This enquiry is great for practising the application of significance criteria.
It also helps students to understand that the feminist movement did not begin with the suffragettes in the early 20th century. Campaigners like Harriet Taylor Mill and Annie Besant were fighting for causes like enfranchisement, divorce and property rights long before this.
Students employ Geoffrey Partington’s model of significance to assess the significance of Mill and Besant. Then they show off their new knowledge of the 19thcentury feminist movement by writing a commemorative plaque for one of the feminists.
Hopefully, students will come away from the lesson with an understanding of the ways in which history has served to obscure some of the important activities of 19th century feminists.
Download lesson
- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up: PDF
- Resource 1 and 2: PDF
- Worksheet 1: PDF
