Eleanor Roosevelt lesson options
1. Students will be able to discuss the contributions made to society by Eleanor
Roosevelt.
2. Students will be able to describe the personal qualities of Eleanor Roosevelt.
3. Students will be able to describe the time period and events that occurred during
Eleanor Roosevelt's life.
4. Students will be able to identify the personal qualities and the contributions for which
they would like to be remembered.
5. Students will be able to identify several duties of a first lady.
Time Allotment: Approximately six class periods.
Procedures:
1. Think-Pair-Share: Individually have students brainstorm answers to the question,
"What are the responsibilities of a first lady?" In pairs have students share their ideas. As
a class have students contribute to a class list.
2. Mini-Lecture: With the class, discuss several of the students ideas about what the
responsibilities of a first lady are. Talk with the students about one particular First Lady,
Eleanor Roosevelt. Using the given background information, tell the story of Eleanor
Roosevelt's life and contributions.
3. Time Line: As a class, create a time line of Eleanor Roosevelt's life. Be sure to include
important events from her personal life as well as from her political career. The time line
should be displayed throughout the entire unit on Eleanor Roosevelt. While working on
this project, the teacher and students will research and discuss the world events that were
happening at this time. Some of these events should be included on the time line. See
appendix A.
4. Jigsaw: Divide the students into four groups. Assign each student within the group to
do research on one of the organizations that Eleanor Roosevelt was vital to creating. Use
organizations like: League of Women Voters, Women's Trade Union League, New York
State Democratic Party, and National Youth Administration. Information on these
organizations can be found in Eleanor Roosevelt by William Jay Jacobs as well.
Members sharing the same topic from each group will do the research together. They will
share all information and become experts on their material. All students will then go back
to their original groups and share their findings with the other group members.
6. Compare and Contrast: After learning about the responsibilities of a first lady, use
this activity to compare and contrast the effect that Eleanor Roosevelt made on the United
States of America. Brainstorm together and put their ideas in the diagram.
7. Letter: Have each student write a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt describing how one of
her accomplishments has affected their lives. For example; women have the right to vote,
public places are not segregated, and there are funds available to students for college.
Assessment:
1. Students contributions to Think-Pair-Share and the group list of responsibilities will be
assessed informally through observation.
2. The students time line will be checked to see that it contains accurate information
relating to Eleanor Roosevelt's life.
3. The jigsaw activity will be assessed informally by the teacher. The teacher will move
from group to group and monitor that each student is participating and contributing.
4. Letters that the students write to Eleanor Roosevelt will be assessed to see that they
contain information learned during the unit.
adapted from http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-famous/Roosevel.htm