Black History Month classroom activities for kids - Workybooks Blog (2024)

Reading Comprehension

Neha Goel Tripathi, PhDJan 21, 2023Jan 17, 2024

The importance of engaging in activities that can help children learn and grow cannot be understated. Here are some engaging and educational activities that you can include in your class:

1. Reading and comprehension based Black History Month activities
   Through reading and comprehension based activities, students can gain an in-depth understanding of the shaping and importance of civil rights struggles. Creating a lesson plan to highlight the accomplishments of Black Americans is an important way to recognize the vital role they have played in the development of our nation. This lesson plan can be adapted to fit any grade level and can serve as an excellent starting point to introduce this important topic.

2. Word search based Black History Month activities

Another activity I would recommend in the classroom is a word search featuring important figures and events in black history. Word search puzzles are a great way to help kids enhance their vocabulary and spelling skills. You can also make it a fun and competitive activity by timing how quickly each student can find all of the words.

Here are a few ideas for Black History Month word search puzzles for kids:

1. Famous Black Inventors: Create a word search with the names of famous Black inventors such as George Washington Carver, Lewis Latimer, and Elijah McCoy.
2. Civil Rights Leaders: Make a word search with the names of notable Civil Rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Harriet Tubman.
3. Black Women in History: Create a word search with the names of influential Black women throughout history, such as Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou, and Shirley Chisholm.
4. Black Musicians: Make a word search with the names of famous Black musicians such as Louis Armstrong
5. Black sport athletes : create a word search with the names of influential Black like Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Serena Williams

3. Quotes based Black History Month activities

Reading and discussing quotes can be discussion starters with kids to open up conversations about the struggles and progress of African Americans. Furthermore, quotes can also be used as a writing prompt for journaling or creative writing exercises. For reflecting on the quotes, you can consider the following questions:

-What is the message or lesson in the quote?
-What do you think the quote says about the time and place where it was spoken or written?
-How does the quote relate to your own experiences or perspectives?

Different quotes can be also used to teach important life lessons and help kids develop a positive outlook.

Here is a quote by Barack Obama.

Black History Month ELA Practice Bundle

Based on the recommended activities, we have curated an Black History Month Activity Bundle. Designed with fourth and fifth graders in mind, this teaching resource includes reading materials and in class activities for Black History Month.

The Reading and comprehension bundle contains passages on Rosa Parks, who is an iconic figure in the civil rights movement. Her refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for more than a year and brought the civil rights movement to national attention. Following the boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. led the historic March on Washington in 1963, which culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These events were instrumental in the fight for racial justice in the United States.

Furthermore, this bundle includes accomplishments of black Americans.

• What’s Included

  • 2 longer informational texts – The March on Washington and The Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • 6 shorter informational texts – famous Black inventors and their contributions
  • 18 flashcards on Black inventors with true or false activity and fill in the blanks activity
  • Word Search – Black History Month keywords (Grade 2-3
  • Word Search – Black History Month keywords (Grade 3-5)
  • Word Search – Martin Luther King Jr
  • Word Search – Barack Obama
  • Word Search – Madam CJ Walker
  • Poster – Serena Williams
  • Poster – Barack Obama
  • Poster – Stephen Curry
  • Quotes & comprehension questions – Martin Luther King Jr
  • Quotes & comprehension questions – Maya Angelou
  • Quotes & comprehension questions – Nelson Mandela
  • Quotes & comprehension questions – Barack Obama

At Workybooks, we are dedicated to collating interesting and informative knowledge to share with teachers and students. Our goal is to create an interactive and engaging learning experience that will help students learn and grow. So if you’re looking for new and innovative ways to keep your students engaged and excited about learning, be sure to visit us at learn.workybooks.com. We can’t wait to see you there!