February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and integral societal contributions made by African Americans . This year, we want to help you commemorate this important month with some resources for your interactive display.
Below are links to websites, articles, and videos that will help your students learn more about black history and culture. We hope you find them helpful for enriching your teaching experience this month!
What is Black History Month and when is it?
Every February, Black History Month is celebrated throughout the United States.
This month-long celebration is held to honor African Americans and their central role in U.S. history.
While it is extremely important to include Black History lessons in your classroom throughout the year, consider February the pinnacle of ongoing education.
If you’re looking for lesson plans and activities, we have some great ideas for you below.
Why you should include black history in lesson plans
The contributions of African Americans may have been overshadowed but are still equally as important as any other history lesson. Students should understand the influence and contributions of all races, ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds to society.
Take the steps to incorporate these helpful resources into your classroom this year. Your students will become more well-rounded individuals with an enhanced appreciation for diversity due to your efforts.
BHM: People
This Google Play app pairs perfectly with your Promethean interactive display. Turn your panel into a slideshow presentation of famous African Americans who made history. Your class can flip through the slides to learn about Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, and more.
This app is suitable for all ages, with a variety of categories to choose from.
You can turn slides into presentations for students, supplemental information for projects, or as a reading exercise for an English class.
BHM: Trivia
What better way to engage a classroom than through a fun trivia game?
This Black History Month, challenge your students with this comprehensive game. The thousands of questions mean that you can use this app at the end of lessons every day this month without anyone getting bored.
BHM: Quotes
Looking to prompt your students this February? Invite them to reflect on this collection of famous quotes by Black Americans.
You’ll find over 3,000 quotes made famous throughout history, including Martin Luther King Jr.’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech.
This app is the perfect jumping-off point for projects, discussions, and history lessons.
Learning for Justice
Learning for Justice is a website with lesson plans and classroom resources dedicated to helping reduce prejudice in schools. These lesson plans are ideal for year-round education.
You can visit their website here: www.learningforjustice.org
You’ll find lesson plans, activities, and assessments to help reduce prejudice in your classroom one lesson at a time.
Ken Burns in the Classroom via PBS
One of our favorite black history lesson plans comes from PBS LearningMedia. This series of videos by Ken Burns is about history in America.
They have reduced his myriad of documentaries into micro learning. b
These videos are best used in middle school or high school classes, as some of the material covers more advanced subjects.
Smithsonian Learning Lab on Civil Rights
The Smithsonian developed this resource full of lesson plans and quizzes for students to learn more about civil rights in America. Although this may seem like it can only be used in a history class, they share ways to meld civil rights stories into science, art, and language classes.
With their online text, images, and audio, it’s easy to develop an interactive lesson that you can teach with your interactive whiteboard.
How an interactive whiteboard can help your black history month lessons
All of the apps, websites and lesson plans listed above can be used with an interactive whiteboard (also called an interactive display). For example, you can pull up the Black History Trivia app on your display and use the timer app for extra fun while students answer. You can also use the mirroring app to share your screen with student tablets for increased engagement with presentations.
If you have an interactive display or whiteboard and are looking for more tips and ticks, check out our blog.
If you’re interested in learning about the Promethean ActivPanel and all it can bring to your classroom, speak with one of our experts and request your FREE demo today!
