To celebrate International Women’s Day, we have compiled a list of Young Citizens classroom resources that feature inspirational female figures.
From climate campaigners to equal rights activists and famous nurses to charity founders, it’s vital that powerful women are represented in the classroom. In the spirit of this year’s theme, citizenship lessons promoting female voices and stories are a powerful way to #BreakTheBias and #EmbraceEquity from an early age – before discriminatory attitudes take hold.
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Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole
Also available in lesson form, this KS2 assembly looks at two UK national treasures. Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole are famous for pioneering the nursing profession during their service in the Crimean War.
Children’s rights and Eglantyne Jebb
Eglantyne Jebb is one of history’s great champions of young people, founding charity Save the Children in 1919 and authoring the first UN declaration of children’s rights. She is yet another trailblazing female figure, especially for our young women.
Black Mambas rangers, South Africa
World Female Ranger Day
Another key date in the diary for women’s empowerment is World Female Ranger Day on 23 June. We have a whole suite of resources for KS1 and KS2 on this awareness day, which celebrates female conservationists in Africa.
NHS Workers
Some of the most inspirational women are far from being household names. During the pandemic when we “clapped for our carers” every Thursday, it was ordinary healthcare staff who became superheroes. In this KS2 lesson we profile four women working for the NHS.
Plastic Pollution
This is a three-part KS2 lesson produced in collaboration with eXXpedition: an all female crew of voyagers who research the impact of plastic pollution around the world. The lesson also looks at Plastic Elastic 3.0, a group of six girls who invented a filtration system to keep microfibres from getting into the oceans.
Discrimination
This KS2 lesson showcases Marley Dias, a campaigner for equal representation in children’s literature, and Nikki Lilly, a champion for the charity Changing Faces and facial equality activist.
Representation
Marley Dias also appears in this assembly for KS2. Pupils will discover how she fought for better representation of black girls in literature through a national book donation campaign.
Challenging stereotypes
Sexism is often founded on damaging gender stereotypes forged and perpetuated by the media. This lesson plan helps your pupils understand what stereotypes are and the harm they can cause.
Where next?
- Use our Awareness Calendar to keep track of more key international days and themes
- See more articles on our News & Blog page
- Sign up to our newsletter for updates on new resources