Eisenhower
• Civil Rights – Shared reading and read alouds will center around important leaders of the Civil Rights movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. Students will read “I Am Enough” by Grace Byers to explore how we treat people who are different from us.
• Education – Students will read “ABCs for Girls Like Me” by Melanie Goolsby to focus on the importance of education, and explore short clips and read alouds about figures such as Ruby Bridges, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Thurgood Marshall.
• Arts – Students will focus on important black artists in history and in the present day. They will read “Sulwe” by Lupita Nyong’o, and shared reading and read alouds will center around figures such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Aretha Franklin, Misty Copeland, Beyonce, and Oprah Winfrey.
• Science – Students will learn about important black scientists in history and in the present day, reading “I Am Perfectly Designed” by Karamo Bown and drawing a picture of themselves to show how they are perfectly designed. Shared reading and read alouds will center around figures such as Mae Jemison, George Washington Carver, Katherine G. Johnson, and Garrett Morgan.
• Students in music class will discuss jazz and its influence on the music we currently listen to.
• Students will complete a project on a famous African American and present their project in a “2nd Grade Gallery Walk.”
Grandview
• Kindergarten: Students will learn about many influential Civil Rights leaders, inventors, artists and most importantly, children who instilled change in the United States. Two figures of particular focus will be Ruby Bridges, whose passion for education changed schools for all students; and Ron McNair, by reading “Ron’s Big Mission” by Rose Blue.
• Grade One: Student will watch a video, “Black History Month for Kids,” to understand the significance of the month. They will also discuss famous African American quotes and read biographies and discuss various prominent African Americans.
• Grade Two: Students will learn contributions African Americans made towards the Civil Rights movement, education, arts, and science, by reading books on Epic and from the school library, watching related online videos, and completing facts sheets. The students will also be completing drawings of various influential African Americans and then researching facts about who they drew.
• Grade Three: Students will explore concepts of diversity and inclusion, using various digital and print sources, to explore important contributions of African Americans. Third Grade students will also participate in a Wax Museum in which they will research and present about famous people. Students will have the option to choose a person relevant to Black History Month.
• Music: Grades K and 1 will be learning about blues music, listening to “Head and Shoulders, Baby” and performing the movements. Grades 2 and 3 will be discussing ragtime and learning about the composer Scott Joplin. The students will also listen to “The Entertainer” and will be shown where to find information about jazz.
• Art: Students will celebrate the work of American writer and illustrator Ashley Bryan, creating an illustration inspired by his book, Beautiful Blackbird.
• Digital Literacy: Students will explore accomplishments of Black innovators in STEM, discussing their influence on innovations. Annie Easley, Clarence Ellis, Dorothy Vaughn, Evelyn Granville, Jerry Lawson, and others will be discussed.
• Physical Education: Each class will have a lesson reviewing the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson. Students will watch a short video and discuss the importance he had on breaking the color-barrier in sports.
• Spanish: Students will learn Spanish vocabulary of everyday items invented by African Americans.
Knollwood
• 3rd Grade: Classes will research various African Americans who have made an impact on our society. Students will complete various research projects to be displayed on bulletin boards. Some classes will be doing “Biography in a Bag” where students will choose a prominent African American and decorate a bag with facts relating to them, as well as choose 2 or 3 items to put inside the bag to represents that person.
• 2nd Grade: Classes are discussing Martin Luther King Jr., his accomplishments, and impact, and doing a grade-level bulletin board display about how to make our society more peaceful. Classes will also be highlighting a variety of African Americans corresponding to weekly themes to have class-wide discussions on their accomplishments, obstacles, and impact on society.
• 1st Grade: Students will learn about the contributions African Americans have made in the areas of science, arts, civil rights, and education. The students will read biographies and create nonfiction books and research projects showing some of the interesting and important facts they have learned.
Randolphville
• Kindergarten: Students will learn about different people throughout the month (Martin Luther King, Ruby Bridges, Harriet Tubman, Mae Jemison, Jackie Robinson, etc.) by engaging in read alouds, videos, activities, Let's Find Out articles, and crafts.
• 1st grade: Classes will complete read alouds of biographies of prominent African Americans, as well as create Black History Month trading cards that students can take home. Students will learn about Black inventors through a slideshow, then choose their favorite to write about. Students will learn about Stevie Wonder through Scholastic News, as well as about other prominent figures through archived articles.
• 2nd grade: Students will learn about Stevie Wonder through Scholastic News, as well as about Black inventors through archived articles. Classes will use BrainPop Jr. videos of many significant figures, then students will research a famous person and write about them. Students will read “Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky,” then complete a Freedom Quilt square. When the pieces are put together, they create the class quilt. Students will create a Famous Americans booklet, discovering the many important contributions in science, education, arts, human rights, and sports.
• 3rd grade: Students will explore the history of Juneteenth and read an article a day on African American heroes. Students will learn about jazz musician Trombone Shorty, as well as
George Washington Carver, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Booker T. Washington.
Students will research using multiple sources and apply their knowledge of nonfiction text structures to create mini-biographies.