African American History Month Every Day: Every year in the month of February, the United States celebrates Black History Month, which is also referred to as African American History Month. The purpose of this celebration is to recognize the significant contributions that African Americans and other people of African descent have made to the country’s history.
This month is a wonderful opportunity to dig deep into history and facts in your classrooms, whether you’re instructing in person or remotely this year. With the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of 2020 and also the inauguration of Kamala Harris as the US vice-president, among other recent events, this month presents an excellent opportunity to do so.
African American History Month Every Day
One way to celebrate African American History Month every day is by incorporating into daily activities, or regular activities. This post provides a list of classroom activities for students to help incorporate African American History month every day.
Black History Month Classroom Activity Ideas
Use these activities for primary and secondary school children to celebrate Black History Month with your class, teach your kids about important persons in African-American history, and encourage your students to participate in arts and crafts projects.
1. Cut-And-Paste Timeline:
The progression of the civil rights movement over the course of several decades was influenced in significant ways by a number of important events. In order to properly prepare your students for this project, you should first have a conversation with them about the differences between civil issues and equal movements.
Explain why civil rights are rights, both written and unwritten, that are granted to anybody who is a citizen of the United States of America or who is a member of a civil society. A collection of individuals working together toward a common goal through a series of coordinated actions constitutes a movement. Then, hand out this worksheet and direct your pupils to conduct independent research to fill in the blanks regarding nine significant events that transpired throughout the civil rights struggle. After finishing the activity, you should have your students cut out each event, arrange them in the correct chronological order, and then glue, tape, or paste them to a bit of paper. They should then present their results to the rest of the class. Encourage them to give their timeline a title that is both colorful and descriptive.
2. Persuasive Essay
Throughout the course of history, a significant number of Black people have provided invaluable contributions to the globe. Instruct students to prepare essays with the purpose of persuading the United States Postal Service to produce a new stamp honoring a historically significant and prominent Black person. They are obligated to provide an explanation for their selection as well as the contribution that the individual has made to the world.
It’s possible that they want to highlight the important election of Kamala Harris to the position of Vice President of the United States, the contributions that Katherine Johnson made to the fields of science and space research, or Stevie Wonder’s legacy in the music industry. Have the students read their writings aloud to one another, or have them turn them in for additional credit. This might be a great opportunity for you to instruct your pupils on how to correctly write in a convincing tone and voice, as well as study the structure of paragraphs and essays.
This presents another opportunity for students to have a voice in the governance of their country! The United States Postal Service is interested in hearing people’s ideas for stamp designs that “highlight the American experience.” The requirements for choosing a stamp subject are outlined on the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS), as is the procedure for sending the request. Assist the children in following the appropriate selection process, & make sure they are informed that the USPS most likely receives a large number of ideas, which means the likelihood of theirs being chosen is minimal.
3. Writing Prompts
You can educate your kids about Black pioneers of the old and new with the help of these writing prompts for Black History Month that were created by a teacher for fourth graders named Perry Hollins. After that, your pupils can draw parallels between the experiences of these figures and their own lives. In response to each writing challenge, students first investigate the life of a Black pioneer, then consider an aphorism uttered by the figure, and finally tackle the assignment. The writing styles of narrative, informative, and persuasive writing are some of the topics that are addressed by the prompts.
4. Crossword Puzzle On Civil Rights
Download this crossword puzzle about black history, complete with an answer key for instructors, and give it to your students so they may test their knowledge of this topic. The course covers a variety of topics, such as civil rights protests, slavery in the U.s, important people, and related holidays. Students in the fourth through eighth grades would benefit tremendously from engaging in this activity.
5. Dictionary Of Black Leaders
Students have the opportunity to compile a biographical dictionary that includes one or two paragraphs (along with pictures) about Black leaders who were instrumental in the civil rights movement. If you want to take this activity one step further, you can have students focus on any Black leader in the history of the United States. They have the option of selecting anywhere from three to five leaders that they believe had the most significant impact on the history of the United States and explaining why the achievements of those persons deserve to be recognized.
After that, students can go deeper into the significance of each historical figure by analyzing the part they played in history, the events they affected, and the legacy they left behind. Students should be instructed on how to locate reputable sources online, how to create a bibliography, and how to improve their writing as they are given this opportunity. Your students can share their completed projects with one another and receive feedback from their classmates, or they can present them to the entire class.
6. Explore Famous Black Scientists In History
African American History Month Every Day Edit: You can download those posters, print them out, and either hang them up in your classroom or hand them out to your kids if you’re interested in learning more about notable African American scientists throughout history. This pastime can be carried out in a wide variety of different ways. You could simply have a discussion in the classroom about the legacies of any of these scientists, or you could encourage your students to dig deeper and create their own separate list of great Black scientists—or even narrow it down to impactful Black pioneers in specific scientific fields, such as chemical reactions or mathematics. Either way, you have options. You could simply have a discussion in the classroom about the histories of each of these scientists. Your students can construct their own posters to place on a bulletin board and write about the lives, accomplishments, and legacy that these individuals continue to leave today.
7. Black History Month Challenge Quiz
Instruct the pupils to learn about Black history by using this brief multiple-choice test. In addition to that, there is a key for teachers to use. You have the option of having students turn this in for a grade, or you can have them work in teams & determine which group properly answers the most questions.
8. Word Search And Definitions
Students can download a word search that covers topics linked to African-American history and contains some of those topics. After the students have found all of the words on the list, they should define each term. You are responsible for determining the specifics of what they really want to include in their definitions; for the month of February, your homework assignment / extra credit project could be to write a brief paragraph on each term.
9. Read Books About Black History
You can learn about the triumphant as well as tragic experiences of people of African descent in the US by reading one of the many books that are available regarding black history.
One such example is Kadir Nelson’s illustrated version of “The Undefeated.” Both the Caldecott Medal for Children’s Literature in 2020 and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards were bestowed upon the publication. In addition to that, author & poet Kwame Alexander was awarded a Newbery Honor for the book.
The wonderfully created collection of poetry doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to depicting the hardships Africans endured en route to and upon arrival in the United States; nonetheless, the material is presented in a manner that is simple for children to process and comprehend. In addition to addressing topics such as the atrocities of slavery, the achievements of the civil rights struggle, and the deeds of significant Black personalities, this book highlights themes such as resolve, self-actualization, and resilience.
African American History Month Every Day: Conclusion
To end this post, Black History Month or African American History Month should be celebrated every day, every month, not just during February. Use these activities to help keep things rolling throughout the year.