How to Incorporate Black History Month into Literacy Centers
February might be a short month, but it is chock full of holidays! Valentine's Day and Groundhog Day each have their spot on the calendar, but Black History is a month-long celebration of those who have helped shaped our nation. By incorporating Black History Month into your literacy centers, you allow students to explore American history, while still working on those fundamental skills. Today I am sharing with you seven different ways you can let students experience Black History in your literacy block and classroom all month long.
Include books about historical figures for Black History Month
Set up a reading corner with books about Black history and culture, such as biographies of notable figures
Use your class library to display books for Black History Month and showcase historical figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglass - to name a few!
Create a writing center with prompts related to Black history and culture.
Create a writing center with prompts related to Black history and culture.
Writing centers with prompts related to historical figures like Bessie Coleman encourage students to learn about history while introducing them to heroes they might know now about yet!
Book clubs are a great way to engage students with history.
Host a book club or literature circle focused on books about Black history and culture.
Your students will love doing book club during your Daily 5 or literacy block time. This is a great time to include historical fiction and tie to real life events that happened.
Create a timeline of important events in Black history in your classroom.
Create a timeline of important events in Black history
Incorporate Black history and culture into existing lesson plans and activities. For example, students could write a report on a notable Black figure or create a timeline of important events in Black history.
Posters are a powerful way to show accomplishments.
Display posters and other visual aids related to Black history and culture in the literacy center
Posters are a powerful way to display accomplishments for Black History Month. You could do this in your classroom and/or the hallway at school. Students could even create their own posters.
Your students will love using multimedia like podcasts to learn more about Black History Month.
Use multimedia resources, such as videos and podcasts, to supplement lessons and activities in the literacy center
With so much technology at our fingertips, your students will have a blast listening to podcasts to learn about historical figures during Black History Month. I recommend checking all multimedia resources before having your class listen to them.
Encourage students to create their own materials, such as poems or artwork, to share with the class or display in the literacy center
Displaying your students’ poems and artwork in your literacy centers will not only encourage them to keep learning about Black History Month, but it will also be a great way to celebrate people in history who have paved the way for all of us.
How do you celebrate Black History Month in your classroom? Tell me in the comments!
Looking for ZERO prep, easy to use activities for your literacy centers during Black History Month? You’ll love all my historical figures including Black History Influential Men and Woman Activities Bundle.