Black History Projects for Middle Schools

February is Black History Month, a time when teachers try to find lesson plans and activities to engage their students. This is particularly challenging for middle-school teachers because preteen and young teenage students tend to be egocentric. Finding lessons that will not only interest them but excite them is a task that sometimes feels insurmountable. With a little imagination and some research, Black History Month can be a success in every middle-school classroom.

Read a Book

Gather a collection of biographies on famous black men and women, and novels written by black authors. Make sure you have three or four copies of each title. Present the books to the students with a brief overview and let them choose a book on which to focus.

Once each student has chosen a novel, break them up into groups by book and have them read the book using Literature Circles. After the novel is completed, have the students come up with a project about their book to present to the rest of the class.

Write a Paper

One of the most basic assignments for learning about people in history is a research paper. Put together a list of great black people from history to modern day and let the students choose one about whom to write a research paper. Make sure there is adequate information available in the school library and/or online for the student to do a good job with the research paper. Supply a rubric so the students know exactly what the focus of the research paper should be.

Reinvent the Invention

Put together a list of inventions by black inventors. Have the students choose an invention and do research on the invention and the inventor. The students learn new respect for the scientist and invention when they are assigned to take an invention and adapt it in a way that makes the invention useful in their everyday lives. This is a good cross-curricular activity. The students use science and possibly math in creating their invention. They meet language-arts standards by reading, researching and writing.

References

• Black History Month Ideas
• Black History Activities

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