United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Lesson Plans

Women in Congress

Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a suffragist and peace activist, was the first woman to serve in Congress./tiles/non-collection/w/wic_cont1_1_rankin_hc.xml Jeannette Rankin, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
About this object Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a suffragist and peace activist, was the first woman to serve in Congress.
This page features materials designed to help teachers and students use the information presented in the Women in Congress publication in their classrooms. It includes lesson plans on the women pioneers who served on Capitol Hill from 1917 to 2006 based on the contextual essays from the Women in Congress book, as well as a series of related photographs, objects, and quotations.

Lesson Plans

Lesson Plan One:  "I'm No Lady, I'm a Member of Congress," Women Pioneers on Capitol Hill, 1917-1934 - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Essay

Lesson Plan Two:  Onto the National Stage: Congresswomen in an Age of National Crisis, 1935-1954 - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Essay

Lesson Plan Three: A Changing of the Guard: Traditionalists, Feminists, and the New Face of Women in Congress, 1955-1976 - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Essay

Lesson Plan Four: Assembling, Amplifying, and Ascending: Recent Trends Among Women in Congress, 1977-2006 - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Contextual Essay Four

Lesson Plan Five: Objects in Time - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Artifacts (PDF)

Lesson Plan Six: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Photographs (PDF)

Lesson Plan Seven: The Women of Congress Speak Their Mind - Lesson Plan (PDF) / Quotations (PDF)

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Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov