Notable African American
Black History
Trading Cards
Month
Lesson/Mini Unit
Common Core Aligned
16 Page-Resource
Scope and Sequence
CC Standards Listed
Text Book Scavenger Hunt WS
List of 50 Notable African- Americans
Research Organizers
Trading Card Templates
Rubric
Handout of 7 Extension Activities
Supporting Worksheets
List of Websites Links
Social Studies
Reading/ELA
Writing
Center Work
Lesson Overview
Teaching the contributions of African Americans to our world is an important aspect of
curriculum that is often over simplified or completely left out of our curriculum.
This lesson will help students to practice research skills and writing, while identifying and
learning about important African American figures that are often absent from our
curriculum.
Age Group: 4-6th
Common Core Standards (5th):
! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to
write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build
knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
! CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.8 Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant
information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and
finished work, and provide a list of sources.
Materials Needed: Student Handouts, Research Materials (computers, books,
encyclopedias), art supplies.
Lesson Overview:
1. Engagement: Have students (individually or in a group) peruse through their social
studies books, math books, reading books, science books and take tally of the different
cultures of people discussed, represented or talked about in their books. (Use the tally
sheet provided and answer reflection questions).
2. Have a discussion about the representation of people in their book. Ask questions
such as: Which race/culture is most represented in these books? Which race/culture
is least represented in these books? Does this mean that the cultures that are less
represented have done less notable things? Introduce the project: We are going to
learn about some African Americans who have done very notable things.
3. Exploration: Assign each student/partner group a notable African Americans.
Students use computers, Internet devices, and library resources to research their
assigned person and take notes on the notes sheet.
4. Explanation: Students use their research to create a trading card of their notable
person. (Use included final copy trading card sheet). Fill out information on one side
of card and use back to draw a picture of the person or print a picture off of the
internet and glue to the back of card.
5. Exploration: Use the Trading Card Ideas page handout to play some games and do
different activities to extend your students’ knowledge of notable African Americans
immediately following lesson and/or save the cards and do various activities
throughout the year.
6. Evaluation: Use the rubric to evaluate your students’ trading cards.
Notes: You can cut the list of notable African Americans into strips. Have students pick a
strip out of a cup to pick their person. You can laminate the trading cards to make them
more durable. Punch a hole in the upper right hand corner and attach with a ring when
storing them, so that none of the cards get lost.
Name: __________________________________
Text Book Scavenger Hunt
Directions: Skim through your reading, science, social studies, and math textbooks. Each time
you see a picture of a person from one of the races/ cultures below. Put a tally in the appropriate
box.
Social Studies
Science
Reading
Math
White/European
Native American
African/ African
American/ Black
Asian
Latino
Which races or cultures are the most represented in your textbooks? Why? ________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Which races or cultures are the least represented in your textbooks? Why? ________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
List of Notable African Americans
Hank Aaron
Michael Jordon
Jesse Owens
Jackie Robinson
Tiger Woods
Serena Williams
Oprah Winfrey
Bill Cosby
Forest Whittaker
Maya Angelou
Gwendolyn Brooks
Langston Hughes
Phyllis Wheatley
Ida B Wells- Barnett
Medgar Evers
Marcus Garvey
Jesse Jackson
Martin Luther King, Jr
Coretta Scott King
Malcolm X
Thurgood Marshall
Rosa Parks
Carol Mosley Braun
Barak Obama
Professional Athlete
Professional Athlete
Professional Athlete
Professional Athlete
Professional Athlete
Professional Athlete
Actress, Talk-Show Host
Actor, Comedian
Actor, Director
Poet, Writer, Actress
Poet
Poet
Poet
Journalist and Activities
Political Activist
National Black Leader
Civil Rights Leader
Civil Rights Leader
Civil Rights Leader
Militant Black Leader
Supreme Court Justice
Civil Rights Activist
US Senator
US Politician
Colin Powell
Clarence Thomas
Benjamin Bannekar
Patricia Bath
Charles Frank Bolden, Jr.
Dr. Guion Stewart “Guy” Bluford, Jr.
Keith Black
Kwabena Boahen
Sarah Boonse
Henry Brown
George Washington Carver
Clarence L. Elder
Mae Jemison
Daniel Hale Williams
Granville T. Woods
Fredrick Douglas
W.E.B. Dubois
Homer Plessy
Soujourner Truth
Harriet Tubman
Booker T. Washington
Louis Armstrong
Miles Davis
Michael Jackson
Stevie Wonder
US Army General and Public Official
US Supreme Court Justice
Mathematician Astronomer
Inventor
Administrator of NASA
First African American Astronaut in Space
Surgeon And Neurologist
Bioengineer
Inventor
Inventor
American Agricultural Chemist
Engineer, Inventor
Astronaut Physician
Surgeon, Physician
Inventor
Abolitionist
Author and Teacher
Activist
Abolitionist
Abolitionist
Educator
Musician
Musician
Musician
Musician
Name: ______________________________
What is the person’s
full name?
When was this
person born? Die?
Where is this person
from?
What is/was this
person’s occupation?
What is this person
famous for?
1.
What are three
interesting facts
about this person?
2.
3.
Where did you find
your information?
Research Notes Sheet
Name: __________________________________
Name: ___________________________________
Birth Date: ___________Death Date: _____________
Birth Date: ___________Death Date: _____________
Location: ______________________________________
Location: ______________________________________
Occupation: ____________________________________
Occupation: ____________________________________
Famous For: ___________________________________
Famous For: ___________________________________
Facts:
1. ______________________________________________
Facts:
1. ______________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Information From:
Information From:
Name:
Name:
Notable African American Trading Cards
Name:
You included the person’s name, birth date, death date, location, and occupation on
the trading card.
You included why the person was famous and 3 relevant facts about his/her life.
You included a source of where you found your information.
You included an accurate picture of the person on the front of the trading card and
the person’s name.
Your final product is accurate and neat.
Total Points
Rubric
/5
/5
/1
/4
/5
/20
Comments:
Notable African American Trading Cards
Name:
You included the person’s name, birth date, death date, location, and occupation on
the trading card.
You included why the person was famous and 3 relevant facts about his/her life.
You included a source of where you found your information.
You included an accurate picture of the person on the front of the trading card and
the person’s name.
Your final product is accurate and neat.
Total Points
Comments:
Rubric
/5
/5
/1
/4
/5
/20
Trading Card Extension Activities
Directions: These activities can be completed at a literacy, writing, or social studies center, and
during free time, partner time, or as a whole group activity.
! Quiz Time: One student chooses a card and reads the information off of the back of
the card. The other students have to guess which person that card is about. (You can
provide a list of people to help students out).
! Memory Match: Lay out all of the cards, picture side up. The first person turns over
two cards and reads the back. If they can name something in common those two
people have, then they can make a match and keep the cards (for example, same
occupation, location, born the same year, etc).
! Research Time: One student picks a card and then goes on the Internet to find more
information about that person. Use the Research Time worksheet attached.
! Fact Check: One student picks a card and then goes on the Internet to fact check the
card to make sure that the student who made the card used accurate information.
! Rewrite History: One student picks a card and then uses the information on the back
of the card to write an expository paragraph about that person. Pretend that you are
writing a page in a textbook. Use the Textbook page worksheet attached.
! Speech Time: One student chooses a card and then uses the information on the back
of the card to write a speech about that person. The student can deliver their speech
to a partner, small group or the entire class. Use the Speech Time worksheet
attached. The speakers should make eye contact when they see the smiley faces.
! Librarian: One student chooses a card and uses the Internet and Library Catalog to
find more books, articles and website resources about that person. Use the You Be the
Librarian worksheet attached.
Name: ______________________________
Name of the Person You are Researching: __________________________________________
List 5 Interesting Facts that Were Not on the Trading Card.
1.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
4.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
5.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: ______________________________
Pretend that you are a textbook author and you have to write a page about a notable African
American. Write your expository paragraph below. Draw a picture in the box that relates to
your paragraph and include a caption.
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Caption:
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
____
Name: ______________________________
Opening Sentence: _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Topic Sentence: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Detail 1: ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Detail 2: ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Detail 3: ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Detail 4: ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Detail 5: ______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Closing Sentence: _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Name: ______________________________
Name of the Person You are Researching: __________________________________________
List 5 Internet or Book Resources that Were Not on the Trading Card.
1.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
2.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
3.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
4.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
5.) ________________________________________________________________________________________
• For Internet resources list the entire website address. For book resources list the title and
author of the book.
Resource Page
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/afroambios.html
http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/Around-the-World/Countries/UnitedStates/Cultures-and-Traditions/African-American/Biographies
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmbios1.html
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/black-history/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/aframer/bios/
http://www.multcolib.org/homework/biohc.html#aabio
http://aabd.chadwyck.com/
http://ncpedia.org/biography/african-american
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/africanamericanbiographies.htm