Girls do not yet see themselves in the White House. Girls do not yet regularly see themselves as CEOs. Girls do not yet see themselves enough in textbooks.
Therefore, it’s a valid question to ask: Are girls seeing themselves in your curriculum?
Women’s History Month provides an excellent opportunity to explore female history makers and learn how to highlight female leaders and experts in your curriculum. Whether you are looking for free Women’s History Month activities or opportunities to incorporate more female representation all year long, this list of Girl Power Plans will inspire your March lesson plans and beyond!
Girl Power Podcasts
Because of their entertaining and educational format, podcasts provide the perfect platform to showcase BOSSY (Bold, Opinionated, Smart, Strong, Yearning) women in the classroom. Here is a list of elementary and secondary podcasts (written by yours truly) that emphasize female experts in an array of fields. If you want to ensure your students stay focused while listening to these empowering podcasts, have them color these FREE Women’s History Podcast Coloring Pages!
If you want to learn more about incorporating podcasts in the classroom, click here: Why You Should Be Using Podcasts in Secondary ELA
Girl Power Posters
Use these FREE posters from The Book Wrangler to showcase brave women in an array of roles. These could also inspire a Women’s History research assignment in which students attach QR codes to each poster that directs viewers to their research project. You can get a picture of this idea here: A Black History Month for the Books: Celebrating Black Excellence in ELA
Below you will see that these posters made a beautiful Women’s History display on my door last March!
Girl Power Poetry
In keeping with the alliteration of this post, the final idea for making sure female voices are heard in your curriculum all year long is by incorporating female authors in every unit. Poetry is the perfect tool for diversifying your white-male-author text books because pairing themes and topics through diverse poetry makes your text set as well as your impact richer.
Here are some lists to get you started:
Poems by Contemporary Women Poets
Poems in honor of Women’s History Month
Best-Loved American Women Poets
I hope that list encourages you to celebrate BOSSY (Bold, Opinionated, Smart, Strong, Yearning) girls during Women’s History Month and beyond!