Lesson Plan - Riding Into History

Build Background Knowledge

Before reading the article, show students the parade photograph on page 12. Invite students to work in pairs or small groups to come up with as many questions as they can about the photo. Then encourage students to share their questions with the class to generate a discussion. Tell them: This photograph illustrates an important march in 1912 for women’s voting rights. Today you will read a true story about a teenager who helped advocate for women’s voting rights.

Preview Vocabulary

Use Words to Know to preteach the domain-specific terms 19th Amendment, advocate, citizen, Congress, Constitution, democracy, missionary, repeal, and suffrage. Have students refer to the skill builder as they read.

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.

• What might Mabel Ping-Hua Lee have been feeling as she led the suffrage parade up 5th Avenue? Explain your reasoning. (Making Inferences)
Possible answer: Mabel might have been feeling proud as she led the parade up 5th Avenue. She might have been feeling this way because she was at the front of 10,000 marchers who supported the same goal as she did: achieving voting rights for women.

• What was a cause of the Chinese Exclusion Act? What was a consequence of it? (Cause and Effect)
Before 1882, thousands of Chinese immigrants had come to the United States to work in mines and help build railroads. This led some Americans to worry that there would not be enough jobs for everyone. As a result, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The law banned almost everyone from China from entering the U.S. and prevented those who could enter from becoming U.S. citizens.

• What evidence supports the statement that Mabel was an “unlikely but pivotal figure in the women’s suffrage movement”? (Text Evidence) 
Mabel was an unlikely figure in the women’s suffrage movement because she was only 16 years old. The text states, “With some of the most powerful women in the country seated before her, the high school student addressed the room.” Mabel was also an unlikely figure because she was not a U.S. citizen, so she was pushing for a right that she would not be allowed to exercise. The text states, “Under the Chinese Exclusion Act, she couldn’t become a U.S. citizen—a requirement for voting.” Mabel was a pivotal figure because her powerful speeches and essays inspired and motivated people and drew media attention to the cause. The text states, “The media frequently covered Mabel’s speeches. People who heard her speak often walked away saying they had been ‘Mabelized.’ ”

• How did Mabel’s upbringing influence her development into a leader? (Key Details) 
Mabel’s father was a religious leader in their community, so she may have learned leadership skills from watching him. Also, her family valued education. From a young age, Mabel learned English, and as she got older, she followed current events in the U.S. and in China. Additionally, Mabel had opportunities to volunteer at her father’s church. 

• What is the purpose of the section “The Tide Shifts”? (Author’s Purpose) 
The purpose of the section “The Tide Shifts” is to explain how suffrage marches like the ones Mabel participated in helped lead to the 19th Amendment taking effect in 1920, which gave women the right to vote nationwide. The section also explains that the new right did not apply to Mabel, despite her efforts, because she was not a U.S. citizen. 

• Using dates and details from the text, including the map on page 13, draw a conclusion about the women’s suffrage movement. (Drawing Conclusions) 
Possible answer: Based on the details in the text, I can conclude that the women’s suffrage movement took many years and that progress was slow. By 1912, suffragists had already been calling for women’s voting rights for decades, and the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution wasn’t ratified until 1920. According to the map on page 13, in 1918—one year before Congress passed the 19th Amendment—fewer than half the states had guaranteed women full suffrage. 

• Use textual evidence to support the idea that Mabel remained a leader in her community even after the passage of the 19th Amendment. (Text Evidence) 
The text describes a variety of ways in which Mabel continued her work after the passage of the 19th Amendment, including as a student, a church leader, and a community organizer. The text states, “In 1921, she became the first Chinese woman in the U.S. to earn a doctoral degree in economics.” In addition, the text describes how, after her father’s death, Mabel “decided she would carry on his work at this church.” The text also describes how Mabel “founded a community center in Chinatown, which offered a health clinic, a kindergarten, and English classes.”

Your Turn: Develop Questions 

Direct students to the “Your Turn” prompt at the end of the article. Guide students in brainstorming questions they have about women’s suffrage and the role Mabel Ping-Hua Lee played in the movement. Then have students write interview questions that they would ask her. Encourage students to take their thinking a step further by inferring how Mabel would respond to their questions. Students should conduct research to support their understanding of the text and the completion of this task.

Analyze a Photo 

Using the skill builder Ready to Vote, have students study the historical photograph that appears on page 14. Students will use details from the photo to understand the setting; consider what the people in the photo were seeing, hearing, and thinking; and reflect on the emotions that the image prompts. After students complete the activity, review responses as a class. 

Assess Comprehension

Assign the 10-question Know the News quiz, available in PDF and interactive forms. You can also use the Quiz Wizard to assess comprehension of this article and others from the issue.