Classroom Activities
Week One
Objective: Identify the key events in the history of the E.R.A. movement concerning the cultural phenomena and social activities of the time.
Procedure: Students will read various articles covering the History of the E.R.A. and identify the critical moments from 1920 to 2020. Students will get an overview from CSPAN video clips. Students will then begin creating a visual timeline of these events. In addition, students will research the key cultural events and defining moments of each decade to add to the timeline. Finally, students will add to the timeline the critical social movements of each decade. The final product will be a timeline with three strands running through each decade.
Students will include:
1st wave- suffrage movement -19th Amendment, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells.
2nd wave- 1960s and 1970s, Gloria Steinman, Betty Friedan, Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, Phyllis Schlafly, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
3rd and fourth waves- 1990s to the present- #MeToo Movement, Women’s March.
Materials:
From CSPAN
https://www.c-span.org/classroom/document/?8987
Video Clip 1: The Origins of the Equal Rights Amendment (4:14)
Who initially proposed the Equal Rights Amendment? When was this?
Describe the initial criticism of the Equal Rights Amendment from women in the labor force.
Explain the difference between protective legislation and federal blanket legislation for women.
Video Clip 2: Background of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s (3:24)
Summarize what the Equal Rights Amendment said.
What factors led to the growing support of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s?
How did changes in labor laws and laws addressing equality affect women's opinions of the E.R.A.?
Students will read at least two articles covering historical events of the E.R.A. Students will research various websites identifying social movements and cultural phenomena from the 1920s-2020.
List of articles:
“The Equal Rights Amendment Explained”
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained.
“Women Aren't in the Constitution. What Would Change If They Were?”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjw3pm/what-is-the-equal-rights-amendment-era-and-what-would-it-do.
“The Equal Rights Amendment is one state from ratification. Now what?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/06/20/the-equal-rights-amendment-is-one-state-from-ratification-now-what/.
“The Long Road to Equality: What Women Won from the E.R.A. Ratification Effort”
https://guides.loc.gov/american-women-essays/era-ratification-effort.
Week Two
Objective: Read and evaluate the effectiveness of arguments in two speeches.
Procedure: Students will read two speeches, one by Gloria Steinem and one by Phyllis Schlafly. They will then use the evaluating arguments and counterclaim rubrics in the Summit Learning Platform. Students will assign a score to each speech and justify the score using evidence from the lecture.
Materials:
Gloria Steinem- May 6, 1970- Her speech for the E.R.A. testifying to Congress.
Phyllis Schlafly- 1977- Counter speech to the International Women’s Conference.
Gloria Steinem’s testimony (1970) supported the passage of the E.R.A. Steinem fought hard to advance the cause of women’s rights through the Court system and with political activism. Students will learn about the E.R.A. by pairing this document with Phyllis Schlafly's speech in the pro-E.R.A. speech. Students will listen to Phyllis Schlafly's address (1977) against the E.R.A. from the opposing Stop E.R.A. movement, learn about the unexpected backlash, and compare the speeches. Schlafly held conservative social and political views, opposed feminism, gay rights, and abortion, and successfully campaigned against the ratification of the E.R.A. to the U.S. Constitution.
Week Three
Objective: Students will identify the main arguments in Supreme Court cases, describe the Supreme Court’s decision and analysis, and discuss the Court decision's impact in a Socratic seminar.
Materials:
Supreme Court cases specifically, (oyez.org)
Bakke v. U of California (1978).
Craig v. Boren (1976).
Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co. (1970).
Corning Glass Works v. Brennan (1974).
Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (2007).
Duren v. Missouri (1979).
Procedure: Students will research Supreme Court cases and present their findings on why they were not passed or denied. Students will study historical background, pros, and cons, narrowing down their arguments. Students will research, analyze, and discuss Supreme court cases, defining points of view. Students will present their findings in a Socratic seminar.
Week Four
Objective: Students will be able to identify trends in salary and education by gender in various occupations.
Materials: Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Pew research polls and facts.
“Gender pay gap in the U.S. held steady in 2020."
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/25/gender-pay-gap-facts/.
“In 25 Years, the Pay Gap Has Shrunk by Just 8 Cents”
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/equal-pay-day-explainer.html.
“When Hard Work is Not Enough: Women in Low-Paid Jobs”
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Women-in-Low-Paid-Jobs-report_ES_pp01.pdf.
Procedure: In a gallery walk, students will identify and discuss stereotypically gender-specific jobs. Students will look these jobs up in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and determine wages and educational requirements. Students will report trends that they identify, salaries over the decades, and questions they have compiled from this data. Students will read the articles, examine data, gather their information in a graphic organizer, share their findings and draw conclusions from the evidence research.
Gallery walks discussing salaries, occupations, and jobs. Consider the salary of a male actor and a female actor. Discuss the salaries of professors, athletes, teachers, managers, and C.E.O.s
Scenarios include -A female employee is not hired for a job as a man gets it. How does this feel? Should women be making the same amount of money as men? Why should they be paid the same? Or why not? Historically women have been underpaid. What is the average pay for a teacher, nurse, doctor? The first lady of the United States does not get paid. Should a woman get paid for the work that she does?
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