Lesson Plan - History Makers: Mabel Ping-Hua Lee

Watch a Video
Watch the video “The Struggle for Women’s Rights” and ask: What were some of the important moments in women’s fight for equality?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• suffrage
• immigrants

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them think about why voting is an important right.

1. Based on the article, what was the suffrage movement? What details help you understand the meaning of this phrase?
Based on the article, you know that the suffrage movement was a movement, or push, for women to win the right to vote. It happened in the early 1900s and involved events like marches. The article explains that Lee and other marchers “believed everyone should have the right to vote. And they were willing to fight to make that happen.”
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2. Why does the article mention the U.S. Constitution?
The article mentions the U.S. Constitution because giving women the right to vote meant changing the Constitution, the document that says how the U.S. government works. In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women in the U.S. the right to vote.
^{(RI.3.1 Text Evidence)}

3. What do you know about suffrage parades from studying the illustrations in the article? From studying the illustrations, you know that women who took part in suffrage parades often wore white clothing and red, white, and blue sashes. They marched on foot and rode on horseback. They carried signs with messages like “Equality for Women” and “Let Us Vote.”
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FEATURED SKILL: Research
Distribute the skill builder “They Spoke Up” and have students choose a suffragist to research and write about. Invite students to use their research to create posters or slide decks to share with the class.
^{(W.3.2 Informative Writing)}