Black History Theme Unit

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February Theme Units and Daily Themes

Black History
Theme Unit

Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

Plays:  Reader's Theater Scripts
     Mr. Bear and His Grapes: An African-American Tale (Grades 2-3)
     Mr. Sparrow and His Big Mouth (Grades 2-4)
     How the Dog Came to Live With Man (Grades 3-4)
     K.C.'s Dream (Grades 3-6)
     The Poor Man and the Snake (Grades 4-5)

Short Reading Comprehensions
Very Quick Readers
     Madam C.J. Walker (Very Quick Reader; Grades 3-5 Readability)
     G.W. Carver: Not Just Peanut Butter (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-5 Readability)
     Rosa Parks (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-5 Readability)
     Prize for Peace (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-5 Readability)
     Eatonville (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     Phillis Wheatley (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     Thurgood Marshall (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     UniverSoul Circus (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     Michelle Obama (Very Quick Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     Peace - Martin Luther King, Jr. (Very Quick Reader; Grades 5-7 Readability)
     Buffalo Soldiers (Very Quick Reader; Grades 5-7 Readability)
     Freedom's Journal (Very Quick Reader; Grades 5-7 Readability)

Short Readers
     Harriet Tubman (Short Reader; Grades 3-4 Readability)
     Venture Smith (Short Reader; Grade 3-5 Readability)
     Courage - Ain't I a Woman? (Short Reader; Grades 4-6 Readability)
     Oprah Winfrey, Broadcasting Powerhouse (Short Reader; Grades 5-7 Readability)
     Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Short Reader; Grades 5-8 Readability)
     Colin Powell (Short Reader; Grades 6-8 Readability)
     First Lady and Public Servant (Short Reader; Grades 6-8 Readability)
     Salem Poor (Short Reader; Grades 6-8 Readability)
     Prince Whipple (Short Reader; Grades 7-8 Readability)

Spanish
     La Sra. C. J. Walker (grades 3-5)
     G.W. Carver: no sólo mantequilla de maní (grades 4-5)
     Rosa Parks (grades 4-5)
     Eatonville (grades 4-6)
     Phillis Wheatley (grades 4-6)
     Thurgood Marshall (grades 4-6)
     Soldados Búfalo (grades 5-7)
     Periódico Freedom's Journal (grades 5-7)
     Venture Smith (grades 3-5)
     Coraje. ¿Acaso no soy una mujer? (grades 4-6)
     Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (grades 5-8)
     Colin Powell (grades 6-8)
     Primera dama y empleada del gobierno (grades 6-8)

Make a Daily Black History Activity Lesson Plan Book

Daily Black History Activity Lesson Plan Book

Reading Comprehensions
Early History
     Did They Land Before Columbus? (Grades 4-5)
     Estevanico the Explorer (Grades 4-5)

Slave Trade
     Early Slave Trade (Grades 4-5)
     Letter from a Slave Ship (Grades 5-6)
     Immigrants Against Their Will (Grades 5-9)
     The Slave Trade (Grades 7-8)

Colonial America (1492-1765)
     Black Literature Leaders (Grades 4-5)
     Benjamin Banneker - Who Was He? (Grades 4-5)
     Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable - Father of Chicago (Grades 4-5)
     Fugitive Slave Laws (Grades 4-5)
     Rebellions (Grades 4-5)
     Crispus Attucks (Grades 4-6)
     Slavery (Grades 5-7)

A New Nation (1780-1830)
     Prosser's Rebellion (Grades 5-7)
     Life Stories - Slave Narratives (Grades 5-7)
     Response to a Slave Rebellion - Nat Turner's Rebellion (Grades 6-8)

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806)
     York: Explorer/Slave

A Nation Divided: Leading up to the Civil War (1840-1861)
     Sengbe and the Amistad - "Give Us Free!" (Grades 2-3)
     Delaware and the Underground Railroad (Grades 2-4)
     William Lloyd Garrison (Grades 4-5)
     Frederick Douglass (Grades 4-5)
     The American Colonization Society (Grades 4-5)
     Amistad (Grades 4-5)
     Harriet Beecher Stowe (Grades 4-5)
     Compromises (Grades 4-5)
     Abolitionists and the Underground Railroad (Grades 5-7)
     Slavery, Compromises and Dred Scott (Grades 5-7)
     Slave Life (Grades 5-7)
     Slave Economy (Grades 7-9)
     Slavery and the Law (Grades 7-9)
     Underground Railroad (Grades 7-9)
     Dred Scott Decision (Grades 7-9)
     Compromises of 1820 and 1850 (Grades 7-9)
     Slave Life (Hi/Lo Grades 3-4)
     Frederick Douglass (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     The Abolitionist Movement (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     The Missouri Compromise (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     The Compromise of 1850 (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Fugitive Slave Law (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Slavery in the West (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Advantages and Disadvantages (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Slave Codes (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Uncle Tom's Cabin (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     The Underground Railroad (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Harriet Tubman (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Dred Scott v. Sanford (Hi/Lo Grades 5-6)

The Civil War (1861-1865)
     The Civil War Theme Unit

A Growing Nation (1865 - 1900)
     Steps to Higher Education (Grades 4-5)
     Jim Crow Laws (Grades 4-6)
     Buffalo Soldiers (Grades 4-6)
     Throwing Their Hats into the Ring, Part 1 - John Mercer Langston (Grades 4-6)
     Throwing Their Hats into the Ring, Part 2 - Hiram Revels (Grades 4-6)
     Uncle Remus Comes to Life (Grades 4-6)
     Exodusters (Grades 5-7)
     Spelman College for Black Women (Grades 5-7)

Wild West
     Bass Reeves: First Black U.S. Deputy (Grades 4-6)
     Voices of the West - African American Pioneers (Grades 5-6)
     Voices of the West - Nat Love (Grades 5-6)
     Voices of the West - Bill Pickett (Grades 5-6)
     West to Freedom - African American Pioneers (Grades 6-8)
     West to Freedom - Nat Love and Bill Pickett (Grades 6-8)

World War II
     The Color of Heroes - The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen (Grades 9-12)

Civil Rights (the 1960s)
     Ralph Bunche (Grades 4-5)
     NAACP (Grades 4-6)
     National Urban League (Grades 4-6)
     Civil Rights - An Introduction (Grades 6-8)
     Introduction to Civil Rights - The 50's (Grades 6-8)
     Sit-Ins (Grades 6-8)
     The March on Washington (Grades 6-8)
     James Meredith (Grades 7-9)
     Selma to Montgomery (Grades 7-9)
     Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Grades 7-9)
     Malcolm X (Grades 7-9)
     Martin Luther King Jr. Theme Page

Politics
     Leaders in the Executive Branch (Grades 5-7)
     Leaders in the Legislative Branch (Grades 5-7)
     Leaders in the Judicial Branch (Grades 5-7)

Education, Culture, and Sports
     What Is Segregation? (Grades 3-5)
     Negro Baseball Leagues (Grades 4-6)
     The Harlem Globetrotters (Grades 4-6)
     Ebony Magazine (Grades 4-6)
     Keys to Success (Grades 5-7)
     Pioneer African-American Writers (Grades 5-7)
     Poets of the Harlem Renaissance (Grades 5-7)
     American Music - 1800's (Grades 5-7)
     Jazz - All American Music (Grades 5-7)
     The Negro Leagues (Grades 5-7)
     Famous Names in Sports (Grades 5-7)
     Pioneers in Entertainment (Grades 5-7)
     African-American Artists (Grades 5-7)
     A Rich Musical Heritage (Grades 6-8)
     Segregation in America (Grades 6-8)
     A Time to Shine - The 1936 Olympics (Grades 7-9)
     Hank Aaron (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     The Godfather of Soul (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)

Biographies
     Hank Aaron (Grades 5-7)
     Hank Aaron (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     Muhammad Ali (Grades 5-7)
     Maya Angelou (Grade 6)
     Evelyn Ashford (Grades 5-6)
     Crispus Attucks (Grades 4-6)
     Pearl Bailey (Grades 5-6)
     Josephine Baker (Grades 6-8)
     Susie Baker (Grades 4-6)
     Benjamin Banneker (Grades 4-5)
     Benjamin Banneker (Grades 5-7)
     Ibn Battuta (Grades 5-7)
     James Pierson Beckwourth (Grades 5-7)
     John Biggers (Grades 5-7)
     Abebe Bikila (Grades 5-7)
     Wentworth Cheswill, Revolutionary Patriot (Grades 7-8)
     Gwendolyn Brooks (Grades 4-6)
     Charlotte Hawkins Brown (Grades 5-7)
     James Brown (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     Ralph Bunche (Grades 4-5)
     George Washington Carver (Grades 5-7)
     George Washington Carver (Grades 6-8)
     Wilt Chamberlain (Grades 6-8)
     Eldridge Cleaver (Grades 9-12)
     Nat King Cole (Grades 5-7)
     Bessie Coleman (Grades 4-6)
     John Coltrane (Grades 5-7)
     Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (Grades 5-7)
     Frederick Douglass (Hi/Lo Grades 3-5)
     Charles Drew (Grades 5-7)
     W.E.B. DuBois (Grades 5-7)
     Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable (Grades 4-5)
     Estevanico (Grades 4-5)
     Vonetta Flowers (Grades 7-9)
     Lorraine Hansberry (Grades 9-12)
     Josiah Henson (Grades 5-7)
     Matthew Henson (Grades 4-6)
     Matthew Henson (Grades 5-7)
     Langston Hughes (Grades 4-6)
     Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Grades 5-6)
     Judith Jamison (Grades 9-10)
     Mae Jemison (Grades 10-11)
     Sargent Claude Johnson (Grades 5-7)
     Martin Luther King Jr. (Grades 5-7)
     Etheridge Knight (Grade 5)
     Nat Love (Grades 5-6)
     John Mercer Langston (Grades 4-6)
     Bob Marley (Grades 5-7)
     Jan Ernst Matzeliger (Grades 5-7)
     Oseola McCarty (Grades 5-6)
     Elijah McCoy (Grades 4-5)
     James Meredith (Grades 7-9)
     Garret A. Morgan (Grades 5-6)
     Jesse Owens (Grades 5-7)
     Bill Pickett (Grades 5-6)
     Bill Pickett (Grades 6-8)
     Bass Reeves (Grades 4-6)
     Hiram Revels (Grades 4-6)
     Condoleezza Rice (Grades 9-12)
     Paul Robeson (Grades 5-6)
     Jackie Robinson (Grades 3-4)
     Augusta Savage (Grades 5-7)
     Henry Ossawa Tanner (Grades 5-7)
     Sojourner Truth (Grades 5-7)
     Harriet Tubman (Grades 5-7)
     Harriet Tubman (Grades 6-8)
     Harriet Tubman (Hi/Lo Grades 4-5)
     Charles Henry Turner (Grades 6-8)
     Sarah Vaughn (Grades 5-6)
     Madam C. J. Walker (Grades 4-6)
     Sarah Walker (Grades 5-7)
     Booker T. Washington (Grades 5-7)
     Phyllis Wheatley (Grades 5-7)
     Phillis Wheatley (Grades 5-7)
     Phillis Wheatley (Grades 5-7)
     Venus Williams (Grades 6-7)
     Tiger Woods (Grades 9-12)
     Malcolm X (Grades 7-9)

Spanish
     Los abolicionistas y el "ferrocarril subterráneo" (grades 5-7)
     El Compromiso de Missouri (grades 4-5)
     Harriet Tubman (grades 4-5)
     Entrar al ruedo (primera parte) John Mercer Langston (grades 4-6)
     Los "Exodistas" (grades 5-7)
     Voces del Oeste: Nat Love (grades 5-6)
     Ligas negras de béisbol (grades 4-6)
     Ibn Battuta (grades 8-9)
     EL CUMPLEAÑOS DE ETHERIDGE KNIGHT (grade 5)
     Voces del Oeste: Nat Love (grades 5-6)
     Entrar al ruedo (primera parte) John Mercer Langston (grades 4-6)
     Jan Ernst Matzeliger (grades 5-7)
     Sojourner Truth (grades 6-8)
     Harriet Tubman (grades 4-5)
     Phillis Wheatley (grades 6-7)

Leveled Books

Sarah E. Goode: Inventor of the Hideaway Bed

A Slave Girl Named Harriet (PDF file)

Famous Black Americans (PDF file)

Rosa Parks

Harriet Tubman

Analogies

Black History Analogies

Book Units
    Henry's Freedom Box (Grades 1-3)
    Sojourner Truth's Step-Stomp Stride (Grades 1-3)
    The Black Snowman (Grades 1-3)
    Uncle Jed's Barbershop (Grades 2-4)
    When Harriet Met Sojourner (Grades 2-4)
    A Good Night for Ghosts #42 (Grades 2-5)
    A Weed is a Flower: The Life of George Washington Carver (Grades 2-5)
    Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist (Grades 2-5)
    Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt (Grades 2-5)
    The Story of Ruby Bridges (Grades 2-5)
    When Marian Sang (Grades 2-5)
    Leon's Story (Grades 3-5)
    Teammates (Grades 3-5)
    The Friendship (Grades 3-5)
    Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It (Grades 4-6)
    Freedom Crossing (Grades 4-6)
    Martin Luther King, Jr. (Grades 4-6)
    Mystery of the Dark Tower (American Girl) (Grades 4-6)
    Timothy of the Cay (Grades 4-6)
    Bud, Not Buddy (Grades 4-7)
    Lincoln: A Photobiography (Grades 4-7)
    The Aurora County All-Stars (Grades 4-7)
    Chains (Grades 4-8)
    Letters from a Slave Boy: The Story of Joseph Jacobs (Grades 4-8)
    Stealing Home (Grades 4-8)
    The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 (Grades 4-8)
    Something Upstairs (Grades 5-7)
    Sounder (Grades 5-7)
    Keeping the Night Watch (Grades 5-8)
    The Door of No Return (Grades 5-8)
    The Slave Dancer (Grades 5-8)
    We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (Grades 5-8)
    Witness (Grades 5-8)
    The River Between Us (Grades 5-9)
    The Skin I'm In (Grades 5-9)
    The Cay (Grades 6-7)
    Amos Fortune Free Man (Grades 6-8)
    My Name Is Not Angelica (Grades 6-8)
    Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Grades 6-8)
    Flygirl (Grades 6-10)
    Uncle Tom's Cabin (Grades 6-12)
    Becoming Billie Holiday (Grades 7-12)
    Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs (Grades 7-12)
    Their Eyes Were Watching God (Grades 9-12)
    To Kill A Mockingbird (Grades 9-12)
    Copper Sun (Grades 10-12)
    Fences (Grades 11-12)
    Invisible Man (Grades 11-12)

Finish the Story
     The Bus Ride (Grades 3-6)
     Breaking the Barrier (Grade 4)
     Helping Others Obtain Freedom (Grade 5)
     Right to Be Free (Grades 5-8)
     Oral History Project (Grades 6-8)
     Pioneers (Grades 6-8)

Writing

Replying to Letters

What would YOU do?
Stereotype or Prejudice? (Grades 5-8)

Books

Let's Meet Harriet Tubman (Grades 2-4)

Meet Madam C.J. Walker (Grades 3-4)

Meet Martin Luther King, Jr. (Grades 3-4)

Harriet Tubman (Grades 4-5)

Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King! (Grades 5-6)

Frederick Douglass (Grades 5-6)

Madam C.J. Walker (Grades 5-7)

Compare and Contrast

Leader Traits: Compares two great civil rights leaders (Grades 5-7)

Cowboy Traits: Compares two great African-American cowboys (Grades 5-7)

Explorer Traits: Compares two great Arctic explorers (Grades 5-7)

Instrument Traits: Compares two types of native instruments (Grades 5-7)

Protest Traits: Compares the attributes of two protest forms utilized in the 1960s (Grades 5-6)

Abolitionist Traits: Compares two great abolitionists (Grades 5-6)

Civil War Organizer Traits: Compares two great early Black politicians (Grades 5-6)

Baseball Greats Traits: Compares two baseball greats (Grades 5-6)

Traits: This compares and contrasts the lives of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. (Grades 5-7)

Traits: This compares the inventors Benjamin Banneker and George Washington Carver. (Grades 6-8)

Female Activist Traits: Compares two famous female black activists (Grades 5-6)

Compromise Traits: Compares the two Missouri Compromises (Grades 5-6)

African-American Writer Traits: Compares two great African-American writers (Grades 3-5)

Writing
Black History Draw and Write

Black History Draw and Write

Black History Story Starters

Black History borders with Black History story starters

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