Women's History Month STEAM Research Project

Celebrate Women's History Month with your students by exploring the expansive impact women have had in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Science! Students conduct research on the person of their choice from an extensive list, then create a slide about that person for a community slideshow. A great extension for this activity would be to challenge students to read about the person they research over the morning announcements, so every day, the school community can learn about someone new!

Example Women's History Month Morning Announcements:

Good morning! As a school, we are making an effort to celebrate the achievements of people who have made the world a better place. Have a magical day, and remember that no matter what kind of career you hope to have, there are people just like you in that career who have made the world a better place! 

• Language Arts - Louisa May Alcott is best known as the author of Little Women, a story based on her own upbringing. Her true passion, however, was writing Pulp Fiction, which she did under a male pseudonym to prevent backlash. In addition to writing, Alcott was an abolitionist, served as a nurse for the union during the Civil War, and was an early proponent for women’s suffrage.

• Math - Hypatia lived from 360-415 AD and is considered the first known female math teacher in history. She made several advancements to the field of mathematics, namely her work on conic sections and developing the concepts of parabolas and ellipses by dividing cones into planes.

• Science - Rosalind Franklin was an English chemist who’s best known for her work on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA. Although she wasn’t credited with the Nobel Prize Francis Crick and James Watson received at the time, she was actually the scientist who discovered the double helix structure of DNA!

• Social Studies - Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the court's second female justice as well as the first Jewish female justice. As a judge, Ginsburg presented a strong voice in favor of gender equality, the rights of workers, and the separation of church and state