Civic Literacy Essay

Rosie Jayde Uyola
2 days ago
4 min read

Updated: 14 hours ago

Learning Target: I can analyze how woman’s suffrage expanded democracy in the United States, complete all required planning documents, create a clear and organized outline, and write a well-supported civic literacy essay that uses historical evidence to explain the struggle for voting rights and its impact on American society.

Time Allowed: 45 Minutes

The CLE Mission (What you will write in Part B):

Describe the historical circumstances surrounding this issue.
Explain efforts by individuals, groups, or governments to address it.
Discuss the impact of these efforts on the United States.

Part I: DO NOW - Notice & Infer 3 Minutes)

Protocol: "Write Before You Speak"

Directions: Look at Document 2b: The First Picket Line: College Day in the picket line, Feb. 1917 (Photo of women standing outside the White House gates with large banners directed at the President). You have 2 minutes of silent writing time to complete the chart below. Be prepared to be cold-called!

[ ] Self-Check: Did I write at least two complete sentences?

My Observation (What I notice in the photograph). I notice that the women in the photo are holding signs that say...	My Inference (A logical conclusion based on what I see). Based on the fact that they are standing at the White House, I can infer that...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZkk4xdANg

Part II: Solo Document Analysis (15 Minutes)

Protocol: Lehman Text Rendering

Success Criteria: Work INDEPENDENTLY. For each document below, you must:

Mark the Text: [Bracket] the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence.
Answer the Prompt: Use the provided parallel scaffolds to sustain your independent work.

Example:

Document 4

. . . But it should not deceive us; this struggle was waged every bit as seriously as any

struggle for equality, and we would do well to consider how women were able to do

what men have rarely even tried, changing society in a positive and lasting way without

violence and death. . . .

Like the now-celebrated civil rights movement, women suffrage records the recent

and useful experiences of ordinary citizens forced to fight for their own rights against

tremendous odds and social inequities.

Here are models of political leadership, of women organizers and administrators,

activists and lobbyists. Here are the first women lawyers and doctors and ministers,

the first women candidates, the first of office-holders. Here are stories of achievement,

of ingenious strategies and outrageous tactics used to outwit the opponents and make

the most of limited resources. Here are new definitions and images of women in our

national life which give a more accurate picture of the past and which help explain the

way American women are treated today. . . .

[The suffrage movement offers a unique window onto the emergence of women into

American political life]. This is where many of the intelligent, active, politically oriented

women of the time, denied the right to participate directly in national politics, went.

They put their energy into attacking social problems directly and organizing among

themselves, locally and nationally, for their own rights. . . .

Source: Robert Cooney, “Taking a New Look at the Woman Suffrage Movement,” in

The Feminist Movement, Nick Treanor, ed., Greenhaven Press, 2002

an essay in which you

• Describe the historical circumstances surrounding this constitutional or civic issue

• Explain efforts by individuals, groups, and/or governments to address this

constitutional or civic issue

• Discuss the impact of the efforts on the United States and/or on American society

Document 1: The Early Campaign (1840s-1850s)

[ ] Self-Check: Did I bracket the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence?

Task: What is one historical circumstance surrounding the right to vote?
Parallel Scaffold:
- The inequality women faced was: _____________________________________________

An event where they addressed this was: _______________________________________

Document 2a: Organizing the Movement

[ ] Self-Check: Did I bracket the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence?

Task: Identify one effort made by suffragettes to gain support for women's suffrage.
Parallel Scaffold:
- One physical action they took was: ____________________________________________

One administrative action they took was: ______________________________________

Document 3b: The Opposition

[ ] Self-Check: Did I bracket the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence?

Task: State one reason for opposition to the efforts to gain women's suffrage.
Parallel Scaffold:
- Opponents feared that voting would disrupt: __________________________________

Opponents argued that politics was too: _______________________________________

Document 5: Advocacy Models

Text: The lessons of the women's suffrage struggle deeply influenced later American social justice movements. [ ] Self-Check: Did I bracket the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence?

Task: What is one impact of the efforts to achieve women's suffrage? ______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Answer: The suffragists impacted future American society by...

Document 6a: Political Leadership (2017)

[ ] Self-Check: Did I bracket the main idea sentence and underline one key piece of evidence?

Task: What is one impact of achieving women's suffrage on the government?

______________________________________________________________________________

Answer: Because of suffrage, women were able to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuVa27WISyo

Part III: Partner Compare (5 Minutes)

Protocol: Turn and Talk

Directions: Turn to your table partner and compare your text rendering and answers.