March is Women’s History Month, coinciding with International Women’s Day on March 8. It’s a time to recognize the achievements of remarkable women from around the globe throughout history. This roundup of Women’s History Month activities and ideas celebrates artists, scientists, leaders, and more women who made their mark. They’ll open the door for deeper discussions on the challenges women have faced (and continue to face) and the impressive accomplishments they’ve made against the odds.
1. Read great books about great women
Make story time, book study, or independent reading time all about strong women with this roundup of incredible books. They’ll teach kids about the inspiring lives of women from around the world.
Learn more: Inspiring Books for Women’s History Month at We Are Teachers
2. Introduce a new famous woman each day.
Each day of the month, share a photo and short biography of a famous woman from history or modern day who is changing the world for the better.
Learn more: Famous Women in History Everyone Should Know at We Are Teachers
3. Share new facts every day
Start your class day with these fascinating facts about women, and use them as a jumping-off point for discussions or more Women’s History Month activities.
Learn more: Women’s History Month Facts for Kids at We Are Teachers
4. Stage a classroom wax museum
This is such a fun, engaging project. It really encourages your students to imagine themselves as the famous historical person that they’re studying. Girls will love being inspired by the amazing women who led the way!
Learn more: Classroom Biography Wax Museum at Two Sharp Pencils
5. Post a Women’s History Month bulletin board
Display a bulletin board to help your students reflect on women’s achievements. Even better? Have your students create and put up their own bulletin board!
Learn more: Amazing Bulletin Boards That Celebrate All Things Her-story at We Are Teachers
6. Make an accordion book of great moments
This is a neat way to document women’s accomplishments throughout history. Students can work in groups to complete specific eras, or each one can create their own accordion book on the women who inspire them most.
Learn more: Timeline Accordion Book at Imagination Soup
7. Draw inspiration from female illustrators
In the 80+ years since the Caldecott Medal’s inception, only about a quarter of the superb illustrators it celebrates have been women. Take some time to share strong female illustrators with your students. Then, have them choose one woman whose style they really like and try to create their own illustrations in the same vein.
Learn more: Female Illustrators You Need To Include in Your Classroom Library at We Are Teachers
8. Use BrainPOP’s Women’s History unit
BrainPOP offers a massive collection of free movies, texts, games, and lessons on famous women in history. You can base a whole history unit on it, or ask each student to choose a woman from the list and complete the activities included. This is a really cool way to personalize the learning experience.
Learn more: Women’s History Unit at BrainPOP
9. Listen to an inspiring podcast
Check out the Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls podcast for engaging stories about famous and inspiring women. Then, challenge students to create their own podcast about a woman who inspires them.
Learn more: Best Podcasts for Women’s History Month at We Are Teachers
10. Study female poets and poetry
Have students choose a poem by a female poet, like Maya Angelou, then dig deep. Explore the context around why the poet wrote on that particular topic, and how it was received by critics and the general public at the time. Encourage creativity by asking students to write their own poems on the same topic or in a similar style.
Learn more: Studying Female Poets to Understand History at Edutopia
11. Try a women’s history word search
Give students this quick word search (it’s perfect as a bell-ringer or activity for students who are finished early). After they finish, brainstorm a big list of more words that could be added to a puzzle like this one.
Learn more: Women’s History Month Word Search from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. Learn through play
Games make fun Women’s History Month activities during indoor recess or to fill time at the end of class. Try to build a team of inspirational women in the game Icon. In Her Story, students act as authors who are writing about famous women. In Top Trumps, choose the famous woman with the best stats to win each round. Add one (or more) of these games to your classroom and kids can learn while they play.
Buy it: Icons at Amazon; Her Story at Amazon; Top Trumps at Amazon
13. Discover women scientists through books and activities
These diverse women made a huge impact on the world of science. Explore each one with book suggestions and Women’s History Month activities to help kids see the world through their incredible eyes.
Learn more: Wonderful Women Scientists To Inspire Your Students at We Are Teachers
14. Collaborate on a famous-faces poster
This project, where students create a mural of famous women one section at a time, not only celebrates women but also shows the power of working together. When you’re finished, you’ll have an impressive piece to display in school hallways.
Learn more: Famous Faces Mural at Art With Jenny K.
15. Craft Perler bead women
How cute are these? You can get free patterns and buy lots of beads at the link, but kids can also set their imaginations free and design their own. This is one of our favorite Women’s History Month craft activities.
Buy it: Women of American History patterns and beads at Perler
16. Complete a research pennant project
This is a fun spin on the traditional research project. Kids choose a woman to focus on and create a pennant to represent her life and achievements.
Learn more: Women’s History Biography Project at Study All Knight
17. Make a paper quilt
Learn about the enslaved quilting women of Gee’s Bend who made scraps of fabric into warm, colorful quilts for their families. Then, gather up some construction paper scraps to create students’ own designs.
Learn more: Gee’s Bend Quilt project at Sew This Is Life
18. Visit a local site honoring women
Take a field trip to a site in your area that celebrates women in history. The National Park Service has a nice list to inspire you, including the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York.
Learn more: National Historical Sites Honoring Women at the U.S. Department of the Interior
19. Take a virtual field trip
Virtual field trips are easy and fun Women’s History Month activities your students will love. Register in advance for a virtual field trip with the National Women’s History Museum. Field trips are 45 minutes long and explore topics ranging from the beginning of women’s suffrage to Black women’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
Learn more: Virtual Field Trips at the National Women’s History Museum
20. Have students put their stamp on history
First, check out Fact Monster’s list of Women Who Left Their “Stamps” on History, and take a look at all the women who’ve been featured on U.S. postage stamps. Then, have kids choose a woman who hasn’t been featured yet and create their own stamp in her likeness.
Learn more: Leaving Their Stamps on History at The Mailbox
21. Sketch a Women’s History Month Google Doodle
Start by taking a look at Google’s huge archive of their daily Doodles. Have students choose one that speaks to them, and learn more about the woman it illustrates. Then, have kids draw a Google Doodle of their own, and write a paragraph explaining why this woman should be featured as a Google Doodle.
Learn more: Google Doogle Archives at Google.com
22. Write about women’s history
These 12 writing prompts are thought-provoking, and you can use them with students from upper elementary all the way through high school.
Learn more: Writing prompts for Women’s History Month at Woo Jr.
23. Look through a DIY telescope
Learn about pioneering female astronomers like Maria Mitchell, Caroline Herschel, and Annie Jump Cannon. Then, build your own DIY refractor telescope using inexpensive supplies, and see what you can spot in the sky!
Learn more: How To Make a Small Refractor Telescope at Storm the Castle
24. Write with a magic pencil
Read Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai with your class, then make your own magic pencil craft. Encourage kids to dream about what they would draw or write if they knew the things they drew could come true.
Learn more: Magic Pencil activity at MaiStoryBook
Buy it: Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai at Amazon
25. Upcycle an astronaut helmet
Celebrate Sally Ride—the first American woman in space—and other female astronauts by crafting this astronaut helmet from recyclable materials. It’s perfect for imagining yourself soaring through space one day!
Learn more: Astronaut helmet activity at Woo Jr.
26. Learn about women in space
Women have been important in the space program for years. Learn about mathematician Katherine Johnson, and build a space capsule with tinfoil, string, and tape.
Learn more: Space capsule activity at Carly & Adam
Buy it: Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 by Helaine Becker at Amazon
27. Plant a tree
Follow in the footsteps of Kate Sessions and Wangari Maathai, two women who knew the importance of planting trees. Learn the right way to plant a tree, including choosing one that will grow well in your area. Hold a ceremony to dedicate the tree to Sessions, Maathai, or a local woman who deserves the honor.
Learn more: Tree planting at Rhythms of Play
28. Put together a Frida Kahlo–inspired self-portrait
This gorgeous art project works in mixed media, and kids will be stunned by the amazing results. Learn about Kahlo and her unique life while you work.
Learn more: Self-Portrait at Woo Jr.
29. Assemble flowers in the style of Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama’s style really appeals to kids, so they’ll get a kick out of making paper flowers inspired by her work. Dot stickers make the whole project even easier!
Learn more: Yayoi Kusama activity at Lotta Magazine
30. Explore the deep sea and outer space
Kathy Sullivan is a truly remarkable woman. She made history for becoming both an astronaut and a deep-sea diver! Learn more about the inspiring story of this explorer with resources, including text feature skill sheets, vocabulary, a NASA video, and a quiz designed for middle and high school students.
Learn more: Kathy Sullivan lesson plan at Scholastic
31. Make an I Dissent collar
Women have helped shape the Supreme Court since Sandra Day O’Connor joined in 1981. Perhaps the best-known woman on the Supreme Court was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Learn about her with the picture book I Dissent by Debbie Levy or with a video about her life. Design one of her famous collars, and discuss how her experiences as a woman shaped how she approached her work on the court.
Buy it: I Dissent by Debbie Levy at Amazon
Get it: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Collar activity at Activities for Kids
32. Learn about Helen Keller’s life and legacy
Another woman worth knowing is Helen Keller. Her perspective on what we can do with our lives and how to make the most of every opportunity is an important one for students to learn. Study Helen Keller by reading one (or more) of the biographies about her or by learning about how Keller communicated in this mini unit.
Learn more: Helen Keller mini unit at As They Grow Up
33. Dress up as a Rebel Girl
Read your students biographies of famous and daring women, then have students choose a famous or lesser-known daring woman to dress up as for a day. During the day, they can pretend they are that woman, including answering questions about what they did and why they are famous, like this student who dressed up as America’s first woman doctor, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell.
Buy it: Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli at Amazon
34. Make a women’s history Guess Who game
Use a deck of cards about famous women, or make your own. Have students choose one woman and others have to guess who they are by asking them questions. This is a great activity to wrap up a month of studying famous women.
Buy it: Women in Science postcards at Amazon
35. Complete “The world without” projects
Research women who have won Nobel Prizes. Have students choose one Nobel winner and describe why they won the prize and how their discovery has impacted the world we live in today. Then, they can create a project explaining how the world would be different without this woman.
Learn more: Nobel Prize: Women Who Changed the World at Catharsis Productions
36. Code like Ada Lovelace
One of the first computer programmers was a woman. Start a study of women in tech or study Lovelace on her own by reading about her, making a coding mat, or teaching kids how to code using one of these websites.
Learn more about making a coding mat at Little Bins for Little Hands.
Buy it: Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science by Diane Stanley at Amazon
37. Decorate your classroom with famous women’s quotes
All you need is poster board, art supplies, and inspirational quotes from famous women. Students create a poster to display a quote by a famous women. Display them in your room for Women’s History Month and beyond.
Learn more: Quotes by Women at We Are Teachers
What are your favorite Women’s History Month activities and ideas? Come exchange ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
Plus, Meet Teens Who Are Changing the World.
