5 Engaging Women’s History Month Activities for Middle School

Read here for tips on Women's History Month activities in middle school.

Women’s History is celebrated in March. We know it’s important. But how do we add more to our already jam-packed curriculum? Read here for simple but meaningful ways to incorporate Women’s History Month Activities in your middle school class.

Read here for tips on Women’s History Month activities in middle school.

Why Teach Women’s History in Middle School?

I’m actually hoping that this is already very, very apparent. But in case you need some convincing, here’s why.

Our history books have done an absolutely HORRIBLE job at incorporating women’s history into what is taught on the daily. You might get a quick Molly Pitcher or Deborah Sampson reference, but I mean, come on…what on earth was the other half of the world DOING in this time period?

And P.S. – Deborah Sampson was WAY more fierce and fabulous than most people I hear about in this time period (or other time periods for that matter). If anyone knows Angelina Jolie, can you please ask her to make and star in a biopic about Ms. Sampson? I guarantee it would be a blockbuster.

Can you see I am passionate about this yet? If not, you will by the end of this blog. 😉

We need to incorporate women into our history (“herstory”, anyone?). Period. And because it’s not easy to do given the scant amount of material in our current textbooks, we need a spotlight month. Enter March, AKA “Women’s History Month”.

What to Teach

There are two ways to address women’s history. The first is to naturally incorporate it into your “regular” history lessons. This might take some work on your part. For each unit, you should present women and their contributions to the time period. This is a crucial component and a big task. I suggest doing this little by little because small steps are the way to big changes.

As an idea, you could add in a “spotlight on women” page in your slideshows. Or, you could have kids do the research. Keep it simple by having them do a “5 W’s” activity. Give them a selection of women and they can write the “who, what, when, where, and why”. Make some time to share.

You can also have kids pick contemporary women who have made a difference and do more of a “spotlight” on them in the month of March. And guess what? I’ve done all the work for you with my product, “Women’s History Month Choice Board“. Your kids will love the 15 different activities, and they will learn so much from them. You could actually use this all year round and have kids pick different women throughout the year. More on this below.

Easily Add in Women’s History Month Activities in Middle School

Some of the best and most powerful lessons are the quick and easy ideas that we incorporate. Here are some “tried and true” activities you can start incorporating now.

Quick Ideas for Women’s History Month Activities

Music: Have music playing as kids come in that incorporates what you are teaching. I’m talking fun, upbeat songs that kids might know and/or enjoy and are somewhat related. Teaching about women in the Revolution? How about “Sisters Are Doing it for Themselves” (by the Eurythmics, featuring Aretha Franklin). Ask kids to jot down why this song relates to your current unit.
Question: Google™ has a “Question” feature. I love this because it can be set up quickly (for more on this, read here: “Three Easy Ways to Use Questions in Google Classroom™“). Posting a quick question is a great way to get kids thinking. The possibilities are endless, but here’s an example: “Yesterday we learned about the start of the war. There was no mention of any women in our lesson. If you were a woman living at this time, write down what you were likely to be doing, thinking, and experiencing at this time.”
What would they have said?: For any bit of history, you can ask a student a “What would they have said?” question. For example, when word got out about the start of the Revolution, you could have kids write what a woman could have said. Be specific here; maybe choose a woman Loyalist one day and a woman living in Massachusetts the next day…two very different viewpoints make it interesting.

Women’s History Month Activities Ideas

Projects: Special months such as Women’s History Month lend themselves to fun but purposeful projects. The possibilities are endless! I have seen dioramas, posters, pamphlets…teachers are so creative. If you are interested in something special, check out my Women’s History Agamograph Project. Agamographs are “optical illusions” where you see 2 images based on the angel that you look.

Check out this fun project!

Choice Boards: As I said above, choice boards are fantastic for centers, fast finishers, or anytime you want kids to think creatively and a little more in-depth. You can make your own, but this requires some time. If you don’t have that kind of time, grab mine. It can be used during Women’s History Month or throughout the year. If you use it throughout the year, have kids pick women that go with your current unit of study. It works great and kids love it. Get yours here: Women’s History Choice Board

Choice boards are perfect for special months.