Every February we celebrate Black History Month. A time to recognize the challenges faced by Black Americans throughout history and into today. It also serves as a reminder that Black history is American history.
While commemorating the outstanding legacy and strength of the Black community this month is important, commitment to incorporating Black history into your curriculum throughout the year is just as critical for creating a better future for all.
Here are four of our favorite Black history lessons to bring into your classroom this month and beyond!
1. Black History: Influential People
Kickstart conversations in your classroom by learning about a few notable changemakers who helped shape history. In this lesson, students will read clues to identify five different influential Black leaders and draw a picture to show a major event for each. Students will create an interactive timeline using Color Codes to program their bot to move through history.
2. Prominent Black Engineers & Scientists
Countless contributions have been made by extraordinary Black innovators to the fields of engineering and science throughout history. In this lesson, students will choose an influential Black scientist or engineer, research their lives, and create a biographical timeline for Evo to follow.
Dorothy Vaughn paved the way for women of color in STEM in her role as NASA’s first African-American manager. In this lesson, students will learn more about Vaughan’s contributions to the field and will learn how to program math formulas, like Fortran, using Ozobot’s Deconstruction Method.
4. Ozobots for Black History Month
A great opportunity for students to learn and reflect on one of the most monumental movements in American history. In this lesson, students will create timelines of an eminent figure in the civil rights movement. Then they will answer questions based on prior knowledge of the civil rights movement to propel their Evo forward down the correct path.
