By David Lopez-Wade (guest contributor)
Happy Women’s History Month! This year, we are celebrating women committed to improving our world through promoting peace and using tactics of nonviolence. Integrate Women’s History Month into your classroom with the following resources, regardless of whether you teach history or not.
Civics
With the passage of the 19th amendment, women gained the right to vote (even though many women of color had to continue to fight for suffrage for themselves). Democracy in America, program 2, “The Constitution: Fixed or Flexible,” examines the search for balance between the original Constitution and the need to interpret and adjust it to meet the needs of changing times. The unit includes useful questions on the history of women’s suffrage and what it takes to make changes to the constitution.
Art
Performance art has been used to evoke emotions and bring up perspectives that traditional art cannot. Read about feminist performance artists Karen Finley and Laurie Anderson in American Passages, unit 6, “Search for Identity.”
History
After the protests of the 60’s, on the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment and standing on the shoulders of their foresisters Ida B. Wells, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, women peacefully marched down to the mayor’s office of St. Louis, carrying signs supporting such causes as legalized abortions, children’s day care centers, and passage of an equal rights amendment by Congress. Bring this topic to life in your classroom with this photo from Essential Lens: Analyzing Photographs Across the Curriculum.
Math
Women are making history all the time in STEAM. In our Reading and Writing in the Disciplines series, we look at epidemiologist Traci Bethea who uses statistics to trace the health conditions of African Americans. She translates her data into powerful words as she advocates for health care reform. Using her knowledge of statistics, she is making history by working with public health officials to create a positive impact on the lives of African American women.
Celebrate Women’s History Month by sharing our blog post with your students and fellow educators!