Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid revolutionary. Beyoncé Knowles, bestselling music artist. Louis Armstrong, jazz pioneer. Maya Angelou, award-winning writer and poet. The list of inspiring figures in black history goes on, but how much do your students know about their achievements?
October is Black History Month, the time of year when the culture, history and achievements of black and ethnic minority communities take centre stage. Here’s our mix of lesson ideas and resources to help you bring the event to life now and throughout the year.
Primary schools
Kick off with this assembly from Twinkl, which looks at what Black History Month is and why it’s held. Introduce significant figures such as Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela and Wilfred Wood, the first black bishop in the Church of England. Back in the classroom, students could research and write the biography of a historical figure of their choice in one of these themed frames, or they could work in groups to create a timeline showing the history of black people in Britain.
You can cover a wide range of topics during Black History Month, including the civil rights movement and heroes of sport, music and entertainment. The theme this year is “community heroes”, so get students to work in groups to find examples of black people they admire in their own communities, now or in the past. You could even approach a local library to ask if students’ work could be put on display there.
Make sure your classroom is dressed for the celebration with this set of Guardian posters, produced by teacher Gaverne Bennet. The first looks at black history from 150,000 BC, when the first modern humans migrated from Africa, through to Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first black president of the US in 2009. The second includes the first World Cup in Africa and Malorie Blackman’s appointment as children’s laureate in 2013. If students were planning a similar wallchart in the run up to the 90th anniversary of Black History Month in 2016, what events would they include?
If you’re looking for alternative ways to celebrate, you could focus on one historical figure all month or visit a black or African history museum. Give young students some food for thought with a bit of classroom cookery, getting them to make easy Afro-Carribean inspired recipes, such as these reggae reggae nachos. Task students with compiling a playlist of music by black artists and invite some elderly black members of the community into school to talk about their own stories.
Related: Teach black students they can change communities – they don’t have to escape
There are lots of ways you can explore Black History Month across the curriculum using these resources from Education City: try making African tribal masks in art; in design technology you could create board games about important figures in black history such as Mary Seacole; or in science, you could investigate black inventors.
Secondary schools
Celebrate with older students by stepping outside the classroom. The National Archives has some wonderful events taking place, including a free video conference for key stage 3 students from 20-22 October. Students will be invited to listen to the arguments of a slave trader before meeting Olaudah Equiano, a slave who is fighting for the trade’s abolition. Using original documents, students must find evidence to help Equiano build a case. You can prepare your students for the challenge with this teaching pack and the video below.
Another great resource from the National Archives is Caribbean Histories Revealed. It explores the history of the British Caribbean through government documents, photographs and maps dating from the 17th century to the 1920s. There’s also an extraordinary collection of images, taken from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office photographic collection which spans more than 100 years. Students could select an image as a stimulus for a piece of creative writing.
After delving into the past, bring your black history lessons bang up to date with this assembly from Into Film. It shines a light on black filmmakers working in the industry today, with clips, interviews and activities to encourage young people to find out more about black culture. It is accompanied by an assembly which uses Ava DuVernay’s powerful drama, Selma, to stimulate awareness and discussion around issues of civil rights and the civil rights movement. Use these resources to inspire students to tell their own stories using film.
News articles are another good way to reflect on issues relevant to Black History Month. This article focuses on Nelson Mandela’s legacy to humanity while this article looks at the 50th anniversary of America’s Civil Rights Act. As a follow up task, groups could create timelines of either 20th century South African history or the American civil rights movement. For more articles related to Black History Month, check out The Day.
Related: Mary Seacole and the primary curriculum debate: a teacher’s perspective
It’s also vital to honour the contributions of LGBT black figures in history by introducing students to prominent icons. Ask your class to research these figures and put together a presentation on their achievements. You can also help their stories resonate with these posters.
Finally, stimulate discussion about the purpose of Black History Month with this assembly plan by TrueTube. It uses a selection of videos to explore whether Black History Month is a force for good, or whether it means that the history of black people is ignored during the rest of the year, as argued in this video by Dr Hakim Adi. What ideas do students have for celebrating black history throughout the year? Supporting resources for key stage 4 include this lesson plan about racism in Britain and this resource about the benefits and challenges of living in a multicultural society.
For more ideas, see these How to teach… articles about slavery, refugees, immigration, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.
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Source:How to teach… Black History Month 2015