Content Advisory:

This lesson covers historical and contemporary demands for equality by transgender people. The film and associated resources address sexuality, violence against transgender people and other topics that may upset or offend some people.

Subjects:

Social Studies – U.S. History, Civics & Government, Current Events

Grade Level:

9-12

Lesson Duration:

• Two 55-minute class periods

Essential Questions:

• How have transgender rights evolved over time in the United States?
• What methods and tactics have the transgender community used to gain access to power in the United States?

Lesson Objectives:

Students will:

• Identify key events throughout the history of transgender activism in the United States.
• Evaluate strategies and tactics used by transgender activists by assessing their effectiveness.
• Analyze contemporary pieces of legislation that address transgender rights and restrictions.

Materials:

• Retro Report video “Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions” (Transcript)
• Milestones in the American Transgender Movement | The New York Times
• What anti-trans bills passed in 2023? | Trans Legislation Tracker
• Anti-trans bills have doubled since 2022. Our map shows where states stand. | The Washington Post
• Over 100 Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws Passed In The Last Five Years – Half Of Them This Year | FiveThirtyEight

Procedure:

1. Have students brainstorm ideas about activism by journaling about the following prompts:
   1. What is social activism? What role has social activism played in creating the nation we live in today? If there is time after journaling, have students discuss their ideas with a peer.
   2. Define social activism as intentionally taking action to change society.
2. Explain to students that they will be examining the history of activism within the transgender community’s fight for human rights in the United States.
3. Tell students that their task is to identify the strategies and tactics used by transgender activists and evaluate whether or not they were effective.
   1. If your students need explicit teaching on strategies and tactics used by activists, see “Extension Activity #2.” Complete the activity prior to watching the video.
4. Students will begin by watching the “Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions” and then read the article “Milestones in the American Transgender Movement.”
   1. As students examine the resources, ask them to document any strategies or tactics that transgender activists have used on the graphic organizer.
   2. Ask students to decide if you think the tactic was effective, ineffective or both.
   3. Explain why you evaluated the strategy/tactic as effective, ineffective or both.
5. For students to move on to the next part of the lesson, have students reflect on the following question: What role did the legislation and the legal system play in advancing or preventing transgender rights in the United States?
6. Have students use the website Trans Legislation Tracker.
7. Students will choose one law to examine in depth. Model the process with the first law posted and the example in the Student Activity.
8. Students need to:
   1. Identify two quotes from the text that lay out rules or policies that will affect transgender individuals and communities.
   2. Explain why those quotes are relevant in understanding the impact of the law on transgender individuals and communities.

Extension Activity #1:

Joy Introduction

Transgender students rarely see themselves reflected in the classroom, and when they are, it’s often from a place of trauma. Consider starting or ending with the following activity if time:

1. Go to ACLU TRANS SCRIPT.
2. Browse the videos (each clip is about 30 seconds) on the ACLU “TRANS SCRIPT”.
3. Discuss with students the importance of humanizing history by looking at the whole person, not exclusively on their trauma or labor.

Extension Activity #2:

Strategies and Tactics Monikers Vocabulary Game

1. Divide students into groups of 4-5.
2. Provide each group with a container (cup, paper bag, bowl, etc.) containing slips of paper naming strategies and tactics used by activists and their definition
   1. Possible List
3. Fishbowl is played in 3 rounds. Each round…
   1. One student takes a slip of paper from the container and attempts to get their team to guess the word.
   2. Students may pass on a word drawing another word, but must put the word back in the cup.
   3. There is no limit on the number of guesses the group can make.
   4. Once their group successfully guesses the word, the student passes the cup and the next student attempts to get their group to guess.
   5. Continue this process until two or three groups (depending on class size) make it through all the words. Then, move onto the next phase.
   6. Phase One: Students can say anything except the word itself to get their table members to guess.
   7. Phase Two: Students can only say one word.
   8. Phase Three: Students must act it out and cannot say any words.

Extension Activity #3:

Writing or Revising Legislation

1. After reviewing passages from legislation that expands rights in the United States, have students brainstorm legislation that relates to transgender rights.
2. Then have students create a policy that could be included in a piece of legislation or Constitutional amendment and would impact the rights of transgender individuals and communities.
   1. Write 2-5 sentences laying out the policy.
   2. Decide if the policy should be in a state law, federal law or Constitutional Amendment. Explain your reasoning.
   3. Explain how this policy would impact the rights of transgender individuals and communities.
   4. Reflect on what it would take to get this policy passed and identify effective strategies and tactics that activists could use to help get the policy passed.

Additional Resources:

• Strategies and Tactics Vocab List
• Fishbowl / Monikers – Quick Rules (Quick overview of the game the Vocab activity is based on)
• A History of Transgender Rights in the United States | ThoughtCo
• A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Transgender Rights in the United States | Howard University School of Law
• What Is Trans History? | Perspectives on History
• Trans Joy | WUSF
• Trans Stories Are So Much More Than Transition, Transphobia and Tragedy | Teen Vogue

About the Author:

Charlotte Nichols taught Modern U.S. History, U.S. History, World History and Ethnic Studies at a public high school in Madison, Wisc.

Standards

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

• D2.Civ.2.9-12.Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.
• D2.Civ.5.9-12.Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.
• D2.Civ.8.9-12.Evaluate social and political systems in different contexts, times, and places, that promote civic virtues and enact democratic principles.
• D2.Civ.11.9-12.Evaluate multiple procedures for making governmental decisions at the local, state, national, and international levels in terms of the civic purposes achieved.
• D2.Civ.12.9-12.Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
• D2.Civ.13.9-12.Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
• D2.Civ.14.9-12.Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
• D2.His.1.9-12.Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.
• D2.His.2.9-12.Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
• D2.His.5.9-12.Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.
• D2.His.16.9-12.Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.