Deanna McDaniel, a media specialist at Genoa Middle School, is one of 15 educators in the country who contributed to “Building a More Perfect Union,” a national collection of lesson plans and essays that help commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.
McDaniel’s lesson, “The Equal Rights Amendment: Debating a More Perfect Union,” challenges students to identify the major arguments of the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s and compare and contrast the organizations’ tenets to understand differences and commonalities.
“Ms. McDaniel has contributed to a collection of resources unlike anything we have ever put together at NHD,” National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn said. “The bedrock benchmarks of National History Day classroom materials shine through in every lesson plan; but further, thanks to our longstanding partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the guiding principles offered by its ‘A More Perfect Union’ initiative, we have the unique opportunity both to further the NHD mission of improving the teaching and learning of history, and to support the NEH’s enduring commitment to tell America’s story.”
The lesson is part of a project from National History Day and the National Endowment for Humanities that explores events, legislative accomplishments, and civic actions across U.S. history — from foreign policy to civil rights to debates surrounding citizenship — that have collectively moved the country toward a more perfect union.
All the lesson plans supporting materials for “Building a More Perfect Union” collection, including McDaniel’s lesson, can be downloaded from National History Day’s website and the National Endowment for the Humanities’ EDSITEment website.
McDaniel said she was charged with creating a lesson that examined the equal rights amendment and how people involved on both sides of the issue aimed at building a more perfect union. She studied audio recordings of Gloria Steinem and Phyllis Schlafly, two leading figures in the equal rights movement with opposing ideologies.
“They seemed very opposite but really they weren’t,” she said. “They wanted the same thing. In these times we’ve just lived through, it was heart-warming to see people who felt the exact opposite but at heart wanted the same thing.”
As part of her lesson, teachers have access to those audio recordings and hear from Steinem and Schlafly talk about the equal rights amendment as well as other sources and worksheets.
“As a librarian, to think I could produce something that people can use is satisfying,” she said.