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Women’s History Month, Grades K-5

Lessons, Activities, Background Reading, and More

By Phil Nast, retired middle school teacher and freelance writer

Found In: Language Arts, Social Studies, PreK-2, 3-5

Article Sections

The March 2013 theme for Women's History Month is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Examine the changing cultural perceptions of women in society and honor their contributions to all aspects of life in the following interdisciplinary lessons and activities for all grade levels.

Lessons & Activities

Lesson Plans

Objects of Adornment
Students in grades in K-2 explore portraits of two historical princesses and consider the adornments they wear.

Depicting Motherhood in Family Stories
Students in grades K-2 examine the roles of mothers and grandmothers by comparing black-and-white photographs of one American family with their own families.

Jazz Appreciation Month: Celebrate Women Jazz Artists -Lesson Plan
Students in grades K-12 learn about women’s contributions to jazz.

American Girl, Too
Students in grades 3-5 work in pairs to create their own American Girl dolls, focusing on historical eras or points-of-view not addressed by the current American Girl line.

Ambitious Women Artists at Work
Students in grades 3-5 learn about two ambitious and courageous women artists in European history and examine works by both.

Suffrage Strategies: Voices for Votes
Students in grades 3-8 identify different methods people used to change attitudes about suffrage for women and create original documents encouraging citizens to vote in current elections.

Sets of Additional Lessons

Teaching with Historic Places: Women's History Lesson Plans
Lessons for K-12 students use historic places – such as Clara Barton’s House, a Virginia Plantation and a female aviator’s home in Brooklyn – to explore aspects of women’s history.

Lesson Plans: Women's History
Lessons for students in grades 3-12 exploring the struggle for women’s suffrage.

Activities

Women’s History Month
Crosswords, quizzes, and other fun for kids.

American Women: A Children's Activity Guide ( PDF, 3.65 MB, 2 pgs.)
Activities from the National Portrait Gallery.

Background Resources

Women’s History Month Library of Congress
Resources from The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Women's History Teaching Resources
Portraits, photographs, online exhibit, world music, women inventors, and more

Pages from Her Story - For Teachers (Library of Congress)
Excerpts from women’s diaries, journals, memoirs, reminiscences, letters, speeches, and interviews spanning 1675-1957.

For Teachers - Women's History Month
Primary sources, lesson plans, student activities, collection guides, and research aids.

National Women's History Project: Resource Center
Information, resources, and educational materials about multicultural women’s history.

Notable Speeches and Addresses by U.S. Women, 1849–present
Full text speeches and links to brief biographies.

Women in World History
Primary sources and classroom modules.

Biographies of Women Mathematicians
Biographies of women in mathematics and other resources

Women in Science
Full and partial text access to written works of several female scientists accompanied by biographies.

Changing the Face of Medicine
Examine women’s contributions to medicine.

Gale - Free Resources - Women's History
Activities, biographies, timeline.

National Women's History Month
Women’s contributions to national defense

Museum Websites

Quizzes & Printables

Quizzes

Printables

Video

 

last updated: February 22, 2013

 

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