulfilling reality? In this lesson plan, students consider economic and social conditions in the 1950s and question the happy housewife stereotype.
- Gilder Lehrman: This lesson explores the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and asks What roles were women expected to play during the 1950s?
- Unladylike: Learn how Louise Arner Boyd defied expectations and gender roles to become a world famous Arctic explorer in this video from Unladylike2020. Boyd mapped unexplored regions of Greenland, studied and photographed topography, sea ice, glacial features, land formations and ocean depths, and made dozens of botanical discoveries. One of her innovations was the use of a heavy aerial mapping camera to document the glacial landscape at ground level, which served as the basis for new and more detailed maps of the region. Her photographs of glaciers provide critical information to climate change researchers today. Using video, discussion questions, vocabulary, and classroom activities, students learn about Boyd's contributions to science, geography, and our collective imagination about exploring new worlds.
- Stanford History Education Group: The happy housewife is a common image of the 1950s. The lives of most women at this time, however, did not resemble this image because of economic and racial barriers. For those who were housewives, was this ideal a fulfilling reality? In this lesson plan, students consider economic and social conditions in the 1950s and question the happy housewife stereotype.
- Eleanor Roosevelt:
- Gilder Lehrman: Students will be asked to read and analyze primary and secondary sources about Eleanor Roosevelt and the work she did to support social justice issues both in the United States and around the world. They will look at the role of first lady and see how Mrs. Roosevelt expanded that role to influence the political, social, and economic issues of the twentieth century. Students will increase their literacy skills as outlined in the Common Core Standards as they explore the social justice actions taken by Eleanor Roosevelt, which at times changed the course of world events.
- Edcitement: This lesson asks students to explore the various roles that Eleanor Roosevelt took on, among them: First Lady, political activist for civil rights, newspaper columnist and author, and representative to the United Nations. Students will read and analyze materials written by and about Eleanor Roosevelt to understand the changing roles of women in politics. They will look at Eleanor Roosevelt's role during and after the New Deal as well as examine the lives and works of influential women who were part of her political network. They will also examine the contributions of women in Roosevelt's network who played critical roles in shaping and administering New Deal policies.
- National Womens History Museum: The purpose of this lesson is to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt as an agent of social change as the First Lady of the United States and later as a representative to the United Nations. Moreover, students will learn how Mrs. Roosevelt used her position as the First Lady to become a champion of human rights which extended after her time in the White House. Students will read primary sources to better understand the legacy of Mrs. Roosevelt.
- Gilder Lehrman: Students will be asked to read and analyze primary and secondary sources about Eleanor Roosevelt and the work she did to support social justice issues both in the United States and around the world. They will look at the role of first lady and see how Mrs. Roosevelt expanded that role to influence the political, social, and economic issues of the twentieth century. Students will increase their literacy skills as outlined in the Common Core Standards as they explore the social justice actions taken by Eleanor Roosevelt, which at times changed the course of world events.
- Rosa Parks:
- Teaching Tolerance: Most history textbooks include a section about Rosa Parks in the chapter on the modern civil rights movement. However, Parks is only one among many African-American women who have worked for equal rights and social justice. This series introduces four of those activists who may be unfamiliar to students.
- Lesson 1, Maya Angelou, focuses on questions of identity as students read and analyze Angelou’s inspirational poem “Still I Rise” and apply its message to their own lives. Students learn how Maya Angelou overcame hardship and discrimination to find her own voice and to influence others to believe in themselves and use their voices for positive change.
- Lesson 2, Mary Church Terrell, focuses on questions of diversity among turn of the 20th century African Americans. Students read and analyze an 1898 speech by the founding president of the National Association of Colored Women about the class differences within African-American communities and the NACW’s philosophy of “lifting as we climb.”
- Lesson 3, Mary McLeod Bethune, focuses on questions of justice. Students read an interview with this prominent African-American educator and learn about how her personal experience of discrimination motivated her to open a school for African-American students in Florida and to devote her life to the struggle for equality.
- Lesson 4, Marian Wright Edelman, focuses on questions of activism. Students read a commencement speech given by this well-known founder of the Children’s Defense Fund and learn how Edelman has dedicated her life to "paying it forward" and rising above circumstances to make lives better for others. They are then encouraged to apply lessons from the speech to their own lives as they identify and implement opportunities to help improve the lives of those in their school or community.
- Each lesson includes a central text and provides strategies for reading and understanding that text. Students are encouraged to make connections between the texts and their own experiences and to take action against the inequities they identify.
- Lesson 1, Maya Angelou, focuses on questions of identity as students read and analyze Angelou’s inspirational poem “Still I Rise” and apply its message to their own lives. Students learn how Maya Angelou overcame hardship and discrimination to find her own voice and to influence others to believe in themselves and use their voices for positive change.
- PBS: After the Civil War and through the Civil Rights era of the 1950s, racial segregation laws made life for many African Americans extremely difficult. Rosa Parks—long-standing civil rights activist and author—is best known for her refusal to give up her seat to a white bus passenger, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Through two primary source activities and a short video, students will learn about Parks’ lifelong commitment to the Civil Rights Movement.
- Scholastic: This unique activity introduces Rosa Parks and provides an opportunity for students to respond to her experience in writing. As students learn about "the Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement," they see how individuals have shaped American history.
- Teaching Tolerance: Most history textbooks include a section about Rosa Parks in the chapter on the modern civil rights movement. However, Parks is only one among many African-American women who have worked for equal rights and social justice. This series introduces four of those activists who may be unfamiliar to students.
- Labor Rights:
- PBS: In this interactive lesson, use primary and secondary sources such as video and audio to unravel the mystery of Maria Moreno, a woman who fought for farm labor rights before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta formed the United Farm Workers. Then search out an unsung history maker in your own community!
- National History Day: Dolores Huerta (born 1930) began her career as a community organizer while attending the University of Pacific’s Delta College in Stockton, California, where she served in a leadership position for the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO). In 1959, Huerta co-founded the Agricultural Workers Association (AWA), comprised mostly of Filipino, Chicano, and Black workers. This group became instrumental during the 1965 grape strike in California. One year later, Huerta and César Chávez joined forces to organize the United Farm Workers (UFW). This group secured the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, which provided farm workers in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for better working conditions and higher wages. Huerta continued her work as the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation fighting for issues gender equality and social justice. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
- PBS: In this interactive lesson, use primary and secondary sources such as video and audio to unravel the mystery of Maria Moreno, a woman who fought for farm labor rights before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta formed the United Farm Workers. Then search out an unsung history maker in your own community!
