Abigail

Adams Letters to John Adams

STAGE 1: IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS

Length: Approx. 1 class period. (May need 10 minutes additional time).

Understandings:
Abigail was writing with the intent of creating a better atmosphere for women.
She was hoping that women should hold a stake in the new foundations of the country.
Abigail uses strong language to evoke a sense of strong in women.

Essential Question(s):
Why was Abigail writing to John Adams?
What was the main point of Abigail writing to her husband?
What type of language was she using?
What was the form of the document?

Standards:
Common Core:
o RI.10.1
o RI.10.4
o RI.10.5
o RI.10.6
o RI.10.8

Lesson Content

Knowledge:
Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams.
She petitioned John Adams for womens rights.

Skills:
Analyzing a primary source.

Materials:
Textbook (Holt Elements of Literature)
Excerpt of Elizabeth Cady Stantons speech at the Seneca Falls Convention
Video of Emma Watsons address to the UN for the He for She Campaign

STAGE 2: DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

Diagnostic Assessments
I will ask students to write a paragraph about what they know of Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
and about womens rights in general

Formative Assessments
I will use an associated graphic organizer and discussion to assess throughout the lesson.

 I will also use a fist to five to check for understanding of the topics and information being covered.

Summative Assessments
The short essay following the assignment will help show what information they have gathered.
I will also use the graphic organizer as a means of understanding what information they have gathered.


STAGE 3: PLAN LEARNING EXPERIENCES


Instructional Strategies
Close and critical reading
Socratic Circles.

Procedures
Opening:
o I will start off with a bell-ringer asking the students to write about what they know about
womens rights in the late 1700s in their daily journal.

Main Activity:
o I will give the students the text and the book and ask them to complete the graphic organizer in
pairs. The graphic organizer will lead them into a close and critical reading of the text.
o We will then come together to discuss the CCR as a class.
o We will then compare the Abigail Adams speech and its themes to Elizabeth Cady Stantons
speech.
o Finally I will show Emma Watsons speech to the United Nations. The students will then fill out
the rest of their graphic organizer.

Closing:
o Despite it typically being a main activity, I plan on having the Socratic circles be a summary of
what we learned from the text. I will direct the conversation, about modern womens issues,
towards using the letter in their discussion.
o The students will then write a short essay comparing the themes of each speech and discussing
where they believe womens rights to be today.

Questions to ask:
o What was the reason Abigail Williams wrote the letter?
o Has Abigail Williams wishes transgressed into modern day society?
o What are common themes seen throughout each speech?
o Why do you think we are still reading these pieces today?