Recommended Books & Activities for Black History Month

Black History Month is a time to create greater awareness of a strong and powerful culture with a rich history. The following books and activity ideas will keep children engaged as they learn about inspiring black Americans and their culture.

Bestselling and award-winning author, HYPERLINK Nancy I. Sanders has published over 75 books including A Kid’s Guide to African American History and D is for Drinking Gourd: An African American Alphabet.

Her new book is America’s Black Founders, for ages 9 and up. Through the petitions they wrote, the sermons they preached, the literature they published, the churches they built, and the organizations they formed, African Americans influenced the birth of a new nation in powerful and far-reaching ways. Click here for several activity ideas from Nancy’s websiteClick here for several activity ideas for Black History month from Nancy’s website.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa is an excellent example of a quality book that conveys black history in kid-appealing way.  Ella’s story is told through the perspective of a cat, “Skat Cat Monroe,” who pulls in readers in with rhythm and rhyme. 

LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES
Use words from this story to practice finding the number of syllables in words. How many syllables are in Skat?  Fitzgerald?  determination?

Have students look up words from the story in the dictionary and share reports either written or verbal. Let students determine alphabetical order of the words. 

MATH ACTIVITIES
We learn in A Note From the Author that Ella was born in 1917.  The story tells us that in 1935 the Harlem Opera House signed Ella as a featured singer.  How old was Ella?

We learn in the story that Ella and Dizzy Gillespie headlined a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in 1947.  If she was born in 1917, how old was Ella in 1947?

We learn in A Note From the Author that Ella died in 1996.  If she was born in 1917, how old was Ella when she died?

MUSIC & MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
“A-Tisket, A-Tasket” was a hit song sung by Ella Fitzgerald that began as a “jump rope jive.”  Jumping rope is an excellent work out and helps children develop timing and balance. Have your students jump rope along to Ella’s music and encourage them to create their own jump rope songs. 

Dizzy by Jonah Winter features the famous Dizzy Gilliespie.

VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES
There are many instruments featured in the illustrations of Dizzy.  Passing the book around, make a list of the instruments your group can identify.  There’s a trumpet, sax, French horn, bass, piano and drums.  Now brainstorm to create a list of instruments not featured in this book.

MATH ACTIVITIES
Review the music math words for solo, duet, trio, quartet and quintet.  Call students up with instruments in singles and small groups and let the group name the band with these math music words. 

ART & MUSIC ACTIVITIES
Painting to the Beat: Provide paper, watercolor paints and space for each child to paint.  Play one of Dizzy Gilliespie’s many CDs that are available at your local library. Encourage children to paint to the beat.  Ask them to consider what “color” a song feels like.  Be sure to have them write the title of the song, along with their name and date on their musical masterpiece. 

MOVEMENT ACTIVITIES
A Jazz Parade: Provide children with handmade instruments or objects with which they can create a beat.  Turn on the music and have a parade.  In my experience, first through third graders still enjoy this experience as much as preschoolers.

Nappy Hair by Carolivia Herron
Recommended Ages: 4-8
The gospel rhythm of this lovely children’s book is matched only by the bold, color-saturated illustrations of little nappy-haired Brenda.

Cassie’s Colorful Day by Faith Ringgold
Recommended Ages: 0-4
Join Cassie on a colorful day with her dad. Young children will follow Cassie as she dresses up in her yellow-and-red polka dot dress, purple shoes, and green pocketbook, then heads to the ice cream parlor for her favorite treat–a pink strawberry sundae!

Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
Recommended Ages: 5-8
This is the inspiring story of a young girl’s search for beauty in her violence-torn neighborhood. The illustrations and story are both beautiful and realistic.

Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Paul Curtis
Recommended Ages: 10 and up
The Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan are taking a trip like no other. They’re heading south to Birmingham, Alabama, toward one of the worst moments in American history.

A Picture Book of Martin Luther King, Jr. by David A. Adler
This picture book is a great lesson in history for our children about civil rights.

WRITING ACTIVITY
After learning about Mr. King’s famous speech, have the children write their own speech by filling in the blanks below.

“I Have a Dream Too!”
 
I have a dream that one day this nation will ____________________________________
 
I have a dream that one day _________________________________________________
 
I have a dream that one day _________________________________________________
 
I have a dream that ________________________________________________________
 
I have a dream today.
 
I have a dream that one day _________________________________________________
 
I have a dream today.
 
I have a dream that one day _________________________________________________
 
This is my hope and faith. With this faith we will be able to _______________________
 
__________________________________________________________________
 
This will be the day when __________________________________________________
 
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
 
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Visit Kathy Stemke’s blog at educationtipster.blogspot.com