Title: "Herstory" in Michigan - Great Women of our Great State

Submitted by:

Name: Linda McConville

School Building: E. P. Clarke Elementary School

School District: St. Joseph Public Schools

School Address: 515 E. Glenlord Rd./ St. Joseph, MI 49085

E-mail Address: Lmcconvi@remc11.k12.mi.us

Subject Area: Social Studies, Language Arts, Technology

Intended Grade Level(s): Fourth through Sixth Grades

Description: Celebrate Women’s History month in March by teaching your students about the struggles and achievements of women throughout Michigan’s history, the changes that have taken place in women’s roles, and the difference one person can make. This lesson focuses on the impact women have made on the history of Michigan. Student pairs choose a women to research and then develop a class presentation of Herstory by using HyperStudio.

Narrative: The history of Michigan presents an opportunity to highlight the significance of certain individuals in shaping the course of our heritage. The names of the women of our state are virtually unknown. "Herstory in Michigan" combines the importance of women in our state’s history (past) with the sharing of their lives through multi-media (present) to make Michigan history come alive. It also sets the stage for a view into the impact these women had in the future of Michigan.

The integration of technology into this lesson makes the lives of these women come alive. Unlike a report, the presentation of information with a multimedia approach offers students choices to explore. Each presentation has a voice recording that tells about each woman in the first person telling her story.

Curriculum Benchmarks:

 

MI.ELA.1.LE.1 Use reading for multiple purposes, such as gathering information, learning new procedures, and increasing conceptual understanding.

 

MI.ELA.2.LE.1 Write fluently for multiple purposes to produce compositions, such as stories, reports, letters, plays, and explanations of processes.

 

MI.SOC.I.2.MS.4 Use historical biographies to explain how events from the past affected the lives of individuals and how some individuals influenced the course of history.

Total amount of time for lesson: This lesson takes at least two weeks to develop spending an hour a day on the activities.

Materials/Hardware/Software:

Access to the Internet

HyperStudio by Roger Wagner (multi-platform)

Scanner (optional)

Teacher Preparation: A list of Michigan women should be prepared in advance. (A number of them are included in this lesson plan.) The Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame 213 W. Main St., Lansing, MI 48933 phone 517-484-1880 has a great deal of information available. http://scnc.leslie.k12.mi.us/~mwhfame/

The teacher needs to be familiar with searching the Internet and also have some basic knowledge of HyperStudio. When student HyperStudio cards are complete, the teacher or another student will need to link all of the cards together. This is a great resource for Women’s "Herstory."

Prerequisite Student Skills: This is a good lesson to tackle after the students have become familiar with HyperStudio. (You can adapt this to your own available software such as Kid Pix). Students need to have basic Internet searching skills and research skills.

Student Activities/Procedures:

1. Introduce students to some of the important women in Michigan history by showing them a timeline on the Internet that lists the achievements of more than 500 Michigan women who have been the first women (or first persons) in their fields or who have been the founders of movements, programs, organizations or institutions that have benefited our society. http://leslie.k12.mi.us/~mwhfame/mwchron.html

Some of the women on the timeline are listed in Michigan Women: Firsts and Founders, Volume I by Rachel Brett Harley and Betty MacDowell, a publication of the Michigan Women's Studies Association in 1995.

2. Student pairs choose one women to research.

Following is a list of some of the women of Michigan that could be researched:

Marie-Therese Guyon Cadillac

Anne Picote de Belestre de Tonti

Elizabeth Chandler

Sojourner Truth

Laura Smith Haviland

Sara Emma Edmonds

Caroline Bartlett Crane

Anna Howard Shaw

Martha Griffiths

Aretha Franklin

Joan W. Blos

Sheila Young-Ochowicz

Marguerite Lofft De Angeli

Mary Chase Perry Stratton

Voltairine DeCleyre

Ella Wing Sharp

Harriette Simpson Arnow

Madeline La Framboise

Mary Anne Mayo

Martha Longstreet

Berta Van Hoosen

Rose Hartwich Thorpe

Genevieve Gillette

Annie Clemenc

Caroloine Bartlett crane

Lucinda Hinsdale Stone

Dora Hall Stockman

3. Based on their research, students might address some of the following:

1) Why was this woman important in Michigan history?

2) When and where was she born? When did she die?

3) Tell about this woman’s early life. Tell about her family.

4) Did this woman overcome any social, economic or political obstacles?

5) If this woman were alive today, what might she think about women’s roles now?

6) What are some questions you would like to ask this woman?

4. Taking the role of their particular woman, student pairs develop a script that relates the importance of this women telling her own story (herstory).

5. Student pairs then plan their HyperStudio card(s) on paper. The card must include a picture of the woman (scanned image, a copy from the Internet, or their own drawing), text, sound, and other significant symbols of her life. Students can also add buttons to connect cards to other information about the women including appropriate websites.

6. Each pair of students prepares a HyperStudio card based on their prior planning. Students record the "voice" of the women and use a button to signify the sound.

7. All of the cards are then linked together for a class presentation with a title card: Herstory in Michigan - Great Women from a Great State!

8. The entire stack can be shared with other classes.

Assessment/Evaluation: A rubric and/or a self-assessment can be developed with the class based on the following:

Student research (the content): Did the student provide the required content for the project?

Prior Planning: Did the student complete the planning for the card?

Use of Technology Tools: Was the student able to use the hardware and software effectively?

Cooperative work: Did the student share equally in the work and cooperative with his partner?

Creativity: Did the student take any creative risks?

Grammar/Technical Skills: Did the student use well written text with appropriate grammar and punctuation?

Follow-up Activities:

1. Invite a panel of four or five grandmothers to class. Have students brainstorm ahead of time for questions they’d like to ask. Encourage each grandmother to share something special with the class, such as her favorite children’s story, a craft she enjoys, or career information.

2. Share Women’s Herstory with the rest of the school during Women’s History Month in March. Highlight a different woman each day and have students tell about them over the intercom or school television broadcast.

3. Plan a "What’s My Line" game during which children representing important women appear before the class. Allow the class to ask no more than 20 questions to determine the women’s profession or the action that made her famous.

4. Ask the children to each write an essay about the woman they most admire. Explain that the woman does not have to be famous. Every woman is part of history!

5. Have each child make a quilt square illustrating a individual woman’s accomplishments. Squares can be created with markers on paper or cloth and should include the featured woman’s name and birthplace and illustrate her accomplishments. Squares can be sewn or glued together to display.

6. Choose special women to research and make trading cards (similar to sports trading cards) that include picture and important information.

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