Lesson Plan - She Wants to End Child Marriage

About the Article

Learning Objective

Students will read about an activist’s firsthand experience with the child marriage crisis in Malawi and analyze the causes and effects of child marriage.

Curriculum Connections

• Malawi 

• Child Marriage 

• Poverty

• Children’s Rights 

• Human Rights 

• Teen Activism 

Key Skills

Social Studies:

• Analyze causes and consequences of events 

• Study the impact of diverse cultural practices in the modern world 

• Analyze how activism can lead to change 

English Language Arts:

• Identify central ideas 

• Analyze causes and effects 

• Cite textual evidence to support analysis 

Key CCSS Standards

RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.6, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.4, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.6, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.8, W.6-8.4

Essential Questions

  • What are the causes and effects of child marriage?
  • How does poverty affect societies around the world?
  • How can people help stop the practice of child marriage?

1. Preparing to Read

Build Background Knowledge  

Before reading the article, pose these questions: How would you feel if you were told you had to get married tomorrow? How would your life change? What would you miss about just being a kid? Explain to students that child marriage is a reality for many young people around the world. Then ask: Why might parents want this for their children?

Vocabulary 

Use Words to Know to preteach domain-specific terms. Have students refer to the skill builder as they read.

2. Reading and Discussing

Read the Article

Read the article aloud or have students read it independently or in pairs. As students read, direct them to circle or highlight any words whose meanings they are unsure of.

Answer Close-Reading Questions

Have students write their responses, or use the Close-Reading Questions to guide a discussion.

• Develop a title for paragraphs 1-5. Explain why your title would be effective. (Central Idea) 
Possible answer: An effective title for paragraphs 1-5 would be “Stolen Childhood.” This title would be effective because the first three paragraphs describe how Memory Banda’s sister’s childhood seemed to end after she was forced to marry at age 11. Paragraphs 4-5 explain that child marriage is common in many areas of the world. When kids are forced to marry, they can no longer go to school and play like other kids.

• What is poverty? How does this issue affect the child marriage crisis? (Cause and Effect)
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor and lacking the resources and essentials for living. Poverty might cause a family to marry off their daughters to reduce the financial strain on the household. It also continues the child marriage crisis, as girls who remain in poverty after marriage may not be able to keep their daughters from the same fate. 

3. Skill Building

Analyze Causes and Effects

Use the skill builder Causes and Effects to identify factors that lead young girls in Malawi to be forced into marriage and the consequences of this harmful practice. 

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms.

Differentiate and Customize

For Building Empathy: Direct students to create one or more journal entries from the perspective of a girl in Malawi who has been forced into child marriage or from Memory Banda’s perspective as an activist fighting for girls’ rights. Encourage students to use direct quotes from the article as prompts or inspiration for their entries. Students should describe challenges, emotions, and hopes from the chosen perspective.

For Raising Awareness: Invite students to create an Awareness Campaign Poster to educate others on the child marriage crisis. Posters should include three statistics from the article (including the sidebars) and a suggestion for how people can take action. When students are done, invite them on a gallery walk to view each other’s posters.

Printable Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech