The Beauty in Showing Students the Contributions That Women Have Made
It is such an honor to motivate students to learn more about the contributions of women to history. Doing this will add so much dimension to your students’ lives and to their learning. Little/young girls need to see the power and potential that they have on a consistent basis. Students need to see themselves represented in their environment on a consistent basis. This is such a powerful way to be culturally responsive and to help dissolve stereotypes. If you need any more convincing, though, I doubt that you do, you can refer to the post that I did all about the book, Beautiful by Stacy MacAnulty. That entire experience was life-changing for both my students and myself!
Infusing Cultural Diversity is Invaluable!
This is one of the reasons why I was so excited to create this resource and to select the women that are featured. I wanted girls from different backgrounds and ethnicities to be able to see that they can also be successful, be trendsetters, be intelligent, and take chances. Cultural diversity is so near and dear to my heart. As you may know, I grew up in sunny South Florida and was exposed to a variety of cultures and ethnicities throughout my childhood. This is one of the greatest gifts that my childhood offered me. I attended a school system that would likely be considered an International/Magnet School by today’s standards. I had friends and classmates from Haiti, Suriname, Puerto Rico, Germany, Columbia…all over the world. Those experiences helped shape the person that I am today and gave me opportunities to learn so much about others.
You Don’t Want to Wait Until Women’s History Month to Teach Your Students About the Contributions of Women to US History
If we are waiting until the month of March-when it is officially “Women’s History Month” to begin exposing students to the achievements that women have made to this country, we are doing them a great disservice. Waiting until March cracks the calendar also sends the message that learning more about women is limited to a 30 day time span. I know that I am guilty of doing this. This past month, I stocked up on as many books that featured women as I possibly could. Of course, my sweet students noticed and asked why I had sooo many books that had women on the cover in the front of the room.
One very brave (LOL), male student dares to ask why we need a women’s history month. You could have heard a pin drop, and I wish that you could have seen the “oooooooow” expressions on all of the other students’ faces. Of course, I did the “Linda Blair head spin” and turned to look the person that dared make that comment. I wasn’t upset, but I knew that he did not know that. So, I seized the moment, and feigned disdain for the insult that he dared to spew. Really, I knew that the other boys were thinking the same thing and that truly it was my fault if they were having those thoughts. My #teacherfail!
You guessed it, of course, his next statement was that there is no men’s history month. Oh, really! I challenged him to name all of the people that we had studied so far that year. We turned it into a very fun, teachable moment. The girls begin to chime in and list all of the men that we have studied. Benjamin Franklin. George Washington Carver. Thomas Jefferson. Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt. I smile and give him the “teacher eye”. We all laugh. The girls are all sitting a little taller at this point. Yeah, ladies, girl power!
Famous Women in History Task Cards with QR Codes
With all of this in mind, I couldn’t wait to hop on the blog to share my latest resource with you! I just posted Famous Women in History Scoot with QR Codes in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 1. Who doesn’t love a good game of Scoot or using task cards to teach skills and standards?! and 2. students should learn about a variety of individuals throughout the course of the ENTIRE school year and not just during “designated months”. So, this was a wonderful opportunity to accomplish both!
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| Each task card features a clue about a famous woman in history. QR Codes are featured for quick and easy self-checking. |
