Francis Howell School District
Building Activities
Black History Month – February 2014
Becky David
th
Some of the Black History Month activities that 4 grade students at Becky David will be working on are making a
peace quilt, performing a play and sharing it with other classrooms, and a research project using websites for MLK
and black history. The students will also be reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges.
Castlio
The 1st grade students at Castlio will be studying American History in our upcoming Common Core Units of Study
which will fall during Black History Month. Within this unit, we will study prominent African Americans in U.S.
history including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harriet Tubman. We will also learn about the role of the Underground
Railroad and the end of slavery in American History.
Central
Our building Black History Task Force will be inviting either the Black Rep or another guest to help celebrate Black
History Month with our students and staff.
In addition, the following grade levels have shared a few items within their curriculum specific to the month.
However, there will be additional grade levels also learning about the importance of African Americans in our
countries history.
Kindergarteners will learn about Black History Month in a variety of ways. We will share literature with students
about influential African Americans in history through Book Flix and Read Alouds. We have also created smart
board notebook slides to share images, play games, and learn about important events. Lastly, we will be doing a
craft based on Rosa Parks and equality.
First graders will do a week long mini-unit on Black History during Unit 6 in our units of study. We will learn about
slavery, the Underground Railroad, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges and Jackie Robinson.
Second graders will experience a variety of activities to acknowledge Black History Month. We will use the MLK
Scholastic Newsletter and Resource Sheet. We will compare and contrast goals/dreams, like Dr. King had, and
make our own goals. We will read biographies of famous Black Americans and chart information on a Matrix Chart
to compare and contrast the people. Using our literature packet that includes a variety of famous Black Americans,
we will recognize their contributions and provides information on each person’s life. We will display famous Black
Americans’ texts in the classroom for students to read and write nonfiction book reports.
rd
In the second half of Unit 4, 3 grade students will focus on the contributions of Dr. King. Students will read
several books about his life and compare/contrast key details from these texts. Also, the students will research
other prominent Americans and write a persuasive letter to discuss the important contributions from their lives.
Fourth grade students will read a play about Frederick Douglas. We will also do a grade level "switch," with each
fourth grade teacher representing one famous African-American. The students will rotate through each
room. Individual teachers are also doing other activities (writing reports on famous African Americans, Read
Alouds, etc.).
Fifth grade activities will center on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We will use a Weekly Reader activity about Dr. King,
along with a math activity that revealed his famous message. We will also use another source, CNN Student News,
which showed how people around the world honored Dr. King.
Fairmount
Kindergartners at Fairmount Elementary will be discussing and reading books focusing on, but not limited to, some
of the following individuals: Rosa, Parks, Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges,
and Barack Obama. A sample book title includes Martin Luther King Day by Linda Lowery (provided by the district
as part of our Units of Study books). They will be viewing Brainpop Jr. videos on Rosa Parks and Martin Luther
King, Jr. A sample activity included in the discussion of black history month is a Martin Luther King, Jr. book that
students make. This child friendly book focuses on his belief in good citizenship and his dream of peace. Teachers
will discuss the vocabulary words to include definitions of citizenship, peach and dreams to ensure student
understanding. Students will include a drawing and/or writing on the final page of a dream of their own.
First graders have an entire common core unit on famous African-Americans.
Third graders will be discussing the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., obstacles that Jackie Robinson
overcame to play major league baseball and Thurgood Marshall’s successes as a judge to end
segregation/discrimination.
The fifth graders will be researching famous African-Americans and presenting the information. Some are using
books written by African-American authors for literature group books.
Harvest Ridge
The first graders at Harvest Ridge will be studying biographies of famous Americans such as Rosa Parks, Jackie
Robinson, Ruby Bridges and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as civil rights, black history, the Underground Railroad
and American symbols.
The third grade students are working on a Unit of Study called “We Have a Dream.” Students will learn about
Martin Luther King, Jr. and research different civil rights activists before writing a persuasive letter to erect a
monument in one’s honor.
The fourth graders at Harvest Ridge will read short biographies of black Americans to review what information
should be included in a biography for Famous Missourians reports. They will also meet with buddy classes to
watch a Bookflix video on Martin Luther King, Jr. and color pages showing contributions of famous black
Americans. During reading groups, students will also use Scholastic News Magazines and Read Alouds to make a
newspaper biography about a famous black American.
Henderson
Henderson Elementary will be hosting two assemblies being presented by Bobby Norfolk to celebrate Black History
month school wide. Mr. Norfolk is a three time Emmy Award winning story teller. He will be highlighting through
his unique ability the African/American experience and traditions through his story telling. Our primary students
will be seeing him perform Anansi, the Spider Stories and our intermediate student will be seeing In the Shadow of
Lincoln.
Independence
The kindergarten students at Independence Elementary will be making a class book about dreams and will view
some or all of the following links. Different Read Alouds will be used that day.
http://www.storylineonline.net/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQy1o6JVPIQ&safe=active
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/biographies/martinlutherkingjr/
Students will also read “White Socks” and participate in a discussion about the book. We will share the story Ruby
Bridges as a Read Aloud. Each teacher will have various black history packets and worksheets about different black
Americans as well as a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr mosaic project that we will incorporate through the month of
February. A Brainpop Junior will be viewed by students and they will complete a mini book report on Martin
Luther King, Jr.
The students in the third grade are working on a Unit of Study called We Have a Dream. They will be learning
about MLK and his contributions along with peaceful resolutions. Teachers will be using knowledge the students
have about MLK as their teacher model throughout the unit for the students’ persuasive piece.
Students will brainstorm what they already know about MLK on chart paper. Discussions will be held about civil
rights and the differences in attitudes between whites and blacks in the 1960s. The book, A Picture Book of Martin
Luther King, Jr. will be read and discussed. Students will write a constructed response about the main idea of the
book. Finally, students listened to MLK’s “I Have a Dream Speech” and dissected the language he used (lots of
figurative language).
Special Area students, in Art, collaborated with music to do a black history project on the artist Beardon. The
music class will be talking about Jazz and the instruments that are used when creating jazz music. The Art class will
talk about the black artist, Beardon, and how his use of collage was presented in his work.
Second grade students will create collages of different jazz instruments. They will read the story book “The Black
Snowman” and create a snowman, along with an African American cloth, for the snowman’s winter scarf.
Barnwell Middle School
Barnwell will be having several activities to celebrate Black History Month. We will put up informational displays all
around the building and hold a contest related to them for students to find information about Black heroes. Prizes
will be awarded. A Black history bingo game will be held after school that includes prizes. The “No Place For
Hate” and BHM volunteers will organize a BHM after school dance that will act as a fund raiser for the United
Negro College Fund. Food and BHM themed items will be sold at the dance to raise additional funds.
Bryan Middle School
Bryan Middle School will hold talks about Nelson Mandela and introduce it through Student News.
Francis Howell Middle
We will read a quote of the day by a famous black American every morning to be possibly discussed in Character
Connection Class, and eighth grade U.S. history will teach early American reforms/abolition of slavery
(Tubman/Douglass).
Hollenbeck Middle School
Hollenbeck will be incorporating lessons from "The Road to Little Rock" throughout the Black History Month in
Social Studies classes. Each grade level will have two student activities and video to enhance the
activity. Activities will each take multiple days since teachers will be continuing with the curriculum and will be
donating a portion of classroom instruction to Black History Month. Throughout all of our courses at Hollenbeck,
we highlight the role of minorities as they occur naturally in the units of instruction throughout the year.
Saeger Middle School
Every day at Saeger, we are spotlighting a person who made an impact in black history. Also in U.S. History class,
we are covering Westward Expansion, and we will be talking about the impact that blacks had on developing the
continent.
Francis Howell Central HS
Here’s what will be happening at FHC in February:
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Extended 2nd Hour on Diversity 2/12
SLAM Poets in late Feb
One Acts in Late Feb
Mix-It-Up @ Lunch in late Feb
We will be taking 50 students to a STAND UP Leadership conference on 2/25 at FHH that will deal with
topics such as Diversity
Francis Howell HS
Students in US History classes will be doing a web quest activity about the Tuskegee Airmen. The lesson is called
“The Tuskegee Airmen: A Journalist’s Perspective” and can be found at
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/us/jan-june12/Tuskegee_Airmen_01-19.html.
Students will use information from a variety of web sites to learn about the first African American fighter pilot
squadron—the Tuskegee Airmen. Students will read about the "Tuskegee Experiment”, the pilots' training, the
group's influence on military segregation, and the accomplishments of individual airmen. Students will then
answer four questions and apply this information by assuming the role of a 1940s reporter and writing an editorial
in support of military integration.
US History classes will also look at the Double V Campaign by African Americans during World War II. They will use
primary sources from the following website: http://www.berkshistory.org/articles/doublev.html. There will be
lessons on the impact of imperialism in Africa. Students will also discuss topics such as the Progressive Era - Case
study and comparison of Booker T Washington and WEB DuBois, the Industrial Age - Achievements of AfricanAmerican inventors like Elijiah McCoy/George Washington Carver and Imperialism - Great African societies before
and during Age of Imperialism.
There will be a Rosa Parks magazine article assignment for the Civil Rights Unit where the students create an
editorial or magazine article with graphics after reading online primary source articles in an activity on historical
thinking matters.
Students will listen to the “I Have A Dream Speech” and then complete a worksheet. Additionally, there will be
discussions on the causes and demographic/cultural changes of the Great Migration as part of the 1920s unit.
Francis Howell North HS
The students at FH North will be utilizing the History Channel site to acknowledge Black History Month.