I love Women’s History Month. It’s a time of year when we collectively seek out stories of determined, courageous women … women who looked obstacles right in the face and said, “Pardon me while I go around you.”
It’s so common for curriculum calendars to suggest, or mandate, certain topics for certain times of the year. I remember when I was a new teacher and my mentor said something like, “We teach such-and-such in November, and this-and-that in January, and, oh yeah, blah-de-blah in April.” These were givens, I guess.
And so it is with March. March is officially Women’s History Month. And I’m glad for that. I’m glad there’s a time specifically set aside to study the contributions made by thoughtful women who worked hard to try something new or make something better.
But I think the daring journeys of explorers and the tenacity of underdogs should be shared and celebrated throughout the year. Those are the stories of real people solving real problems in real life. We should be reading them often and allowing them to inspire and impact our own lives. Let’s talk about them now. And tomorrow. And next month if we want to.
We need a regular dose of stories like these because we are also real people trying to solve real problems in real life. And we need to know how it’s done. Just saying.
Books About Women’s History
Thankfully, we live in a time when library shelves are filled with incredible nonfiction books about notable women. I’m sharing a few of my favorites here, but there are literally SO many, your challenge will be in finding enough time to share the ones you love.
I love this book👆by Chelsea Clinton. She introduces children to 13 outstanding women who changed the world because they wouldn’t take no for an answer. They persisted. There are some familiar faces in the book like Ruby Bridges, Helen Keller, and Sally Ride. But there are also other women who may be new names for children, such as Sonia Sotomayor, Claudette Colvin, and Maria Tallchief. They are doctors, dancers, astronauts, journalists, and more. Strong. Determined. And resilient.
If you love stories with an emotional pull, you have to take a look at Doreen Rappaport’s Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller. It’s written as a third-person narrative, but includes first-person quotes on each page, as if Helen herself is speaking to the reader. It’s an incredible account of perseverance, but it’s also the beautiful story of a student-teacher bond that eventually grew into a lifelong friendship for both Helen and her teacher Anne Sullivan. When Anne died, Helen shared, “I often wonder what my life would have been like if she had not come into it.” *Sniff*
Shark Lady, by Jess Keating, tells the true story of how scientist Eugenie Clark changed the way people viewed sharks. She devoted her life to this cause, teaching the world that sharks should be admired rather than feared… and that women can do anything when they set their minds to seeing it through. I think it’s really important that girls can see themselves as successful scientists and mathematicians if that’s where their interests lie. For this reason, I also recommend:
- Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed
- Who Is Jane Goodall? by Roberta Edwards
- Who Was Amelia Earhart? by Kate Boehm Jerome
- Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helanie Becker
More Children’s Books to Check Out
- Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
- Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Rose Davidson
- Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story by Ruby Bridges
- Rosa by Nikki Giovanni
- Who Was Anne Frank? by Ann Abramson
- Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice by Nikki Grimes
- Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment by Jessica Curry
Teaching Resources for Women’s History Month
Although there are plenty of great children’s books to read aloud to my students, it’s hard to find books at a level they can read and comprehend on their own. So I made a SET OF DIFFERENTIATED BIOGRAPHIES they can tackle with greater independence. I like to begin with the Amazing Women text👇 because it’s simpler and gives an overview of six different women… Jane Goodall, Wilma Rudolph, Amelia Earhart, Sarah Goode, Marie Curie, and Clara Barton.
Then, we move into six individual biographies in the set. They focus on the lives and work of:
- Amelia Earhart
- Jane Goodall
- Clara Barton
- Wilma Rudolph
- Marie Curie
- Oprah Winfrey
These are sample pages from the Wilma Rudolph biography👇. Each book includes nonfiction text features such as underlined key words, captions, labels and arrows, and fact boxes. At the end of each book, an interactive page has been provided where kids are prompted to extend their thinking and write a response.
Comprehension and writing activities are also included in the resource, including:
- comprehension questions about each woman
- journal prompts
- a biography report template with historical timeline feature
- a Notable & Quotable inferencing lesson
Women’s History Month Posters
I wanted to present biographical information in more than one form, so I also created 12 posters featuring additional women. The posters include a shorter amount of text and an inspiring quote from the woman on the poster. These posters are intended to generate interest in further research and can be used with the biography report template pictured above. The twelve women featured in the poster set are:
- Malala Yousafzai
- Rosa Parks
- Mother Teresa
- Marie Brown
- Harriet Tubman
- Princess Diana
- Mary Kenner
- Diana Nyad
- Margaret Thatcher
- Joan of Arc
- Jane Addams
- Hillary Clinton
WOMEN IN MATH AND SCIENCE
Learning the stories of the amazing women who came before us is not only important, but inspiring, especially for girls who are interested in fields and causes where women are typically underrepresented, such as math and science. From a young age, it’s important for girls to hear the message that the opportunities are for everyone. In this way, they can begin developing their own identities as they explore all that’s out there for them.
The POSTERS in this resource👇 are so kid-friendly, they’re perfect for children in the primary grades, K-2. They include boys and girls for each topic and feature kids with multiple skin tones and hair colors. The hope is that even our youngest students can find themselves somewhere in this set.
For real-life examples of women who excelled in math and science, I love this student book👇 that focuses on FEMALE INVENTORS. From CCTV and fire escapes, to chocolate chip cookies and toilet paper holders, I think we can agree these women have improved our lives in significant ways.
Happy teaching!
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