International Women’s Day is a great time to introduce pupils to Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female medical doctor in the United States. Use this free activity booklet to explore key facts about Elizabeth. There are also fun activities and discussion starters for your students.
Activity ideas
Use the examples on the included code breaker worksheet to work out the given codes. Can pupils come up with their own code for someone else to break?
In the second task, pupils need to complete the crossword puzzle by using information from Elizabeth Blackwell’s biography, included in the download.
Who was Elizabeth Blackwell?
In the 19th century it was very uncommon for women to go to university, let alone become doctors. Elizabeth Blackwell often faced discrimination and male classmates were regularly unkind to her.
Despite this, Blackwell was determined to pursue a career in medicine, and she was accepted into the Geneva Medical College in New York. When she graduated in 1849, she became the first female medical doctor in the United States.
Elizabeth Blackwell was also an advocate for women’s rights, particularly pushing for equal opportunities for female doctors.
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