MAIN Education Black History Month Lesson Plans

February is Black History Month and teachers in all schools are given the opportunity to enhance the understanding of the role of African Americans in helping to build America.

The rich cultural heritage of black Americans combines strands from all of the paths that led to today's tapestry of music, art and literature coming from the black community.

Jazz, blues, hip hop and other musical styles all have their roots in the history of people of color in the United States. African and Caribbean influences flavor not only the art we enjoy, but add to the foods we set on our tables. Learning more about the roots of black history adds to the understanding of all history. These resources offer good ideas to help make black history live in your classroom...

Thomson Gale Resources for Black History Month - Those of you familiar with Infotrac won't be surprised to find "a collection of activities and information to complement classroom topics." A downloadable wall calendar, a timeline of African-American heritage events, literature, famous Black Americans and their contributions and more...

Black History Hotlist - Another great collection of links to everything you ever wanted know including Black History Month, slavery, the Underground Railroad, related speeches and poems, the civil rights movement, the Million Man March, related news, people, and more. Courtesy of Education First.

The BRITTANICA Guide to Black History: Timeline - Human interest, in the form of illustrated biographies of the rich and famous to historically significant African Americans throughout history, from 1517 to the present. And surf around the rest of the site for audio and video files, an A-Z list of related articles, black history links, and a comprehensive study guide.

Curriculum Article - Black History on the Internet - The intro to the article on Education World says it all, "Explore the best Black History sites for primary, middle, and high school level students. Activity and lesson ideas included!" Ideas for classroom activities are backed up by a long list of online resources to make your lesson planning a breeze.

African American World - A beautifully presented resource by PBS featuring historical timelines, games and ecards for the kids, reference and teaching resources, related links and more.

Design a Postage Stamp for Black History Month - A well designed art lesson that incorporates resources for research into black history to pick the subject of the stamp as well as the artistic skills that are needed to put the design on paper.

Understanding and Appreciating Poetry: Afro-Americans and Their Poetry - The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute offers a great Curriculum Unit geared to sixth graders, but easily adaptable for other levels. Includes lesson plans, resources, teaching tools and more...

More Resources for Black History Month

Black History Poems | Famous African-Americans | Black History Quotes

Black History Lesson Plans | BLACK HISTORY MONTH

also see in Holidays ->  MLK Day | President's Day

also see in People in the News -> Barack Obama