Students will examine topics related to women's rights and gender equality through literature. Using these literary portrayals of women, students will explore gender inequality as it exists at the local, national, and global levels. Finally, students will design, implement and present a project based on what they have learned.
The unit consists of five lessons:
The lessons provide opportunities for students to practice and strengthen those skills associated with analyzing and sharing information, and creating and implementing a strategy to enlighten others and advocate for a particular cause.
The lesson has the strengths associated with the guided inquiry approach to learning in adopting a framework that strikes a balance between teacher direction and student activity. It also includes suggestions for students to reflect on what they have learned and to act on their newly acquired understandings of an issue that is critical to building a more sustainable society.
The struggle for women's rights is found in a number of history courses, in courses on civics, in any study of the larger issue of human rights and as noted in this review may be included in literary studies.
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Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Good | The unit starts with the assumption that gender inequality has been and is a social reality and sets up a framework wherein students investigate that reality locally and globally, currently and historically. Each of the lessons identifies specific goals intended to enlarge student understanding of this reality. The lessons reject a didactic approach that would have teachers tell students of this reality in favor of an inquiry approach in which students, guided by focused questions, discover for themselves the evidence of gender inequality. |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
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Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Good | Gender inequality has prevented societies from realizing the full benefits of greater female participation in the economy. Some may also argue that the environment might also benefit from a strengthening of the matriarchal elements in our society. These issues are not pursued directly in the resource but may be addressed by students with appropriate guidance from teachers. |
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
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Respects Complexity | Good | The guiding questions suggest something of the depth of the student inquiry. Students are asked to consider what major social and historical forces have shaped the rise of women's rights; how are women represented in literature? what are the underlying power structures and cultural values that define the treatment of women in your society? |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Very Good | Lesson 4 asks students to design a project to address gender inequalities and lesson 5 provides direction for implementing their project. |
Acting on Learning: Learning moves from understanding issues to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community, or for the planet
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Values Education | Very Good | Any study of gender inequality will cause students to consider issues of fairness, justice, morality and the values they attach to these. |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Good | One may expect that at the conclusion of the unit, students will have a greater understanding of women's struggle for equality and that understanding should contribute to increased empathy and respect for those engaged in that struggle. |
Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.). | ||
Personal Affinity with Earth | Poor/Not considered | |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
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Locally-Focused Learning | Good | Lesson 2 introduces students to a consideration of the representation of women literature in a variety of settings while lesson 3 asks that they make the link from that broad investigation to the realities faced by women in their communities. The action elements also require students to share their study with the local community. |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
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Past, Present & Future | Very Good | The lessons move students from an examination of the historical struggle for women's rights to a consideration of the current position of women in their communities and concludes with the presentation of projects designed to inform others of this struggle and to advance the rights of women. |
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. |
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
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Open-Ended Instruction | Good | In lessons 1-3, student inquiry into the issue of gender equality is guided by a series of open - ended questions that have them examine the portrayal of women in literature and the status of women in their local community. Students discuss their views in small and whole groups which allows for an exchange of perspectives. Each lesson also concludes with a final reflection that encourages students to think about what they have learned from their own efforts and from hearing the views of others. |
Open-Ended Instruction
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Good | The student investigation into the portrayal of women in literature has relevance for Language Arts. The struggle for women's rights has students examine the historical record. That struggle also touches upon issues of ethics/morality. The different options available to students to "get the message out" following their study provides opportunities for students in the creative arts such as music, drama and visual arts |
Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
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Inquiry Learning | Good | Each of the lessons includes "Essential Questions" that are intended to guide student study. These are quite open-ended and allow students to generate more specific questions that must be considered into addressing the larger questions. |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
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Differentiated Instruction | Good | Student activities include literary investigations, small and large group discussion, presentation of student findings, freewriting, reflection, and art productions of their choice. |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
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Experiential Learning | Good | The student use of primary source readings is in keeping with the principles of experiential learning as is their efforts to analyze gender inequality in their neighbourhood. Taking their message to the community as outlined in lessons 4 and 5 provides practical experience creating and delivering that message and measuring the effectiveness of their efforts. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
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Cooperative Learning | Good | The lessons include numerous opportunities for pair share and whole group share, gallery walks, and sharing of artistic creations. |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
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Assessment & Evaluation | Good | Each lesson includes an assessment suggestion and these range from the formative -classroom discussion, monitoring group discussions - to the summative - mini posters, final reflections, art projects. |
Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc. | ||
Peer Teaching | Good | The lessons encourage a great deal of student interaction from small and large group sharing of individual findings and perspectives as well as the exchanges that are expected to occur as part of the gallery walks and the student presentation of their art works. |
Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
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Case Studies | Good | Opportunities for case studies emerge with the study of the literary portrayal of women, the study of leaders in the struggle for women's rights and in the consideration of local women who serve as inspiration for others. |
Case Studies: Relevant case studies are included. Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore concepts in an authentic context. | ||
Locus of Control | Good | The teacher establishes the framework for each lesson by identifying the goals of the lesson and by outlining the essential questions that are to guide student study in that lesson. Once these parameters have been established the lesson is largely given over to student activities. |
Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue. |