Every year on March 8th, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This holiday highlights gender inequities. Moreover, it also draws attention to the importance of a world free of bias, discrimination and stereotypes. Additionally, March is Women’s History Month. Both provide opportunities for educators to highlight and celebrate women in history in their classrooms. We provide free resources to achieve this goal through the use of film. We also encourage educators to include the important contributions of women in history throughout the year! 

Image features photographs of Malala, Jane Goodall, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson.

Free Resources Celebrating Women in History

Hidden Figures tells the story of  Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson. These women, known as “human computers,” worked for NASA in Langley, Virginia. Our FREE curriculum guide for this film features 8 lessons focusing on various topics, such as the Cold War, segregation, the math of space travel and more. Additionally, we offer a free discussion guide available for this film as well. 

Image from the film Hidden Figures and text highlighting the way the Journeys In Film curriculum guide can be utilized to teach Math.

He Named Me Malala is a dynamic documentary, featuring live action and animated sequences to tell the true life story of Malala Yousafzai. She was only 11 years old when she began detailing her experiences in Pakistan for the BBC. Unfortunately, her father received constant death threats, and terrorists shot and almost killed Malala herself. In spite of their efforts, she survived and continues to advocate for gender equity around the world. Her story, with  our corresponding free discussion guide, inspires students. Our extensive curriculum guide explores the history of the Taliban, the geography of Pakistan, and much more.

JANE is a documentary film from National Geographic showcasing the important work of Jane Goodall. She was a pioneer in the field of primatology. We’ve created a free discussion guide for this film.  

Women's History Month image highlighting various movie posters that feature women.

 

More Timely Women’s History Resources

We recommend that you consider and explore more additional resources and films. Big Sonia is a documentary about Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski. Wadjda tells an uplifting story of a ten year-old girl committed to getting her own bicycle. The film’s director is Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker. Whale Rider connects with students as it shares  the story of a Maori girl struggling to find her place in her community. Finally, Queen of Katwe is a beautiful narrative film starring Lupita Nyong’o and based on the true life story of young chess champion Phiona Mutesi.