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 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.
  
  Suggested Web Resources:
  African-American Biographies — Student-friendly profile research.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Books, photos, and historical collections.
  Celebrate Black History Month — Background resources and media.
  Submitted by: Fannie Sexton
• The Power of Story: Oral Traditions Grades K-3 This lesson introduces younger children to the importance of Griot culture in West Africa and how stories were used to preserve history. Students will listen to a traditional folk tale, such as those of Anansi the Spider, and discuss how history is preserved through the voices of our elders rather than just in books. The activity involves students drawing a "story quilt" square that represents a positive memory or value from their own family. These squares are then taped together to show how individual stories create a community's history. It is a great way to build a sense of heritage and connection in the classroom.
  Suggested Web Resources:
  Africans in America — Historical context and stories from PBS.
  Africans in America Teacher Guide — Classroom-ready extension ideas.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Primary-source collections.
  Submitted by: The Teacher's Corner
• Innovation and Everyday Life Grades 4-6 Focusing on the "Hidden Figures" of science and industry, this lesson shows that Black history is woven into the fabric of daily life. This lesson highlights inventors like Garrett Morgan (the three-light traffic signal) or Gladys West (GPS technology). After researching a specific inventor, students participate in a "Shark Tank" style presentation where they must explain how the world would be different today without that specific invention. By emphasizing themes of perseverance and brilliance in the face of systemic obstacles, students learn to appreciate the technical contributions that often go unmentioned in standard history books.
  Suggested Web Resources:
  African-American Biographies — Quick research starting point.
  Celebrate Black History Month — Multimedia overviews and profiles.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Deeper source materials.
  Submitted by: The Teacher's Corner
• The Art of Resistance and Joy Grades 7-9 This lesson for middle schoolers explores the Harlem Renaissance as a movement of self-determination and cultural pride. Students analyze the poetry of Langston Hughes or the paintings of Jacob Lawrence to see how art was used to challenge stereotypes and claim a new identity. The core of the lesson is a "creative response" project where students choose a contemporary social issue and express their perspective through a medium of their choice—poetry, digital art, or music—mirroring the way Black artists used their craft to advocate for change and document the Black experience.
  Suggested Web Resources:
  AfriClassical.com — Black composers, music, and historical context.
  National Museum of African Art — Artwork collections and exhibits.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Literature and arts resources.
  Submitted by: The Teacher's Corner
• 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.
  Suggested Web Resources:
  African-American Biographies — Good source for certificate candidates.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Credible facts and images for student references.
  Celebrate Black History Month — Supplemental biographies and context.
• Digital Reconstruction of History Grades 10-12 This advanced lesson challenges students to look beyond the "great man" theory of history by researching the local impact of the Civil Rights Movement or the Great Migration. Students utilize digital archives and primary sources—such as old newspaper clippings, census records, or oral histories—to map how major historical shifts affected their specific region or state. The final project involves creating a digital "story map" or a short documentary-style video that connects local landmarks or families to the national narrative of Black History. This helps high schoolers understand that history is not a static list of dates, but a living, breathing series of events that shaped the very streets they walk on today.
  Suggested Web Resources:
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Archival documents and collections.
  I Have a Dream Speech (Transcript) — Primary-text analysis option.
  Africans in America — Background context for mapping projects.
  Submitted by: The Teacher's Corner
• 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.
  
  Suggested Web Resources:
  African-American Biographies — Useful for selecting card subjects.
  African-American Mosaic (Library of Congress) — Strong primary and secondary source support.
  Black Baseball's Negro Baseball Leagues — Topic-specific profile content.
  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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 Web Sites

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)

This indicates resources located on The Teacher's Corner.

EMAIL us your favorite Black History Month Activity!

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