Today's lesson

Today my practicum teach did a lesson on the Women's Rights Movement. As part of the lesson, she played a song the oppressed American women would sing and gave a copy of the lyrics to the students. After listening to the song while reading the words, the teacher led a discussion about oppression and why the women felt they way the did. She brought up the topic of persuading others to join your cause and getting your point acrossed in a calm manor. The teacher also showed a video about the movement and how women were treated in society. The video said once women were married, all of their possessions went to the man, including their children. All of her belongs were now his responsibility. The segment of the video told about what married women were entitled to if their husbands died: nothing (unless he left something in his will). This started a class discussion on what the women received if they were divorced. I was surprised because divorce was not discussed in the video; they just started asking questions and wondering what would happen to the children and her possessions. It made me realize the students wanted to relate this information to their lives in some way, and unfortunately many students have dealt with divorce. The teacher spoke about the topic for several minutes to answer their questions get their responses before moving on. This helped me to realize the students will become more engaged in the lesson if they can relate it to their lives.