In 1926, black historian Carter G. Woodson created the precursor to Black History Month, Negro History Week.
Since then, recognition of black history as an integral part of American history has grown enormously. At the same time, old habits and outdated curricula are difficult to eradicate, making Black History Month a relevant necessity.
The following are some of the best lessons and activities for teaching black history. Be sure to start with number 1, “Dos and Don'ts of Teaching African American History.” Here teachers can learn ways to integrate black history into the American History curriculum, where it belongs, throughout the year.
The Best Black History Month Lessons and Activities
All grades
The Dos and Don'ts of Teaching African American History
Black history should be part of the curriculum year-round. Learn how to integrate Black history into your history and social studies curricula throughout the year.
Teach hard history
A guide to teaching students of all levels, in an age-appropriate manner, about the difficult topic of the slave trade and its role in American history. Organized around key concepts and essential knowledge, the guide includes primary texts, videos, and a professional development webinar.
Black Athletes and Civil Rights: 6 Advocates to Introduce to Your Students
Black athletes have been at the forefront of the fight for civil rights for more than a century. Have your students read about black athletes in history who took a stand and then compare them to today's activist athletes. How have the problems changed? How have they remained the same?
Poets.org Lesson Plans for Black History Month
A truly wonderful selection of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, Marilyn Nelson, Nikki Giovanni, and other great African American poets. Featured poems are supported by classroom activities, related artwork, and audio.
Lesson of the day: When blackness is a superpower
Who doesn't love a superhero? A wonderfully creative way to merge writing, art, and social studies, this lesson is a natural for kids and anyone who loves mythology.
31 very influential African American scientists
Go beyond the much-cited George Washington Carver to learn about many other African American scientists, past and present, whose work has been instrumental in creating the modern world.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: 22 stories about the Negro Leagues
These 22 compelling video stories about the Negro Leagues, highlighting not only the players but also the business behind the game, offer a great opportunity for students to understand the critical role Black people played in the rise of our national pastime. .
The Smithsonian American Art Museum: O Freedom! Art teaching and the civil rights movement
Teach civil rights by exploring works of art from the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Search by artwork (https://americanart.si.edu/education/oh-freedom/art) or artist (https://americanart.si.edu/education/oh-freedom/artists).
Grades K-5
How does jazz music reflect the Harlem Renaissance?
A complete standards-aligned lesson that includes audio clips of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Bessie Smith, a slideshow of iconic Harlem nightclubs, and links to interactive resources. Copy the entire lesson to your Google Drive or print a Word document.
Jazz Music, Dance and Poetry
In this lesson for grades 3-5, students will explore jazz music and dance and then write a jazz-inspired cinquain poem. Exploring the intersection of Black history, music history, and dance history, standards-aligned instruction is printable and integrates with Google Drive.
How to Play: Notable African Americans from the 18th century to the present
A Jeopardy-like trivia game that asks players questions about notable black Americans in the arts, sciences, politics, film, and television. Questions range in difficulty from the $100 level to the $500 level. A great way for children to demonstrate their knowledge while having fun.
Who is Claudette Colvin?
“It felt like Sojourner Truth was on one side pushing me down and Harriet Tubman was on the other side pushing me down. I couldn't get up,” said notable 15-year-old Claudette Colvin, who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, months before the famous incident with Rosa Parks. Learn about Colvin's activism and why her story is not well known today. This standards-aligned history lesson includes an immersive reader with narration.
National Museum of Civil Rights Before the Boycott
What happened to spark the Montgomery bus boycott? This interactive puts students in the role of journalists investigating the events leading up to the first large-scale demonstration against segregation.
Grades 6-8
iCivics Black History Month
Six short videos from the highly respected iCivics organization are accompanied by standards-aligned lesson plans, including fillable PDFs for digital learning. The lessons illuminate not only the best-known activists, but also lesser-known pioneers, such as Constance Baker Motley, the first African-American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Other topics include the Jim Crow era and desegregation at Little Rock Central High School.
The Poet's Voice: Langston Hughes and You
What is meant by the poet's voice and why do we like one voice more than another? Can someone who writes develop a voice? Students will explore the qualities that make up Langston Hughes' poetic voice, as well as general aspects of the poetic voice. This comprehensive lesson includes guiding questions, teacher preparation, seven student activities, and lesson extensions.
Jacob Lawrence Migration Series: Taking Off the Mask
In this comprehensive lesson integrating painting and poetry, students compare and contrast the artwork of Jacob Lawrence with the poetry of Helene Johnson and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Detailed background and context, five activities, assessments, and lesson extensions are provided.
The birth of hip hop
When was hip hop invented? Hip hop is a relatively new form of American music, but its roots date back to 1973. This fascinating and lively video explains the origins of hip hop and how it spread to mainstream society.
Grades 9-12
Tulsa: the fire and the forgotten
What was the Greenwood district of Tulsa and what happened to it in 1921? This multimedia lesson offers many basic resources to help teachers address a challenging topic, as well as printables for students. Can be shared on Google Classroom.
Rosa Parks Biography
This is a civil rights story we all know, right? Well not really. Rosa Parks' story is not just that famous act of defiance on the bus. What many Americans don't realize is that Parks's civil rights activism spanned throughout her life, across decades and cities. This authoritative and comprehensive examination of Rosa Parks' life and activism reveals the depth of her commitment and contributions. Included is an interactive timeline, tutorials, and exercises. Ideal for grade 10-post secondary students.
The teacher who desegregated New York traffic
Everyone knows Rosa Parks. But do you know the story of Elizabeth Jennings? This detailed extract from America's First Freedom Rider: Elizabeth Jennings, Chester A. Arthur, and the Early Fight for Civil Rights is a fascinating look at a little-known but important civil rights episode that occurred not in the Deep South, but in New York City. Have her students read the story and then compare it to Rosa Parks' more well-known civil disobedience.
Veterans of the Bay Area Civil Rights Movement: Civil Rights Movement Archive
An extensive archive of photographs, documents, letters, articles, speeches, poetry, and more related to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Check out Teacher Resources, which provide lessons, activities, and how-tos to virtually connect students. students with the veterans of the freedom movement.
Library of Congress: Freed People Tell Their Stories
What was slavery really like? Go beyond the written documents and listen to the voices of the people who survived. This remarkable set of interviews with once-enslaved people was recorded between 1932 and 1975, in nine states. The original recordings are accompanied by transcriptions for careful study.
National Archives Educator Resources: The Slave Trade
Resources for educators to research the slave trade in American history, including primary source documents, teaching activities, and document analysis worksheets.
