The Librarian's Internet: Black History Online

Here you'll find 20 terrific classroom activities freely available from the Gale Group's Black History Month Resource Book. One of my favorites for the elementary grades is "Invent-O-Rama." Created by: Thompson Gale Group Publishers, Farmington Hills, MI. Grades: K–12. Detour: Check out the excellent Black History Month interactive quiz at www.galegroup.com/free_resources/bhm/quiz.

This site features a concentration-like "Matchup" game in which kids try to pair up names with corresponding pictures of notable African Americans. The "African American Quotes" game challenges players to correctly match a person with an important statement. Created by: The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, MA. Grades: 7–12.

Kids can tackle the interactive "History Challenge" on this site created by Time Magazine for Kids. Or they can play "Oh Grow Up!," in which kids learn about famous African Americans and then try to identify them by their childhood photos. Grades: 4–8. Detour: For excellent teacher resources, including reproducibles, go to www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/archives/theme/0,15534,Black~History,00.html.

Students will learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad as they play this attractive adventure game. Players must help two modern-day kids—Jake and Emily, who find themselves mysteriously taken back to the 1850's—return to the present. Created by: Headbone Interactive, Palo Alto, CA. Grades: 4–8. Detour: Kids can also try their hand at an online quiz and lots of crossword puzzles at Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad at www2.lhric.org/pocantico/tubman/tubman.html.

A nice interactive site about the American civil rights movement. Click on "Buzz" and meet Melba Beals, who describes her experience as one of the first black students to integrate Little Rock High School during the 1960s. Created by: WGBH-Boston and the Public Broadcasting Service. Grades: 6–9. Detour: Another great PBS production is African American World for Kids at pbskids.org/aaworld.