Black History Highlights
RSSby Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 01/01/1999
It's never been easier to find ideas online for celebrating Black History Month.
Ever think of using a Bob Marley song to teach history? Or how about having students write their own"I Have a Dream" speech? As you plan for Black History Month in February, keep in mind that dozens of great ideas are now at your fingertips. Since I last explored this topic in January 1997, the number of sites devoted to black history has skyrocketed. Here is a selection of some of the best.
February Favorites
A good place for kids to kick off their research is Black History: Exploring African-American Issues on the Web, developed for grades 4 to 12 by Tom March, co-creator of Pacific Bell's Knowledge Network site. If you're looking for biographies, a civil rights primer, or poetry by Maya Angelou, go to the "Black History Hotlist" section for a list of well-selected links or test your knowledge by taking the interactive quiz in the "Black History Past to Present" section.
The Gale Group is the sponsor of the Black History Month Resource Center for grades 4 to 12. Here you'll find short biographies of more than 60 women and men of color. During February, you'll find a new "Black History Month Quiz" question every day.
If kids in grades 5 to 12 need to research a specific topic, send them to A Darker Shade of History: The Black History Database, created by Charles Isbell at MIT's artificial intelligence lab. The staff at the Christian Science Monitor developed The Black History Project for grades 3 to 12. The site provides a new inspirational quote each day. Each week, this site offers a new list of recommended books and links.
Kid Connections
It's amazing what kids can do if you teach them how to create a Web site. Six high school students in the Washington, DC, area developed Stamp on Black History as part of the 1997 ThinkQuest competition, sponsored by Advanced Network and Services, Inc. This site supplies links to well-written biographies and photos of African Americans featured on U.S. postage stamps.
At Buckman Elementary School in Portland, OR, first and second graders created the Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline Page after reading My Dream of Martin Luther King (Crown, 1995), by Faith Ringgold. It's a delightfully illustrated and easy-to-read site for K-3 kids.
Students at John Ward Elementary School in Newton, MA, are the brains behind M.L. King, The Civil Rights Movement. They designed the site using Adobe PageMill and worked in pairs on the research and writing.
For Teachers
Need some creative lesson plans? Visit Teaching African American History in the 21st Century, developed by teachers in the Philadelphia school district. The site offers lessons for grades four to six and high school (lessons for additional grades are on the way). One of my favorites is "Sticks and Stones...," a guided study of African proverbs.
The folks at Pacific Bell have developed Sampling African America, a sampling of creative activities for grades 4 to 12. Check out "Buffalo Soldier," which explores the history of black soldiers on the frontier (the inspiration for Bob Marley's famous song). Finally, K-6 teachers should zip back to Stamp on Black History's "Games and Activity Zone" for craft ideas and writing activities, such as "Create Your Own'I Have a Dream Too' Speech."
Web Addresses
For previous "Surf For" links, visit SLJ Online at www.slj.com/links.html
Black History: Exploring African American Issues on the Web
www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html
Black History Month Resource Center
www.gale.com/gale/bhm/bhmcont.html
A Darker Shade of History: The Black History Database
www.ai.mit.edu/~isbell/HFh/black/bhist.html
Black History Project
www.csmonitor.com/
Stamp on Black History
library.advanced.org/10320/Stamps.htm
Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline Page
buckman.pps.k12.or.us/room100/timeline/kingbox.html
M.L. King, The Civil Rights Movement
hammer.ne.mediaone.net/mlk/mlk.html
Teaching African American History in the 21st Century
www.philsch.k12.pa.us/offices/african&american/afr-lessons.html
Sampling African America
www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/bh_sampler.html
