Every March, Time4Learning proudly celebrates the bravery, determination, leadership, and accomplishments of important women who have shaped history during Women’s History Month. These women come from all walks of life, races, ages, and religions, and have overcome major obstacles to achieve their goals. Each day, they inspire both women and men, young and old to go into the world and make it a better place for all. We hope you enjoy learning more about this important month and picking up tips on how to incorporate the celebration into your homeschool experience.
How Did Women’s History Month Begin?
Women’s History Month got its start as Women’s History Week in Santa Rosa, California as a local celebration in 1978. The organizers chose the week of March 8 so that it would coincide with International Women’s Day, which was first celebrated in 1975.
In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the week of March 2-8 as National Women’s History Week. After being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987 designating the entire month of March as Women’s History Month.
Since 1995, every President has issued an annual proclamation, and each year, the National Women’s History Alliance selects a theme for the upcoming Women’s History Month. Past themes have included Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence, Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service & Government, and Nevertheless She Persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Women's History Lessons
Download related Women’s History Month lesson plans across Time4Learning grade levels to enhance your study this month.
2022 Theme: Healers and Inspirers of Hope
Appropriate for the times, the 2022 Women’s History Month theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” The theme, according to the National Women’s History Alliance, “is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the myriad ways women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.”
Let us honor our women doctors, nurses, teachers, counselors, artists and writers, and our mothers and grandmothers who listen, ease suffering, restore dignity, and make decisions for both our general and personal welfare, while we also listen to the voices of hope.
Celebrating Female Nobel Prize Winners
We can also celebrate Women’s History Month by learning more about the women who have received the Nobel Prize.
- Maria Ressa: A journalist, Maria Ressa, along with Dmitry Muratov, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.” In her Nobel Prize Lecture, Ressa shares the message that “In order to be the good, we have to believe there is good in the world.” We have to “imagine the world as it should be. A world of peace, trust and empathy, bringing out the best that we can be.”
- Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna: These two scientists, Emmanuelle Charpentier, born in France and working in Germany, and Jennifer A Doudna, born in Washington, DC, and working in California, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 “for the development of a method for genome editing.” The hope is that their CRISPR technology can eventually “lead to new scientific discoveries, better crops, and new weapons in the fight against cancer and genetic diseases.”
- Louise Glück: A poet from New York City, Louise Glück, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020 “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.” Her poetry “seeks out the universal” through themes of “childhood, family life, relationships, and death” and her use of “myths and classical motifs.”
- Andrea Ghez: Born in New York City and working in California, scientist Andrea Ghez received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2020 “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the center of our galaxy.” She, along with Reinhard Genzel and their research teams, refined techniques for studying star movement and was able to identify a supermassive black hole.
Timeline of Female Historical Figures
Below is a timeline of inspirational women in history beginning in the 20th century who have paved the way for others with their courage, selflessness, and significant contributions.
1907
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is born. One of the most celebrated Mexican painters of all time, she is best known for painting expressive, emotional art in strong colors that often included themes from Mexican history.
1922
American Bessie Coleman becomes the world’s first black woman to earn a pilot’s license. Since she was turned away from flying schools in the U.S., she learned French, moved to France, and earned her license there in just seven months.
1932
Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Then in 1935, she flew solo across the Pacific, making her the first woman, and first person, to fly solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
1935
Danish explorer Caroline Mikkelson becomes the first woman to set foot on the continent of Antarctica.
1955
Bus passenger Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man. Her arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott which ultimately led to the end of segregation on public buses in the city.
1965
Chemist Stephanie Kwolek created a new fiber that would later be developed into Kevlar, a lightweight yet durable synthetic found in bulletproof vests, sports equipment, and military helmets, just to name a few. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994.
1973
Tennis player Billie Jean King famously beat male player Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes match. Riggs previously said women’s tennis was inferior to the men’s game.
1975
Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to summit Mt. Everest. She also founded Japan’s first Ladies Climbing Club in 1969. In her lifetime, she reached the summit of more than 150 mountains in 76 countries.
1976
Journalist Barbara Walters became the first woman to co-anchor an evening news broadcast on ABC. Her annual salary of $1 million also made her the highest-paid journalist at the time.
1980
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir becomes the fourth president of Iceland and the first woman elected president of a country.
1984
Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first woman of a major political party to run for Vice President of the U.S.
2004
Soccer player Mia Hamm retires from the U.S. Women’s National Team as the world’s all-time leading scorer with 158 goals, the most by any player, male or female.
2014
Malala Yousafzai is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17 for her “struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” Two years earlier, the activist was shot by a masked gunman after she began advocating for girls’ rights to go to school and learn.
2015
Ballet dancer Misty Copeland makes history by becoming the first African American woman to become the principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre in the company’s 75-year history.
2020
Katie Sowers becomes the first woman to coach at the Super Bowl as the offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
2021
Kamala Harris is inaugurated as the first female vice president of the United States. She is also the first Black and Indian person to hold that office.
Women’s History Month Activities by Grade Level
Students will gain the most from a study of women’s history by participating in a variety of cross-curricular exercises. Below, you’ll find educational ideas for preschool through high school that honor important women in history.
Women’s History Month Activities for Preschool
- Preschoolers will cheer for their favorite new heroines when introduced to them in picture book form. Books such as Betsy Ross, Rosa’s Bus, Summer Birds, and the Effa Manley Story are great places to start.
- Teach your preschooler a song about one of the great women in history. Ideas could include Keep Your Face to the Sunshine (about Helen Keller) or What Can One Little Person Do? (about Rosa Parks).
Women’s History Month Activities for Elementary
- Turn the study of women’s history into gameplay with these interactive Women in History games.
- Lego™ toys are a great educational tool for elementary students. Our friends at GeekMom, have come up with some fun Lego™ activities to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Women’s History Month Activities for Middle School
- Let middle schoolers stretch their multimedia muscles by creating their own set of printable women’s history facts cards that include images of notable women along with a short paragraph of what they are known for.
- Do you have a building, monument, statue, or museum in your local area that is named after or dedicated to a woman? Have your middle schooler research the contributions of that local figure and then be sure to take a field trip to visit the memorial.
Women’s History Month Activities for High School
- Can your high schooler think of any current careers that are still primarily occupied by men in today’s world? Have them research and discover at least one woman in each of those fields and see if they can uncover what it’s like for them working in a male-dominated profession.
- The Equal Pay Act was signed in 1963 when women earned just 59 cents to every dollar that men earned. Have your high schooler find out what the comparison is to male and female pay today and then calculate the percentage that figure has increased or decreased since 1963.
We hope this blog post inspires you and your family to learn more about the immeasurable contributions that women have made throughout history.
thank u so much! women deserve as much recondition as men and my girls really need to learn that. thanks for supporting all of us!
We’re thrilled to not only honor important women throughout history but also from our own lives! Thanks so much for stopping by our blog, Bella!