March is an exciting month to celebrate Women’s History Month and honor the incredible achievements of women throughout history. As Spanish educators, this is the perfect opportunity to engage students in learning about historical women while simultaneously enhancing their language skills. Integrating hands-on, interactive activities will help students explore these women’s lives in a creative and meaningful way.
Below are fun, engaging, and hands-on ideas to celebrate Women’s History Month in your Spanish classroom. This list includes interactive learning strategies, close reading activities, craft projects, games, and books to help make this celebration memorable!
📚 1. Read Books About Inspiring Women in Spanish
A great way to introduce students to influential women is through authentic literature in Spanish. Books provide context, vocabulary practice, and meaningful discussions. Here are some wonderful children’s and young adult books about inspiring women:
“Frida Kahlo y sus animalitos” by Monica Brown – A beautifully illustrated book about the famous Mexican artist.
“Malala: Mi historia” by Malala Yousafzai – The inspiring story of the Nobel Prize winner fighting for girls’ education.
“Cuentos de Buenas Noches para Niñas Rebeldes” by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo – Features 100 incredible women, from Amelia Earhart to Marie Curie.
“Pequeña & Grande” Series (by various authors) – A series featuring influential women like Madre Teresa, Marie Curie, and Coco Chanel.
After reading, have students complete a short writing reflection in Spanish or create a timeline of events based on the book’s main character.
📝 2. Close Reading Activities for Women’s History Month
Use close reading activities to explore the lives and accomplishments of famous women like Marie Curie, Malala Yousafzai, and Hillary Clinton. Students can:
Read biographical passages in Spanish.
Engage in comprehension checks and vocabulary-building activities.
Create a facts graphic organizer about each woman.
Complete word mazes and writing prompts for a hands-on learning experience.
These activities help students practice reading skills while learning about women who have shaped history. For more detailed strategies, check out Close Reading Strategies for Reading in Spanish.
🎨 3. Women’s History Month Collage
Have students create a collage featuring famous women in history. Using magazines, newspapers, or printed images, they can cut out pictures and write captions or short descriptions in Spanish. Examples:
- Juana de Arco, la heroína de Francia
- Oprah Winfrey, una de las mujeres más influyentes de la televisión
- Marie Curie, la primera mujer en ganar el Premio Nobel
This visual project reinforces Spanish vocabulary and historical knowledge in an artistic way.
🎭 4. Role-Playing: “Who Am I?” Mystery Game
Engage your students in a fun guessing game! Give them clues in Spanish about a famous woman and have them guess who it is. For example:
- “Fui la primera mujer en volar sola a través del Atlántico.” (Answer: Amelia Earhart)
- “Defendí los derechos de las niñas a recibir educación y gané el Premio Nobel.” (Answer: Malala Yousafzai)
For an extension, students can write a short dialogue where they role-play as the woman they researched.
🏆 5. Create a 3D Diorama of Women’s Achievements
Students can build a 3D diorama that represents a historical moment from a famous woman’s life. Examples include:
- Marie Curie’s laboratory.
- Frida Kahlo painting in her studio.
- Madre Teresa de Calcuta helping the poor.
Afterward, students write a paragraph in Spanish describing the scene and its significance.
🎮 6. Women’s History Month Memory Game
Turn learning into a fun game by creating a memory-matching activity. Write women’s names on one set of cards and their achievements on another. Students must match the correct pairs!
Example matches:
- Amelia Earhart → Primera mujer en cruzar el Atlántico sola.
- Marie Curie → Descubrió el radio y el polonio y ganó el Premio Nobel.
This helps reinforce vocabulary and historical knowledge through play!
✈️ 7. Build a Women’s History Timeline
Using index cards or a poster board, students create a timeline of important women and their achievements. Each student can research a different woman, write a short biography in Spanish, and place her on the timeline in chronological order.
✂️ 8. Hands-On Craft: Women’s History Month Action Figures
Using craft materials like clay or construction paper, students design an action figure of a famous woman. With each figure, they attach a description in Spanish explaining her accomplishments.
For example, a student might create Juana de Arco holding a sword and write:“Juana de Arco lideró el ejército francés en la Guerra de los Cien Años.”
This hands-on activity makes history more tangible and engaging!
🖌️ 9. Arte y Cultura Stations
Set up learning stations dedicated to different women and their contributions. Each station features a different activity or cultural component, such as:
- Drawing Frida Kahlo’s self-portrait
- Writing a Spanish acrostic poem about Marie Curie
- Listening to music by Celia Cruz and writing about her influence on Latin music
Students rotate through each station, gaining exposure to language, art, and history in a dynamic way.
Incorporating hands-on activities into your Women’s History Month celebration helps students engage with language learning while exploring the achievements of inspiring women. Whether through reading books, crafting action figures, building timelines, or playing interactive games, students will have an exciting and memorable learning experience.
Using books, creative projects, and interactive activities, we can make learning about these trailblazing women both educational and fun!
