Women’s History Month Lesson Plans

Videos | Lesson Plans | Additional Resources

Introduction:

“Women’s History Month is an annual declared month in the United States that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. March has been set aside as this month. In India, this month is celebrated in October…. In 1979, the school district of Sonoma, California, participated in Women’s History Week, an event designed around the week of March 8 (International Women’s Day since 1911)…. In 1987 Congress expanded the focus to a whole month…. State departments of education began to encourage celebrations of National Women’s History Month as a way to promote equality among the sexes in the classroom. – Wikipedia

Lesson Plans:

These lessons call attention to the accomplishments of women, women’s issues and the history of women’s suffrage. Most can also be considered Social Studies/Language Arts lessons.

Art:

• Students learn about and paint Janet Fish watercolor still lifes in this lesson (3-5)

Computers & Internet:

• This lecture and role playing lesson on the “Roaring Twenties and Woman’s Suffrage” integrates technology (7-12)

Language Arts:

• Here is a lesson and poem about and for “phenomenal women” (7-12)

Music:

• Here is an idea about woman in music (6-7)

PE:

• Women’s historical role in the Olympics is included in this Olympic history lesson plan (2-5)

Social Studies:

• This U.S. voting rights history lesson refers to women’s suffrage (K-5)
• This voting responsibility history lesson also refers to women’s suffrage (2)
• This lesson is about great women in American history (4-5)
• Here students write the story of Anne Frank’s life as if she had survived (4-5)
• Here is a civil war lesson on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad (4-6)
• This is a lesson on Rosa Parks and segregation (4-6)
• This lesson from a woman’s suffrage unit requires students to journal and petition for change (6-7)
• Students can learn about the civil war from a woman’s perspective in this lesson (6-8)
• Here students work with primary sources to evaluate the efficacy of arguments and tactics used by woman suffragists (9-12)
• “A Chicana tells her Story” in this lesson on cultural differences (11-12)
• These lessons from a Civic Engagement Unitrefer to woman’s suffrage:
  • Why Do I have to do Jury Duty? (9-12)
  • Why is Democracy so Demanding? (9-12)

Other:

• This lesson educates girls about the basics of eating disorders, the fashion industry and how to have a positive body image (3-6)
• Half of this lesson on puberty is about “women’s issues” (5-6)
• This is a lesson on “mean girls” (9-12)
• Find more lessons about and for a special woman on our Mother’s Day page

Videos:

• School House Rock makes “Sufferin’ Till Suffrage” easy to remember (2:59)
• Similarly, this animated Brain Pop movie makes women’s suffrage easy to understand (4:23)
• This is a YouTube “Woman Throughout History” slide show video set to an inspirational song (4:02)
• Here CNN Student News reports on famous women of the last decade (1:53)
• Enjoy well-produced video clips on women’s achievements and issues, the women’s movement, and Woman’s Suffrage at History.com (2:03)
• Select a playlist from 150 mini-videographies of notable women at biography.com (various)
• These are original NBC News archive clips about the struggles and achievements of women from the American Revolution to present day (0:51 – 7:05)
• This short film celebrates Women’s History Month and “five trailblazing women who made a difference” in American politics (5:07 – 7:05)
• The teen show “Hard Cover” celebrates the historical accomplishments of women and features woman currently working for equality in their field (28:47)

Additional Resources:

• This is the Children’s Encyclopedia of Women made by third and fourth graders
• Crayola.com is the place to go for coloring pages, crafts, and additional lesson plans
• Find additional coloring pages, worksheets, and printables at EdHelper.com
• Students interactively experience contemporary “Women’s Adventures in Science” at this National Academy of Science website
• Here are notable woman study guides and quotes, an interactive timeline and quiz, stories of female adventurers and leaders, and a list of female firsts
• Learn about the 35 woman who have run for president and visit other exciting exhibits at the National Woman’s History CyberMuseum
• History.com also features articles on Women’s History Month, woman’s suffrage, and the woman’s movement
• The Women in World History Curriculum offers classroom-ready primary source lessons and activities
• Here are more well-developed ideas for integrating women’s history across the curriculum
• Smithsonian Education collected extensive educator resources on woman inventors, artists, aviators, and business woman, African-American and Native American woman, and the first Woman’s Rights Convention
• These are Spanish language resources for celebrating the month
• Students can find information on female Nobel Prize laureates here
• Here are biographies of women inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame
• This is a web site for biographies of women in mathematics
• This site offers links to women’s achievements in other specific fields