Women's History Month Teaching Resources
Science NetLinks and AAAS have developed a number of resources that will help you honor the achievements and scientific work of women. Consider using the following resources in your classroom.
Science NetLinks Resources
Lessons Tools
Lessons
Images of Science
Grade Band: 3-5
Description: The lesson provides several activities that can be done in a series or individually to help students understand the diversity of science, both in terms of the work and the people engaged in the work. Teachers should emphasize the diversity to be found in the scientific community: different kinds of people (in terms of race, sex, age, nationality) pursuing different sciences and working in different places (from isolated field sites to labs to offices).
Inventors and Innovators
Grade Band: 6-8
Description: The purpose of this lesson is to use the Internet to explore the scientific enterprise and the contributions to science of various people. Students use the Inventor of the Week Archives on the Invention Dimension website to create a class project on American invention.
Exploring Human History
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students will explore the careers of several contemporary anthropologists and their fieldwork, comparing the methods and applications of their work. They will learn that scientists differ from one another in what is studied, techniques used, and outcomes sought, but that they share a common purpose and philosophy, and all are part of the same scientific enterprise.
Splitting the Atom
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This lesson uses the Internet to research the history of the splitting of the atom. It also illuminates several features of the scientific enterprise: the role of accidental discovery, the interdependence of disciplines, the ability of women to do outstanding work in both empirical and theoretical science, and the impact of science on world affairs.
Women in Medicine: Past and Future
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: The purpose of this lesson is to explore the scientific enterprise in relation to the role of women in science as it has developed over the last 150 years. In this investigation, students compare the careers of two women, a century apart, involved in medical research.
Tools
Careers in Sports and Exercise Science
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This resource, created by Science Careers to coincide with the Athens Olympics in 2004, highlights a variety of careers related to exercise and sports science.
Changing the Face of Medicine
Grade Band: K-12
Description: This comprehensive, online exhibition from the National Library of Medicine contains a variety of features that can be used to discover the history of women in medicine. It is based on an exhibit at the National Library of Medicine that closed in 2005 but continues as a traveling exhibition that will be on display in 61 libraries across the United States between August 2005 and November 2010. This online exhibit contains a rich group of resources ranging from videos of exemplary women doctors discussing their lives and careers to a database of women in the medical field to educational activities and lesson plans.
Contributions of 20th Century Women to Physics
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This website contains descriptions of important contributions to science made by 83 women in the 20th century. These are documented by the original papers in which the discoveries were first reported. In addition, there are historical essays and other historical documents not easily available elsewhere.
Delta SEE Radio
Grade Band: 6-8, 9-12
Description: The Delta SEE Connection radio show was funded by the National Science Foundation and produced by Delta Sigma Theta in partnership with WOL Radio, Delta Research and Educational Foundation, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The series features African-American women and men in science, engineering, and mathematics.
4000 Years of Women in Science
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This website includes an introduction to the last 4,000 years of women's contributions to science, 125 biographies, accompanying photographs with enlargeable images, and references from books, articles, and catalogues.
Marie and Pierre Curie and the Discovery of Polonium and Radium
Grade Band: 3-12
Description: This selection from the Nobel e-Museum contains an essay about Marie and Pierre Curie. Detailed information is given about their personal lives and their scientific discoveries. This site is featured in the Science NetLinks lesson, Splitting the Atom.
Remarkable Women in Science
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This 2008 booklet is filled with anecdotes about and advice from a range of women scientists from around the world who are thriving in a field that historically has been unfriendly toward their gender. Teachers will find these essays useful not only from a historical perspective of how far women have come in the field of science but also in terms of inspiring all students—regardless of gender—to explore science further, to move beyond their comfort zones, and to strive toward their goals regardless of hurdles that may seem insurmountable.
Women in Science
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This website offers information for and on female scientists. There are biographies of past and present women scientists, lesson plans for teachers, and games, as well as areas for networking and mentoring.
Young Women in Science NEW!
Grade Band: 6-12
Description: This 2009 booklet is filled with stories about young women from around the world who have chosen to pursue a career in the sciences. Teachers will find these essays useful for encouraging all students to pursue their dreams, regardless of nationality, religion, or gender, and for inspiring young people to consider the vast array of careers available in the sciences.
