Photo by Suzy Brooks on Unsplash
I begin teaching black history in January. In my ideal world, there would be no need for a “black history month” because black history IS American history and would be taught all year long. But, until that happens, I support having a month set aside to focus on black history specifically. Another reason I start in January is that there is so much great stuff to teach! It seems to fit well with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, so I get started early.
Before we get to the resources, here’s something I think is important: try to focus more on the stories of resilience and overcoming adversity and challenges. While I do believe it is important to teach the “ugly” parts of our history, I try to focus more on how people overcame challenges and fought against slavery, oppression, segregation, and racism.
There are many more great resources available now than there used to be back in the day. Let’s dig in.
SITES WITH READING PASSAGES
Here are some sites with great reading passages. These can be used for daily whole group shared reading or for guided reading groups.
*Article a day text sets from ReadWorks
*NewsELA articles
This used to be my #1 go-to site for the best news articles. They can also be customized for a variety of reading levels. Recently, they have changed the site and require you to buy a membership to see many of their articles. I will not get into my strong opinion about this move (at least not in this blog post!), but you can still find many free articles that are worth a read.
*Actively Learn
This is a great site with its own passages, but it also allows you to upload your passages from other sites and insert your own questions.
SITES WITH READING PASSAGES, VIDEOS, & OTHER ACTIVITIES
*African American History Month resources from the Library of Congress
*Scholastic resources about the Underground Railroad
*Ending slavery in America magazine
*Civil Rights in America activity book from the Teaching Tolerance website
*Children in the Civil Rights movement
There are some great read-alouds listed later in the post that also describe children’s perspectives during the Civil Rights movement.
*Celebrating African American History reading passages
*Rethinking Presidents’ Day/Black History Month from Zinn Education Project
Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash
RESEARCHING LIVES OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE
I believe it’s very important to share information about the lives and achievements of as many African-American people as possible. While it’s very important to learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is also good to know that there have been, and still are, many people of color doing amazing things to make our world a better place.
There are lots of ways to do this. You could use these websites and share a few of them with your whole class every day. Or you might use these websites to assign research tasks to your students and allow them to share what they’ve learned with small groups or with the whole class.
*Not Just White Dude Mathematicians
*Because of Them We Can website
*Timeline of the history of black women in mathematics
*Famous black scientists on Biography.com
*Black inventors online museum
FAVORITE WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO SHARE RESEARCH
Here are some of my favorite ways for students to share research:
*gallery walk
*digital gallery walk
*make a google slides presentation
*make an infographic using google drawings
*make some sort of foldable to share information
*try this resource from Reading Wellness by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris
*Here is a teacher-created resource with links to several biographies using Ducksters as a resource.
After students read all of the biographies, here is a Google form quiz to take!
*Another awesome teacher-created resource for students to do website research and create a Google slides presentation.
RESOURCES WITH LESSON PLANS
*Carolina Humanities resources
This site is new to me, but I was so excited to find it. You can search for lessons by grade level for fifth grade all the way through high school or search by topic. This link is for their African-American History resources.
*Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators lessons and resources from Smithsonian Education
*We Are Teachers is one of my favorite websites. They have a wide variety of activities on their site HERE.
Some of the activities I want to explore include:
~The Green Book: The Black Traveler’s Guide to Jim Crow America. A good picture book to share about this topic is Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey.
~1000 Black Girl Books Resource Guide created by a 12-year-old activist Marley Dias with her #1000blackgirlbooks campaign:
~Schomburg Digital Collection part of the New York Public Library
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
~Whitney Plantation resources – the first (and maybe only?) plantation museum dedicated to the exclusive focus on the lives of enslaved people
*Visit the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
*Junior Scholastic resources (from Scholastic’s middle school school Social Studies classroom magazine)
*Scholastic slideshow about Ruby Bridges for grades 3-5 (there is also a slideshow for grades 1-2)
*Readers’ theater about Rosa Parks
*Readers’ theater plays about other notable African Americans
*Teaching & Learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. with the New York Times
BOOKS TO READ ALOUD
Freedom on the Menu: the Greensboro Sit-ins by Carole Boston Weatherford
Hidden Figures – Young Readers Edition by Margot Lee Shetterly
Ruth & the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford
28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr.
(There is a great lesson plan to go along with this book on Scholastic’s website HERE.)
Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom by Walter Dean Myers
My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King by Christine King Farris
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport
Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
Freedom Ship by Doreen Rappaport
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull
From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester
Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change by Michelle Cook
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Dear Benjamin Banneker by Andrea Davis Pinckney
Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony & Frederick Douglass by Dean Robbins
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
Little Legends: Bold Men in Black History by Vashti Harrison
A Child’s Introduction to African-American History: The Experiences, People, & Events That Shaped Our History by Jabari Asim
Bedtime Inspirational Stories: 50 Amazing Black People Who Changed the World by L. A. Amber
Young, Gifted & Black: Meet 52 Black Heroes from Past & Present by Jamia Wilson
Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids by Kimberly Brown Pellum
100 African-Americans Who Shaped American History by Chrisanne Beckner
Have You Thanked an Inventor Today? by Patrice McLaurin
Whoosh! Ronnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton
A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson
White Socks Only by Evelyn Coleman
Ellen’s Broom by Kelly Starling Lyons
Sweet Clara & the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
Hope’s Gift by Kelly Starling Lyons
White Water by Michael S. Bandy
Remember: the Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison
The Great Migration: Journey to the North by Eloise Greenfield
This is the Dream by Diane Z. Shore
Ben & the Emancipation Proclamation by Pat Sherman
We March by Shane W. Evans
Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia C. McKissack
NOVELS TO READ ALOUD
The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
Storm Warriors by Elisa Carbone
AND LAST . . .
Image source: http://legacy.shadowandact.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/our-friend-martin.png
I show the video Our Friend, Martin to my upper elementary classes every year. It’s still an engaging way to learn about the life of Dr. King and how the Civil Rights Movement has impacted everyone.
Check your local news websites for Black History Month events happening in your own community!
Invite community members or family members to visit your classroom and talk to your students about civil rights or about African-American history.
I would love to hear about your favorite resources for teaching Black History Month! Check back as I will update this post when I find new resources to share.