Shirley Chisholm: trailblazer or catalyst for change?

Citation

Gradwell, J.M., Duffy, J. and Musolino, V. (2023), "Shirley Chisholm: trailblazer or catalyst for change?", Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 268-281. https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-05-2023-0032

Recommended for grades Preschool-3.

This lesson has been adapted for grades 6 and up.

This lesson will require 30–45 minutes per day over a span of 3–4 days.

Book summary

Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress is an illustrated biography about the early years of Shirley Chisholm's life leading up to her becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress. Beautifully illustrated by April Harrison, this 2022 Jane Addams Award winning children's book examines Chisholm's daring, rebellious and persistent personal qualities which helped her to overcome numerous obstacles to fight for what she believed in with respect to her personal life, community and nation.

NCSS standards

1. Time, Continuity and Change

2. Peoples, Places and Environments

3. Individual Development and Identity

4. Individuals, Groups and Institutions

5. Power, Authority and Governance

Materials

1. Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress

2. Library of Congress Shirley Chisholm Photo Collection https://www.loc.gov/photos/?q=shirley+chisholm&fa=access-restricted%3Afalse&st=gallery

3. Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi05ZsVzFcA

4. Smartboard or chart paper

5. Personal Qualities Handout

6. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definitions

7. Trailblazer or Catalyst for Change Personal Experience Narrative

8. Trade Book Organizer

9. Additional Page Planning Sheet

10. Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award Featured Winners: https://vimeo.com/725744490?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=140772159

11. Additional Page Rubric

12. Exit Slip Rubric

13. Slogan Extension

14. Materials for additional page creation (for example, colored pencils, markers, paper)

    OR

    A digital platform that students can access to create their page (for example, bookcreator.com).

15. Shirley Chisholm: A Groundbreaking Legacy (https://www.history.com/videos/shirley-chisholm-a-groundbreaking-legacy)

16. How I Want to Be Remembered (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31fzqYfqgGI)

Objectives

1. Students will evaluate Shirley Chisholm's personal qualities which enabled her to combat sexism and racism to become the first Black woman to be elected to Congress.

2. Students will compare their own and others' experiences to that of Shirley Chisholm.

3. Students will argue if Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer or catalyst for change in U.S. history.

Procedures

Exploration/introduction

Exploration/introduction objectives:

1. Students will define and compare what it means to be a person who is a trailblazer or catalyst for change.

2. Students will define the terms daring, rebellious and persistent and compare it to the dictionary definitions.

3. Students will recall and write about a time when someone in their life was daring, rebellious, or persistent (see Appendix 2).

   • As students enter the classroom they will collect the Personal Qualities Handout, as referenced in Appendix 1 and be directed to view the Smartboard or chart paper in which “trailblazer” and “catalyst for change” are projected.

   • At their seats, individually, students will be asked to define what it means to be a person who is a trailblazer or a catalyst for change.

   • As a group, the teacher will invite students to share their definitions and then ask students how they compare to one another.

   • Next, the teacher will discuss what qualities a person would need to be a trailblazer or catalyst for change.

   • Individually students will define each of the three terms in their own words on the Personal Qualities Handout.

   • Focusing on one term at a time, the students will be asked to share their definitions. The teacher will record the students' definitions on the Smartboard or chart paper. The teacher will ask students to compare their definitions for each term. The teacher will share the Merriam-Webster brief definition for each term orally or on the Smartboard or other visual display.

• Exploration/introduction assessment:

  1. Students will write about a point in their life in which they can identify themselves, or someone they know, as being daring, rebellious, or persistent and complete Part I of the Trailblazer or Catalyst for Change Personal Experience Narrative in Appendix 3.

Development

Development objectives:

1. Students will read or listen to Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress.

2. Students will identify evidence from the book which reflects when and how Shirley Chisholm was daring, rebellious and persistent.

3. Students will argue their position if Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer or catalyst for change.

4. Students will compare their own experiences, or those of someone they know, to the examples of Shirley Chisholm being a trailblazer or catalyst for change.

   • Under the heading “Shirley Chisholm: Trailblazer or Catalyst for Change?” the teacher will project on the Smartboard or affix to a classroom wall the Library of Congress Shirley Chisholm Photo Collection available at: https://www.loc.gov/photos/?q=shirley+chisholm&fa=access-restricted%3Afalse&st=gallery

   • The teacher will ask the students if they know who Shirley Chisholm was and to share what information they know about her.

   • The teacher will explain that the upcoming lessons will be about Shirley Chisholm, a person who has been considered to be both these things.

   • The teacher will introduce the book Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress.

   • The teacher will distribute the Trade Book Organizer found in Appendix 4 and copies of the book to each student, or utilize the YouTube read-along available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi05ZsVzFcA

• Development assessments:

  1. As students read or listen to the book, they will complete the Trade Book Organizer found in Appendix 4.

  2. Students will articulate if they believe Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer or a catalyst for change and why.

  3. Students will complete Part II of the Trailblazer or Catalyst for Change Personal Experience Narrative in Appendix 3.

Closure and expansion

Closure and expansion objective:

1. Students will apply their understanding of Shirley Chisholm's legacy by generating an extension page to commemorate one of her memorable quotes.

   • The teacher will show the Jane Addams Peace Association Children's Book Award Featured Winners video of the author and artist of the book: https://vimeo.com/725744490?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=140772159

   • The teacher will explain to the students that the current book ends at Shirley Chisholm's election to Congress but that it was only the beginning to even more of her accomplishments.

   • The teacher will show the short video Shirley Chisholm: A Groundbreaking Legacy (https://www.history.com/videos/shirley-chisholm-a-groundbreaking-legacy)

   • The teacher will ask the students what other accomplishments or aspects of Shirley Chisholm's legacy surface from the video they just watched.

   • The teacher will explain that Shirley Chisholm is known for her memorable quotes.

   • The teacher will project on the Smartboard or chart paper the Shirley Chisholm quote, “If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”

   • The teacher will invite students to interpret the quote and provide ideas of how they might illustrate an additional page of the trade book based on that quote and her legacy.

   • Revisiting the Shirley Chisholm: A Groundbreaking Legacy video, the teacher will ask the students what other themes they might add to the Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress book.

   • The teacher will assign pairs of students to select a theme or event from Chisholm's life after she was elected to Congress and research memorable quotes that reflect that theme.

• Closure and expansion assessment:

  1. Using the Additional Page Planning Sheet in Appendix 5, in pairs the students will create an additional page to be added to the trade book Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress that utilizes one of Chisholm's quotations that reflects some aspect of her legacy. Themes might include: Senate success, presidential campaign, education reform proposals, civil rights activism and women's rights advocacy. Students should also focus on at least one of the three adjectives (daring, rebellious, persistent). The teacher will encourage the students to recall the author and artist discussions about how they created their book and to reference the Additional Page Rubric in Appendix 6.

Final assessment

The teacher will display the finished book of all the additional pages the student pairs created and have the class read the entire book and in a final discussion ask students to argue if they believe Shirley Chisholm was a trailblazer or catalyst for change. The teacher will ask the students if Chisholm could be remembered as both a trailblazer and a catalyst for change? The teacher will share what Shirley Chisholm believed by showing the video clip How I Want To Be Remembered https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31fzqYfqgGI In an exit slip, students will sketch out the final page of the extended book based on how they think Shirley Chisholm should be remembered and to reference the Exit Slip Rubric in Appendix 7.

Suggested extension activities

1. Examine Shirley Chisholm's campaign slogan “Unbought and Unbossed” and research other presidential campaign slogans and memorabilia. Create a bumper sticker with a slogan they would use if running for office. See Slogan Extension in Appendix 8.

2. Create a playlist of music from the 1950s to the 1970s containing no more than 10 songs which reflects Shirley Chisholm's political activist passions and of those 10 songs, select 3 and briefly explain how the songs capture those activist themes.

3. Identify a charity or organization students want to support by hosting a banquet. Have them decorate donation boxes like Chisholm did as a member of the Seventeenth Assembly District Democratic Club.

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