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Celebrate African American History Month

February is the perfect time to honor and celebrate famous African Americans. Discover interactives, lesson plans, videos, and more in this week's featured sites! 

Grades K-12

Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Black History

This easy-to-follow list offers simple ideas and guidelines for making Black history lessons meaningful and relevant. Use the information in the article as a guideline for teaching Black history throughout the year.

Grades 2-5

Biographies with BrainPOP Jr. - Rosa Parks

Teach early elementary learners about civil rights activist Rosa Parks using this mini unit. The site includes a short, engaging video, comprehension quizzes, an interactive mind map creator, writing and drawing prompts, and discussion topics.

Grades 4-12

African American Artists

Explore an extensive collection of African American art provided by the National Gallery of Art. This collection includes works in a variety of mediums, including photographs, sculptures, and paintings. Click to view a summary of the work to learn more.

Grades 4-12

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection Stories

These captivating stories focus on items from historical events and famous people. Use the search bar to find titles like “Dress for the Occasion” where you can view the dress Carlotta Walls wore on her first day at Little Rock Central High School.

Grades 5-12

Freedom's Ring

Freedom's Ring is an interactive website that provides an immersive multimedia experience that gives students an in-depth look into the civil rights period of American history. Students can also explore Dr. King’s famous speech.

Grades 6-12

Unpublished Black History

Browse unpublished images from The New York Times’s archives (including short background information about the picture's subject) published daily during Black History Month. Share the photos daily at the start of class.

Grades 6-12

Black History Month

Check out the featured activity, a lesson plan that explores the role of artists and artwork in the civil rights movement. Primary source documents serve as the basis for the learning activities.

Grades 6-12

34 Highly Influential African-American Scientists

Scroll through this list to learn about a pioneering ophthalmologist, a woman physicist who advanced the field of telecommunications, a physician who developed a tool for use with gastric biopsies, and more. Each entry includes biographical information.

Grades 6-12

Black History Milestones: Timeline

Learn about important events in Black history in the United States, starting with the arrival of 20 enslaved people brought to the British colony of Virginia in 1619 and continuing through present times. This timeline updates frequently, so check back.

Grades 6-12

Mary McLeod Bethune

Using an excerpt from an interview with Mary McLeod Bethune, this lesson guides students through an exploration of Bethune's life and comparisons to their own life experiences. This lesson also includes extension activities and prompts.

Grades 7-12

Celebrating Black History Month - Collection

Peruse this excellent collection of poems, articles, and podcasts to help you discover African American history and culture. Find poems and podcasts from Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, Gwendolyn Brooks, and many others.

Grades 8-12

Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Share Ma Rainey's song "Black Bottom" with your students. The song is set in 1920s Chicago and deals with themes of Black art and culture, racial tension, and power. This was the theme song for August Wilson's play in 1982 and a Netflix movie.

Grades 8-12

The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement

Integrate this lesson into your teaching about civil rights, freedom fighters, or the 1960s to engage students in learning about this period through music. This lesson plan includes six teaching activities that focus on civil rights activists.

Grades 8-12

The Sojourner Truth Project

Explore the different versions and background behind changes in Sojourner Truth's 1851 "Aint I a Woman?" speech. The most well-known version of the speech was modified in 1863 and misrepresents the original speech’s words and intentions.

This Week at TeachersFirst

Engage in professional learning this week during an upcoming OK2Ask virtual workshop, our bimonthly Twitter chat, and on our Infusing Technology blog. Stop by and say hello if you're attending the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) conference and remember to give your input in our weekly poll!