Some students may benefit from suggestions on how to choose an important subject to research and report about. Emphasize their range of choices–they may choose among women in many different fields, such as authors or poets, scientists, artists, astronauts, or world leaders! Based on your students’ choices, add appropriate words (e.g., astronaut, exploration, daring) to the Important Words section of the assignment.

   - Focus on the writing process:

       > Planning: Download and distribute the Description graphic organizer for students to use as they gather information about their person.

• Using the Graphic Organizer, review the important parts of the writing plan. Explain that gathering information about their person is essential, but so is narrowing down the most important information!
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• Remind students to pay close attention to the writing prompt and to use their graphic organizer to guide their note-taking, recording important details that describe their person’s accomplishments.

       > Drafting: As students write:

• Remind them to check out the suggested signal words and try to use them to “signal” to their readers what will come next.
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• Also tell them that they may choose to add illustrations or images to their writing. Remind them that “good” images enrich or extend the information on the page and help the reader to understand more than the words, alone.

        > Revising: Have students share their writing with a partner. Explain that the listener’s role is to both affirm and also help improve the writing. Suggest sentence starters like these:

• I’d like to know more about how this person…
• Can you tell me more about the time she… ?
• ______ is a really interesting fact, can you add more details about it?
• I thought _____ was an interesting fact, can you tell me more about why it is so important?

After students share their work, be sure to give them an opportunity to consider their partner’s ideas and revise if they wish.After students share their work, be sure to give them an opportunity to consider their partner’s ideas and revise if they wish.

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         > Editing: Guide students to check for accurate spelling, capitalization, and punctuation throughout their writing. Remind them to use their sources to check the spelling of specific details such as names, professions, or locations.

         > Publishing: Consider different ways for students to share their writing and contribute to knowledge-building about important women in history! They might:

• Post their work on a school or classroom website, blog, or bulletin board.
• Visit another class and read their work aloud.

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Here are some books your students can use for research and inspiration!

• Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 by Michelle Markel
• Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
• I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark by Debbie Levy
• Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
• Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai
• Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future! by Kate Schatz
• Malala's Magic Pencil by She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea ClintonMalala Yousafzai
• Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood
• Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

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