Book Talk
Women’s Suffrage
Tiffany Lockridge
Beth Mittelman
What do these women have in common?
What are their accomplishments in history?
The teacher will write student responses on chart paper.
ELACC4SL1:
Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led)
with diverse partners on grade 4
topics and texts, building on
others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly.
Sojourner Truth
Path to Glory
Written by
Peter Merchant
• Grade level: 4th and 5th
• Standards:
SS4H7-The student will examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage
movements. b. Explain the significance of Sojourner Truth to the abolition and suffrage
movements.
ELACC4RI1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the
text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• Learning Objective: Students will be able to explain the significance of Sojourner
Truth to the abolition and suffrage movements by using an anticipation guide.
• Essential Question: How might I explain the significance of Sojourner Truth to the
abolition and suffrage movements?
Summary
Sojourner Truth: The Path to Glory written by Peter
Merchant has historical facts about the life of Sojourner
Truth. It begin with her birth in approximately 1798 into a
rough childhood as a slave and how she and her family were
treated very poorly. It goes on to explore her life as a slave
and what her life was like when she was freed. After
Sojourner was set free she used her life to preach and teach
others about women’s rights and the power of freedom. The
book ends with her death in 1883 in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Reading Strategy-Anticipation Guide
An Anticipation guide can be used before,
during, and after reading to:
•
•
•
•
•
Activate prior knowledge
Establish a purpose of reading
Motivate students
Promote active reading
Promote critical thinking
Sojourner Truth Path to Glory Anticipation Guide
Directions: Before reading, read the statements below and mark whether you
agree or disagree. After reading, write whether you were correct with your
assumption. Please note the chapter and page number you found the information.
Agree
Disagree
Statement
Sojourner Truth was born free.
Sojourner Truth’s birth name was Isabella Baumfree.
Sojourner was free for the first time in her life when she
was 18 years old.
Were you
right?
Chapter and
page
number
I Am
Harriet Tubman
Written by
Grace Norwich
• Grade level: 4th and 5th
• Standards:
SS4H7-The student will examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and
suffrage movements. a. Discuss the biographies of Harriet Tubman and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
ELACC4RI1- Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what
the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• Learning Objective: Students will be able to discuss the life of Harriet
Tubman by making connections.
• Essential Question: How did Harriet Tubman contribute to the abolitionist
and suffrage movements?
Summary
Harriet Tubman was born a slave without any rights.
With courage and commitment, she ran away and began
a new life. But she risked this new life countless times
to help other slaves find freedom. Harriet Tubman
became the most successful conductor on the
Underground Railroad by guiding over seventy people to
safety. Because of her bravery and passion, she became
monumental in both the civil-rights movement and the
women’s suffrage movement. Harriet Tubman is an
American hero.
Reading Strategy
Making connections through questioning
(Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Common Core Classroom
(Chapter 3 pages 45-46 & 51) by Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath
• How do you feel about the main character in the book? Can you relate to her in
any way?
• Whose perspective do we hear in the book? Whose perspective do we NOT hear
in the book?
• Who may have been missing from the storyline?
• Who does this book get you to root for?
• If you were Harriet, would you have anything done differently? Why or why
not?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Women’s Rights Pioneer
Written by
Connie Colwell Miller
• Grade level: 4th and 5th
• Standards:
SS4H7-The student will examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage
movements. a. Discuss the biographies of Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton.
ELACC4RI4- Determine the meaning of general academic language and domainspecific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
• Learning Objective: Students will be able to discuss the life of Elizabeth Cady
Stanton by understanding the vocabulary.
• Essential Question: How did Elizabeth Cady Stanton contribute to the abolitionist
and suffrage movements?
Summary
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Rights Pioneer
was written by Connie Colwell Miller is a
biography written in a comic book style. It begins
with her life as an independent eleven year old, to a
wife and a mother, to her life as a women’s rights
activist who helped plan the historic women's rights
convention in Seneca Falls in New York in 1848. It
ended with her children continuing to fight for
women’s suffrage even after her death.
Reading Strategy
Previewing vocabulary with a foldable
When Harriet met
Sojourner
Written by
Catherine Clinton
• Author: Catherine Clinton
• Grade level: 4th and 5th
• Standard:
SS4H7-The student will examine the main ideas of the abolitionist and suffrage
movements. a. Discuss the biographies of Harriet Tubman and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton.
ELACC4RI6: Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the
same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.
• Learning Objective: Students will be able to compare and contrast the lives
of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth by using a Venn Diagram.
• Essential Question: How might I compare and contrast the lives of Harriet
Tubman and Sojourner Truth?
Summary
Two women with similar backgrounds. Both slaves
and both fiercely independent. Both great, in
different ways. One day in 1864, the lives of these
two women came together. When Harriet Met
Sojourner is a look inside what happened when two
heroes met and their importance in the role of
America’s future.
Reading Strategy
Compare and contrast using a Venn diagram
Questions to Ponder
Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in the Common Core Classroom
(Chapter 5 pages 102) by Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath
• How can we learn from the abolitionist who
fought to make change and eradicate slavery?
• Where else in the world does slavery exist today?
• What efforts could we take to help stop slavery?
To Wrap It Up…..
All four of these books will be
helpful to use in the classroom to
meet the needs for students to have
the understanding of abolitionist and
the suffrage movements that were
challenges of a new nation.
Enrichment
Watch the videos on Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman,
and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Using a Venn Diagram
compare and contrast their lives.
Remediation
These titles are for lower level readers, if needed to
endure understandings for students who needed
help understanding the content.
All four of these books meet the needs for Proficiencies 1-6
• Proficiency 1- Candidates are aware of different learning styles and adapt
instruction or services appropriately for all students, including
linguistically and culturally diverse students and students with
exceptionalities. All four books are grade level appropriate books to
meet the needs of different learning styles for all students. For
example, When Harriet met Sojourner uses a Venn diagram, which is a
great support structure for all learners in the classroom, especially
English Language Learners. (Agarwal-Rangnath, R., p 81).
• Proficiency 2- Candidates connect lessons, instruction, or services to
students’ experiences and cultures. All four books enable students to
connect to real life experiences in a way they understand. I Am Harriet
allows students to see the bias in texts and to seek alternatives to the
textbook. (Agarwal-Rangnath, R., p 52).
• Proficiency 3- Candidates communicate with students and
families in ways that demonstrate sensitivity to cultural and
gender differences. These books show sensitivity to cultural
and gender differences by portraying heroes that fought for
equality during difficult times in America. This allows
students to imagine what it was like for people in a specific
moment of history. (Agarwal-Rangnath, R., p 25).
• Proficiency 4- Candidates incorporate multiple perspectives in the
subject matter being taught or services being provided. All four
books give different perspectives from important women that
challenge students’ misconceptions and uncover historical
events from the examination of theses perspectives. (AgarwalRangnath, R., p. 39).
• Proficiency 5- Candidates develop a classroom and school climate
that values diversity. The four books are stories that show human
failure that turn into stories of triumph. These stories are a
great way to draw our learners in to the historical event,
therefore, valuing diversity. (Agarwal-Rangnath, R., p. 28).
• Proficiency 6- Candidates demonstrate classroom behaviors that are
consistent with the ideas of fairness and the belief that all students
can learn. These books give students opportunity to draw on
their prior knowledge and can also provoke critical questions
that challenge students to think and express their own ideas and
beliefs. (Agarwal-Rangnath, R., p. 114).
References
Agarwal-Rangnath, R. (2013). Social Studies, Literacy, and Social Justice in
the Common Core Classroom A Guide for Teachers.
Clinton, C. (2007). When Harriet Met Sojourner
Merchant, P. (2007) Sojourner Truth Path to Glory
Miller, C.C. (2006) Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Rights Pioneer
Norwich, G. (2013) I Am Harriet Tubman