Resources Tweens Should Use To Study Famous Women in History
The next time you’re studying famous women in history as part of your American history curriculum or during Women’s History Month, use these helpful resources.
There are thousands of strong, ingenious women who have made their mark on the world in every field imaginable. As the mom of two girls, I feel it is important to teach them about the significant role women have played throughout history.
If you’re looking for new heroes or an interesting way to teach this subject to your tweens, use these tools to engage them.
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Whether you’re studying this topic as a part of Women’s History Month or a broader lesson on American history, it’s important to fill your lesson plans with stories of powerful women and interesting resources on the subject.
For every famous woman you’ve studied in your homeschool, there are many more that your kids have probably never heard about. That’s why it’s important to be purposeful in your effort to study this subject.
It’s time to learn their stories.
But don’t just rely on a textbook.
Studying Women’s History
History is a fascinating subject when you make it interactive. Especially women’s history. But if you only use traditional methods, like textbooks and chronological curriculum, you’ll miss out on some amazing women.
Why? Because most history curriculum is told from a male-focused point of view that often highlights the same handful of women.
And as I pointed out, there are countless women who have broken barriers and done fascinating things that are virtually unknown. That’s why you need to fill your lesson plans with these resources.
Women’s History Crossword Puzzle – FREE Download
This crossword puzzle is a fun way to introduce your kids to a variety of influential American women.
Not all famous women are included in this game. As you know, there are so many more ladies who have done remarkable things throughout history. The point is to widen your teen’s knowledge, so I would encourage you to use this as a springboard to a more in-depth lesson on women’s history.
Tweens should take the clues, which include something each woman is famous for, and use books and the internet to figure out the person’s name and put it into the puzzle grid.
This is an interesting way for your middle schoolers to build their research skills, plus it will give them the chance to see who they would like to study further.
Women in History Books
There are all kinds of excellent books you can use as part of your study of famous women. Definitely make sure your reading list includes biographies and non-fiction titles that incorporate interesting information about their lives.
Here are some that work well for tweens.
Inspiring Biographies for Middle School
The amount of individual titles available can get overwhelming. Look for engaging stories that contain information kids find interesting in a style they can understand.
I have two biography series for middle school that I start with when we study someone famous in our homeschool. After we read those, I add on additional living books.
The first one is the Who Was? series. These books read like stories and contain a wealth of information about the subject, from their lives – birth to death/present.
Another excellent choice is the Childhood of Famous Americans. My girls adored reading about what these famous women were like when they were children.
These books give kids a new perspective of the person they’re studying and teach a lot about the historical time period.
Famous Women in History Books
As I mentioned, there are several wonderful books for studying historical women. Here are two that we used regularly in our homeschool lessons.
Remember the Ladies: 100 Great American Women by Cheryl Harness contains well-known women, and the forgotten ones. It also includes a wonderful timeline and bibliography.
Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women by Catherine Thimmesh is a great resource full of amazing items women have created that make our lives better.
For more titles to add to your bookshelf, check out these books about women.
Historical Paper Dolls
Let kids interact with trailblazing women through a set of paper dolls.
They can put them together while listening to a lesson or use them to create interesting stories, like what would happen if Amelia Earhart met Sally Ride? Let your kids get creative as they’re studying these women.
Paper dolls have been a part of our homeschool for years, and one of our favorites is Famous American Women Paper Dolls in Full Color. It contains 16 dolls and 32 authentic, detailed costumes.
Another great resource for teaching kids about the contribution women have made to our country is Famous African-American Women Paper Dolls.
There’s also Awesome Women Who Changed History that includes important women from all over the world.
Famous American Women Coloring Books
If your kids are visual or enjoy working on a project while they’re learning, adding some creative tools to your lesson plans could be a great idea.
One thing that worked well in our homeschool was coloring books, especially the educational ones from Dover, like Famous American Women & Famous African-American Women.
Each one contains 45 prominent American women and features a biography and the picture to color.
American Women in History Online Resources
There’s a huge number of online resources you can use in your homeschool to teach about women’s history.
A great place to begin is the National Women’s History Museum. On their site you’ll find biographies, exhibits, educational resources, videos, and more.
On the EDSITEment site from the National Endowment for the Humanities, you’ll find lesson plans, teacher’s guides, videos, and podcasts you can use in your women’s history lesson plans.
Let your tweens see history for themselves. Add primary sources from the Library of Congress and other national institutions to your study.
Use the resources found here to learn more about women’s roles in fields of STEM. There are some wonderful grade-specific lesson plans you can use.
This is only a small sample of the wide variety of free materials available online.
If you want to add more hands-on activities to your study of famous women, check out these projects for Women’s History Month.
Hopefully, you’ve seen that with interesting and interactive resources like these, it’s easy to teach your middle schoolers about women’s history.
What resources do you use to study famous women in your homeschool?
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This is an excellent resource! Thank you for sharing this. I have been struggling to find things that grab my 10 year old daughter’s attention but also aren’t a complete waste of energy. I love this and I’ll have to save this for the future!
Thank you Heather. I agree, it can be a challenge to find quality resources on this subject, especially ones that are more interactive. My girls were just playing with their paper dolls the other day! I used the books that had the groups of women first and then after my daughters showed interest, I would go and buy (or borrow) the biography. Let me know if you find anything interesting that I can add to my list! I’m always looking for good resources for this topic.
Thank you for stopping by Heather! I’m thrilled that you like our 13 Colonies download. I totally agree about trying to find materials to catch and keep your child’s attention, that isn’t busywork. That’s what we’re all about here at Education Possible. Most of our stuff is geared toward those middle years, when kids can push their ideas a bit further and do more complicated work. Hopefully you’ll find some more stuff on our site or Pinterest boards (www.pinterest.com/edupossible/boards)that you can use in your lessons.