The History of Jewish American Women's Activism

Jewish women have been disproportionately active in American social and political movements. But often, the Jewish identity of these activists has been omitted from history books, or their involvement has been omitted altogether. In this lesson, students will explore the ways in which Jewish women have been involved in these movements and how their identities shaped their activism. Students will practice public speaking and presentation skills and discuss how identity shapes activism and the importance of acknowledging the identities of historical figures.

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

1. Understand Jewish American women activists' involvement in five American social/political movements

2. Practice public speaking and presentation skills

3. Discuss the ways in which identity impacts activism and how history is recounted

The standards covered in this lesson are:

• AP United States History: 1.A, 1.B, 4.A, 4.B, 5.A, 5.B, 6.7, 6.8, 6.11, 7.4, 7.10, 8.5, 8.6, 8.10, 9.6

• Common Core ELA: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.1, CCSS.ELA- LITERACY.RH.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.3, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.9

This lesson plan was created in partnership with the Jewish Women's Archive