Activities for Black History Month

By Angela Padrón

There are several activities that teachers can use in the classroom to celebrate Black History Month. And these activities can span across several different subject areas in order to provide a well-rounded education about such an important topic.

Some examples include:

Art & Music

• Have students choose a famous African American and find several images of the person or related to that person’s accomplishments. Then have students cut out the images and create a collage.
• Students can learn about famous African American artists and create art pieces in those artists’ styles.
• Introduce students to jazz and the blues. Have students learn about famous musicians of African decent and play examples of their music. Students can learn different dance styles or create art inspired by the different songs.  Have students compare these types of music with more modern styles, such as rap and hip hop, that also have African American influence.
• Discuss the different tones of skin color of people of African decent. Create a project using different skin tone colored paper or paint.
• Teach students the songs of the Civil Rights movements, such as “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome.”

Language Arts & History

• Have students research and write a report about a famous African American. Students can play “wax museum” in which they dress up like the famous person and stand near their report or poster while students from other classrooms walk by and learn about their designated person.
• Have students conduct interviews with each other as if they were a famous African American. Discuss the terms “point of view”, “first and secondhand accounts” as well as “biography”.
• Read different books about famous African Americans and have students write a book review or make a creative book report, such as a diorama or advertisement for the book.
• Introduce students to various African American poets and have students write their own poem about Black History Month.
• Have students discuss the significance of Brown v. Board of Education and actions by famous people such as Ruby Bridges to end segregation in schools. Have students compare and contrast schools in the past and today.

As you can see, there are many fun and educational ways to teach about Black History Month. You may actually need more than a month to teach them all!