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The image for this lesson plan is entitled "INDIRA GANDHI" and can be retrieved on the AP Multimedia Archive by entering APA:3935444 in the WHAT field in the image archives on the search page.
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Name:
Women Monarchs and Heads of State
Grade Level:
9-12
Subject(s):
World History
Objectives:
- Women have led countries since ancient times.
- We can compare and contrast the rules of various women.
Materials:
For this lesson, you will need:
Biographical reference works
Procedure:
- Inform students that successful television shows and dramas have been based on the premise that individuals from various eras, most of whom may now be deceased, come together for a meeting. These people would never have met in real life, but audiences are fascinated by what they might have said to one another if indeed they had somehow met. Explain that the students are going to simulate one of those television shows or dramas by holding a panel discussion of women who had been monarchs or heads of state. Students will have a chance to select the women, in addition to Hatshepsut of Egypt, who will make up the panel. Include Hatshepsut (circa 1520-1483 B.C.) on the panel as the first woman known to have ruled a country.
- Go over the basics of panel discussions:
- The panel is made up of experts (often five or six) on a preselected topic (for example, the high points and low points of the women's roles as leaders). The individuals are often chosen because they have some experiences in common and some that are different.
- The discussion consists mostly of remarks by the members of the panel to questions and comments from a moderator and other members of the panel.
- The questions can ask for facts or opinions.
- Ask students what they think are the moderator's responsibilities. Explain the responsibilities as follows if necessary:
- Setting up the room or auditorium to make discussion easy and to help the audience hear questions and responses
- Explaining why the panel has been brought together
- Introducing each member of the panel (There should be a name tent, or placard, for each panelist to sit behind.)
- Clearly stating each question, directing it to the panel at large or to one individual, then giving other members of the panel a chance to respond
- Calling on panelists who indicate they have questions for one another
- Noting for the audience what points panelists seem to agree on and what points they seem to disagree on
- Watching the time and eliminating some planned questions if necessary
- Opening the floor to questions from the audience
- Summing up the discussion and thanking participants and audience members
- Go on to elicit or state the responsibilities of each member on the panel of women leaders, as follows:
- Becoming very familiar with the details of the woman's life by doing research in primary and secondary sources
- Determining what the woman might have thought about particular issues
- Preparing to respond to the overarching topic of the panel‹the high points and low points of her time as monarch or head of state
- Contributing to the discussion by listening actively and indicating that she has questions or comments about what another member has said
- Giving her copanelists time to respond; that is, not monopolizing the discussion
- Having shared your expectations for the panelists and moderator, now ask for volunteers or select students to assume the roles of moderator and Hatshepsut and each of the other women political leaders. You will need students to play five or six of the following leaders or women rulers suggested by students:
- Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (1558-1603)
- Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1837-1901)
- Prime Minister Indira P. Gandhi of India (1966-1977)
- Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel (1969-1974)
- President Maria Estella Martínez Cartas de Perón of Argentina (1974-1976)
- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom (1979-1990)
- Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan (1988-1990)
- Give all participants an opportunity to conduct research about the women selected for the panel. The moderator should familiarize himself or herself with all the women rulers. The students playing former leaders should concentrate on learning about the women they are representing but should learn a little about the other leaders as well so that they can engage in meaningful conversation among themselves.
- To help ensure that the panel discussion is lively, direct the panelists and moderator to meet in advance of their appearance before the audience. At that meeting, the participants should discuss what questions the panelists can anticipate from the moderator so that they can reflect on how they will answer the questions and, if necessary, review additional documents and other materials.
- Proceed with the panel discussion. See Evaluation, regarding a postmortem on the strengths and weaknesses of the participants.
Adaptations:
Play the role of the moderator yourself, controlling the difficulty and intensity of the questions you ask.
Evaluation:
With the students who will be in the audience for the panel discussion, consider developing an evaluation chart that they can each use to rate each participant. Qualities on which participants might be rated include the following:
- Familiarity with details of subject's life
- Clear, easy-to-hear speaking skills
- Level of participation
- Quality of questions asked
You may suggest students use symbols to indicate how a participant performs on each measure‹perhaps, "+" for "good," "" for "poor," and "*" for "excellent."
Collect the evaluation sheets. Review them, keeping your own evaluations of each student in mind. Meet with each participant individually to discuss the strengths and weaknesses.
Extension:
A Monumental Legacy
Focusing on Hatshepsut, the first woman known to have ruled a country, discuss the incredible architectural legacy that she left to the world‹obelisks. These massive stone structures, the largest of them weighing three hundred tons, were each carved in a single piece from granite quarries, carefully slid onto a ramp, and pulled upright onto a base. When complete, the elegant icons were supported only by their immense weight.
Have students use the Internet to research obelisks with a goal of discovering at least 10 throughout the world. Then have them label their locations on a world map, noting also each monument's history and meaning. Have students start with obvious obelisks such as the Washington Monument, the obelisk in New York City's Central Park, the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, and the unfinished obelisk near Aswan.
Planning for the Inevitable
Taking off from Hatshepsut and the other pharaohs, have each student design his or her own tomb. In their designs, they should include the following:
- A site for the tomb
- Drawings of the tomb itself‹outside and inside
- A name for the tomb
- An obituary for the walls of the tomb, including the qualities and accomplishments of the entombed
- A design for the coffin
- A list of items they would like placed in the tomb
Web Links:
Women and Gender in Ancient Egypt
Here is an art and artifact exhibit on the different roles that women played in ancient Egypt. If you have any questions concerning gender in the ancient world you should definitely pay a visit to this page.
http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/Exhibits/WomenandGender/title.html
Egypt Search
From religion to science, this site makes it possible for you to find anything that you need related to Egypt‹past and present. If you can't find what you're looking for here, then it probably doesn't exist!
http://www.egyptsearch.com
Egypt Antiquities
Myths, rulers, history, and more. If you have questions about the ancient Egyptian life this site can help you out. And you can finish up your trip to this site by taking a virtual tour of Egyptian art.
http://touregypt.net/antiq.htm
Mark Nillmore's Ancient Egypt
If you're in search of a map of the pyramids of Egypt, or a chronology and history of the kings and queens, then you'll find this site to be very useful. You can also head to this site to learn about the ancient hieroglyphs and numerals.
http://eyelid.ukonline.co.uk/ancient/egypt.htm
This lesson plan was submitted by Winona Morrissette-Johnson, history teacher, T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria, Virginia.
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