Campaigns for women's suffrage
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the peaceful tactics of the early suffrage movement and how it was brought together by Fawcett to form the NUWSS.
Key learning points
- Despite opposition to female suffrage, a number of suffrage groups were set up across the country from the 1860s.
- In 1897, Millicent Fawcett set up the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
- The NUWSS preferred peaceful means such as writing letters to MPs.
- Early campaigns for women's suffrage involved a mixture of middle- and working-class women.
- Early campaigns for women's suffrage had failed to gain women the right to vote by 1914.
Keywords
Suffrage - the right to vote
Suffragist - a person advocating for the extension of the right to vote; especially to women
Common misconception
The suffrage movement always involved violent or illegal tactics as well as peaceful and legal ones.
The early suffragist movement was committed to peaceful tactics, even among the so-called 'radical suffragists'.
Teacher tip
Show pupils a picture of the statue of Millicent Fawcett and ask why they think she was the first women to be commemorated by a statue in Parliament Square (and not until 2018!).
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The women's suffrage movement was the campaign to gain women the right to ...
Q2.Which Reform Act gave middle-class men the right to vote in Britain for the first time?
Q3.Which movement did some women get involved with in the 19th century?
Q4.Which of these laws increased the legal rights of women in 1882?
Q5.In 1888, a at the Bryant and May factory helped women to gain higher wages.
Q6.Although women were increasingly involved in life in Britain by the early 20th century, they still could not vote.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each keyword with its correct definition.
Q2.One reason why some people objected to female suffrage was because they feared it would harm life.
Q3.Complete the sentence: The NUWSS carried out a peaceful campaign, such as writing letters to .
Q4.Which woman was the first leader of the NUWSS?
Q5.Complete the sentence: Working-class suffragists were called suffragists, but they still believed in the use of peaceful tactics.
Q6.Starting with the earliest, sort the following stages in the development of the suffragists.
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Campaigns for women's suffrage, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 history lesson on: Campaigns for women's suffrage, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Women's suffrage: why did it take so long for women to get the vote in Britain? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.