As a Social Studies teacher, you fully understand the importance of honoring Black History Month and using meaningful Black History Month activities in your classroom. But there is pressure to keep up with your pacing guide, ensure students are meeting the learning targets, incorporate inquiry into your lessons, teaching during global pandemic, and … well, you don’t need me to list all the things. With all you have on your plate, it can feel overwhelming to give Black History Month the attention you know it deserves.
Instead of letting the feeling of being overwhelmed drive you away from effectively bringing Black History into your teaching during the month of February, give yourself grace, take a few deep breaths, and promise yourself that you will not let perfect become the enemy of good. (I have to tell myself this EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.)
Five great Black History Month activities for Middle School
These activities can reduce the stress of “one more thing” and instead make Black History Month visible and engaging for your middle school students.
1) Investigate local history – Students rarely think about the names of schools, libraries, and community centers in their community. Challenge your students to determine what places in your town, county, or state are named after Black Americans. Then, have students research those individuals. You can even put a group of responsible students in charge of reaching out to your local historical society or history museum for more information about Black History in your area. (Seriously, coach your students to do this – don’t put more work on yourself!)
2) Start with a great website – When middle school students research on the internet, they rarely make it past the first result. This takes the challenge and engagement out of research. Instead of giving students a topic or person to research and having them seek out websites, reverse it. Start with a high quality website that you have vetted and then have students research or seek out information within that site. Some quality websites I love for Black History Month are United States Civil Rights Trail and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
3) Bring in something daily – The importance of Black History Month will resonate more strongly with your students if they are learning something about Black History daily. It doesn’t have to be complicated, even a quick video, image, or question will help your students better connect with the importance of Black History Month. If you are looking for a way to incorporate Black History daily in your classroom, you can grab this Black History Month Daily Slides Freebie (yes, it’s free) featuring five influential Black Americans. Or, you can also get a whole month’s worth of slides with this Black History Month Daily Slides resource in my TpT store.
4) Collect your students prior knowledge, then widen the lens – Give your students a list of 30 or 40 well-known Black Americans and ask them to simply check which ones they learned about in earlier grades. You could do this on paper or on a Google Form. Do not make assumptions about the individuals you think they have learned about. You might discover almost all of them watched a movie about Ruby Bridges or know all about Serena Williams’ dominance in her sport. Once you know more about who your students know, try to focus their learning on important figures who are not already on their radar. This article from CNBC, published in 2021, is a great source for learning about present-day Black leaders.
5) Let your students choose – If your students love music and sports, allow them to learn more about the people and things they are passionate about. Then, use the power of small group presentations to help students learn about other individuals or topics outside of their area of interest. Choice will always raise the level of engagement in your Social Studies classroom.
Try to bring at least one of these Black History Month activities into your Middle School classroom, and remember that doing something is better than doing nothing. If you are in some way helping your students to better understand the important contributions of Black Americans, the struggle for rights and equality, and/or how our country’s past informs its present, then you are a rockstar Social Studies teacher and your students are lucky to have you.
