Women's History Month by Shabnam Mehman Heydarzade

Women's History Classroom Activities

shabnammehmanheydarzade — 2025-03-23 20:36:41 UTC

Fun classroom activities to celebrate Women's History.

Find more activities from WeAreTeachers

Timeline: Influential Women in History

shabnammehmanheydarzade — 2025-03-23 20:36:41 UTC

Learn about influential women who have changed history. Choose one to research further or add your own!

Map: Young Adult Fiction Books by Women Authors

shabnammehmanheydarzade — 2025-03-23 20:36:41 UTC

Explore young adult fiction from all over the world written by incredible women authors

Contemporary Women Poets

shabnammehmanheydarzade — 2025-03-23 20:36:41 UTC

Get inspiration from these fabulous women poets. Write your own poetry and use our AI image tool to illustrate your writing!

Women's History Trading Cards

shabnammehmanheydarzade — 2025-03-23 20:36:41 UTC

Use Sandbox to create your own trading cards about famous figures in Women's history!

Learnings

2025-03-25 14:12:41 UTC

I learned about so many women in politics I wasn't previously aware of, and learned more about the struggles and wins of the women I did know of. For example, I didn't know about Malala's attempted assassinations, or how hard she fought for women to have a place in education that was equal to a man's.

Activity Idea: Bulletin Board

2025-03-25 14:14:33 UTC

I think it would be fun to have students making their own bulletin boards for different women in history to display around the classroom. This is interactive, and can lead to a gallery walk or more conversation about different women. It also gives the students opportunities to share their new knowledge.

What I learned

2025-03-25 14:15:11 UTC

I learned about Valentina Tereshkova who was the first woman in space, orbiting earth 48 times in 71 hours! Although she had no pilot training, Tereshkova was an accomplished amateur parachutist and on this basis was accepted for the cosmonaut program when she volunteered in 1961.

I learned....

chloelwindemuller — 2025-03-25 14:16:58 UTC

I learned about the breaking barriers game in the section about the activities. I thought that idea was a great idea and would like to implement something like that in my own classroom. The game was that students would create their own board game about women in different fields that broke barriers.

What I Learned

2025-03-25 14:17:16 UTC

Wangari Maathai was the first Black African to win a Noble Piece Prize in 2004. She founded the Green Belt Movement which has contributed to planting over 51 million trees in Kenya. She is also an advocate for AIDS prevention, women’s rights, and human rights.

Learnings

2025-03-25 14:17:46 UTC

I have learned so much about influential women in history, from Cleopatra all the way up to Malala and Kamala Harris. It's interesting to see how the successes of women have evolved throughout time. I also had no idea that Cleopatra spoke 9 languages, which is difficult for me to grasp given the time period and lack of educational resources. All of these women have had a lasting impact on history with each achievement uplifting women further and further.

Engaging Women's History Class Activities

kateaholda — 2025-03-25 14:17:49 UTC

I learned about many different types of activities, including a women's rights simulation in which students debate issues of the time, like the Seneca Falls Convention, to help them understand different historical perspectives.

Activity Idea

chloelwindemuller — 2025-03-25 14:19:11 UTC

I think a great idea for the month of March which is women's history month, would be to present a new woman for each day of the month. There are many resources that provide a list of women and what they did along with photos. This would be a great way to introduce women for this great month!

I learned

wkf9879 — 2025-03-25 14:19:21 UTC

I learned about how many different women have stood up for their rights in many different ways. It is not a "one size" fits all type of mentality where we can all fight for ourselves in the same way.

Knowing this we are able to in account how we want to make change our situations will be different and unique.

What I Learned

srw9000 — 2025-03-25 14:19:41 UTC

I learned about women in the political space that I hadn't heard of before. Many struggles and accomplishments haven't been explored in education before. Uplifting the voices of these people will help spread diverse messages and uplift people to enable them to do anything they want.

What I learned

jordanpfreeman — 2025-03-25 14:20:46 UTC

I learned about influential women from various historical periods before the 1900s who made lasting impacts in different fields. Cleopatra, for example, was a skilled ruler and diplomat who played a key role in maintaining Egypt's independence through strategic alliances. Joan of Arc, a young French heroine, led military victories during the Hundred Years' War and is remembered as a symbol of courage and French unity, despite her tragic end. These women exemplify leadership, determination, and groundbreaking achievements in history.

Activity Ideas

wkf9879 — 2025-03-25 14:21:22 UTC

I really like the idea of doing a womens history gallery walk.

I think it is a great way to integrate the arts curriculum and also expose students to many different women who needed to fight for their seat at the table

Trading cards

2025-03-25 14:21:31 UTC

My favorite activity that I learned about is making trading cards about influential women. This is a strategy that can easily be applied to any marginalized group, and the template in the above resources would be an easy guide for students to practice research techniques.

What I learned

madisontlaplante — 2025-03-25 14:21:38 UTC

I learned about some women in history that I have never heard of, as well as some I am familiar with. One who stood out to me was Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite spending 15 years under house arrest she didn't stop fighting.

What I Learned

jnf0383 — 2025-03-25 14:22:22 UTC

I learned that despite influences from government, violent groups, and other people, women do have power in the world. Dating back to the time of Cleopatra until more recently with Kamala Harris, women have made life-changing advancements and accomplishments. All these successful women have one thing in common: they support other women.

I learned...

2025-03-25 14:22:57 UTC

I learned about a cool activity to use with kids! I think this would be really fun for older kids in possibly middle or high school. The activity is having them create a social media page about a woman in history. They will makes posts as if the woman herself i making the posts herself.

What I learned

jennailanfear — 2025-03-25 14:23:04 UTC

An activity I learned about was the hidden figure interview project; I think it would be fun for students to pretend to be them to be the historical women or interview one.

I also learned about some women and their histories like Mother Teresa and how she helped the poorest of the poor.

What I learned

2025-03-25 14:23:11 UTC

I learned about the different women who played a part in not only US history, but world history. I thought that it was really interesting how Valentina Tereshkova spent more time that any other American in space combined

Activity Ideas

srw9000 — 2025-03-25 14:24:02 UTC

Some good ideas are in this link. One that I came up with was creating a class timeline about influential women in the Civil Rights Movement or the Industrial Revolution. This way, you are still hitting the main standards and content areas that need to be covered but using a lens that shows how influential women can be to events in history.

Activity

2025-03-25 14:24:14 UTC

I think that having the students do an activity just like the one we did is a great idea. Have them pick a woman, and tell us about her achievements and why she is influential allows them to chose and be more engaged while also learning about history.

Activity Idea

madisontlaplante — 2025-03-25 14:24:48 UTC

Something you could do is have a list of people for the kids to learn about. After you have covered everyone you could give the students clues and they need to match the person to the accomplishments.

Activity

jordanpfreeman — 2025-03-25 14:25:25 UTC

I think the idea of a gallery walk is a fantastic approach for Women's History Month. To make it even more interactive and engaging for students, I suggest having students work in groups. Each group could stop at different stations or influential women on the timeline and research one key fact about that person. This not only encourages active participation but also allows students to contribute to the learning experience, making it more collaborative and enriching for everyone.

Modern women's history

2025-03-25 14:25:32 UTC

I would have my students interview a woman in their life to construct a timeline of their accomplishments. This would not only help the students to practice interviewing and learning about women's history in their community, but would also give the interviewee a sense of pride in their accomplishments. This could be presented to the class in a poster, powerpoint, essay, or any form that the student feels is appropriate to express what they learned.

Activity Idea: Wax Museum

jnf0383 — 2025-03-25 14:25:46 UTC

Students could create a wax museum of notable women throughout history. This event could also be open to the broader community. Each student would choose a woman to research independently. They'd then recreate that woman (costumes and props) to share with the school and community.

Activity Idea

jennailanfear — 2025-03-25 14:28:24 UTC

An activity that we could do is a women of the day! Maybe different women who changed history can be a focus once a week. Starting the morning by watching a video about her and integrating her throughout the subjects that day. For example, in math, calculate her timeline and the years between or how many people they helped.

What I Learned

2025-03-25 14:28:51 UTC

While looking through the many different women who helped shape our history, I learned that while they were all working towards different things like being the first to go to space or being the first prime minister, they all had the same big goal and that was to fight for equal rights.

"HERstory" Military Women's Memorial Program

2025-03-25 14:35:00 UTC

The Military Women's Memorial has a program called "HERstory" that explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. There is a YouTube channel with a new episode about a different woman each week. The latest episode:

Gladys Anderson and the 6888th

Debuting February 3, 2022

Gladys Anderson was among the more than 800 women who joined the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only contingent of Black WACs to serve overseas during World War II. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection.

I learned

2025-03-25 18:49:27 UTC

I learned about Aung San Suu Kyi, a female champion of democracy in Myanmar (Burma). I had never heard of her before, and I really enjoyed getting to read about her story.

Activity Idea:

naudiaecuchinski — 2025-03-25 18:54:27 UTC

Something you could do with your students to celebrate Women's History Month is start your day with a quote by an important woman from history. This would be a great way to introduce new historical figures in the classroom and gives an opportunity to learn more about the contributions women have made around the world.

Activity

2025-03-25 18:55:15 UTC

Students could participate in a research project by interviewing a woman in their family about their life and experiences! They could create a presentation about their female family member to share with the class.

What I learned

elizabethbrack1 — 2025-03-25 18:55:53 UTC

I learned ways to teach my future students about how different women impacted history. I can have students create trading cards or posters for a gallery walk.

Activity Idea

2025-03-25 18:57:04 UTC

Have students pick an influential woman and make a speech from that women perspective about what she has done.

Women History Book

2025-03-25 18:57:43 UTC

100 Women Who Made History: Remarkable Women Who Shaped Our World is a hardcover book published by Dorling Kindersley as part of their 100 Things That Made History series. It is designed to celebrate the lives and accomplishments of 100 influential women across time, disciplines, and cultures who have made a lasting impact on the world.

I learned...

2025-03-25 19:00:15 UTC

I really liked the activity of reading Historical Women's diary entries. I think you can learn a lot about that specific time period from women's written thoughts. It would be really interesting to hear their perspective on the world and reflect on how much has changed since then.

Activity Idea

2025-03-25 19:01:41 UTC

I think that a great game/activity for teaching Women's History is playing "Who Am I?" Students are given a list of important women in history and choose "who they are". They will do a little bit of research on their chosen figure and then create 3-5 clues from their research. Students read their clues to the class and then the class tries to guess which influential woman they are. Not only does this enlighten students on these influential women, but also encourages research and critical thinking, engages students in active learning, and makes history fun and interactive!

Activity

elizabethbrack1 — 2025-03-25 19:01:56 UTC

Something you could do is tie what you are learning in other subjects to women's history. For example, if you are teaching about poetry, you could read poems created by famous female poets. Or if you are teaching about seasons you could use art depicting seasons from a famous female artist.

What I learned

2025-03-25 19:01:58 UTC

I learned that Malala Yousafzai is a brave woman who stood up for what she believed in. She grew up in Pakistan where girls were not always allowed to go to school. Malala spoke out and said that girls should have the same right to learn as boys. When she was 15, she was shot by people who didn’t want her to speak up, but she survived. Instead of being scared, she kept fighting for education. Malala started a group called the Malala Fund to help girls go to school, and she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Bulletin Board

2025-03-25 19:03:29 UTC

Have students create a bulletin board in the hallway about various women that they learn about throughout Women's History Month. They could create a timeline similar to what we have created on Padlet, show pictures of the women, and highlight their impacts. They can collect the information and materials throughout the month. This way they can inform the rest of the school about these women, and leave it up to highlight women's achievements outside of just one month.

I learned...

2025-03-25 19:05:22 UTC

I learned about many different activities that I can use to educate my students on Women's History. I learned ways that I can keep learning about this topic interesting instead of feeling like it is a lecture or spiel.

What I Learned

2025-03-25 19:09:55 UTC

I learned about Junko Tabei, who was the first woman to ever climb Mount Everest. I also learned various activities, like a board game, and creating trading cards for influential women.

What i learned...

2025-03-26 19:27:04 UTC

I learned so many interesting things! I really enjoyed using the interactive map to learn about women authors. Too often are men authors overshadowing women and their writing, so I found this very interesting! It shows all the women authors and their books that they have written, and I wasn't aware that Howl's Moving Castle was written by a woman from Ingary!

Activity

2025-03-26 20:39:14 UTC

I think a good activity idea would be for students to use the map to pick a woman author and then research deeper and further about her. IT would also be cool if they could incorporate the books that this author wrote too and to just touch on other female authors and their success!

2026-03-30 14:09:38 UTC

I learned that women and girls are still being misrepresented today in the classroom, which is creating a barrier. I found an activity where all the students research a significant moment in women's history and then create an artistic representation. I think this would be a great way to show not only the girls in your class, but all the students that there shouldn't be a divide between genders, but that we all can do everything.

I learned

2026-03-30 14:11:39 UTC

I learned that there are many women in politics that I was not aware of. For example, I have never heard of Wangari Maathai. She was the first African women to receive the Nobel Peace prize. She has made a huge impact on our world by planting 51 million trees and an advocate for women's rights.

What I learned

2026-03-30 14:11:50 UTC

I learned about all of the role models we have in the world. We need to realize how many women role models we should be looking up too. Seeing the timeline of a bunch of different and unique women helped me pinpoint who is an important figure at this time.

What I learned- Denise

2026-03-30 14:12:00 UTC

I learned about Wangari Maathai, she was the first African women to reciece the nobel Peace Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement, which planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. The timeline shows lots of inspirational women which school does not teach about.

Allison, Jill, Rylee, Natalie, Denise

2026-03-30 14:17:21 UTC

We chose Susan B Anthony and Marie Curie.

Develop Questions:

How is society different today from these two women?

Supporting Questions:

What are each of these women known for?
What change did they make?
Why do these changes matter?

What I Learned (Kaitlyn)

2026-03-30 14:17:35 UTC

I learned about Aung San Suu Kyi who was a politician and opposition leader of Myanmar. She held multiple governmental roles including state counselor which led to her being the de facto leader of the country. When she was young, her mother was the ambassador to India. In 1989 the government placed Suu Kyi under house arrest and agreed to release her if she was to leave Myanmar. She refused to leave until the country was returned to civilian government and the political prisoners were freed.

What I learned (Alyssa)

2026-03-30 14:21:02 UTC

I learned about many different women who changed history that I had not learned about before. They all made influential changes in the world around them in their own way. One of the influential women who stood out to me was Wangari Maathai, who was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement, which has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. Another influential woman who stood out to me was Malala Yousafzai, who became a global advocate for girls' education after surviving an assassination attempt. She inspired millions worldwide and brought attention to the importance of education for all.

Margaret Thatcher

2026-03-30 14:21:15 UTC

Compelling Question: How did Margaret Thatcher change the role of government in the economy?

Supporting Questions:

What were the economic problems when Margaret took office?

What were her key economic policies?

What groups of people did she focus on?

Kate and Sophia

Activity Idea: Jill

2026-03-30 14:24:46 UTC

I would do science integration at the Smithsonian's book of Women in Science. I would read/explore a different women each science class.

Kaitlyn

2026-03-30 14:24:51 UTC

I chose Aung San Suu Kyi. She contributed through advocating for democracy and human rights. She faced many challenges such as house arrest, detention, and the Rohingya crisis where her administration faced severe criticism with accusations of human rights abuses. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace due to her advocation about democracy and human rights. She was actively working towards peace negotiations and change.

Develop Question

How can you begin making change in your community?

What barriers did Aung San Suu Kyi face?

How can you use her story to support others in advocating for change?

Activity (Alyssa)

2026-03-30 14:26:46 UTC

Students would choose an influential woman and create a poster about them. On the posters, students would have a picture of the influential woman, their accomplishments, the time period, and their impact on society. These posters would include visuals, as well as important points. These posters will be put on a timeline that is placed above their lockers in the hallway, so the rest of the school can learn along with the class.

Activity Idea (Kaitlyn)

2026-03-30 14:28:03 UTC

For Women's History month, I would have students research and choose a woman that was an influential historical figure. They would then have them choose between writing a report on how they influenced our lives, create a visual representation of a relative important event from that time, or create a cause vs effect chart for a relative important event from that time.

Malala Yousafzai

2026-03-30 14:44:06 UTC

Compelling Question:

How did Malala Yousafzai change the view on education worldwide?

Supporting Questions:

What was the education system like in Pakistan before Malala spoke out publicly?
How did Malala make a change to education?
How has her activism changed the view on education?

Alyssa