Words: Understanding Women's Rights

Gina McMurchy-Barber, British Columbia

Intended Grade/Subject Area

Grades 4-8 History, Social Studies, Language Arts, Drama

Instructional Objectives

Students will:

• • gain an appreciation of the struggles faced by women prior to gaining the right to vote and becoming "persons" in the eyes of the law
• • become familiar with both local and national figures who helped women to gain enfranchisement
• • learn how women contributed to the development of Canada and its history
• • develop critical thinking skills in relation to rights, privileges, and freedoms
• • become prepared for future study of the Human Rights Act and the Children's Rights Act of the United Nations
• • bring history alive through dramatization

Activities

Activity #1: Story and Writing Activity

You can use the story available in the PDF or tell one of your own. This story tells of two children, born at the same time, to the same parents, but who are not treated equally. It is intended to keep the gender of the children uncertan until the end. Students will see the unfairnes of the circumstances and begin thinking about ways to bring equality.

Potential discussion questions: Why do you think the two children are treated differently? When do you think this story took place? What plans would you make to change your future?

Writing Assignment: Write an ending to the story. (Books should be available to the children that help them to undestand the conditions for Canadian women int he past. They need to know such things are: women did not have the right to vote provincially or federally until the early part of the last century; women were not allowed to own property or keep their own money; women had no legal right to parent their own children in the event that the husband died; if a woman was over the age of 21, she could earn money and own property but as soon as she married it all became her husband's; women were not considered "persons" in the eyes of the law.)

Activity #2: Interview/Research Project

There are many older ladies who may remember a time when women had fewer rights or options. They may even have mothers who were part of the women's rights movement in Canada. Ask a grandmother, older friend, or neighbour what they experienced or remember regarding the attitudes and treatment of women. Then write or share what you discovered.

Through library research, find out what you can about some or all of the following women: Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Emily Stowe, Irene Parlby, E. Cora Hind, Henrietta Muir Edwards. Through your research you will come across many other women who made a contribution to improving conditions for women. Who were they and what did they do?

Another research option is to examine how creative women like Emily Carr and Lucy Maud Montgomery managed to follow their passions despite attitudes of the time. Excellent books for this work are HerStory: Women from Canada's Past by Susan Merritt, Firing the Heather by Mary Hallett and Marilyn Davis, and Nellie L. by Connie Brummel Crook. The Famous Five Foundation site on the Internet is also helpful.

Activity #3 - Writing Assignment

There are many special women in our lives. Some of them lived long ago, while many are with us today. Choose a woman that you admire and write a page about her. Ask yourself the following questions: What has she done that I admire? Who has she benefited? What lasting impact will her contribution have?

The woman you choose to write about could be someone you know, like your mother, grandmother, sister, teacher, or friend. It could also be a prominent figure in the community, country, or world.

When you're done, you can either send your work to the one you admire or to the Famous Five Foundation.

Activity #4 - Novel Study

Nellie L. by Connie Brummel Crook is wonderful historical fiction novel about the childhood of Nellie McClung. It could be read to the class during reading time, and followed by question sheets or a discussion period. On the other hand, it can be used for a class novel study, with each child having a copy. Discuss the restructions felt by young Nellie McClung as she grew up in the late 1800s. What kinds of things did Nellie want improved for women? how did she go about it?

Activity #5 - Skit

Students are encouraged to write their own script for their skits. They may base their script on the Nellie L. novel by Connie Brummel Crook, or on their own interview/research related to the women's movement.

About the Educator

Gina McMurphy-Barber instils a love of Canadian history in her students through experiental learning. Interviews, pen pals, songs, cooking, presentations, and field trips are used to teach topics as diverse as the Canadian Parliamentary System, the Gold Rush, Quebec, The Great Depression, Archaeology, Human Rights, and First Nations Peoples. She writes plays to allow her students to inhabit the past and integrates her units, weaving Canadian history into science, writing, literature, art, and music.