Breaking Barriers

Lesson Plan

The Power of Words and Activism

Students will read the assigned biography and quotes to explore connections between activism and the power of words and ideas.

Lesson Plan

The Road to Suffrage

In this lesson, students will use the Suffrage Timeline to explore the women, ideas, and action that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 and discuss the Woman Suffrage Movement as a model for peaceful activism.

Lesson Plan

Rosie the Riveter

This lesson features a series of student-centered grouping strategies and discussion forums that utilize secondary sources. Students will be exposed to various sources that provide both the historical narrative relating to women during World War II.

Lesson Plan

Getting with the Program

Students will learn about the women who programmed ENIAC (the world’s first electronic computer), how computers work, and women’s job opportunities during World War II.

Lesson Plan

Inventive Women - Part 1

Students will learn about female inventors and their contributions to American technology.

Lesson Plan

Inventive Women - Part 2

Students will examine The Declaration of Sentiments from the perspective of its call for women’s economic equality.

Exhibit

Timeline: Woman Suffrage

Timeline of the suffrage movement

Lesson Plan

Humor and Activism

Use Political Cartoons to Explore Women's History

General

Girls’ Volunteer Groups during World War I

Girl Scouts , 4-H, and Camp Fire Girls helped support the country during WWI.

Biography

Mary Eliza Mahoney

Mary Eliza Mahoney pursued a nursing career which supported these aims. She is noted for becoming the first African American licensed nurse.

General

Woman's Suffrage Movement

Explore the woman's suffrage movement in this exhibit.

Biography

Ruby Hurley

Civil rights pioneer and campaigner, Ruby Hurley is most known for her work with the NAACP in the 1950s and 1960s.

General

African American Reformers

Learn what rights African American clubs where fighting for.

General

National Association of Colored Women

Black women participated in women’s rights movements, but were often excluded from organizations.

Biography

Juliette Gordon Low

Known as the founder of the Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low created the largest and most successful organization for girls in the world.

Biography

Charity Adams Earley

Educator, soldier, and psychologist, Charity Adams Earley led the first African American women’s unit of the army on a tour of duty overseas during WWII.

Biography

Julia Child

Famous chef, author, and television personality, Julia Child made French cuisine accessible to American audiences.

General

In the Military

In 1942 Congress created the women’s auxiliary army which allowed women to volunteer for units attached to the military.

General

Working in the Defense Industry

WWII brought with it a boom in the defense industry and women filled many of the newly created positions.

Biography

Amelia Bloomer

Amelia Bloomer was a suffragist, editor, social activist, and fashion advocate who worked to change women’s clothing.