It's no coincidence: March is Women's History Month, and March 7-13 marks Girl Scout Week in 2010.
One of the creative actions that helped millions of girls expand their horizons is the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA by Juliet Gordon Lowe in 1912. Girl Scouts of the USA is the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, they build character and skills for success in the real world.
In partnership with committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth. Many of the girls that have been scouts use the confidence and skills that they acquired in scouting to continue to advance the cause of gender equality when they become women.
Today there are more than 3.4 million members throughout the United States, including U.S. territories, and in more than 90 countries through USA Girl Scouts Overseas. More than 50 million women in the U.S. today are Girl Scout alumnae. From their willingness to tackle important societal issues, to their commitment to diversity and inclusiveness: Girl Scouts is dedicated to every girl, everywhere.
BookCart Learning Activity
ProQuest editors have created a BookCart (quick start guide PDF and short video introduction) that helps students learn more about the role of Girl Scouts in furthering the women's rights movement worldwide.
The BookCart learning activity provides the resources and directions that your students will need to address the essential questions for critical thinking included with the BookCart. You can also include call numbers for print resources.
Click the BOOKCART ADMIN link of the Teacher Edition.
Click the PROQUEST CARTS tab.
Type "Girl Scouts and Women's History" in the SEARCH box to locate it quickly.
Click the COPY icon in the ACTIONS column to the right of this title.
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.
To edit and customize the BookCart learning activity for your students to use:
Click your new BookCart TITLE—it will have the prefix "COPY OF".
Delete "Copy of" and then type your name in the AUTHOR boxes and your initials in the EMAIL box (required filler).
Option: Edit STUDENT DIRECTIONS and type PRINT call numbers in the DESCRIPTION box.
Scroll down and click SAVE.
Click RETURN TO MY LOCAL CARTS.
Note: Students will be able to open this BookCart by clicking the BookCart tab on the search page.
Traditional Search Learning Activity
Most elementary curricula include research activities that focus on biography of famous people. This learning activity focuses on biographies of famous American women and their contribution to American civil rights, quality of life, and culture.
Assign each student a different woman from the list below (or add to it). Students should create an oral or PowerPoint report of at least two minutes that cites at least two resources. Oral reports help students to gain important presentation skills while sharing their knowledge with other students in the class. The report should include a picture of the woman and another one that symbolizes her major accomplishments.
Madeleine Albright; Susan B. Anthony; Clara Barton; Margaret Bourke-White; Pearle S. Buck; Rachel Carson; Carrie Chapman Catt; Hillary Rodham Clinton; Emily Dickinson; Amelia Earhart; Mary Baker Eddy; Betty Friedan; Ruth Baeder Ginsburg; Jane Goodall; Barbara Jordan; Helen Keller; Jacqueline Kennedy; Juliette Gordon Low; Christa McAuliffe; Margaret Mead; Toni Morrison; Sandra Day O'Connor; Rosa Parks; Alice Paul; Sally Ride; Eleanor Anna Roosevelt; Margaret Sanger; Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Gloria Steinem; Annie Sullivan; Sojourner Truth; Harriet Tubman; Eudora Welty; Laura Ingalls Wilder; Oprah Winfrey; and Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
The report should include answers to at least three of the following essential questions for critical thinking:
When and where was this woman born and what was the environment in which she grew up?
What was this woman's greatest accomplishment(s)?
What do you think inspired this woman to achieve what she did?
How do this woman's accomplishments benefit us today?
Is there anything about this person's life that inspires you and why?
Pathfinder
Students should use the name of the person assigned to them to do a key word search. Students will need to use at least two sources to answer the essential questions.
