The Teacher's Corner
Black History Month Activities and Lessons
The Black History Month seasonal pages will provide you with great resources to help educate students about important historical events and people of African decent. Ideas within this section include: historical Negro baseball leagues, Martin Luther King Jr., projects detailing the civil rights movement, printable worksheets and more.
Your creativity can help other teachers. Submit your Black History Month activity today. Don't forget to include additional resources-documents, web sites, or a photo.
Black History Month is celebrated in Canada and the U.S. during the month of February (and October for the U.K.). It is a month for remembrance and education about important historical events and people of African diaspora.
February is Black History Month
Check our February Events Calendar for more important dates
Black American Books Grades Various
We make famous Black American books with cereal boxes. We cover the boxes with either brown or black paper. They add the parts of the body, face, and any other distinct features to resemble the person they are reporting. The box is the person’s body. The top of the box is where you put the person’s head, hair, hat, etc. You add arms and legs and any other details such as glasses, a book in a hand, clothes, etc. The middle of the body, which I refer to as the stomach, is where children write important facts about the person on the middle of the box.
Submitted by: Fannie Sexton- Certificate Project Grades Various
One project I do the month of February is celebrate African Americans. I ask the librarian to pull together all of our books on this topic. Each student chooses one person and does a mini research on the person. We then go to the computer lab and I have the students use Print Shop to create a certificate to honor the person. The only stipulation I have about who they choose is that I ask them NOT to choose MLK, Rosa Parks or other African Americans they already know a lot about. The idea is to find other people to celebrate; I usually use one of these folks as a model for the students to follow. I then give them a guide as to what belongs on the certificate. For example, it should have a border, a seal, readable font, signature line, graphic, etc. I change it up every year. Each student gets a chance to present their award to the class. When they are all done I have the class make a "scroll" from butcher paper and we post them in the hall.
We have learned a lot over the past few years, such as the inventor of the Super Soaker was an African American and I even had one student make a certificate, honoring Flip Wilson for "making people laugh." It always gets compliments, and the kids enjoy the project immensely. - Famous Black Americans: Gotta Study 'em All Grades 9-12
This project for Black History Month encourages students to create "trading cards" of famous black Americans. The idea is based on the trading card-craze of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and athletic cards so popular with students and adults alike. In this lesson, students can choose what grade they wish to make based on how many cards they create. Download the PDF file.
Submitted by: John Marshall Carter - Conyers, Georgia - February Monthly Unit, Lesson Plans & Activities
Visit this page for more resources. - Activities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
You will also find cross-over resources on this page. - Black History Month Word Search
Create your own or use our Black History Month word list. - Black History Month Word Scramble
Create your own or use our Black History word list. - Black History Month Journal Pages
Print ready-made Black History Month lined journal pages to use in your classroom. - Black History Month Match-up Worksheets
Create your printable worksheet from your own matchups or use our premade lists. - Black History Literature
Books for Teachers and children related to Black History Month at Amazon.com
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African-American Biographies
Search through this great list of famous African-Americans.
African-American Mosaic
A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture. Surveys the full range of the Library's African-American collections including books, periodicals, prints, photographs, music, film, and recorded sound.
Africans in America
This is a great resource brought to you by PBS. You can also find an accompanying Teacher Guide.
AfriClassical.com
Over 50 Black composers and musicians are profiled. A Black History Quiz and audio samples are included as well.
Black Baseball's Negro Baseball Leagues
Learn about the history, players, and teams that made up the early baseball leagues.
The Black History Museum
Explore their interactive exhibits.
Celebrate Black History Month
History Channel resources that include: speeches, video clips, TV programming, and more.
I Have A Dream Speech
Find an online transcript of this famous speech.
The Internet African American History Challenge
"An interactive quiz that helps you sharpen your knowledge of African American History."
National Museum of African Art
Part of the Smithsonian Institution, this museum provides online images from its collection of sub-Saharan African art.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scavenger Hunt Grades 2 +
Looking for a way to integrate technology into your classroom? Here's an activity that requires students to use the internet to learn more about D. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Day Activities Grade Various
This unit includes several books and activities dealing with a variety of subjects.
Unity Handprint Wreath Grades Various
This wreath symbolizes cultural unity. You can adjust the handprint colors for different occasions (for example, you may wish to use handprints in different shades of brown for Black History Month)
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