Here is an inspirational message about failing, which were originally intended for students. But I think this message is equally important for hardworking teachers who may be in need of an emotional lift right now. 

Throughout the month of March, teachers all over the country will be celebrating Women’s History Month 2021 with their students. Here is Rosie the Riveter, a national symbol for the contributions women make to American history. Photo credit: The Smithsonian.

Throughout the month of March, teachers all over the country will be celebrating Women’s History Month with their students. The annual observance features women’s contributions to history, culture, and society, and has been celebrated in the United States since 1987.Here’s a list of some resources and materials teachers might want to examine for inclusion in their Women’s History Month lessons.

The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) provides many resources for Women’s History Month, such as articles, online exhibits, virtual field trips, and classroom resources. You can also find information about women history makers and biographies at this site.

Have a look at the teaching resources available at Scholastic.com. On this site teachers can find women’s history month articles, book lists, lesson plans, and online activities for grades K-12.

Some of the resources available at www.history.com include background information on the annual observance, and photo galleries of important women figures in history, divided into such categories as women in politics, sports, the arts, and science, There is also a dandy timeline of milestones in women’s history, a list of famous firsts in women’s history, information about women’s suffrage, and more.

Take a look at the website www.womenshistory.gov, which is currently offering online exhibitions about women’s suffrage, Rosa Parks, Native American women artists, and more. The website is supported by the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Gallery of Art, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Still need more? Here’s a list of additional resources compiled by Edutopia, an offshoot of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Includes links to websites that offer lesson plans, printables, digital exhibits, primary sources, and STEM materials.

Enjoy!

The inauguration of a new president is always a historic event, one that teachers are eager to share with their students. If you’re looking for some resources to use with your classes, here are some suggestions. Please feel free to add additional resources that you have found in the comments section!

The National Education Association offers many Inauguration Day activities for students at all grade levels. The resources include a collection of inaugural addresses, a quiz, and a special online Library of Congress presentation with more than 40 photographs, manuscripts, campaign posters, letters, broadsides, and inaugural speeches representing 18 presidents.

C-Span Classroom has lesson plans, videos, and activity sheets. You can find a wealth of resources for students to help them understand events occurring on inauguration day and interpret the inaugural address that will be given by Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. Teachers can choose to have students view the inaugural address and use one of several viewing guides to analyze the speech. Activities and handouts include a note-taking chart, guiding questions, topical analysis, an evaluative rubric, and a BINGO game. Check it out!

Take a look at the resources offered by Education World. These materials are aimed at all grade levels. Includes letter-writing activities, examining photographs, vocabulary work sheets, comparing inaugural addresses, an inaugural firsts trivia hunt, and more.

Close Up Washington DC offers many virtual resources, particularly for middle school and high school students. Feel free to check it out.

The celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday, January 18, offers educators a really great opportunity to share the story of this great historical figure. Dr. King was much more than a civil rights leader. Among his many interests, he was also a passionate advocate of education and life-long learning, and an avid student of history who urged his fellow citizens to appreciate and gain a thorough understanding of history to avoid repeating it. He once said, “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

To aid classroom teachers with their MLK Day presentations, here are some instructional resources to consider for your use. Feel free to add more in the comments section below.

Scholastic. Biographical information, plays, memorable quotes, interactive timeline, book lists, lesson plans, reproducibles. Grade levels K-12. www.scholastic.com.

PBS. Resources to teach the life and impact of Martin Luther King. Videos, lesson plans, Civil Rights glossary, interactive timeline, personal narratives. Grades 7-12. www.pbs.org.

The History Channel. A wealth of materials about the Civil Rights leader can be found on the website, including biographical material, photo galleries, his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. See The History Channel.

The Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prize Foundation offers a good biography for Martin Luther King at Nobel.