We all know that Black historical past is American historical past and must be embedded into your classroom experiences year-round. On the identical time, Black Historical past Month supplies the mandatory alternative to dig deeper with college students. Each February, we are able to assist college students as they study extra, uncover cultural impacts, and observe social actions from the previous to the current day. These Black Historical past Month classes and actions can’t be remoted or one-off classroom experiences. Consider how one can join these subjects to what you’re already doing and make it genuine. And most vital, don’t simply deal with oppression: Deal with the enjoyment too!
Since 1928, the Affiliation for the Research of African American Life and Historical past has supplied a theme for Black Historical past Month. In 2023, the theme is Black Resistance. As you overview a few of our favourite Black Historical past Month actions for the classroom, maintain that essential theme in thoughts.
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1. Re-create civil rights freedom motion posters
SOURCE: Civil Rights Motion Veterans
The Civil Rights Motion Veterans web site presents highly effective examples of freedom motion posters, as does the Civil Rights Digital Library. Evaluate them together with your college students, after which have them get into teams and create their very own to share.
2. Discover Black historical past by means of major sources from the Nationwide Archives
SOURCE: Nationwide Archives
Select from 1000’s of sources, together with this Nineteen Seventies photograph collection of Chicago.
3. Find out about well-known Black artists
Future Jacob Lawrences and Elizabeth Catletts will admire studying extra about artists and increasing their skills! Plus, take a look at these different Black artists.
4. Watch a Black Historical past Month video
Watching movies will be a number of the most significant Black Historical past Month classroom actions. Try this record of Black historical past movies for college students in each grade degree.
5. Be taught concerning the Black Lives Matter motion
SOURCE: Black Lives Matter
The Black Lives Matter web site explains the group’s historical past whereas books like Expensive Martin and The Hate U Give discover the motion from a fictional perspective.
6. Create a e-newsletter or journal with content material from Black authors
Have your college students generate their very own e-newsletter or literacy journal to distribute to oldsters. Embrace poems and quick tales by Black authors, in addition to student-generated writings and pictures that heart on Black Historical past Month.
7. Learn a Black Historical past Month poem
To boost our conversations this month, we’ve put collectively this record of highly effective Black Historical past Month poems for youths of all ages.
8. Flip your classroom (or faculty!) right into a residing museum
Have your college students select a notable Black pioneer they’d prefer to know extra about, equivalent to voting rights and ladies’s rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, dancer Alvin Ailey, or Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time nationwide parks ranger. Then, host a residing museum proper in your classroom.
9. Find out about Madam C.J. Walker and different Black entrepreneurs
Have you learnt about Madam C.J. Walker, the primary self-made feminine millionaire in America? Click on right here to study extra about her!
10. Adorn your classroom door for Black Historical past Month
These lecturers embellished their classroom doorways in wonderful methods to showcase Black Historical past Month.
11. Honor a number of the army’s most brave veterans
From the 54th Massachusetts to the Buffalo Troopers to the Tuskegee Airmen, Black women and men have lengthy served in the US army, even when their very own rights weren’t safe.
12. Learn books with Black characters in honor of the younger hero Marley Dias
SOURCE: GrassROOTS Neighborhood Basis
Dias is a younger activist who began the #1000blackgirlbooks marketing campaign as a sixth grader. She has compiled a superb information to books with Black woman characters. Try WeAreTeacher’s record of books with Black protagonists as properly.
13. Learn Black Historical past Month books
If you happen to’re on the lookout for extra studying actions, these image books assist have fun Black Historical past Month and educate your college students on how these individuals helped form historical past.
14. Be taught concerning the artwork of stepping
SOURCE: Step Afrika!
Stepping is a type of dancing wherein the physique itself is used to create distinctive rhythms and sounds. The web site Step Afrika! has movies and details about the historical past of stepping.
15. Take a digital journey to the illustrious Schomburg Middle for Analysis in Black Tradition
SOURCE: Emmett Until Mission
The digital collections of the Schomburg Middle, situated in Harlem in New York Metropolis, characteristic some wonderful on-line displays, interviews, and podcasts.
16. Nearly go to the unimaginable Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past & Tradition
You’ll be able to browse the gathering on-line by subject, date, or place.
17. Host a poetry studying that includes works by Black poets
Have college students select a poem by a Black poet to study and recite for the category. Select a pupil to function the emcee, write up a program, and set the tone with dimmed lights and jazz music performed between performances. The Poetry Basis has wonderful sources that may assist get you began.
18. Focus on the Supreme Courtroom trial that gave rights to Black Individuals
Supply: ThurgoodMarshall.com
Your future authorized eagles will get pleasure from studying about the important thing Supreme Courtroom circumstances that helped Blacks safe rights, the occasions and efforts that sparked the circumstances, and the aftermath of these court docket choices. Be sure you acknowledge Thurgood Marshall, the primary Black Supreme Courtroom justice and the lead lawyer within the Brown case, alongside the best way. Additionally, observe up with college students on how they really feel these choices influence our world as we speak.
19. Hearken to a podcast that celebrates Black historical past
RadioPublic has a superb roundup of podcasts about Black historical past to hearken to and focus on together with your college students.
20. Try on-line displays on Black historical past
Supply: Smithsonian
Educating your self and your college students with these exhibits is yet another approach to perceive Black historical past and the present second.
21. Dive into Georgia Tales: Black Historical past Assortment on PBS
As a state, Georgia performed an enormous position within the 2020 presidential election, and its Black historical past dates again to the earliest days of slavery within the colony.
22. Focus on implicit bias, systemic racism, and social injustice
Supply: Educating Tolerance
Begin a much-needed dialogue round implicit bias and systemic racism with these sources that may empower college students to combat for justice in our society.
23. Learn the Freedom in Congo Sq. image guide to have fun the dominance of spirit over struggling
Supply: Amazon
The award-winning image boo, Freedom in Congo Sq., is a nonfiction youngsters’s guide that describes the tyranny of slavery to assist younger readers perceive how jubilant Sundays could be for slaves.
24. Watch Kevin Hart’s Information to Black Historical past
Kevin Hart highlights the fascinating contributions of Black historical past’s unsung heroes on this entertaining—and academic—comedy particular.
25. Acknowledge Black visionaries
Supply: Schooling.com
This nice poster that includes activists, artists, authors, and revolutionaries will spotlight Black change-makers in your classroom. Use companion actions to deepen understanding by researching a number of of the visionaries and asking college students to jot down a narrative or create their very own poster about what they’ve realized.
26. Create a Black Historical past Month playlist
Many genres of music we hearken to as we speak have been formed by Black artists and their groundbreaking influences. Rejoice Black Historical past Month with a playlist of pivotal artists, from Louis Armstrong and Jimi Hendrix to Beyoncé and Lauryn Hill. Spotify has ready-made lists to encourage you!
27. Evaluate the time line of Black Historical past Month
Supply: Historical past.com
Why is Black Historical past Month in February? How way back was it based, and who began it? Discover the solutions to those questions and study extra with this time line.
28. Discover the music of Black historical past
Supply: Edsitement.com
This lesson traces the lengthy history of how Black artists have used music as a car for speaking beliefs, aspirations, observations, pleasure, despair, resistance, and extra throughout U.S. historical past.
29. Pattern Black-founded snack manufacturers
Honor Black Historical past Month with scrumptious snacks from Black-founded manufacturers delivered to your classroom—5% of proceeds are donated to the Equal Justice Initiative and one meal is donated to Feeding America for each field delivered.
30. Perceive the position of Black girls in NASA’s historical past
How a lot do your college students find out about Black contributions to area exploration? Hire the movie Hidden Figures and watch together with your college students to recollect, honor, and share the unimaginable accomplishments of three Black girls engaged on NASA’s area flight program. Earlier than watching the film, analysis the liberties the movie took in telling the story and focus on together with your college students the perform of the alternatives. Did the filmmakers make the proper selection?
31. Assist native Black-owned companies
Analysis your metropolis’s Black-owned companies and see if you should purchase a pattern of their merchandise, invite a number of the entrepreneurs to talk to your class, or guide a discipline journey!
32. Stream Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices on Netflix
“Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices is a live-action assortment of twelve five-minute episodes that includes outstanding Black celebrities and artists studying youngsters’s books from Black authors that spotlight the Black expertise.”
33. Try this planner from Rethinking Faculties
In case you are seeking to discover extra methods to incorporate Black historical past year-round, take a look at this planner.
34. Rejoice the “Black Lives Matter at Faculty” motion
“Black Lives Matter at Faculty” is a nationwide coalition organized for racial justice in schooling. It encourages all educators, college students, dad and mom, unions, and group organizations to affix an annual week of motion in the course of the first week of February annually. For a wide range of Black Historical past Month actions, go to their web site to study extra about their marketing campaign.
Plus, take a look at these inspirational Black Historical past Month bulletin boards in your classroom.
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