Anna Pavlova Reader | Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum

Grades K-2
Learn all about Anna Pavlova, a Russian prima ballerina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose graceful performances inspired fellow dancers, choreographers, artists and writers. Pavlova was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later formed her own company, traveling around the world and introducing ballet to millions of people who had never seen the dance form before.

Patsy Mink: Women Advancing Equality | Asian Americans

Grades 3-8
Throughout her life, Patsy Mink faced obstacles because she was Asian and female. But Mink did not give up her pursuit of a political career. In 1964, she was elected to Congress in her second attempt. In Congress, she co-authored Title IX, a law to ensure that no one will be discriminated against in education and federally-funded activities based on gender. In addition to working on Title IX, Mink also fought racial barriers by supporting civil rights legislation.

Fly Girls: Women in Aerospace | STEM in 30

Grades 3-8
From the time the airplane first took to the air, women have played an important role in shaping the aerospace industry. Join STEM in 30 and Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space explorer, as we take a look at the contributions of early women aviators, female astronauts and other pioneering women.

Pushing Boundaries: Science Fiction and Feminism | Ursula K. Le Guin

Grades 6-12
In this series of videos from the American Masters film Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, learn how Ursula Le Guin and her contemporaries pushed science fiction from a male-dominated genre into a more inclusive form. By redefining the parameters of science fiction, Le Guin herself had to rethink the role of women in the genre. Best known for her science fiction and “Earthsea” fantasy series, the celebrated author wrote 21 novels, 11 volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, 12 children’s books, six volumes of poetry and four of translation during her life.

Becoming Helen Keller Collection

Grades 9-12
Rediscover the complex life and legacy of the author, advocate and human rights pioneer. Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind since childhood, used her celebrity and wit to advocate for social justice, particularly for women, workers, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty.

Diverse Children’s Books About Strong Girls

Grades PreK-4
Encourage your kids to read more stories about girls who share their interests or introduce them to new worlds! Here are a few books featuring strong girls to add to your bookshelves.

Positive Organizations Can Help Young Girls Find Their “Inner Girl Power”

Grades PreK-4
Getting young girls involved in positive organizations can build their self-confidence and help them discover what they love. PBS Kids for Parents shares eight organizations that help girls do just that.

Women with Character Who Inspire: Lesson Plan | PBS NewsHour

Grades 6-12
In this virtual learning-ready lesson, learn about women with great character, then identify and write a brief description about an inspiring woman of character in your own life. Students can submit a picture and a short description using the tag #PBSWomenWhoInspire on Instagram about a woman who has inspired them.

How Outstanding Women in STEM Overcame Obstacles: Lesson Plan | PBS NewsHour

Grades 9-12
March is National Women’s History Month and the right time to ask: why are women still underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)? This lesson explores the careers of 19 great female scientists, the obstacles they overcame and asks students to look at their own schools, teachers, friends and families to see whether those obstacles continue to operate in their lives.

Wednesday, March 1

1 PM: Without a Whisper – Konnón:kwe

Explore the untold story of how Indigenous women influenced the early suffragists in their fight for freedom and equality. Mohawk Clan Mother Louise Herne and Professor Sally Roesch Wagner shake the foundation of the established history of the women’s rights movement in the US joining forces to shed light on the hidden history of the influence of Haudenosaunee Women on the women’s rights movement.

• PBS LearningMedia: Indigenous Women | Unladylike2020 Collection

1:30 PM: Ohero:kon – Under the Husk

Ohero:kon – Under the Husk follows the challenging journey of two Mohawk girls as they take part in their traditional passage rites to becoming Mohawk Women. Kaienkwinehtha and Kasennakohe are childhood friends from traditional families living in the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne that straddles the U.S. / Canada border. They both take part in a four-year adolescent passage rites ceremony called Ohero:kon “Under the Husk” that has been revived in their community. This ceremony challenges them spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. It shapes the women they become.

• Learning resource: Ohero:kon – Under the Husk: Viewer Discussion Guide | Vision Maker Media

Thursday,March 2

1 PM: American Experience | Sandra Day O’Connor: The First

In Sandra Day O’Connor: The First, discover the story of the Supreme Court’s first female justice. A pioneer who both reflected and shaped an era, Sandra Day O’Connor was the deciding vote in cases on some of the 20th century’s most controversial issues—including race, gender and reproductive rights.

• PBS LearningMedia: How Politics and Personality Propelled the First Female Justice to the Supreme Court | Sandra Day O’Connor: The First

Tuesday, March 7

1 PM: Hearts Above Clouds

Hearts Above Clouds takes viewers on an exciting and dynamic journey through 100 years of aviation history featuring pioneering women pilots. Beginning with the earliest air meets in Southern California, women aviators made an impact with their determination and perseverance. Amelia Earhart’s first flights and initial training are revealed and detailed, along with subsequent national women’s air derby races going into the Great Depression. Women’s substantial contributions to aviation service during WWII are presented, along with some of the noteworthy female fliers in the postwar era. This enthralling documentary is informative as well as very poignant and powerful.

• PBS LearningMedia: Bessie Coleman | Unladylike2020

2 PM: Beyond the Powder: The Legacy of the First Women’s Cross Country Air Race

Beyond the Powder is a documentary film that follows the female pilots of the 2014 Air Race Classic racers as they make their way across the country, while telling the story of the first women’s cross-country air race of 1929, also known as the Powder Puff Derby. The first Women’s Air Derby in 1929—which was comprised of 20 women, including Amelia Earhart—was flown from Santa Monica to the finish line in Cleveland, kicking off the National Air Races. The country watched as these brave women made history flying cross-country, breaking into a competition that was thought to be for men only. Today the Powder Puff Derby continues as the Air Race Classic, with modern day racers carrying out the legacy and the adventurous spirit of the original racers.

• PBS LearningMedia: Amelia Earhart | Aviator, Record-breaker, and Activist Video

Wednesday,March 8

1 PM: NOVA: Picture a Scientist

Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But there is a growing group of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists, exposing longstanding discrimination, and leading the way in making science more inclusive. In Picture a Scientist, a biologist, a chemist, and a geologist lead viewers on a journey through their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from outright harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, scientific visionaries, including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists, provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.

• PBS LearningMedia: Raychelle Burks | Picture a Scientist

Thursday,March 9

1 PM: Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani

Filmed in Canada, Iran, and the United States, Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani examines the life and mathematical work of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian immigrant to the United States who became a superstar in her field. In 2014, she was both the first woman and the first Iranian to be honored by mathematics’ highest prize, the Fields Medal.

• Learning resource: Secrets of the Surface: Maryam Mirzakhani | Biography

Wednesday,March 15

1 PM: American Masters | Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers and critics on an exploration of the powerful themes she confronted throughout her literary career in this artful and intimate meditation that examines the life and work of the legendary storyteller.

• PBS LearningMedia: American Masters | Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Collection

Tuesday,March 21

1 PM: Ida B. Wells: American Stories

There are few historical figures whose life and work speak to the current moment more than Ida B. Wells, the 19th century crusading investigative journalist, civil rights leader, and passionate suffragist.

• PBS LearningMedia: Reconstruction: Ida B. Wells – Pioneer of Civil Rights

2 PM: Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind

Ruth Stone was a promising young poet when her husband suddenly committed suicide. Destitute, with three daughters to support, she traveled the country teaching, but always returned to her farmhouse in Vermont. Using animation by granddaughter Bianca Stone, archival footage, and candid interviews with Ruth, her family, and other poets, the film is an intimate portrait of a great American poet.

• Learning resource: Biography: Ruth Stone | Poetry Foundation

Thursday,March 23

1 PM: American Masters | Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page presents an unvarnished look at the unlikely author whose autobiographical fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier and self-reliance. A Midwestern farm woman who published her first novel at age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder transformed her frontier childhood into the best-selling “Little House” series.

• PBS LearningMedia: American Masters | Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page Collection

2:30 PM: A Harpist’s Legacy: Ann Hobson Pilot and The Sound of Change

A Harpist’s Legacy: Ann Hobson Pilot and the Sound of Change profiles the inspirational life and distinguished career of the revered harpist. This compelling documentary follows Pilot’s trailblazing journey as the first black female principal player in a major symphony orchestra and also as an international soloist, teacher, mentor and driving force behind music-education programs for underserved minorities. A Harpist’s Legacy uses her professional journey to explore the increasing racial diversity and shift in attitudes toward musicians of color in the classical music world.

• PBS LearningMedia: FM Symphony Orchestra Young People’s Concert: Introduction to the String Family

Friday,March 24

2:30 PM: Georgia O’Keeffe: A Woman on Paper

Georgia O’Keeffe: A Woman on Paper, highlights the artist’s career while focusing on the little-known story of O’Keeffe’s time spent in Columbia, S.C., as an art instructor at Columbia College. The program follows O’Keeffe’s career through various artistic stages, ending permanently in New Mexico, where she created more realistic paintings with vivid color.

• PBS LearningMedia: Elements of Art: Texture | National Gallery of Art

Thursday,March 30

1 PM: Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist

Kasturba Gandhi lived her life in the shadows of her iconic husband, Mahatma Gandhi. Now she emerges. Kasturba Gandhi: Accidental Activist tells that untold story of how she became one of the first women activists in modern history, impacting the growing number of women activists today.

• PBS LearningMedia: Deepak Chopra: The Wounds of Partition

2 PM: Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story

Follow Dorothy Day’s journey from a young communist journalist, to a Catholic convert, to the co-founder of The Catholic Worker newspaper and the first “houses of hospitality,” which sheltered New York City’s homeless during the Great Depression. The documentary uses extensive archival footage from Day’s own collection and interviews with actor Martin Sheen, public theologian Cornel West, Day’s granddaughters and more.

• Learning resource: Day and the Catholic Worker Movement | Educational Materials: Journey Films