Date of Award

8-2026

Degree Type

Creative Project

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Chair(s)

Amanda Katz

Committee

Amanda Katz

Committee

Victoria Grieve

Committee

Julia Gossard

Abstract

This thesis Plan-B project is creating women centered lesson plans for middle and high school social studies curriculum. As a result of male dominance in education the standards, practices, and curriculum have largely focused on a male-dominant narrative. This project works to remedy this imbalance by taking standards directly from the State and adapting lesson plans to highlight historical women actors as the focus, while still aligning with core outcomes. The current male-centered approach to the broader social studies curriculum does not account for the wide array of viewpoints experienced for those living in the United States. Re-envisioning lessons to include a broader range of perspectives allows for more meaningful conversation, openness, empathy, and consciousness also achieving the goals set forth by state educational standards. The lesson plans constructed for this project cover U.S. History in the modern era, from the early Civil Rights Movement through the events of September 11, 2001. Designing lesson plans that center around historical events where there are several primary sources created directly by women provides richer source material for educators to incorporate and students to analyze. The second half of the twentieth century is a time where women in the U.S. have greater visible agency. Their lived experiences allow educators to establish a foundation of materials that can later be supplemented with lesson plans from periods when women’s voices are more difficult to find. Women were very much present during significant historical events in U.S. history, despite their stories often being minimized and marginalized. The main lesson plans of my project focus on the Long Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, The Equal Rights Amendment, the Cold War, and the War on Terror. These five overarching units provide a foundation for developing lesson plans that center on women as significant historical actors in the twentieth century. Analyzing an event through multiple lenses and diverse source material aids in the development of students’ historical and critical thinking skills.

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