Great Women in History Lesson Plan: Women’s Rights and Female Historical Figures

Submitted by: Angela Watson

Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

In this Great Women in History lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades 3-12, students use BrainPOP resources to explore how women’s rights have evolved throughout history. Students will select an important woman in history and identify key accomplishments in her life, then share research findings through a presentation and/or web 2.0 tools.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Explore how women's rights have evolved throughout history.
  2. Select an important woman in history and identify key accomplishments in her life.
  3. Share research findings through a presentation and/or web 2.0 tools.

Materials:

  • Access to BrainPOP and a projector

Vocabulary:

gender; discrimination; revoke; suffrage; rally; tactic; ratify; privilege; individuality; vindication; mimic; advocate; title IX; activism

Preparation:

Create the guidelines for your students' research projects: determine which sources beyond BrainPOP you would like students to consult (if any) and which presentation tools students may use to share their findings. Presentation choices might include a PowerPoint, blog entry, VoiceThread, video (either filmed with a digital camera/video recorder or created with a program like iMovie), comic (such as those created with Toondoo), or another web 2.0 tool.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Screen the Women's Suffrage and/or the Feminism movie to build students' background knowledge on how women's rights have evolved over time.
  2. Facilitate discussion around these two movies using their Related Reading features. Why is it important to acknowledge the struggles and contributions of women?
  3. Show the Women's History Spotlight to the class. This page displays all BrainPOP movies on important women in history. If you have younger students (grades 3-4) or children working below grade level, you may want to allow them to choose from the BrainPOP Jr. movies on women in history.
  4. Ask students to work alone, in pairs, or in groups to select and research an important woman in history using one of the BrainPOP movies listed on the spotlight page. Tell the class they will be presenting their findings to the class, and provide options for doing so.
  5. Provide time in class or at home for students to conduct their research. They should watch the BrainPOP movie on their chosen historical figure and read through the Related Reading features and Q&A to learn more information. Include the use of other research tools if desired.
  6. Allow students to present their research to the class.

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Ada Lovelace, Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, BrainPOP, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7