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BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Curriculum Overview
Black History Month is a special event research-based curriculum. Students view video interview segments featuring black Americans who have made significant contributions in public service. These interviews serve as a springboard for their own research in various subject areas. A list of online resources is provided to support student research.
Viewing/Facilitation Strategies
- Introduce the Black History Month topic and video segments. Ask students to share their knowledge about the history and contributions of African Americans.
- View the video segments as a class, in small groups, or individually.
- Facilitate student selection of one of the research projects listed below which fits their interests and grade level.
Rosa Parks Tribute Project: Create a multimedia slide show or a print scrapbook that describes the life of Rosa Parks. Describe in detail what it was like for her and other African Americans to live in the segregated south under the shadow of Jim Crow laws. Highlight the day on the bus when she refused to give up her seat, her arrest, and the following Montgomery Bus Boycott. Detail how she has continued to work for civil rights her entire life. Include text, maps, illustrations,, photos, and testimonial quotes about her. Present your tribute to the class.
From Segregation to Civil Rights: Dynamic Timeline Project
Use your research information and creativity to develop a dynamic timeline that traces the history of the civil rights movement. Either using the computer or paper, incorporate text, quotes from the Academy, illustrations, photos, etc. to profile the major events and the heroic people who ended segregation. Present your timeline to the class and take classmates on the journey from segregation to civil rights. Explain how this movement strengthened our American constitutional democracy.
Searching for the American Dream: Script Work:
Use your research information and creativity to develop a script for a one-act play or radio program about Black Americans Πstruggle to achieve the American Dream. It could be a drama that focuses on a dialogue between characters or a monologue that profiles one person's point of view and experience. Use your research from the Academy of Achievement to get different points of view from famous Black Americans. Use your historical research to compare and contrast current views with those from African Americans from different periods in history. Use your imagination. What would happen if Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman sat down together a talked about the American Dream?
Hall of Fame Project:
Develop a multimedia or three-dimensional plan for a Black American Hall of Fame. Select 5-10 African Americans who you believe exhibited the qualities of exceptional citizens. These should be individuals, famous or not, who have inspired others with their civic actions on behalf of others and their work for the common good. For each of the ten exhibits in the hall of fame, write a tribute to this person in the form of a short essay, poem, or biography.
The Colin Powell Story: Web Site Design Project
The Honorable.Colin Powell, the first African American Secretary of State, was born in Harlem in 1937 to Jamaican immigrant parents. His personal journey through discrimination to achievement is inspiring to young people of all races. Review the complete interview, biography, and profile of Colin Powell in the Gallery of Achievement. Design a web page to spotlight his personal history, struggles, achievements, and views on the importance of active citizenship. Include information about his military career and why this type of public service was important to his development as a leader. Include quotes from Powell that you believe are good advice for today's teenagers about to come of age as citizens of the United States.
The Roots of Culture
Use online sources and the Gallery of Arts to select one art form strongly influenced by the creativity and talent of black Americans and artists. Write a research paper about the beginning and evolution of this art form in America. To accompany your essay, create a visual map that traces the influence of this art form on other areas of American artistic and cultural life. Identify and profile the key artists that developed and popularized this art form. Comment on how this art form has contributed to and further unified the shared culture of the American people. How is it reflective of democratic principles?
This is the Place!
Develop a multimedia slide show or research paper that focuses on the contributions of black artists and art forms in a particular American city. For example, review the information in the Galleries of Achievement about jazz in New Orleans, blues in Chicago, and theater like Raisin in the Sun in New York..Make a link between geography, history, and an art form that showcased the artistic contribution of Black artists.
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