Feminist Theory Lesson Plan

Teachers: Brooke Stevenson and Nancy Swenson
Title: The Feminist Theory
Grade Level: 5th
Time Needed: 30-45 minutes
Exploration: Students will explore artwork done by women and artwork about women. They will connect it with the role of Susan B. Anthony during the women’s rights movement. Students will create their own weaving.
Objective: Students will understand the feminist theory and learn about feminist artists and the women’s rights movement.
State Standards (Utah):-Grade 5 Social Studies
Standard 1 Objective 3aCompare the varying degrees of freedom held by different groups (e.g. American Indians, landowners, women, indentured servants, enslaved people).
- Grade 5 Social Studies
Standard 3 Objective 2bIdentify how the rights of selected groups have changed and how the Constitution reflects those changes (e.g. women, enslaved people).
- Grade 5 Social Studies
Standard 3 Objective 2cAnalyze the impact of the Constitution on their lives today (e.g. freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition).
- Grade 5 Visual Arts
Standard 3 Objective 1Explore possible content in art prints or works of art.
- Grade 5 Visual Arts
Standard 4 Objective 2Connect various kinds of art with particular cultures, times, or places.
- Grade 5 Visual Arts
Standard 4 Objective 3Collaborate in small groups to discover how works of art reveal the history and social conditions of our nation.
National Standard:Grade 5 Visual Arts
Standards- Students will:- comprehend that artists can make contributions to society through artworks- comprehend that art is often a precursor to historical events and social change- comprehend that a function of art is to reflect a certain point of view- comprehend that one function of art is to demonstrate the self-expression of an artist- be able to deconstruct images to identify or gain new meanings
Grade 5 Social Sciences
Standards- What are the nature and purposes of constitutions?- How are power and responsibility distributed, shared, and limited in the government established by the United States Constitution?- How does the American political system provide for choice and opportunities for participation?- What are the rights of citizens?

Question of Inquiry: How have the changing roles of women and their ideas influenced art?Concepts/Vocabulary: Feminist theory, women’s rights, women’s suffrage, textiles.Artists Discussed: Mary Cassatt, Barbara Kruger, Alexander Calder, Nithikul Nimulkrat, Holly Brackmann
Other Subject Connection: Social Studies (women’s rights movement)
Teacher visuals and supplies: various works by artists discussed, popsicle sticks, yarn
Preparation: collect pictures of artists’ works, make an example weaving, buy popsicle sticks and yarn
Student Materials: Popsicle sticks and yarn
Lesson Sequence:
Introduction- Define the feminist theory and tell its aims
Demonstration- Show work of Mary Cassatt and discuss her intentions- Show work of Barbara Kruger and compare her to Cassatt- Talk about women’s rights and Susan B. Anthony- Show three artists who use textiles (Calder, Nimkulrat, and Brackmann)
Work Time- students make own weavings with popsicle sticks and yarn
Clean Up and Management- Have each student clean his/her own area.- Throw away scraps
Closure- Review the feminist theory and women’s rights movement
Assessment- Have a class discussion on feminist theory and women’s rights movement- Observe students creating their own weaving

References- Mary Cassatthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Cassatthttp://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/mary_cassatt.htmhttp://www.globalgallery.com/prod_images/hd-1364.jpg-Barbara Krugerhttp://photounion.by/photoscope/kruger/notstupid.jpghttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/barbara_kruger.htmlhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/feminist/Barbara-Kruger...http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images_320_308231_barbara-kruger.jpg- Susan B. Anthonyhttp://nebraskapress.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/15/su...http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/Byrnes-famous/antho...- Alexander Calderhttp://www.nyu.edu/kimmel.center/images/art.at.center/swirl.jpg- Nithikul Nimkulrathttp://www.inicreation.com/the_chair.htm- Holly Brackmannhttp://www.hollybrackmann.com/2008/Gallery/Details/Folded-Currents-...- Standardshttp://www.uen.org/core/http://www.education-world.com/standards/national/toc/index.shtml

Reply by Brooke Stevenson
Thanks everyone for your comments today! I think, like Dan said, it would be interesting to have someone come in of Huichol Indian descent to teach about what the weavings mean to him/her. It is true that we need to be very careful when teaching about other cultures. I would also like to incorporate some activities with other textiles.

Reply by dan barney
Wow! Great lesson. Very thorough and can be adapted for any age from K-University!

Reply by Brett Baldry
I really enjoyed your lesson. I liked that it allowed for alot of discussion. I think this would be a great lesson to use when talking about the feminist movement that Dan talked about today in class. Also to allow the kids to relate the the feelings of the movement have half the class to participate or delegate over the other half of the class. As again suggested by Dan maybe split the class according to eye color....

Reply by Kim Brown
I would love to go deeper into Native American art, such as basket weaving, and discuss how those art forms are being lost because of a history of oppression and forced assimilation. I would relate that back to the feminist theory in that some people because of race, gender, religion, etc. are not looked to as important or as true artists. Every person's artistic expression is worth recognition on at least some level, and art should not be ignored because of who the artist is.

Reply by Natalee Biggs
Great Lesson! I really liked the weaving activity. I would find some more art from other oppressed cultures or races and share that art with the class. I think it would be really important to talk about inequality and have a class discussion about it. I really like the idea of splitting the class and showing the students how it feels to be oppressed or underappreciated. Another application for a history lesson besides discussing women's rights, would be discussing slavery and the civil rights movement in connection to African American art.

Reply by Nayelli Concha
This was an excelent lesson!! It made me appreciate the influence of women in the world and think how important is our role as women and mothers.For this lesson, it would probably be great to begin with a discussion about gender and gender roles and also talk about women's influence not only in art but in politics, literature, philosophy and many other disciplines.The hand craft we made was so fun! I agree that it is important to be accurate and very careful when present an idea from another culture. For that reason I thought that it would be good to invite someone from the respective culture to class or find a documentary film (National Gepgraphic for example) that talks about an specific culture.

Reply by Nichole Mahas
The lesson was awesome! I think I would have Introduced a couple of other cultures that have used textiles as art or for religious art. Maybe there could have been a few more options for the class art project along with the God's eye project, just for diversity.

Reply by Brittany Crowder
This would such a great lesson! It really helped me appreciate all that women have done in art. The only thing that I would maybe add in my own lesson would be having examples of other textiles that women have used and done in other cultures, besides just the indians and their weaving. It would be interesting to learn about many different cultures, and then have the kids weave around the popsicle sticks.

Reply by Brielle Romney
sounds great! i love it - and i think the feminist theory is so interesting! I think kids would too, especially since they are so interested in the difference between boys and girls. haha. the opposite sex has cooties - remember that? maybe thats more first grade. anyway, to introduce the topic, i think i might pass out index cards at the beginning and have them draw something that they think would have been art appropriate in the feminist theory. see the things they come up with, and see if it matches up to what the feminist theory is all about. i think they may draw girly stuff and pink bows, etc. bc that may be as deep as their understanding is of the theory. but i think comparing what they think about the theory to what it really is would be beneficial to them. it would make them curious and work their brains, getting them into the lesson.

Reply by Tiffany Baum
I wasn't in class on Monday, however reading the lesson plan, it looks really good, and I could definitely adapt it to my class.

Reply by Amanda Morgan
Loved the lesson! After learning about this and thinking of ways to teach children this theory I would begin with their own definition of what it is like to be a boy or a girl in todays society. As we would come up with a list on the board of thier defintions and their "roles" in society we could discuss how any one of those could be on the other side of the list. In today's world children growing up need to be able to have any dream they want. It shouldn't be based on their gender that defines their occupation. I liked the artist Barbara Kruger how she showed that women can do anything. In my own classroom I would have them role play different occupations showing them that if they believe it and desire it they should go for it!

Reply by Mandy Turner
I really enjoyed this lesson. In school we grow up hearing that rights for women have increased, but it has such a bigger impact on the student when they can have something visual to go along with it. I thought it was interesting to see the different messages that women were trying to get across at different points in history. You guess did a great job of utilizing art to its fullest to teach history by addressing the evolving woman's rights issue and by making the yarn and popsicle Mexican "God's eye." I think it would be interesting to ask the students, if they were a bit older, what they thought the issues for women were today and what kind of art that would produce.

Reply by Rachael Haught
Great job ladies. The textiles are fantastic and I would love to learn more about them in a cultural context. dan's ideas about segregating a classroom would really hit home for them I think. good job!

Reply by Karyn Alvey
Excellent Lesson! I really liked it. I liked your choice of art paintings you used to demonstrate the difference in the artists'/society's views. It's an interesting thing to compare. I would go a little further and ask the students what other things they know of that society's views have changed on. This might be a good lead in for talking about different religions around the world and their views on various things.I really liked making the God's eye. I think as I introduced it, I would ask the students to think of a symbolic thing in their religion. We could have a class discussion about the different things, and then also a discussion about culture and respecting others.

Reply by Rebecca Ferguson
I really loved this lesson. I loved how this lesson was especially applicable to the feminist movement in history. I think it would be fun to have an entire week studying various aspects of women in history and how they influenced not only art but other subjects such as events in history, literature, science, etc. On the day which we focused particularly on art, I think it would be interesting to have a variety of different textile projects inspired by many different cultures, so that the children could realize that women have made a difference in every culture.

Reply by Ellen Funch
This lesson was wonderful and so adaptable to any grade. I think i would introduce the lesson similarly to how it was in class, but after talking for a bit about the feminist theory, i might give the kids time to do a free-write activity. This is a very sensitive subject for some kids and their families and many kids will not be willing to share their opinions out loud for fear of embarassment, so i would have them write down in a journal what their feelings about the feminist theory are and how their family dynamic is similar or dissimilar to this theory. I think it would be great to focus on a couple specific cultures and find some of their art that has to do with women and maybe textiles and tie that into the lesson for a history focus. Great job girls!

Reply by Jessica Morgan
Great Job! I really liked how well you described your theory and the discussions we had about it. I also liked the weaving that we did. Very fun. If I were to use this lesson plan I would definitely go more into the history behind the "God's Eye" and have it in a unit of a cultural study. I would definitely emphasize the importance of showing respect for the artifact.

Reply by Rebecca Ferguson
I really loved this lesson because I feel as though it is so important in our society today. Women's roles are still changing. I loved how the art side of this lesson plan can be so easily coupled with women's rights history. I feel like this lesson can be adapted to any classroom for any age group!