Black History Month First Grade Lessons
Historian Carter G. Woodson started Negro History Week in February, 1926 as a way for African-American communities to celebrate and educate about African American achievements. In 1976, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History expanded the celebration to a month-long period. First-grade educators can teach their students about Black History by building lesson plans around the history and achievements of African-Americans.
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Prejudice and Discrimination
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Teachers can explore the concepts of prejudice and discrimination during Black History Month. Children do not have to learn these solely on race; educators can use eye color, religion, or height to present the concepts of segregation and unfounded belief. This lesson can end with a reading of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech or an event celebrating his birthday. First-graders can read books such as Carolivia Herron’s “Nappy Hair” or Sharon Dennis Wyeth’s “Something Beautiful.”
African-American Achievements
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Educators also can use Black History Month lessons to celebrate the artistic, scientific, literary and business achievements of African-Americans. Teachers could introduce one achievement, invention or work of art each day and discuss its significance. Sample lesson plans might focus on prolific inventor George Washington Carver, the books of author Ralph Ellison, Black Entertainment Television Founder Robert L. Johnson, the history of jazz music or the Harlem Renaissance. Students also could learn about the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-African-American brigade that fought in World War II.
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Civil Rights History
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Teachers can tie in discussions of prejudice and discrimination to lesson plans about the history of civil rights. Students can learn that differences in skin color led to different treatment and that many businesses and fields of employment once forbid admittance to African-Americans. Educators can talk about integration in sports, movies and politics by discussing the careers of, for example, Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier and Barack Obama. A discussion of some of the landmark changes can include an overview of Freedom Marches and a lesson about the importance of Rosa Parks and the practice of “sit ins.”
Famous African-Americans
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Each day’s lesson could celebrate the life of a famous or important person or group from black history. Educators can organize these in a historical progression, starting with Colonial America and progressing to famous 21st century African-Americans such as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, economist Thomas Sowell and musician Usher. Teachers can download and printout coloring pages of famous African-Americans that the students can fill in as an activity.
Historic Events and Places
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Lessons also can focus on important events and places. A sample lesson might discuss the Birmingham jail where Martin Luther King Jr. spent a night. Teachers also could use the black diaspora from the south in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help students learn about the geography of black history.
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References
- Association for the Study of African American Life and History: The History of Black History Month
- Teacher Vision: Popular Black History Month Lesson Plans, Grades K-5
- Family Education: Books for Black History Month, by Age
- Apples 4 the Teacher: Interactive Black History and Famous African American coloring book pages for kids
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images
