International Women's Day 2026 Teaching Resources

Celebrate International Women's Day 2026 in your classroom with printables, digital activities, worksheets and crafts for elementary school teachers, created by elementary school teachers.

Filled with fact sheets, profiles of inspirational women, IWD activity task cards, and classroom worksheets, this teaching resource collection will help you to celebrate contemporary and historical women and continue important conversations about gender equality issues.

This collection of teacher-created resources has options for every grade level in elementary school to save you time on your lesson planning so you can get back to doing what you really love — teaching! Most resources are curriculum-aligned and editable so you can differentiate work for individual students, and each has undergone rigorous review by an expert teacher on the Teach Starter team.

Teaching on International Women's Day for the first time this year or looking for some fresh ideas? Our teacher team has you covered!

What Is International Women's Day?

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday that has been celebrated on March 8th every year since the early 1900s. A few must-know facts:

  1. The holiday originated in the United States in the early 1900s as a way to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
  2. The first IWD was observed on February 28, 1909, in New York City, and it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in honor of a 1908 strike by garment workers, most of whom were immigrant women.
  3. In 1911, IWD was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, and it continued to spread to other countries in Europe and around the world.
  4. In 1975, the United Nations (UN) began celebrating IWD as an official holiday, and it has been recognized by the UN ever since.
  5. Today, IWD is celebrated in countries around the world and is an occasion to reflect on progress made, call for change, and celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

When Is International Women's Day 2026?

What Is the International Women's Day Theme for 2026?

Each year a new theme for International Women's Day is declared, giving teachers a chance to focus their lesson planning on one specific topic. This year's theme is Give To Gain, focusing on generosity, reciprocity, and collective support to advance gender equality.

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24 of 72 teaching resources for those 'aha' moments