Women's History Month Curriculum and Activities

A Lesson Plan for Sharing Women's Stories with Children

Mar 9, 2010
Sara McGrath

Family Tree - Rick

Celebrate Women's History Month by sharing the stories of remarkable women such as Pocahontas, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, or a grandmother.

When the National Women's History Project (NWHP) began thirty years ago in America, the topic of women's history scarcely existed outside of college curricula. According to a March 2010 report by NWHP, Writing Women Back Into History, less than 3 percent of the content of teacher training textbooks mention the contributions of women.

Notable Women in History

Today, the contributions of women are shared more widely. Parents and teachers can continue to expand this tradition by passing on the stories of heroic and notable women from both distant and recent history, including your own elders and ancestors. For ideas, see

Cartoons, Comics, and Books for Sharing Women's History with Children

Cartoons, such as Animated Hero Classics from Nest Learning, and comics such as Chester Comix present historical biographies in ways that appeal to children. For a homeschool discount on Chester Comix, see Homeschool Buyers Co-op.

Many children's books share inspiring women's history, including:

Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2005).
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh (Sandpiper, 2002).
A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women by Lynne Cheney (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2003).

See the NWHP biography center for a list of current and past honorees and a listing of women's history performers along with other resources.

Who was the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
Who was the first woman to run for President of the United States?
Who was the Shoshone Indian woman who served as guide and interpreter on the Lewis and Clark expedition?

You can Test Your Knowledge of Women's History at the NWHP website.

Genealogy Projects and Family Interviews

Genealogy projects connect children to their pasts. Children can begin their exploration of women's history by interviewing the women closest to them and mapping a family tree. Rootsweb provides sample interview questions, genealogy forums for kids and teens, and many other resources to help children create a family tree and learn about their ancestors.

Did a grandmother or great-grandmother emigrate to America or Canada? Did she ride a horse to school? Did she go to school? What did her house and yard look like? What jobs did she do as a young woman? Children can learn a lot about the past and about their family by interviewing a grandmother. Ask her about her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Women's History Month brings attention to all women. Women's stories did not always receive the attention they get today, but parents and teachers are creating new traditions. Many resources exist to help share women's history with children, from the National Women's History Project to mothers and grandmothers.

You might also enjoy: Grandparents Day Activities and Family History Project

Source: "75 Greatest Women of All Time." Esquire, 2 March 2012.

Sara McGrath - Sara is a veteran homeschool mom of three, Usborne consultant, and the author of Unschooling: A Lifestyle of Learning.

Comments

Mar 10, 2010 9:35 AM

Guest :

At whyzz.com, the source for kid-friendly answers on how the world works, our Historical Happenings category explains events and people for children ages 4-7. Check out our roundup of amazing women in history, put together for Women's History month!

http://whyzz.com/famous-women-in-history

Aug 28, 2011 2:38 AM

Guest :

I think women have done far more than many realize but they often had to do great things while using a male name so it could get done. One of the greatest con jobs in history has been that males are the superior sex but now that women are getting an equal chance, we see them surpassing males in almost every area. Women are showing that they can do almost anything males can do and they can do it much better then we males can do it. If we only knew how much women really have done, maybe history would be "her"story. It is about time everyone realize women are far superior to us males.

Sep 10, 2011 2:38 AM

Guest :

My brother is a shift supervisor in a large factory and he has about two dozen men and a dozen women working for him He states that the women do twice as much as the males and they do it better than the males. If he needs something done right away, he always asks one of the women to do it since he can't depend upon any of the males. If he had his way, he would never hire another male but he would only have women working for him. He now says that women are superior and of course I agree with him.

Sep 17, 2011 12:03 AM

Guest :

Women's History Month should also include the fact that males have subjected women long enough and that includes what the Wall Street Journal has written recently.

The Wall Street Journal has an article called "The War on Girls" It points out that since 1970 over 163 million girls have been aborted by parents seeking sons. Why anyone would want to abort someone that would be far superior to a male is beyond me.
It goes on to say "In nature, 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. This ratio is biologically ironclad. Between 104 and 106 is the normal range, and that's as far as the natural window goes. Any other number is the result of unnatural events.

Yet today in India there are 112 boys born for every 100 girls. In China, the number is 121—though plenty of Chinese towns are over the 150 mark."

The author states that "such imbalances are portents of Very Bad Things to come. "Historically, societies in which men substantially outnumber women are not nice places to live," she writes. "Often they are unstable. Sometimes they are violent."

Should it be any surprise? The more MALES we have, the worse society becomes? Maybe The S.C.U.M. Manifesto by Valerie Jean Solanas is right. Maybe the best way to cure our problems is to eliminate at least half of the MALE population! After all, if we have a barrel of apples, we do not throw the good apples out to get rid of the rotten ones and in humans, the rotten apples are far more often the MALES. Yes, sometimes we have to throw out some good ones to get all the bad ones but as long as they have testicles, that is fine with me. At least it will be safe for all women and girls since half of the males will be gone. And some wonder why many of us know that women are the superior sex and we males are by far the inferior sex.

One thing we know from this article (War on girls) is that there are fewer wars and much less violence when there are far fewer males then women. Would that not tell us the problem is not because of women but because of those who are inferior to women because they have a a PENIS and TESTICLES and the MALE brain that goes with them.

One possible solution is to take a lesson from the cattle industry. They cut the balls off from bulls to make them gentle. I think any male who is convicted of violent acts needs to have his balls cut off too. I the violence was against women, he needs to be stripped, taken to a public stadium and tied between two post still totally naked and let any woman or girl who wants to kick him in his nuts. Every girl would learn that she is vauled and any boy watching would learn to keep his cock in his pants and he would learn to respect women and girls and there would be a lot fewer pricks in the world.

4 Comments