Votes for Women: The Suffragettes

Active learning helps pupils grasp the suffragettes’ struggle because it transforms abstract rights into lived experience. When children role-play protests or design persuasive posters, they feel the frustration of exclusion and the power of collective action.

• Year 2
• History
• 4 activities
• 25 min–40 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify key figures and organizations involved in the Votes for Women campaign.
2. Explain the primary goals and methods used by the Suffragettes.
3. Compare the different tactics employed by the Suffragettes to gain public and political attention.
4. Evaluate the significance of the Suffragettes' actions in achieving voting rights for women.

Gallery Walk

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Role-Play: Suffragette Protest

Divide class into groups representing Suffragettes. Provide props like sashes and placards with slogans such as 'Votes for Women'. Groups march around the classroom chanting and discuss how leaders responded. End with a circle share of feelings experienced.

Prepare & details

Who were the Suffragettes and what were they fighting for?

Facilitation Tip: Before the role-play, give each group a card naming one strategy (petition, march, window-breaking, hunger strike) so they can research it first.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Timeline Challenge

⏱ 40 min·Pairs

Timeline Challenge: Road to Votes

Prepare a large timeline strip. Pupils in pairs add illustrated events, like the 1903 formation of the WSPU or 1913 Derby Day protest, using sticky notes and drawings. Sequence them together as a class and retell the story.

Prepare & details

What did the Suffragettes do to try to make people listen to them?

Facilitation Tip: Use a 1-meter strip of paper for the timeline so pupils physically stand and place events, making 20 years feel tangible.

Setup: Long wall or floor space for timeline construction

Materials: Event cards with dates and descriptions, Timeline base (tape or long paper), Connection arrows/string, Debate prompt cards

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Gallery Walk

⏱ 30 min·Individual

Poster Campaign: Make Your Case

Pupils design posters arguing for women's votes, using colours, pictures, and simple slogans. Share in a gallery walk where peers vote on the most persuasive. Connect to real Suffragette methods.

Prepare & details

Why do you think it is important that everyone has the right to vote?

Facilitation Tip: Have pupils vote with colored paper slips to make the simulation’s outcome visible and immediate.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Simulation Game

⏱ 25 min·Whole Class

Simulation Game: Class Vote

Pose a class decision, like choosing playground games. First vote excludes half the class to mimic no votes for women, then include everyone. Discuss fairness and link to Suffragettes' goal.

Prepare & details

Who were the Suffragettes and what were they fighting for?

Setup: Flexible space for group stations

Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Teachers often begin with a short, vivid image or quote to anchor the topic in emotion, then move to structured inquiry. Avoid presenting the suffragettes as simply ‘heroes’ or ‘troublemakers’—instead, frame them as strategists responding to systemic exclusion. Research shows children grasp historical change best when they see cause-and-effect links between actions and reactions in society.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like pupils explaining both peaceful and militant strategies with examples, sequencing key events in order, and justifying their own persuasive arguments using suffragette evidence. They should articulate why persistence and visibility mattered.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Suffragette Protest, watch for pupils assuming suffragettes only used violence.

What to Teach Instead

Hand each group their role card at the start, which includes both a peaceful and a militant action. After the role-play, ask groups to share why they chose the actions they did, highlighting that militancy followed years of peaceful efforts.

Common Misconception

During Timeline: Road to Votes, watch for pupils thinking women gained the vote right after the first protests.

What to Teach Instead

Place a large blank space on the timeline between 1903 and 1918 to represent years with no vote change. Ask pupils to explain why the gap exists, then fill it with key events like the 1913 Cat and Mouse Act.

Common Misconception

During Simulation: Class Vote, watch for pupils believing voting rights were instantly granted to all women.

What to Teach Instead

After the simulation, display two columns on the board: ‘Equal vote’ and ‘Unequal vote.’ Ask pupils to move their slips into the correct column and explain why some groups gained rights first while others did not.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After Role-Play: Suffragette Protest, provide students with a picture of a Suffragette protest. Ask them to write two sentences describing what is happening and one sentence explaining why the women are protesting.

Discussion Prompt

After Poster Campaign: Make Your Case, pose the question: ‘Imagine you wanted to convince the government to change a rule. Would you use peaceful marches or more disruptive actions like the Suffragettes? Explain your choice, considering what might be most effective.’

Quick Check

During Timeline: Road to Votes, show images of key Suffragettes, like Emmeline Pankhurst. Ask students to identify the person and state one action they took to fight for the right to vote.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask pupils to create a suffragette newspaper front page reporting on a protest they role-played.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems for the poster campaign, such as ‘We demand the vote because…’
• Deeper: Invite pupils to compare a suffragette march with a modern march they have seen, listing similarities and differences.

Key Vocabulary

Suffragette	A member of a women's organization in the early 20th century who, particularly in Britain, did not want to wait for the government to give them the right to vote and so used strong, sometimes violent, methods to achieve this.
Suffragist	A person who advocated for the right to vote for women, often through peaceful and constitutional means.
Democracy	A system of government where citizens elect representatives to make decisions and laws for the country.
Petition	A formal written request, signed by many people, appealing to an authority with regard to a particular cause.
Protest	An expression of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to a policy or action.