StudySync Lesson Plan Declaration of Sentiments Objectives 1. Engage students in the language and themes of Declaration of Sentiments, written by the attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, so that they are prepared to discuss and write about the tract. 2. Practice and reinforce the following Grades 11-12 ELA Common Core Standards for reading, writing, and speaking and listening: Time READING: HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES RH.11-12.1-10 WRITING: HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES WHST.11-12.1-2, 4-10 SPEAKING AND LISTENING SL.11-12.1-5 140 minutes (with an additional 200 minutes of extension possibilities) Materials SyncTV Premium Lesson on the Declaration of Sentiments by the Seneca Falls Convention Overview This StudySync lesson presents a manifesto written by the attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Borrowing from the structure and language of the Declaration on Independence, this document outlines the expectations of rights held by women as well as the systematic undermining ( usurpations ) of those rights on the part of men. Using the lesson plan below will help students understand this text and the historical background of women s suffrage and similar Civil Rights movements. Students will also be prepared to read and write textually rooted responses consistent with the Common Core standards for Grades 11-12. Background (10 minutes) 1. Watch the Preview (SL.11-12.1). As a group, watch the video preview of the premium lesson. After viewing, use the following questions to spur a discussion: a. What do you know about the time period in which the Declaration of Sentiments Page 1
was written? In addition to what you heard in the preview, what historical information do you need to keep in mind to better understand the text? b. What image or images stand out to you? How do the images from this preview relate to other Civil Rights movements you may have studied? c. Had you heard of the Declaration of Sentiments before watching this video? What do you know about the women s suffrage movement as a whole? Extension (additional 60 minutes) d. Research and Write (WHST.11-12.7-10). Use this History Channel link http://www.history.com/topics/19th-amendment/speeches#us-feminists-march-on- 50th-anniversary-of-19th-amendment-adoption as an introduction to the women s suffrage movement. This live recording was made in 1970 to celebrate 50 years of women s right to vote in America. Still that means there were more than 70 years between the Declaration of Sentiments and the 19 th Amendment. Ask students to research and produce a timeline explaining what happened in the 72 years between the Seneca Falls Convention and the 19 th Amendment s passage. Engaging the Text (130 minutes) 2. Read the Text (30 minutes) a. Read and Annotate (RH.11-12.4-6). Have students read and annotate the introduction and excerpt from the Declaration of Sentiments. If students are completing as a homework assignment, ask them to write any questions they have into the annotation tool these questions are visible to you after the students submit their writing assignments or beforehand if you use the Mimic function to access the students accounts. b. Discuss (SL.11-12.1, 3). Have students get into small groups or pairs and briefly discuss the questions and inferences they had while reading. As a class, discuss the following: How did the images in the preview affect your understanding of the text? What other images came to mind as you read the excerpt? What words were uncommon to you? What meanings did you infer? Extension (additional 20 minutes) c. Listen and Discuss (SL.11-12.1-2). As a class, listen to the audio reading of the text. Ask students to share how their understanding of the text changed after listening. What additional images came to mind? What words did the author use to develop the setting? d. Comprehend (RH.11-12.1-6) Have students complete the multiple-choice questions. Collect papers or discuss answers as a class. 3. Watch SyncTV (30 minutes) a. Watch. Either watch the SyncTV discussion as a class or ask students to watch it on their individual computers. Page 2
b. Discuss (SL.11-12.1-5). After watching the model discussion, have a conversation with the class about the ideas discussed in the SyncTV episode. What new thoughts do they have after hearing the students' discussion? Next, divide students into small groups (3-4 students). Move around the room monitoring groups as students follow the SyncTV episode as a model to discuss some of the following questions: 1. Why would the Seneca Fall Convention choose to mimic the language and structure of the Declaration of Independence in its document about women s rights? What effects both positive and negative does this have on the Declaration of Sentiments? 2. How does the "Declaration of Sentiments" modify and subvert the text of the passage it references from the "Declaration of Independence"? Analyze how these subtle but important changes contribute to the overall meaning of the text. How is it similar and how is it different? 3. In the text, the Seneca Falls Convention authors cite a list of 15 injustices enacted by men against women. Evaluate the validity of the first 5 of these claims. 4. In the text, the Seneca Falls Convention authors cite a list of 15 injustices enacted by men against women. Evaluate the validity of the second 5 of these claims. 5. In the text, the Seneca Falls Convention authors cite a list of 15 injustices enacted by men against women. Evaluate the validity of the final 5 of these claims. 6. Which of these aforementioned injustices are still relevant today? Has society overcome these injustices, or is there still more progress to be made? Why/why not? 7. Do you think the Declaration of Sentiments was the most effective way to bring women s rights issues to greater light in America? What would some other possibilities have been? How does this document stack up against the actions taken during the Civil Rights movement by African Americans 100 years later? Extension (additional 60 minutes) c. Write (WHST.11-12.7-10). Use the StudySync assignment creation tool to create a Writing assignment that asks students to address the following prompt: 1. It is easy for one to look back into history and make judgments about a society's lifestyle and decisions. Think about how people of the future might view our society as a whole. What would they say about our lifestyles or decisions? Is there an issue in today s society that they will look back on and believe we were slow to react to? Are Civil Rights still an issue in modern America? Write an essay using your opinions and examples from the text and other sources to support your ideas. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class. Page 3
4. Think (10 minutes) a. Respond (W.11-12.1, 4). Ask students to read the Think questions, watch the corresponding video clips, and respond to the questions, either in class or for homework. 5. Write (60 minutes) a. Discuss (SL.11-12.1). Read the prompt you have chosen for students, and then solicit questions regarding the prompt or the assignment expectations. Whichever prompt you have chosen, make sure you are clear about the assignment expectations and the rubric by which you and the other students will be evaluating them. b. Organize (RH.11-12.1-5, 10 and WHST.11-12.1-2, 5). Ask students to go back and annotate the text with the prompt in mind. They should be organizing their thoughts and the points they ll address in their writing as they make annotations. If you ve worked on outlining or other organizational tools for writing, this is a good place to apply them. c. Write (WHST.11-12.1-2, 4-6, 8-10). Have students go through the writing process of planning, revising, editing, and publishing their writing responses. d. Review (WHST.11-12.4-6). Use the StudySync Review feature to have students complete one to two evaluations of their peers work based on your chosen review rubric. Have the students look at and reflect upon the peer evaluations of their own writing. What might you do differently in a revision? How might you strengthen the writing and the ideas? Extension (additional 60 minutes) e. Write (WHST.11-12.1-2, 4-6, 8-10). For homework, have students write an essay using one of the prompts you did not choose to do in class. Students should publish their responses online. f. Self-Assessment (WHST.11-12.4-5). Use the StudySync assignment creation tool to create a "Writing" assignment that asks students to address the following prompt. 1. Reread one of your essays and the reviews of one of your essays on Declaration of Sentiments. After reading these reviews, what do you believe were the biggest strengths of your essay? What were the biggest weaknesses? If you were to go back and write this essay again, what would you change about your writing process? How has writing this essay made you a better writer? Page 4
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS Key Vocabulary 1. despotism (n.) - absolute power 2. elective franchise (n.) - the right to vote 3. impunity (n.) - freedom from punishment, harm, or loss 4. prudence (n.) - good judgment, forethought 5. remuneration (n.) - pay or compensation 6. usurpation (n.) - taking or making use of without right 7. evince (v.) - to display clearly 8. disfranchisement (n.) - (alt. disenfranchisement) the state of being stripped (as a person or group) of the right to vote 9. transient (adj.) - passing quickly into and out of existence 10. hitherto (adv.) - until now Reading Comprehension Questions 1. In paragraph 1, the "one portion of the family of man" is suggestively referring to. a. Americans b. children c. women d. religious minorities 2. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Which of the following words or phrases in the above quote was NOT written in the original Declaration of Independence? a. women b. by their Creator c. inalienable d. the pursuit of happiness 3. "He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice." A good synonym for compelled in this sentence would be. a. encouraged b. forced c. legislated d. created Page 5
4. Which of the following is used in the first paragraph of "Declaration of Sentiments"? a. anecdotal evidence b. appeal to authority c. statement of intent d. all of the above 5. "In the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all intents and purposes, her master--the law giving him power to deprive her of her liberty, and to administer chastisement." Which of the following best paraphrases the main idea of the above statement? a. Husbands have more power over women than government or the rule of law. b. Women should submit to their husbands because husbands are better rulers than government. c. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. d. Men and women have different roles and responsibilities in the covenant of marriage. 6. "He allows her in church, as well as state, but a subordinate position, claiming apostolic authority for her exclusion from the ministry, and, with some exceptions, from any public participation in the affairs of the church? A good synonym for subordinate in this sentence would be. a. supportive b. meaningless c. different d. inferior 7. "He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself, claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of action, when that belongs to her conscience and to her God." Which of the following best paraphrases the main idea of the above statement? a. Men are generally responsible for assigning societal roles to women. b. Jehovah used to decide a woman's sphere of action, but that is no longer the case. c. It should be up to God and women alone to determine a woman's role in society, not men. d. A woman's conscience determines her sphere of action, not men. 8. "He" is a pronoun repeatedly used in this tract. It refers to. a. God b. men c. both a and b d. neither a nor b 9. Which of the following sentences best summarizes the argument put forth in this tract? a. Men have claimed superiority over women for centuries, but in reality men are oppressive and weak. b. Women are not afforded the same inalienable rights and privileges that are granted to other U.S. citizens, but they should be. Page 6
c. The discrimination that women have suffered over the course of human history is rooted in a fear of losing power. d. Laws forbidding women the right to vote were clearly drafted and supported by men in positions of power. 10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a grievance committed by man against women? a. legislation without representation b. disrespect c. exclusion from institutions of higher learning d. none of the above Answer Key: 1. C 2. A 3. B 4. C 5. A 6. D 7. C 8. B 9. B 10. D Page 7
Further Assignments 1. Re-write the 15 grievances in the "Declaration of Sentiments" for a 21st century audience. Remove any injustices that are no longer applicable, and add new ones that have emerged. (RH.11-12.8) 2. Why were so many people adamantly opposed to the women's suffrage movement? Do you think the root of this opposition was economic, political, or theological, or all of the above? As either an in-class assignment or for homework, have students speculate why so many people throughout history have stood in opposition to civil rights movements. (RH.11-12.8 and WHST.11-12.9) 3. Interpret and analyze the meaning of the following excerpt from this tract: "He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead." What does "civilly dead" mean? What exactly are the authors of the "Declaration of Sentiments" saying about the treatment of married women under the law? (RH.11-12.2, 4) 4. As a homework assignment, have students research the life and influence of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Who was she and what did she accomplish? Why do we remember her to this day? (WHST.11-12.7-9) 5. Should all people be afforded the same rights and opportunities under the law? Do governments and/or religious institutions ever have the right to strip people of rights? Which rights are inalienable, and which are dependent upon other factors? (WHST.11-12.9 and RH.11-12.8) 6. Ask students to go back through this excerpt and identify the higher-level vocabulary words used throughout. Have them replace these words with synonyms or synonym phrases that they are already familiar with. Make sure they underline or highlight any other words they are unfamiliar with. (ELL) Page 8