'Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision'

March is National Women's History Month. The theme of the 2001 event, "Celebrating Women of Courage and Vision," encourages you to remember the women whose vision conjured images of a better world and whose courage made it happen. Introduce those women to your students with the activities below! Included: Five activities to help students honor "women of courage and vision"

On March 8, 1857, garment workers staged one of the world's first organized actions by working women, striking against the inhumane working conditions in New York City textile factories. More than 50 years later, on March 8, 1909, women garment workers in New York again struck for better wages and improved working conditions. More than 300 textile shops signed union contracts as a result. In February 1908, the first National Women's Day was organized to encourage women across the United States to demonstrate for political and economic rights. Two years later, U.S. and international delegates to the International Conference of Socialist Women unanimously endorsed a proposal that women throughout the world choose a particular day each year to press their demands for social, political, and economic equity. The date they chose was March 8 -- in recognition of the efforts of two groups of New York City garment workers. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. In 1981, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the week incorporating March 8 National Women's History Week. In 1986, responding to pressure from the National Women's History Project, Congress declared March National Women's History Month. This year, Education World provides five activities you can use to introduce your students to the women who rocked the cradle and shaped the world. Be sure to visit The National Women's History Project for ideas for programs to involve the entire school and community. A brief description of each activity appears below. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource!

• Put a Woman on a Stamp
  Students nominate a woman to appear on a postage stamp. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)

   

• Art Imitating Life
  Students explore the role of women through art. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)

   

• The Power of Speech
  Students prepare and deliver a speech on equal rights. (Grades 9-12)

   

• Join Gloria Steinem
  Students draft Chicana rights resolutions. (Grades 9-12)

   

• Honor the Woman
  Students design a monument to today's women. (Grades 6-8, 9-12)

   

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• The National Women's History Project This nonprofit organization provides informational materials, programs, and political leadership to promote the historic contributions of women.
• National Women's History Museum The goal of this Washington (D.C.) museum is to inform visitors about the role women have played in world history.
• The Learning Place This section of the Web site of the National Women's History Project contains lesson plans, activities, a women's history quiz, and other educational resources for teachers and students.
• Women's History Crossword Puzzle The Learning Company provides this printable crossword puzzle that's the perfect wrap-up for a high school study of women's history!
• Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: 1978-2000 The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute provides more than 20 years' worth of women's history curriculum units for grades 3 to 12.
• Failure Is Impossible This play, "based on eyewitness accounts and original documents" relating to suffrage, was originally produced for the National Archives commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
• U.S. Women's History Workshop This Assumption College site provides several Web-based curriculum units on women's studies for grades 3-12.
• Songs of the Suffragettes This site provides the lyrics to three songs sung by suffragettes during their campaign to win the right to vote.
• Division for the Advancement of Women This division of the United Nations "advocates the improvement of the status of women of the world and the achievement of their equality with men."