It’s March and that means it’s time for Women’s History Month! But do your students know why it’s important to learn about Women’s History? Here are 3 reasons you can share with your students that explain the importance of learning about women in history, followed by 3 resources you can use with your students during the Women’s History Month.
Reasons for Teaching Women’s History
1) Offers Inspiration and Empowerment
When you incorporate Women’s History into your lessons, you offer role models for your students. This is especially important for girls because it empowers them by showing them women who’ve overcome barriers and become successful and accomplished.
2) Challenges Stereotypes
Teaching Women’s History brings to light the stories of people who achieved great things but whose accomplishments were overlooked because they were women. Making students aware of what women are capable of doing breaks down stereotypes about what they can or should do.
3) Creates a More Inclusive View of History
Teaching History should include the teaching of a wide variety of perspectives and experiences, which means including Women’s History. Discussing how women from a range of cultures, background, and time periods have contributed to society in the U.S. and around the world gives students a greater understanding of historical events. It makes clear that women have been and are active participants in society, they are an integral part of history, and it’s important to recognize that.
Women’s History Month Ideas
Below are 3 Women’s History Month activities for your students. The first includes an overview of when the celebration of Women’s History Month began, so you might want to start with that. Otherwise, all the activities in these resources can be used throughout March. Please click on the product titles for more info about each resource.
1) Women’s History Month Reading Passage, Puzzles & Poster
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Part of my “Heritage Month” series, this is my newest resource. It includes a reading passage about 5 American women who were key figures in the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S. It’s accompanied by different types of questions so your students get practice answering the kinds of questions often found on standardized tests. The reading passage begins with a brief explanation of the origins of Women’s History Month and then talks about 5 women who were active in the struggle to give women the vote in the U.S. The last names of these women are 5 of the 20 terms used in word search and crossword puzzles that are also included in this resource. There’s also a poster that you can use as part of a bulletin board display for Women’s History Month.
2) Biography Task Cards about American Women
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This resource includes task cards with short biographies about 100 women from a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The task is for students to use the info to write paragraphs about them. Several more ways to use the task cards are provided.
3) Biography Task Card about International Women
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This resource is like the one above about American women but here, it showcases 68 notable women around the world in ancient and world history up through the present time. It, too, includes many other ways to use the task cards. Women from every continent except Antarctica are included.
Also, these 2 task card resources are available in a bundle that is cheaper than if you were to buy each product separately.
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Of course, women’s history doesn’t have to be and actually shouldn’t only be taught during Women’s History Month. But if you’re giving extra attention to the topic this month and your students ask you why, I hope this gives you some answers to that question and also gives you some ideas for teaching about women’s contributions all over the world and throughout history.
