Women of the Past is a program for elementary students in grades 2 - 5. Teachers and students choose to study the life of Jeanne Robert Foster, Sarah Kellogg Livingston or Inez Milholland based on their social studies or language arts curriculum. Prior to beginning the dramatic aspects of the program, the teacher and students become familiar with a biography packet of the woman’s life and a description of background events. Based on the background material, the students develop a brief but compelling story to re-enact. Students are encouraged to develop an empathy and understanding for the character by considering the courage, intelligence and diligence demonstrated by her life. The students develop the story on their feet playing different characters and using their own language to recreate scenes from the woman’s biography. The dramas present history by allowing students to learn how local people and places relate to events on the national level.