'Iolani School Archives: Women, the U.S., and 'Iolani -- An Exhibition Experience

*Also see the Teaching and Primary Sources box in the Links tab of this guide.

Upper School Faculty!

This multimedia exhibition featuring items from several collections, including the National Archives, provides students a unique opportunity to learn about the history of Women's Suffrage. They will improve primary source and visual literacy by experiencing history portrayed using various methods. They will use critical thinking skills to complete writing assignments which can be modified by faculty to be formal or informal. Students will also be exposed to other U.S. historical collections.
The following is primarily intended to complement your existing teaching units.

Writing assignments and prompts developed by English faculty member Yakshi Palmer.

Grade: 9-12; can be modified for 7-8

Location: 'Iolani School Archives. Adaptable for Distance Learning.

Materials:

• iPad (school issued)
• pencil

Format:

• The Archivist will give a summary of items on exhibition.
• Class viewing of video (08:12) regarding Women's Suffrage.
• Student will be permitted to roam independently to view the exhibition at their own pace.
• Students will individually complete writing responses per exhibition component.

Suffrage Video Viewing:

The class, as one large group, will view the video "Best Kept Secret: Suffrage in the 20th Century" available through the Fairfax County Government YouTube channel. The video provides a summary of the history of Women's Suffrage.
Video: 8 minutes 12 seconds

---> Writing assignment - Answer all questions:

1. What were the consequences of the march described in the video? What was the “night of terror”?
2. Which techniques did the suffragists use to protest for their rights? Name some other groups of people that have used similar techniques.
3. How did African American women participate in the fight for women’s right to vote? What were the challenges to their participation?

'Iolani Women:

---> Writing assignment - Answer all questions:

1. Describe some practices and/or propaganda that point to gender inequality in ‘Iolani’s past.
2. What did you find most surprising about this portion of the exhibit?

Rightfully Hers from the National Archives:

'Iolani School Archives is fortunate to have received Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote popup exhibit from the National Archives. It was created to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment (August 2020). It includes information and images of digitized items from the National Archives collections exploring the history of the ratification of this historic amendment, women's voting rights before and after, and its impact today.

The exhibit is presented in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Unilever, Pivotal Ventures, Carl M. Freeman Foundation in honor of Virginia Allen Freeman, AARP, and Denise Gwyn Ferguson.

**Scroll down to see Digital versions for Distance Learning: Rightfully Hers popup poster 1-4.**

---> Writing assignment - Answer all questions:

1. Who is left out of the 19th amendment?
2. When did Native Americans gain U.S. citizenship?
3. When did all adult women gain the right to vote?
4. When were Asian immigrants first allowed to become U.S. citizens?
5. What is the purpose of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
6. What is another big barrier to voting that persists today?
7. How long did it take for the 19th Amendment to pass? How many proposals to Congress?
8. Why is voting important?

Optional Follow-up:

If time permits, or as follow-up to the class visit, additional videos are available through an archivist curated playlist of videos, including speaker panels and informational shorts from the National Archives.

Possible additional writing assignment:

• Vocabulary- define terms:
  
  1. feminism
  2. suffrage
  3. autonomy
  4. agency (find the psychological or sociological definition)
• Using the four words above, write a few sentences explaining your understanding of the “first wave” of feminism.

Rightfully Hers - Supplemental Image Gallery

Digital Versions for Distance Learning

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote | National Archives Museum website

Women, the U.S., & Iolani— An Exhibition Experience
Grades: 9 - 12
(Can be modified for grades 7-8)

Learning Objectives:

1. Conceptualize
B. Articulate what might serve as primary sources for a specific research project within the framework of an academic discipline or area of study.
C. Draw on primary sources to generate and refine research questions.

2. Find and access
A. Identify the possible locations of primary sources.
B. Use appropriate, efficient, and effective search strategies in order to locate primary sources. Be familiar with the most common ways primary sources are described, such as catalog records and archival finding aids.
D. Understand that historical records may never have existed, may not have survived, or may not be collected and / or publicly accessible. Existing records may have been shaped by the selectivity and mediation of individuals such as collectors, archivists, librarians, donors, and / or publishers, potentially limiting the sources available for research.

3. Read, Understand and Summarize
A. Examine a primary source, which may require the ability to read a particular script, font, or language, to understand or operate a particular technology, or to comprehend vocabulary, syntax, and communication norms of the time period and location where the source was created.
B. Identify and communicate information found in primary sources, including summarizing the content of the source and identifying and reporting key components such as how it was created, by whom, when, and what it is.
C. Understand that a primary source may exist in a variety of iterations, including excerpts, transcriptions, and translations, due to publication, copying and other transformations.

4. Interpret, Analyze and Evaluate
A. Assess the appropriateness of a primary source for meeting the goals of a specific research for creative project.
B. Critically evaluate the perspective of the creator(s) of a primary source, including tone, subjectivity, and biases, and consider how these relate to the original purpose(s) and audience(s) of the source.
C. Situate a primary source in context by applying knowledge about the time and culture in which it was created, the author or creator, in format, genre, publication history, or related materials in a collection.
E. Factor physical material elements into interpretation of primary sources including the relationship between container (binding, media, or overall physical attributes) and informational context, and the relationship of original sources to physical or digital copies of those sources.
F. Demonstrate historical empathy, curiosity about the past, and appreciation for historical sources and historical actors.

5. Use and Incorporate
A. Examine and synthesize a variety of sources in order to construct, support, or dispute a research argument.
C. Cite primary sources in accordance with appropriate citation style guidelines or according to repository practice and preferences (when possible).
D. Adhere to copyright and privacy laws when incorporating primary sources information in research or creative project.

(Click to enlarge.)

Thanks for reviewing a draft of
"Important Questions" go to
Dr. Melissa Perkins,
'Iolani School History Faculty
2021 Hawai'i History Teacher of the Year

Photograph Based Questions - Examining Primary Sources:

• What do you see? / What do you notice?
• What is the same as ___ (now, your classroom, etc.)?
• What is different?
• What seems important?
• What seems unusual?
• What do you think is happening in the photo?
• What questions do you have about this photo?
• What questions do you have for the person who took the photo?