TeachersFirst's Change Makers - Young Women Who Have Changed the World
From activism to invention, young women have boldly challenged injustice and advanced human knowledge at remarkably early ages. Pakistani education advocate Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate at age 17 for her work promoting girls' access to education. At just 15, Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg sparked a global youth movement demanding urgent action on climate change through her "Fridays for Future" school strikes. Gitanjali Rao, named TIME's inaugural Kid of the Year in 2020 at age 15, has earned acclaim for her innovations in using technology to tackle issues like cyberbullying and contaminated drinking water. S.E Hinton wrote the critically acclaimed novel The Outsiders at the age of 17. These young women's moral courage, powerful voices, and innovative spirits have created change, raised awareness, and driven solutions to some of the most critical issues facing the world today. Share this curated list of reviewed resources to encourage your students that they, too, can be the change.
You can also learn about additional women change-makers in our collections:
Change Makers - Women for Freedom
Change Makers - Pioneering Women
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Marley Dias - Marley Dias
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): diversity (37), identity (29), women (140), womenchangemaker (28)
In the Classroom
Have students explore Marley Dias' website to learn about the #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign and the importance of diversity in literature. Use a program like Book Creator, reviewed here where students can create their own digital book that showcases a diverse figure. Students can then share their digital books with classmates and discuss the importance of seeing diverse literary characters. Organize a school-wide or classroom reading challenge where students read books from a list inspired by #1000BlackGirlBooks. Use a program like Padlet, reviewed here to track the books read, and share reviews with peers. This is a link to Padlet's Help section for posting video or an image. Have students select a book from the #1000BlackGirlBooks list to read. After reading, have students write a letter to the author of the book they chose, expressing their thoughts on the story, its characters, and how it helped them understand a new perspective or experience.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Meet the Changemakers: Marley Dias - Youth Collective
Grades
1 to 12tag(s): black history (128), women (140), womenchangemaker (28)
In the Classroom
Using the themes of empowerment, empathy, diversity, and inclusion that Marley spoke about in the video, have students brainstorm issues they feel passionate about. They can outline a short video project that addresses one of those issues using Canva Education Templates, reviewed here (specifically the Storyboard Templates here) focusing on how they can educate and inspire action. Use a program like Animoto, reviewed here to create the videos. Using PlayPosit (formerly eduCanon) reviewed here, create a video quiz for students so they can learn more about the stated themes. After viewing the video, organize "Empathy Circles" where students can reflect on what they heard and express their feelings. Students can draw pictures or write short paragraphs about how learning about Marley's experiences affects their understanding of diversity and empathy.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Becoming a Changemaker - Shiloh Devadas/Tedx Talks
Grades
K to 12tag(s): womenchangemaker (28)
In the Classroom
Introduce the concept of changemakers to students using this video. It will help them understand that even small actions can make a difference. Use Figjam, reviewed here to share and curate ideas during your discussion of changemakers. For example, use the Frayer Model template to organize and clarify the meaning of the term changemaker, add charts such as "See, Think, and Wonder," and add students' questions and comments using sticky notes and stickers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Sally Ride Lesson Plan - ShareMyLesson
Grades
9 to 12tag(s): nasa (29), scientists (63), STEM (269), women (140)
In the Classroom
The downloadable lesson plan includes four ways to approach teaching about Sally Ride; contributions, additive, transformational, and social action. In addition, the plan consists of links to websites and videos to enhance your instruction. After researching Sally Ride, students can apply their knowledge by creating multimedia presentations using tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education, reviewed here, Canva for Education, reviewed here, or Microsoft Sway, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Judy Huemann - Life and Legacy of the Mother of the Disability Rights Movement - The Huemann Perspective
Grades
K to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): bias (25), character education (76), disabilities (30), women (140)
In the Classroom
Include this site with other resources featuring women role models, biographical topics, and career exploration information. Since this website has extensive information from around the web, consider using a curation tool such as Padlet, reviewed here, as a resource to share information and sources with students. While "Patient No More" is for high school and beyond, there are parts that can be pulled out for your elementary students. For instance, there are videos you can use with Edpuzzle, reviewed here, to add comments and discussion questions for younger students. In addition, there is an observation chart where students wander around their environment, recording where there are examples of accessibility or a lack of accessibility.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Amelia Earhart - History.com
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 1900s (73), aviation (38), careers (138), flight (31), transformations (12), women (140)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students when learning about famous women, aviation pioneers, or important events from the 1900s. Share your resources using Symbaloo, reviewed here, and organize information on your Symbaloo by color. For example, add biographies as one color and important events as another. Enhance learning by creating an interactive map together with your students using Google My Maps, reviewed here, to follow Earhart's travels around the world along with other famous aviators. Add stops to your map that share the story of events in the location, including images and links to additional information. As a final project, ask students or student groups to create an interactive timeline of Amelia Earhart's life using one of the timeline creation tools located here. A good suggestion is Timeline Infographic Templates.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Harriet Tubman: Abolition Activist - PBS Learning Media
Grades
3 to 7tag(s): black history (128), civil rights (197), civil war (135), primary sources (118), women (140)
In the Classroom
This lesson provides an excellent starting point for lessons about Harriet Tubman, strong females, and the Underground Railroad. Use the provided links to assign to students within Google Classroom and other media tools. Take advantage of technology to enhance student learning beyond the basics of this lesson. Instead of using the printable graphic organizer, use an online tool such a Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers, reviewed here, to create diagrams, mindmaps, and other visual graphic organizers. Use the Venn Diagram feature to compare and contrast Civil War times to the present, use the flow chart to help students visualize the flow of events leading up to and through the Civil War, or use the diagramming features to organize Civil War information including events, people, and places. Use an online bookmarking tool such as Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and share online resources with students. Extend student learning even further by asking them to use a game-creation tool like Scratch, reviewed here, to create a game. Use facts, places, and events within the games to reinforce and teach about Harriet Tubman and her peers.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Reading Treks: Malala's Magic Pencil - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 5tag(s): asia (69), cross cultural understanding (160), identity (29), virtual field trips (83), women (140)
In the Classroom
Investigate many suggested classroom uses for this resource found on the Instructional Guide (PDF). With younger students, use Gravityreviewed here, as a video response platform for students to share how they would use a magic pencil. Use Gravity with older students and ask them to generate specific ideas to address local or world issues. Extend learning by asking older students to research cultural concerns around the globe then use Odyssey, reviewed here, to tell their story through combining maps with text, video, and additional interactive content.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Women with Altitude - NetFlights
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): aviation (38), biographies (95), flight (31), pioneers (9), women (140)
In the Classroom
Share this timeline when studying pioneers in different fields or include in Women's History Month lessons. Each entry provides a short introduction to the featured woman. Challenge students to use the entry as a starting point to research the aviator more fully. Have students save their resources using a bookmarking tool like Papaly, reviewed here, and include a link to their resources with the final project. Papaly allows you to collaborate and add notes to bookmarks making this a useful tool for use with group projects. Replace paper and pen timelines by asking students to create their own timelines exploring the life of a famous pioneer using Turbo Timeline Generator, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Anne Frank Trust UK-Her Story, Today's World * - The Anne Frank Trust UK
Grades
8 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): anne frank (10), holocaust (42), jews (24), nazis (8), remembrance day (5), women (140), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
Use the powerful messages drawn from the story of Anne Frank to help foster an understanding among today's teenagers of positive citizenship, human rights, democracy and respect for the individual. Log on to this site and click on the Education and Home Learning tabs to find resources for your classroom and students. These sections provide critical, relevant information about how to teach Anne Frank's story, the history of the Holocaust, and contemporary issues related to these subjects. Use the About tab and slide down to The Diary of Anne Frank, and project on your whiteboard the features on this page. There is an in-depth look at the difference made by Anne's father, Otto Frank, 50 years after the doors of the Anne Frank House opened to the public. Your class can then create a pledge to stand up against bullying, prejudice, and hatred and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Have students or student groups create an online, interactive poster of the pledge to sign. Display it on your class wiki or webpage to share with families. Use Google Drawings, reviewed here. Google Drawings allows you to annotate an image with links to videos, text, websites, and more. Not familiar with Google Drawings? Watch an archived OK2Ask session to learn how to use: OK2Ask Google Drawings, here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Amelia Earhart - The Official Website - Family of Amelia Earhart
Grades
6 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): aviation (38), careers (138), famous people (21), flight (31), women (140)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students when researching famous Americans, women, flight, or careers. Enhance learning by having students use a mapping tool such as Google Earth, reviewed here, to create an audio (and visual) tour of Amelia Earhart's journeys. Her story could also offer a powerful writing prompt for an essay about people who take on formidable challenges/adventures. Substitute a blog tool such as edublog, reviewed here, for paper and pen.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Anne Frank Guide - Anne Frank Stichting
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): anne frank (10), holocaust (42), jews (24), nazis (8), remembrance day (5), women (140), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
You can use this online guide in a variety of ways ranging from simplistic to complex. It can give you project ideas, and you can collect relevant information and images on a variety of related themes, such as persecution and the liberation and aftermath, right from this site. Use this site for research and challenge your students to use a site such as Preceden, reviewed here, to create and share interactive timelines. Have students or student groups create an online, interactive poster using Genial.ly, reviewed here. Students must register to start an online project, which allows them to save all the information they have collected, so that they may come back and continue their work from where they left off. Since your user name is the name that the computer recognizes you by, students can make one up, but teachers should keep a list of the fictitious log in information for future reference.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Story of Anne Frank - The Anne Frank Stichting
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): anne frank (10), holocaust (42), remembrance day (5), women (140), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
This is a great site to add to your class web page during your study of Anne Frank and the Holocaust, or as part of the themes of discrimination and resiliency. Use it as an introduction before reading The Diary of Anne Frank by displaying the website on your interactive whiteboard or projector to spark a whole class investigation of Anne Frank's childhood and family, her teenage years in hiding and the people who helped, the betrayal, the captivity and suffering in the concentration camps, and her diary. Students may continue exploring and learning on their own in the computer lab or with a class set of laptops. You can easily develop a checklist to direct students to the links that you want to emphasize and to keep them on task while navigating the site. There are even online multiple-choice quizzes about Anne Frank and her diary. Consider having cooperative learning groups create multimedia presentations about Anne Frank. How about online books using a site such as Bookemon, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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S. E. Hinton - S. E. Hinton & Limemachine Design
Grades
7 to 10In the Classroom
A good source of material about the author. This site will also steer kids to her other works. The BIO will probably answer questions many of your students have about her stories and where she gets her ideas, etc.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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WASP on the Web - Wings Across America, Nancy Parrish
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): air (104), aviation (38), women (140), world war 2 (154)
In the Classroom
Use the video on this site on an interactive whiteboard or with a projector to show students who the WASPS were as well as the contribution they made to the war effort. This would be a great addition to a lesson on WWII as well as the fight for equality between the sexes. Click on the Gallery and view Above and Beyond about the 38 WASPs who died during service to their country. The information here is very brief. You may want to ask small groups of students to select three of four WASPs to research and share their stories using a tool like Sway, reviewed here. With Sway, you can have music, photos, videos, and even make it interactive.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Louisa May Alcott - University of Virginia
Grades
4 to 6tag(s): women (140)
In the Classroom
Teachers will find this an excellent resource for a unit on Little Women.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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