Women Who Made a Difference: Tell a Story Lesson Plan

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

This lesson plan, adaptable for grades 3-12, invites students to explore BrainPOP resources to learn about a great woman in history, the share her story by describing the effects of her actions. They can tell the woman’s story in a form that they choose, either on- or offline. Examples include a BrainPOP-style movie, a speech honoring her accomplishments, or an obituary if the woman is deceased.

This lesson plan can be used with any topic in the Women’s History unit.  

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Explore and research a woman from history and identify her key accomplishments.
  2. Create an on- or offline project to tell the woman’s story.
  3. Share project with peers.

Materials:

  • Internet access for BrainPOP
  • Interactive whiteboard
  • Books or other resources about the featured woman

Preparation:

 
  • Preview the movie and features to plan for any adaptations.
  • Preview the suggested pause point discussion questions accessible on the the topic Lesson Idea Page.
  • Determine which of the topic’s features you plan on having students explore (e.g. Challenge, Creative Coding, Newsela, Primary Source, etc.)
  • Use the Assignment Builder to assign features to students.
 

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Prompt a class discussion inviting students to brainstorm what they know about the woman, such as who she is, her accomplishments, etc. You can project Make-a-Map, to make note of what students share.
  2. Show the movie on the whiteboard or other display to the whole class. Turn on the closed caption option to aid in comprehension.
  3. Pause as needed to discuss the movie.
  4. Watch the movie a second time either as a whole class, in small groups, or independently.
  5. Instruct students to open Assignments for the topic. Allow time for them to complete the assignments related to the topic.
  6. Bring the class together. Ask students to brainstorm ways they can share the woman’s story either on- or offline, such as a movie, a speech, a storybook, an obituary (if the woman is deceased), etc. Suggest some of the BrainPOP tools that can help students create their stories, such Make-a-Movie or Creative Coding.
  7. Encourage students to use Make-a-Map to plan for their projects. Explain that they can use a sequence map, for example, if they’re going to tell the woman’s story chronologically or a cause/effect if they want to highlight how the woman’s actions made a difference.
  8. Allow time for students to work on their projects, providing help as needed.
  9. Students share their projects with the class. After the presentations, prompt a class discussion about the effects of the woman’s actions. How did she make a difference?

Related:

    Filed as:  3-5, 6-8, 9-12, Ada Lovelace, Agatha Christie, Amelia Earhart, Anne Frank, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2