Links to useful resources and information that will help teachers to promote women’s history in the classroom

Black History

Clips, resources and stories from the award-winning documentary ‘’Standing On My Sisters’ Shoulders’’.

Links to websites that contain information and resources on topics including the Slave Trade, African American writers of the 19th Century and Civil Rights.

Uncovering Black Women in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain

  • https://www.ucl.ac.uk/history/news/2019/oct/uncovering-black-women-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century-britain

A collection of resources which are accompanied by teacher notes. – BBC Black History Month – Teacher Resources:

Inspirational black British women you should know about

Mary Seacole’s story

Sisters of the MerseyWitness Black History

Extraordinary Women on Blue Plaques – Leeds Civic Trust

Uncovering Black Women in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Britain

Black Cultural Archives – Black Women in Britain

US History

National Women’s History Museum, Everything from first nations to the modern day, including whole lessons, handouts, videos. Excellent resources on African and Native Americans:

Abigail’s War: The American Revolution through the Eyes of Abigail Adams – Massachussets Historical Association

The Role of Massachusetts Women in the Abolition and Suffrage Movements

A guide to the Suffrage Movement in the USA and the Nineteenth Amendment

 Russian History

British Library, Women and the Russian Revolution

First and Second World War

A fun and brightly illustrated book with activities and worksheets which encourage students to develop their understand of the First World War and food!

  • ‘Cook and Learn: WW1 Food Fight – Children’s Cookery Book – WW1 Recipe Book

The Imperial War Museum have provided an excellent resource (aimed at KS3) based on real Life Stories, researched through their project ‘Lives of the First World War.’ It contains personal stories, primary sources and suggests classroom activities.

Jeremy Paxman visits the Royal Gunpowder Mills in Essex to tell us about the million women employed in making munitions, and the dangers they faced from explosions and exposure to chemicals.

A range of clips taken from the BBC TV series, Kate Adie’s ‘Women of World War One.’ Topics include the Suffragette movement, work, sport, medicine and health, women in the police force and women’s lives in post-war Britain.

Professor Jo Fox considers the use of women as symbols, victims and homemakers in World War One propaganda. A collection of images that could turn into a great carousel activity, or, thought provoking starter and plenary activities.

Discovering the voices of ordinary men, women and children as they struggled to live their lives in the fields, factories and kitchens of Worcestershire and the surrounding counties during World War I.

A fantastic range of resources that will enable students to examine the lives of women during the Second World War.

Information and interviews for students to examine what life in World War Two was really like for women.

Georgian

A lesson that aims to examine representations of women in Georgian culture and to contrast the ideal Georgian woman with the realities of their lives. An excellent resource developed by Ruth Mather (Queen Mary University of London) and Jessica Haldeman (University of York) as part of the ‘Moving Beyond Boundaries: Gender, Knowledge, History’ programme.

Jewish History

The Jewish Women’s Archive is the world’s largest collection of information on Jewish women. It includes lesson plans, primary source analysis tools, videos and much more. It covers many topics, for example: the Holocaust, the Red Scare, and immigration to New York. This is especially helpful for units that cover the history of the USA.

Information, primary sources and oral histories that examine women during the Holocaust, Ravensbruck concentration camp for women, lesbians and the Third Reich and Nazi ideology.

A study guide produced by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. A collection of thought provoking resources that encourage exploration and discussion. The guide includes a collection of personal testimonies and a timeline.

Medieval

A lesson that aims to explore the lives of three classes of medieval women using primary sources. The objective is for students to recognise the varied lives of medieval women. An excellent resource developed by Elizabeth Biggs (University of York) and Jessica Knowles (University of York) as part of the ‘Moving Beyond Boundaries: Gender, Knowledge, History’ programme.

Suffrage and Citizenship

This is an excellent introduction to the campaign for women’s suffrage with links to many other useful articles, collections and teaching resources.

Information tracing the origins of the suffrage movement,through to the Life Peerages Act of 1958.

A collection of sources and case studies that students can examine to understand the contribution that different groups made in the campaign for the vote.

Teaching suffrage in 2020: register for free resources on women’s suffrage via the Historical Association

The Women’s Library at LSE has an extensive collection on women’s suffrage from 1866 to 1928 and beyond. Have a look at this learning programme for schools with resources for teachers.

LSE Library Flickr stream has many suffrage images from the Women’s Library which are free to download.

LSE Digital Library hosts the Women’s Rights Digital Collection which has many journals, annual reports and pamphlets to read.

Discover the stories of the women who as suffragists devoted their lives to the cause and the suffragettes whose militant acts resulted in imprisonment and, often, force-feeding.

Women’s Suffrage Resources : National Women’s Suffrage database

Women’s Suffrage  Resources on the Suffrage campaign – from 17thc

Witchcraft

A lesson that aims to examine how women were considered more likely to be witches because of their assumed weakness of spirit and body and what this reveals about gender as a whole. An excellent resource developed by Gabriela Leddy (University of York) as part of the ‘Moving Beyond Boundaries: Gender, Knowledge, History’ programme.

Women’s Liberation

Listen to interviews conducted with the feminists who were at the forefront of the Women’s Liberation movement. Explore the causes of the movement, the concept of feminism and the methods employed to demand social and legislative change. There are also teaching resources to download.

Explore the iconic magazine of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Examine how it challenged the stereotyping and exploitation of women. Articles and images from this make ideal starter/ plenary activities as well as being suitable to provoke debates and compare/ contrast to women in the media today.

Scottish Women’s History

The GWL is the central general information resource about and for women in Glasgow. It also houses a huge collection of materials by, for and about women – both Scottish and non-Scottish.

The archives are full of engaging and interesting collections, including the Lesbian Archive – one of the most significant LGBT Historical collections in the UK.

There are many useful resources for schools, for example: Vote 100: The Moving Story – Toolkit for Schools (https://womenslibrary.org.uk/discover-our-projects/vote-100-the-moving-story/vote-100-toolkit-for-schools/)

Local History

Discovering the voices of ordinary men, women and children as they struggled to live their lives in the fields, factories and kitchens of Worcestershire and the surrounding counties during World War I.

Local databases – Sisters of the Mersey

Extraordinary Women on Blue Plaques – Leeds Civic Trust

Meanwhile Elsewhere Project :

York Clio group Women’s History ‘Slot ins’

YorkClio Women and War Resources

York Clio History of Women in 6 Objects